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Implicit and Explicit Learning in Individuals with Agrammatic Aphasia

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Abstract

Implicit learning is a process of acquiring knowledge that occurs without conscious awareness of learning, whereas explicit learning involves the use of overt strategies. To date, research related to implicit learning following stroke has been largely restricted to the motor domain and has rarely addressed implications for language. The present study investigated implicit and explicit learning of an auditory word sequence in 10 individuals with stroke-induced agrammatic aphasia and 18 healthy age-matched participants using an adaptation of the Serial Reaction Time task. Individuals with aphasia showed significant learning under implicit, but not explicit, conditions, whereas age-matched participants learned under both conditions. These results suggest significant implicit learning ability in agrammatic aphasia. Furthermore, results of an auditory sentence span task indicated working memory deficits in individuals with agrammatic aphasia, which are discussed in relation to explicit and implicit learning processes.

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Notes

  1. Two aphasic individuals declined to participate in the word prediction test.

  2. One aphasic individual declined to participate in the word prediction test.

  3. One aphasic individual was unable to perform the task accurately.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the individuals who participated in this study and the family members of the aphasic participants. This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant T32DC009399.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Room 3-380, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Julia Schuchard & Cynthia K. Thompson

  2. Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Cynthia K. Thompson

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  1. Julia Schuchard
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  2. Cynthia K. Thompson
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Correspondence to Julia Schuchard.

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Schuchard, J., Thompson, C.K. Implicit and Explicit Learning in Individuals with Agrammatic Aphasia. J Psycholinguist Res 43, 209–224 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-013-9248-4

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