We’ve all experienced that moment mid-sentence when we just can’t find the word we want to use…
Why does this problem occur that is universal among speakers?
And when can word-finding difficulties indicate something really serious?
It is common to experience some occasional difficulty, but if it occurs very frequently with a wide range of words, names and numbers, this could be a sign of a neurological disorder.
The steps necessary to speak
Word production involves several stages of processing. These include:
- Identify the intended meaning
- Select the correct word from our “mental lexicon” (a mental dictionary of the speaker’s vocabulary)
- Recover your sound pattern
- Execute speech movements to articulate it
Difficulties in finding words may arise at each of these stages.
When a healthy speaker cannot retrieve a word, language scientists call it the “tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.”
Often the frustrated speaker will try to give clues as to the meaning of the word they mean… “You know, that thing you hit a nail with”, “it starts with an M!”
This is relatively common and is a type of speech error that occurs primarily during sound pattern retrieval (stage three).
What can affect word search?
Word-finding difficulties occur at all ages, but more frequently as we age.
In older adults, the phenomenon can cause frustration and anxiety over the possibility of developing dementia. But it is not always a cause for concern.
One way word-finding difficulties are investigated is by asking people to keep track of the frequency of their forgetting and in what context they occur.
These studies have shown that some types of words, such as names of people and places, concrete nouns (things like “dog” or “building”), and abstract nouns (concepts like “beauty” or “truth”), are more likely to be forgotten. compared to verbs and adjectives.
Less frequently used words are also more likely to not be remembered.
This is thought to be because they have weaker connections between their meanings and their sound patterns than more frequently used words.
Laboratory studies have also shown that forgetting is more likely to occur under socially stressful conditions. For example, when speakers are told that they are being tested, regardless of their age.
Many people report having experienced problems during job interviews.
When is it a problem?
More frequent mistakes, involving a wide range of words, names, and numbers, are likely to indicate more serious problems.
This condition is called “anomia” or “anomic aphasia,” and it may be associated with brain damage due to strokes, tumors, head injuries, or dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Recently, the family of actor Bruce Willis revealed that he was diagnosed with a degenerative disorder known as primary progressive aphasia.
One of the first symptoms of this condition is difficulty finding words rather than memory loss.
Primary progressive aphasia is typically associated with frontotemporal dementias or Alzheimer’s, although it can also be associated with other pathologies.
Anomic aphasia can arise due to problems that occur at different stages of speech production.
An evaluation by a clinical neuropsychologist can help clarify which processing stage is affected and how severe the problem may be.
For example, if a person cannot name a common object, such as a hammer, a clinical neuropsychologist will ask him or her to describe what the object is used for (the individual might then say “it’s something you hit things with” or “it’s a hammer.” tool”).
If you cannot, you will be asked to gesture or mimic how it is used.
You can also be given a clue or message, such as the first letter (m) or syllable (mar).
Most people with anomic aphasia benefit greatly from being cued, indicating that they mostly experience problems in the later stages of speech and motor aspects.
But if they cannot describe or imitate the use of the object and the cues do not help, this likely indicates a real loss of knowledge or meaning of the words.
This is usually a sign of a more serious problem, such as primary progressive aphasia.
Imaging studies in healthy adults and people with anomic aphasia have shown that different areas of the brain are responsible for their word-finding difficulties.
In healthy adults, the failures are related to changes in activity in brain regions that control the motor aspects of speech, suggesting a spontaneous problem with articulation rather than a loss of word knowledge.
In primary progressive aphasia, the brain regions that process the meaning of words show a loss of cells and nerve connections or atrophy.
Although anomic aphasia is common after strokes in the left hemisphere of the brain, the associated word-finding difficulties do not appear to be distinguished by specific areas.
There are treatments available for anomic aphasia.
Speech pathologists can train the individual on naming tasks using different types of cues or prompts to help with word retrieval.
Cues can be various features of objects and ideas, or sound features of words, or a combination of both.
Smartphone apps also show promise when used to complement therapy.
Successful treatment is associated with changes in activity in brain regions known to support speech production.
Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for primary progressive aphasia, although some studies have suggested that speech therapy may produce temporary benefits.
*Greig de Zubicaray is Professor of Neuropsychology at the Queensland University of Technology.
*This article was published on The Conversation and reproduced here under the Creative Commons license. Click here to see the original version.
Keep reading:
* They discover how brain cells die in Alzheimer’s disease
* Why medical tests are not 100% reliable
* 2 good news about Alzheimer’s treatment
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