The curious case of processing unaccusative verbs in aphasia.

The aphasia group had only seven participants, so the timing result is a small-sample finding. The study measured reaction times to picture probes, not whether participants understood the sentences. Only non-alternating unaccusative verbs were tested, so the result may not extend to other verb types or sentence structures. Six of seven participants had prior sentence-level treatment, and the type, amount, and response were not reported, so treatment history cannot be separated from the processing pattern. The authors did not test people with non-agrammatic aphasia or other left-hemisphere damage, so the pattern may not generalise to all aphasia types.

Do not conclude that people with Broca's aphasia have a specific comprehension deficit for unaccusative sentences. The experiment measured picture-response times, not final comprehension, and delayed activation was seen in age-matched controls as well.