Comparing the Comprehension of One Multivalent Verb and Two-Verb Sentences in Patients With Broca's Aphasia

The syntactic comprehension damage in patients with aphasia can debilitate lingual performance and simultaneously influence cognitive skills. Patients with aphasia, particularly those with Brocachr('39')s aphasia are more vulnerable and act with further disabilities in producing and perceiving verbs in contrast to the other grammatical topics. Aphasia is a disorder or disruption in the natural order and course of speaking with its effect being manifested in the comprehension and expression dimensions of language in the form of disarrays in reading, listening, and speaking skills. Accordingly, it is expected to be difficult to comprehend the sentences with multiple verbs and multiple valencies of verbs. The present study aimed to compare the syntactic perception of sentences with one divalent verb, sentences with one trivalent verb, and two–verb sentences in patients with Brocachr('39')s aphasia.

The present study was descriptive and cross–sectional research. Forty–five patients with Brocachr('39')s aphasia were selected based on a convenience research method. The patients were selected from those who were referred to the neurotrophy center of Tehran University in Tehran City, Iran. They were recognized as patients with Brocachr('39')s aphasia according to the diagnosis of a neurologist and the confirmation of Nilipour’s Aphasia Naming Test (2011). The study subjects included those with Brocachr('39')s aphasia and agrammatism due to a brain injury in the left hemisphere with the diagnosis of a neurologist and the confirmation based on the aphasia test. Patients under pharmacotherapy were excluded from the current study. The required data were collected using a researcher–constructed demographic questionnaire, including the following variables: age, educational level, mother tongue, and dominant hand. We also used the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System Test (Delis et al., 2001), covering sentences with divalent verbs, sentences with trivalent verbs, and two–verb sentences for assessing the syntactic comprehension in Iranian patients with aphasia. Data analyses were carried out using Dependent Samples t–test at a significance level of 0.01.

The mean±SD comprehension values of one–verb sentences with divalent verbs, like active sentences was 3.71±1.06. The mean±SD comprehension scores of inverted sentences, subjective attributive sentences, and objective attributive sentences were 3.62±0.96, 3±1.11, and 3.65±1.21, respectively. Besides, the mean±SD comprehension scores of one–verb sentences with trivalent verbs, such as ablative sentences and inverted ablative sentences were 2.88±1.01 and 2.85±1.15, respectively. Finally, the lower averages for the mean±SD comprehension values of two–verb sentences, such as connected sentences with relative pronouns, subjective relative sentences, and objective relative sentences were 2.8±1.26, 2.11±1.05, and 2.18±1.2, respectively. The Dependent Samples t–test results indicated a significant difference between the comprehension of sentences with divalent verbs and sentences with trivalent verbs (p<0.001, t=11.18). Furthermore, there were significant differences between the comprehension of one–verb sentences with divalent verbs and two–verb sentences (p<0.001, t=5.91) as well as one–verb sentences with trivalent verbs and two–verb sentences (p<0.001, t=7.69).

Patients with Broca’s aphasia understand monosyllabic sentences better than two–verb sentences and further suffer from the comprehension of sentences with three–verb verbs and two–verb sentences, compared with singular verb two–verb sentences. Therefore, patients with Brocachr('39')s aphasia encounter different impairments in understanding one–act and two–act sentences.