Silent pauses in aphasia

Georgia Angelopoulou, Dimitrios Kasselimis, George Makrydakis, Maria Varkanitsa, Petros Roussos, Dionysis Goutsos, Ioannis Evdokimidis, Constantin Potagas, Neuropsychologia, Available online 7 April 2018, ISSN 0028-3932, doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.04.006.

Several studies have demonstrated that pausing may be affected by neurological conditions. Individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Friedreich’s Ataxia have been shown to produce longer pauses in conversational speech compared to controls. These studies clearly show prominent differences in pausing between healthy participants and pathological populations. These studies have also demonstrated how pausing measures may be used as diagnostic markers and/or as markers of cognitive changes over time. Taken together, these findings suggest that pauses could be an integral aspect of cognitive assessment in clinical practice and research.

 Silent pauses in aphasia