Increased Recruitment of Domain-General Neural Networks in Language Processing Following Intensive Language-Action Therapy: fMRI Evidence From People With Chronic Aphasia.
Felix R Dreyer, Lea Doppelbauer, Verena Büscher and 6 others
PMID 32830988WHAT IT FOUND
Sixteen people with chronic aphasia improved on language tests after intensive therapy.
Brain scans showed this improvement correlated with increased activity in domain-general networks, not just language areas. No control group was used, so the therapy's specific effect on these brain changes is uncertain.
Key findings
01Patients showed significant clinical language improvement after therapy, with an average increase of 2.05 points on the Aachen Aphasia Test T-score.
02Improvement in language scores correlated positively with increased brain activity in the left precuneus and the default mode network during word reading.
03There was no significant correlation between language improvement and activity changes in the salience network, nor did therapy intensity or duration alone predict brain signal changes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had no control group or no-therapy scanning interval, so it cannot rule out that brain changes were due to mere repetition or habituation. The sample size was very small (16 participants), limiting statistical power. The primary whole-brain analysis did not survive correction for multiple comparisons, meaning the findings rely on post-hoc region-of-interest analyses. The study cannot determine if the brain changes caused the language improvement or were a consequence of it.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that intensive language-action therapy causes the observed brain network changes or that targeting these networks directly will improve language. The study lacked a control group, and the correlation does not prove causation. The brain activity changes might be a result of recovery rather than the mechanism driving it.