Cognitive neuropsychological approach to aphasia treatment: Implications for evidence-based clinical practice. Commentary on Laine and Martin, 'Cognitive neuropsychology has been, is, and will be significant to aphasiology'

摘要

In their target article for this Aphasiology forum Matti Laine and Nadine Martin (2012) support the continued relevance of cognitive neuropsychology (CNP) in aphasia research and clinical aphasiology. Their discussion addresses three main challenges to CNP (reliance on single-case studies; single-minded hunt for dissociations; emptiness of theorising) and demonstrates the ways in which CNP has developed and diversified since its beginnings in the 1970s. Laine and Martin (2012) also indicate that the CNP approach has proven highly relevant to clinical aphasiology, particularly assessment. Limitations of the approach include a paucity of literature to help clinicians apply CNP-based assessment, the length of available assessments, and lack of specification of treatment approaches, but there have been recent developments in the field that have helped address these issues. Connectionist models are predicted to help develop models of language processing and lead to new intervention techniques.