An electrophysiological and behavioral investigation of feedback-based learning in aphasia.
Kristen Nunn, Yael Arbel, Sofia Vallila-Rohter
PMID 39148558WHAT IT FOUND
People with aphasia learned new words from feedback, but the brain signal for error detection did not predict this learning.
Instead, attention and updating skills predicted retention. Feedback is helpful, but cognitive demands may hinder its use.
Key findings
01Participants learned novel words above chance, but performance varied, with some individuals performing below chance.
02The electrophysiological measure of feedback processing (FRN) was not significantly associated with learning outcomes.
03Attention and information updating scores, rather than feedback processing alone, significantly correlated with next-day retention of learned words.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Small sample size (17 participants) limits the ability to detect subtle interactions or generalize findings. The study did not include a control condition without feedback, so it is unclear if the specific role of feedback processing was distinct from general learning mechanisms. The sample was limited to fluent English speakers, restricting generalizability to multilingual populations. The relationship between FRN and the cognitive sorting task did not remain significant after statistical correction for multiple comparisons.
Declared interests
The authors declared no relevant financial or nonfinancial conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that feedback processing is unimportant for learning. The null finding for the brain signal (FRN) may be due to the high cognitive demands of the specific word-learning task, which obscured the relationship. The study shows that cognitive skills like attention are critical for using feedback, not that feedback itself is ineffective.