Anomia in left hemisphere stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease - a comparative study.

Abstract

To explore quantitative and qualitative features of anomia in participants with left-hemisphere stroke, Parkinson's disease, or multiple sclerosis. This descriptive cross-sectional study compares signs of anomia within and across participants (<i>n</i> = 87), divided into four groups; moderate to severe anomia after stroke (MSAS, <i>n</i> = 19), mild anomia after stroke (MAS, <i>n</i> = 22), PD (<i>n</i> = 19) and MS (<i>n</i> = 27). Aspects analysed include naming accuracy and speed, the nature of incorrect responses, semantic and phonemic verbal fluency, information content in re-telling, and the relationship between test results and self-reports on word-finding difficulties and communicative participation. All groups had impaired verbal fluency, prolonged response times and reduced information content in re-telling. The MSAS group had significantly more signs of anomia than the other groups. Results from the other groups overlapped on a MAS-PD-MS continuum. Both semantically and phonologically incorrect responses were common in the stroke groups, while semantically incorrect ones predominated in the PD and MS groups. All four groups reported a similar negative impact on self-perceived communicative participation. Correlations between self-reports and test results were inconsistent. Anomia features have quantitative and qualitative similarities <i>and</i> differences across neurological conditions.