Comprehension of co-speech gestures in aphasic patients: an eye movement study

Eggenberger, Noëmi; Preisig, Basil C.; Schumacher, Rahel; Hopfner, Simone; Vanbellingen, Tim; Nyffeler, Thomas; Gutbrod, Klemens; Annoni, Jean-Marie; Bohlhalter, Stephan; Cazzoli, Dario; Müri, René M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146583

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Comprehension of co-speech gestures in aphasic patients: an eye movement study

Eggenberger, Noëmi Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland
Preisig, Basil C. Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland
Schumacher, Rahel Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland - Division of Cognitive and Restorative Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Switzerland
Hopfner, Simone Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland
Vanbellingen, Tim Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland - Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Luzern, Switzerland
Nyffeler, Thomas Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland - Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Luzern, Switzerland
Gutbrod, Klemens Division of Cognitive and Restorative Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Switzerland
Annoni, Jean-Marie Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Science, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Bohlhalter, Stephan Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland - Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Luzern, Switzerland
Cazzoli, Dario Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Müri, René M. Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and University of Bern, Switzerland - Division of Cognitive and Restorative Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Switzerland

06.01.2016

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PLOS ONE. - 2016, vol. 11, no. 1, p. e0146583

English Co-speech gestures are omnipresent and a crucial element of human interaction by facilitating language comprehension. However, it is unclear whether gestures also support language comprehension in aphasic patients. Using visual exploration behavior analysis, the present study aimed to investigate the influence of congruence between speech and co-speech gestures on comprehension in terms of accuracy in a decision task.Method: Twenty aphasic patients and 30 healthy controls watched videos in which speech was either combined with meaningless (baseline condition), congruent, or incongruent gestures. Comprehension was assessed with a decision task, while remote eye-tracking allowed analysis of visual exploration.Results: In aphasic patients, the incongruent condition resulted in a significant decrease of accuracy, while the congruent condition led to a significant increase in accuracy compared to baseline accuracy. In the control group, the incongruent condition resulted in a decrease in accuracy, while the congruent condition did not significantly increase the accuracy. Visual exploration analysis showed that patients fixated significantly less on the face and tended to fixate more on the gesturing hands compared to controls.Conclusion: Co-speech gestures play an important role for aphasic patients as they modulate comprehension. Incongruent gestures evoke significant interference and deteriorate patients’ comprehension. In contrast, congruent gestures enhance comprehension in aphasic patients, which might be valuable for clinical and therapeutic purposes.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Médecine 3ème année

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