Lab Handbook

Experiments
Aphasia Mini-Battery (Pn-a-o-aphasia)

Computer Setup

Before running the experiments, be sure the computer system is configured correctly for running Psyscope. See the Macintosh Setup Guide first. Then return to this manual.

Instructions for running the Aphasia Mini-Battery (Pn-a-o-aphasia)

A. Set-up/Materials: you will need to hook up speakers and microphone to the button box. Data is recorded when subject's voice is picked up by the mic. Whenever voice is recorded, a black dot appears over the trial number at the bottom of the screen. If not, you will have to write something like "false start (FS)" or "VDE/VDL" (voice detected early/late) on the score sheet for that particular item. You will also need to print out score sheets. There are three pages per session (3 sessions, therefore 9 pages total for each subject).

B. Procedure: Each subject will be run on three sessions, the order of which is randomized from subject to subject. Each session is opened separately and the task is experimenter-controlled. Press the space bar to advance from trial to trial. When you begin, start by opening the session you will begin with and enter subject's information. Start with experiment RUN, since the practice trials are included in the regular session. Every time a new session begins, the first three items are practice items (labeled P1-3 on the score sheet). After that there will be 40 items for one modality, followed by 40 for the next, and so on. Before each new page of the score sheet make sure to remind the subject of what task they will be asked to do next.

C. Instructions for subject: in this task, I would like you to do a couple of different things. In one trial, you will be asked to name the pictures you see on the screen. These will be pictures depicting either actions or objects (i.e., nouns or verbs). You will hear a sentence first such as "This is a..." or "She started to...". After that, the picture will appear and you will need to say its name into the mic using one word. In another trial, you will hear the same type of sentences, but this time, instead of a picture you will see a word. You just need to read the word you see. In the last trial, you will hear the lead-in sentence and then a woman's voice will complete it with a word. You just need to repeat the word the woman says. These different tasks will repeat throughout the experiment. Before each list I will remind you of the task you will be doing and you'll have a chance to practice with the first few items.

1. Coding: whenever a subject gives the correct answer and the mic picked up his/her voice, I simply put a check next to the word.

2. If the answer is something different than what's on the score sheet, simply write in what they said.

3. If the mic didn't accurately detect the subject's voice, write VDE if it was before the subject said anything, VDL if it was detected late, and VND (voice not detected), if it wasn't detected at all. If the subject elicited no response, I simply write NR. If they said nothing but the mic picked up their breathing or a cough or something, then I would write VDE NR. Of course, if you would like to use a coding scheme that works better for you, you may do that, but just let me know what you'll be using.

E. Subjects: Currently I need 2-5 Wernicke's patients, 2-7 Broca's patients and 1-2 anomics. You should assign the lists thus: for Wernicke's, the first 2 patients should get order 3,1,2 (meaning they're tested first on session 3, and so on). Anyone after that should be assigned order 1,2,3, then 2,3,1, then 3,1,2, and so on. Those are the only three possible orders. For Broca's, the first subject should get order 3,1,2; the second, 2,3,1. After that you should begin with 1,2,3, then 2,3,1, then 3,1,2, and so on as above. If you get to test any anomics, the first should get order 3,1,2. after that you may begin with 1,2,3, and so on. Once a session is over, you will press the space bar to exit the session and then you would just switch to the next session and begin again. You would do this until you've run all three session in the assigned order.

F. Conclusion: Thank you very much for running this experiment. If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to e-mail me. Sincerely, Analia.