Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery

IntroductionIt is known that co-speech hand gestures increase and supplement speech in individuals with language impairment after brain injury, e.g., post-stroke aphasia. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) provides a unique avenue to evaluate gestures as TBI often presents with both anomia (word-finding i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Katelyn Urena, Brielle C. Stark
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1393284/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850063761232101376
author Katelyn Urena
Katelyn Urena
Brielle C. Stark
Brielle C. Stark
author_facet Katelyn Urena
Katelyn Urena
Brielle C. Stark
Brielle C. Stark
author_sort Katelyn Urena
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionIt is known that co-speech hand gestures increase and supplement speech in individuals with language impairment after brain injury, e.g., post-stroke aphasia. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) provides a unique avenue to evaluate gestures as TBI often presents with both anomia (word-finding impairments) and cognitive impairments, resulting in a cognitive-communicative disorder. However, there is a great need for evaluation of gestures in TBI during typical spontaneous speech and across the recovery trajectory (from sub-acute to chronic stages). In a large population (N = 54) of persons with moderate-severe TBI, who were examined at 3 months post-TBI whilst telling a procedural narrative (“how to make a sandwich”), we examined three aims: (1) characterize the extent to which adults with moderate-severe TBI produce iconic gestures; (2) identify the extent to which language impairment relates to iconic gesturing in TBI; and (3) characterize the extent to which iconic gesturing changes across TBI recovery.MethodsIn a subpopulation (Group 1, N = 14) who were examined at three- and 24-months (sub-acute and substantially chronic), and in a smaller subpopulation (Group 2, N = 6) who had data for five timepoints (three-, six-, nine-, 12-, and 24-months), we used paired tests to examine and characterize longitudinal changes in iconic gesturing.ResultsThe large group analysis suggested that individuals with TBI use iconic gesture during narrative, which take several different iconic forms (e.g., enacting use of an object), and that a minority employed gestures that supplemented (added to, disambiguated, or replaced) speech. The subpopulation analyses suggested that participants did not produce iconic gestures significantly differently across the 2-year recovery timeframe. Case examination of a participant with moderate-severe aphasia suggested a relationship between language impairment and gesture, with this individual producing the highest proportion of supplemental gesturing of the entire group. This finding aligns with research from the post-stroke aphasia field.DiscussionBroadly, this study significantly extends prior research on the relationship between gesturing, language, and brain injury.
format Article
id doaj-art-db13c521b9934f37b6f6a8ec69d897a1
institution DOAJ
issn 1662-5161
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-db13c521b9934f37b6f6a8ec69d897a12025-08-20T02:49:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612024-11-011810.3389/fnhum.2024.13932841393284Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recoveryKatelyn Urena0Katelyn Urena1Brielle C. Stark2Brielle C. Stark3Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United StatesProgram in Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United StatesDepartment of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United StatesProgram in Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United StatesIntroductionIt is known that co-speech hand gestures increase and supplement speech in individuals with language impairment after brain injury, e.g., post-stroke aphasia. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) provides a unique avenue to evaluate gestures as TBI often presents with both anomia (word-finding impairments) and cognitive impairments, resulting in a cognitive-communicative disorder. However, there is a great need for evaluation of gestures in TBI during typical spontaneous speech and across the recovery trajectory (from sub-acute to chronic stages). In a large population (N = 54) of persons with moderate-severe TBI, who were examined at 3 months post-TBI whilst telling a procedural narrative (“how to make a sandwich”), we examined three aims: (1) characterize the extent to which adults with moderate-severe TBI produce iconic gestures; (2) identify the extent to which language impairment relates to iconic gesturing in TBI; and (3) characterize the extent to which iconic gesturing changes across TBI recovery.MethodsIn a subpopulation (Group 1, N = 14) who were examined at three- and 24-months (sub-acute and substantially chronic), and in a smaller subpopulation (Group 2, N = 6) who had data for five timepoints (three-, six-, nine-, 12-, and 24-months), we used paired tests to examine and characterize longitudinal changes in iconic gesturing.ResultsThe large group analysis suggested that individuals with TBI use iconic gesture during narrative, which take several different iconic forms (e.g., enacting use of an object), and that a minority employed gestures that supplemented (added to, disambiguated, or replaced) speech. The subpopulation analyses suggested that participants did not produce iconic gestures significantly differently across the 2-year recovery timeframe. Case examination of a participant with moderate-severe aphasia suggested a relationship between language impairment and gesture, with this individual producing the highest proportion of supplemental gesturing of the entire group. This finding aligns with research from the post-stroke aphasia field.DiscussionBroadly, this study significantly extends prior research on the relationship between gesturing, language, and brain injury.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1393284/full“traumatic brain injury”gesturenarrativelongitudinalcommunicationlanguage
spellingShingle Katelyn Urena
Katelyn Urena
Brielle C. Stark
Brielle C. Stark
Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
“traumatic brain injury”
gesture
narrative
longitudinal
communication
language
title Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery
title_full Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery
title_fullStr Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery
title_full_unstemmed Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery
title_short Characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery
title_sort characterizing iconic gesture during narratives in chronic traumatic brain injury recovery
topic “traumatic brain injury”
gesture
narrative
longitudinal
communication
language
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1393284/full
work_keys_str_mv AT katelynurena characterizingiconicgestureduringnarrativesinchronictraumaticbraininjuryrecovery
AT katelynurena characterizingiconicgestureduringnarrativesinchronictraumaticbraininjuryrecovery
AT briellecstark characterizingiconicgestureduringnarrativesinchronictraumaticbraininjuryrecovery
AT briellecstark characterizingiconicgestureduringnarrativesinchronictraumaticbraininjuryrecovery