[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9601\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ELost for words \u2013 the devastation caused by aphasia\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAphasia is a language disorder that is caused by brain damage to the part of the brain that controls language. It often arises as a result of a stroke, brain tumour or a neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer\u2019s.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Hollywood actor and star of Die Hard, Bruce Willis recently announced his retirement following a diagnosis of aphasia. The condition affects a person\u2019s ability to speak or understand coherently.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMany had never heard of aphasia before learning this sad news, which is perhaps surprising given there are 300 000 new cases in the EU every year.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDevastating diagnosis\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018People tend to focus on the underlying causes,\u2019 said Dr Nicoletta Biondo, a psycholinguist at the University of California, Berkeley, \u2018But not being able to communicate can be devastating \u2013 you wake up one day to find you\u2019ve lost part of your capacity to speak or understand.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EShe added, \u2018Aphasia is really unexplored territory, but we\u2019re starting to see more research in this area. We hope this will give us a better understanding of how the language system works and provide scientific bases for therapies that can give people a better quality of life.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDamage to any part of the brain that facilitates language can result in aphasia. The nature of the symptoms is determined by the location and size of the injury.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003ENot being able to communicate can be devastating \u2013 you wake up one day to find you\u2019ve lost part of your capacity to speak or understand.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Nicoletta Biondo, UC Berkeley\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESome people with aphasia may simply not remember the word for \u2018orange\u2019. Others may be able to write \u2018orange\u2019 but not read it back. Others may say \u2018apple\u2019 instead of \u2018orange\u2019 and insist they are right. There are those who may attempt to say \u2018orange\u2019 but the sound they produce bears no resemblance to the word. A further subset is unable to repeat \u2018orange\u2019 after it\u2019s said to them. And yet another group simply doesn\u2019t understand the meaning of \u2018orange\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESub-types\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018With better diagnostic tools, we\u2019ll be able to determine which sub-type of aphasia a person is suffering from, and clinicians will be able to direct patients to the correct therapy without wasting time\u2019, said Dr Se\u00e7kin Arslan, a neurolinguist leading the EU-funded research project \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/838602\u0022\u003EProResA\u003C\/a\u003E, which aims to better understand the connection between pronoun usage and aphasia. \u2018Currently there is no way to stop aphasia but there are therapies to maintain language abilities for longer.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPrimary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a relatively rare form of the condition, though the prevalence is rising in an ageing society. Generally, it is brought on by a stroke or progressive brain degeneration (for instance in those with dementia).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPeople with PPA often show an unusual use of pronouns (words like you, she and it) instead of saying the name of a person or object, they opt for the generic pronoun.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Pronoun processing can be difficult because it requires a well-functioning memory. After hearing a noun or name, you must reactivate the memory trace of the thing or person you\u2019re talking about,\u2019 said Dr Arslan, adding, \u2018It\u2019s not that pronouns are the most important aspects of grammar, but they are a small detail that can be used to test how disease or a stroke have impacted general language abilities.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ProResA team aim to better understand the \u2018markers\u2019 of aphasia and to develop tools that precipitate a diagnosis of aphasia. They will predict who will develop aphasia even before there are obvious signs of the condition and enable degenerative brain disorders, like Alzheimer\u2019s, to be identified earlier.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, standard international tests to diagnose and grade aphasia are only available in English, making it impossible to compare the severity of the condition across all countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo date, the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.aphasiatrials.org\/%5d,\u0022\u003ECollaborations of Aphasia Trialists\u003C\/a\u003E and their many international collaborators have adapted standard aphasia assessment tools into 15 languages.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEye-tracking\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the first time, data are being collected using eye-tracking technology \u2013 a tool that has already proven useful in dementia diagnosis. Typically, people who go on to develop Alzheimer\u2019s disease \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.aging-us.com\/article\/102118\/text\u0022\u003Eshow signs of eye movement impairment\u003C\/a\u003E before any cognitive symptoms appear.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003ECurrently there is no way to stop aphasia, but there are therapies to maintain language abilities for longer.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Se\u00e7kin Arslan, ProResA\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EParticipants participate in a \u201cvisual world paradigm\u201d, listening to a series of sentences while looking at pictures on a computer screen. When there\u2019s a match between spoken word and image, the participant clicks a mouse.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAn infrared camera shoots a beam at the subject\u2019s eyes, which allows the flickering eye movement to be tracked. The camera records where a person looks at the screen and for how long. The accuracy of each \u201cfixation\u201d, the time taken to analyse an image, and the speed of the mouse click are recorded.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If we can eventually develop a database of people with PPA by tracking their eye movement while they are processing language, we will have a predictive tool for people with milder dementia who will go on to develop aphasia\u2019, said Dr Arslan.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrain damage\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA separate strand of ProResA focuses on using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify those areas of the brain that are not functioning properly. They will create a detailed map of brain damage and its correlation with specific types of language impairment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101028370\u0022\u003ET.I.M.E\u003C\/a\u003E is another European project using MRI. Dr Biondo, who leads the project, is focused on identifying the brain areas and networks that cause time impairment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESome people with aphasia speak \u2018telegraphically\u2019, using phrases without verbs that give no sense of time. \u2018We say a lot with a verb \u2013 it\u2019s the core of a sentence and conveys important time-related information, said Dr Biondo. But when someone says \u201cI breakfast\u201d, we don\u2019t know if this thing happened in the past, will happen in the future or is happening now.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EVery little is known about why this happens, though some believe the problem is not purely linguistic but relates to difficulty conceptualising an event that isn\u2019t happening now.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESimple tasks\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDr Biondo will be setting patients simple tasks (like putting a series of photos of celebrities in age order) and correlating the results with brain scans that highlight the precise location of a lesion.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Once we have a better understanding of what is really going on, we can try to help people in a more meaningful way \u2013 for instance, we can work on practical ways to train the brain to recover or regain whatever loss there has been.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\t\u003Cli\u003EBrain disorders affect 165 million Europeans - follow the link to learn more about \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/research-and-innovation\/research-area\/health-research-and-innovation\/brain-research_en\u0022\u003EEuropean Union research and innovation in\u0026nbsp;the area of brain health\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n\u003Ch5\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU. 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