Mentor/s
Dr. Elizabeth Simmons
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Semantic dementia (SD) is a frontal lobe dementia variant characterized by poor semantic memory and impairments in lexical access (Paplikar et al., 2022, Roelofs, 2023). It has been hypothesized that cultural words may be easier to retrieve from memory than non-cultural words because they include personal significance. This project proposes a semantic priming study to evaluate the speed and accuracy of lexical access between cultural and non-cultural words in individuals with SD. Participants will be presented with a word-picture pair and then a target picture. The target picture will be 1) culturally significant or 2) culturally neutral. The word-picture pair will either be semantically related to the target (primed condition) or semantically unrelated to the target (unprimed condition). Participants will be asked to label the target picture. Verbal responses will be coded for accuracy and speed. It is predicted that participants will be more accurate and faster to provide a verbal response in the primed condition for the culturally significant word pairs. Clinically, this study may provide insight into the type of cues (semantic primes) and semantic categories (culturally significant words) that may facilitate word retrieval in individuals with SD. Subsequently mitigating the functional communication deficits observed and supporting quality of life.
College and Major available
Communication Disorders
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-26-2024 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-26-2024 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
The Effects of Semantic Priming on Cultural vs. Non-Cultural Words in Individuals with Semantic Dementia
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Semantic dementia (SD) is a frontal lobe dementia variant characterized by poor semantic memory and impairments in lexical access (Paplikar et al., 2022, Roelofs, 2023). It has been hypothesized that cultural words may be easier to retrieve from memory than non-cultural words because they include personal significance. This project proposes a semantic priming study to evaluate the speed and accuracy of lexical access between cultural and non-cultural words in individuals with SD. Participants will be presented with a word-picture pair and then a target picture. The target picture will be 1) culturally significant or 2) culturally neutral. The word-picture pair will either be semantically related to the target (primed condition) or semantically unrelated to the target (unprimed condition). Participants will be asked to label the target picture. Verbal responses will be coded for accuracy and speed. It is predicted that participants will be more accurate and faster to provide a verbal response in the primed condition for the culturally significant word pairs. Clinically, this study may provide insight into the type of cues (semantic primes) and semantic categories (culturally significant words) that may facilitate word retrieval in individuals with SD. Subsequently mitigating the functional communication deficits observed and supporting quality of life.
Students' Information
Lila Armstrong, Communication Disorders, Honors, Spring 2025
Morgan Craig, Communication Disorders, Honors, Fall 2024
Erica Santangeli, Communication Disorders, Honors, Spring 2024
Kathleen Vergnolle, Communication Disorders, Honors, Spring 2025