Relationship between musical and linguistic abilities in patients with aphasia

Abstract

This retrospective study aimed to investigate the relationship between musical and linguistic abilities in patients with aphasia. We reviewed the clinical records of 32 stroke patients with aphasia admitted to subacute rehabilitation units between May 2014 and August 2018. We analyzed the results of melody and rhythm reproduction tests and subtests of auditory comprehension and speech sections in the Standard Language Test of Aphasia （SLTA） collected upon admission and discharge. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient （rs） was used to analyze the correlation between 1）the increase in melody reproduction test scores and SLTA auditory comprehension subtest scores, 2）the increase in melody reproduction test scores and SLTA speech subtest scores, 3）the increase in rhythm reproduction test scores and SLTA auditory comprehension subtest scores, and 4）the increase in rhythm reproduction test scores and SLTA speech subtest scores. There were significant positive correlations between melody reproduction and auditory comprehension subtest scores on the SLTA: “word comprehension” （n＝14, rs＝0.57, p＜0.05） and “following verbal instructions” （n＝31, rs＝0.42, p＜0.05）. An SLTA speech subtest score—action naming—was positively correlated with rhythm reproduction （n＝31, rs＝0.44, p＜0.05）. This study implies that melody reproduction ability is related to auditory comprehension and that rhythm reproduction ability is related to speech production in patients with aphasia after experiencing a stroke.