Verbal Perseveration on Controlled Picture Naming Tasks in Aphasia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to acquire basic data applicable to decreasing verbal perseveration in aphasia. We performed two picture naming tasks. In study 1, the subjects were 22 patients with aphasia (14 males, 8 females). The naming task was conducted while controlling for the following three factors: semantic category (animals/tools), color information (black-and-white/color), and presentation interval (1 second/10 seconds). The results revealed a possibility that semantic category and the combination of semantic category and presentation interval are related to the occurrence of perseveration. In study 2, the subjects were 28 patients with aphasia (18 males, 10 females). The naming task was conducted while controlling for the semantic category (animals/tools) and the presentation interval, which was strictly managed (1 second/10 seconds/20 seconds). The results confirmed that perseverations in the animals category occurred more frequently and were maintained for longer times than those in the tools category. These findings suggest that items belonging to non-living categories, rather than living categories, might be useful for inhibiting the occurrence of perseverations during the treatment of aphasic patients.