# Language processing in context in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $421,807

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
A significant challenge in the empirical study and clinical management of cognitive-communication impairment,
a hallmark deficit in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), is that
commonly used methods to detect these deficits in clinical and research settings lack the required sensitivity
and have focused on a limited subset of discourse tasks that do not reliably predict communication outcomes.
At the heart of our proposal is the idea that current theories of cognitive-communication are too narrow and the
methods used to detect deficits are too limiting. In contrast to current conceptualizations which state that
cognitive-communication deficits affect discourse and conversation (leaving basic sentence level processing
intact), we propose that cognitive-communication impairment is a deficit in the flexible use and processing of
language that manifests across the varied and dynamic contexts of everyday language use, whether
processing a single sentence or participating in a multiparty conversation. From this perspective, there is a
striking disconnect in the field between clinical observations of impairments in using language in context and
the widespread use of decontextualized tasks and measures to capture these deficits in the lab and clinic (e.g.,
monologue discourse task). Using ecologically valid language tasks and methods sensitive enough to detect
even subtle, though meaningful, disruptions in language, this administrative supplement extends our work on
language processing in TBI to individuals with Alzheimer's disease. The proposed program of research
represents a novel direction in the study of cognitive communication impairment in individuals with AD with
substantial basic science and clinical translational significance. The proposal is organized around two AIMS:
(1) To investigate language processing in context in AD; (2) To investigate language use in group
settings in AD. This proposal is unique in the field and uniquely promising for understanding the nature of
deficits in contextual language processing and, ultimately, improving rehabilitation intervention outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10288156
- **Project number:** 3R01DC017926-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah Brown-Schmidt
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $421,807
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-12-11 → 2024-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10288156

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10288156, Language processing in context in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (3R01DC017926-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10288156. Licensed CC0.

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