Verbal and Spatial Working Memory Impairments in Chinese Speakers with Post-Stroke Aphasia
10.13471/j.cnki.j.sun.yat-sen.univ(med.sci).2021.0512
- VernacularTitle:脑卒中后汉语失语症患者的言语和空间工作记忆障碍
- Author:
Shu-han FAN
1
;
Xing-yang NIU
1
;
Jin-min GU
1
;
Hui-jia TANG
1
;
Shi-hui XING
1
Author Information
1. Department of Neurology， The First Affiliated Hospital， Sun Yat-sen University//Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases//National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology， Guangzhou 510080， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
stroke;
aphasia;
verbal working memory;
spatial working memory
- From:
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences)
2021;42(5):738-745
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo explore the patterns of verbal and spatial working memory impairments and their relationships with language impairment in Chinese speakers with post-stroke aphasia. MethodsThe study recruited 42 chronic left hemisphere stroke patients with Chinese aphasia from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between October 2012 and June 2018. Another 42 demography-matched healthy participants formed the control group. The clinical and radiographic data were collected. The verbal and spatial working memory were assessed by digit span forward （DSF）， digit span backward （DSB）， spatial span forward （SSF） and spatial span backward （SSB） tasks. The Western Aphasia Battery-Revised （WAB-R） was used to calculate the aphasia quotient （AQ） and measure the language function. The inter- and intra-group comparisons and linear mixed-effect analysis were conducted to test the verbal and spatial working memory impairments. The associations between working memory and language performance were determined by partial correlation analyses controlling for demographic factors， lesion size and related cognitive functions. ResultsThe mean scores on DSF， DSB， SSF and SSB tasks in patient group were significantly lower than those in the control group （P<0.05）. The linear mixed-effect analysis showed that scores on digit span tasks were more affected by group and version than those on spatial span tasks （P<0.001）. Partial correlation analyses showed that scores on DSF， DSB and SSF tasks were positively correlated with AQ values in aphasia （DSF： r=0.62， P<0.001； DSB： r=0.57， P<0.001； SSF： r=0.49， P=0.002）. Additionally， controlling for different working memory tasks， the correlations of DSF and DSB scores with AQ values remained statistically significant （DSF： r=0.53， P=0.001； DSB： r=0.42， P=0.01）. ConclusionsVerbal and spatial working memory are significantly impaired in Chinese speakers with post-stroke aphasia， and verbal working memory deficit is more predominant. Working memory closely relates to the language function and modulation of working memory might be a potential avenue for language recovery after stroke.
