The goal of this project is to contribute to the understanding of the neural basis for and relationship between memory and language, by investigating the acquisition and use of """"""""common ground"""""""" in communication. The experimental approach uses the lesion method to interrelate neuropsychological and neuroanatomical findings, using both group studies and multiple single-case studies of neurological patients with focal brain lesions. The proposed work builds on an exciting finding from my doctoral work: severely amnesic patients can acquire common ground (shared referential labels used to facilitate rapid and efficient communication) in regular interactions with familiar partners. The crucial cognitive components and neuroanatomical correlates of this learning, however, have yet to be determined. One principle aim here is to define and characterize those cognitive and neural mechanisms supporting common ground in communication. The nature of the task used in my experimental work involves """"""""real-world"""""""" learning and communication. The fact that individuals with amnesia performed so well in this truly real-world type of collaborative interaction is very exciting with respect to rehabilitation possibilities.
The second aim of this work is to test the clinical efficacy of this paradigm by designing and implementing a collection of single case intervention studies using the collaborative referencing task in patients with circumscribed impairments of learning and memory, aimed at improving their daily functioning. ? ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32)
Project #
5F32DC008825-02
Application #
7277191
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-F12A-H (20))
Program Officer
Cyr, Janet
Project Start
2006-09-01
Project End
2009-08-31
Budget Start
2007-09-01
Budget End
2008-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$48,796
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Iowa
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
062761671
City
Iowa City
State
IA
Country
United States
Zip Code
52242
Kurczek, Jake; Wechsler, Emily; Ahuja, Shreya et al. (2015) Differential contributions of hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex to self-projection and self-referential processing. Neuropsychologia 73:116-26
Shune, Samantha; Duff, Melissa Collins (2014) Verbal play as a discourse resource in the social interactions of older and younger communication pairs. J Interact Res Commun Disord 5:193-216
Duff, Melissa C; Kurczek, Jake; Rubin, Rachael et al. (2013) Hippocampal amnesia disrupts creative thinking. Hippocampus 23:1143-9
Duff, Melissa C; Gallegos, Diana R; Cohen, Neal J et al. (2013) Learning in Alzheimer's disease is facilitated by social interaction. J Comp Neurol 521:4356-69
Shune, Samantha; Duff, Melissa C (2012) Verbal Play as an Interactional Discourse Resource in Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease. Aphasiology 26:811-825
Duff, Melissa C; Warren, David E; Gupta, Rupa et al. (2012) Teasing apart tangrams: testing hippocampal pattern separation with a collaborative referencing paradigm. Hippocampus 22:1087-91
Gupta, Rupa; Tranel, Daniel; Duff, Melissa C (2012) Ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage does not impair the development and use of common ground in social interaction: implications for cognitive theory of mind. Neuropsychologia 50:145-52
Duff, Melissa C; Mutlu, Bilge; Byom, Lindsey et al. (2012) Beyond utterances: distributed cognition as a framework for studying discourse in adults with acquired brain injury. Semin Speech Lang 33:44-54
Kurczek, Jake; Duff, Melissa C (2011) Cohesion, coherence, and declarative memory: Discourse patterns in individuals with hippocampal amnesia. Aphasiology 25:700-712
Duff, Melissa C; Hengst, Julie A; Gupta, Rupa et al. (2011) Distributed impact of cognitive-communication impairment: Disruptions in the use of definite references when speaking to individuals with amnesia. Aphasiology 25:675-687

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