Identifying level of breakdown of lexical retrieval in aphasic individuals using error profiles

non-peer-reviewedBackground: Anomia varies widely across aphasic individuals. Particularly important are the types of errors that aphasics make. Error types, whether semantic or phonological, can provide clues as to where the breakdown has occurred in lexical retrieval (LR). Determining the level that the breakdown is clinically significant, as it will assist the clinician in making informed therapy decisions. It is unclear in the literature if it is possible to diagnose the level of breakdown in LR using error profiles alone. Aims: To determine if an accurate differential diagnosis of LR breakdown can be made by analysing error profiles. In addition, the question of whether recording only the patients’ first response per item is sufficient to make a differential diagnosis. Method: The BNT, a single-word repetition and a single-word comprehension test was administered to 35 elderly aphasic Irish adults. Main error types were analysed for each individual using first response and total error data separately. LR breakdown was predicted using data from repetition and comprehension tasks. Results were compared to determine validity of using error profiles in differential diagnosis in aphasia. Results: There was a significant association between main error types produced and predicted level of breakdown in LR. This effect was seen when using first-response errors and total errors. In addition, there were no differences between the first-response error profiles and total error profiles. Conclusion: Results indicate that certain error types produced by aphasic individuals in naming tasks may be associated with certain levels of breakdown in LR. Results also imply that analysing first responses to confrontational naming may be sufficient in identifying level of breakdown in LR