Cross-language generalization of language treatment in multilingual people with post-stroke aphasia: A meta-analysis

Mira Goral, Monica I Norvik, Jan Antfolk, Ioulia Agrotou, Minna Lehtonen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview Article or Literature Reviewpeer-review

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Abstract

Studies on the efficacy of language treatment for multilingual people with post-stroke aphasia and its generalization to untreated languages have produced mixed results. We conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis to examine within- and cross-language treatment effects and the variables that affect them. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Google Scholar (February 2020; January 2023), identifying 40 studies reporting on 1573 effect sizes from 85 individuals. We synthesized effect sizes for treatment outcomes using a multi-level model to correct for multiple observations from the same individuals. The results showed significant treatment effects, with robust within-language treatment effects and weaker cross-language treatment effects. Age of language acquisition of the treatment language predicted within-language and cross-language effects. Our results suggest that treating multilingual people with aphasia in one language may generalize to their other languages, especially following treatment in an early-acquired language and a later-learned language that became the language of immersion.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)105326
JournalBrain and Language
Volume246
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023
MoE publication typeA2 Review article in a scientific journal

Keywords

  • Humans
  • Language
  • Aphasia/etiology
  • Multilingualism
  • Language Development
  • Treatment Outcome

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