‘What was I talking about?’ Memory and discourse in language impairment
Reviewed by Anna Volkmer

This article discusses the function of the three theoretical components of working memory and their influence on discourse (the phonological assembly, the visuo-spatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer). The authors emphasise that the buffer is the key conceptual component responsible for integrating information to provide cohesive content in discourse descriptions. Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease have demonstrated reduced long-term memory but are able to perform well on immediate recall tasks with discourse components due to their theorised relative strengths in working memory. The authors describe research focusing on improving working memory in people with aphasia, including their successful exploratory study of four participants with aphasia. These participants were treated with a hierarchy of tasks to maximise discourse. The authors emphasise the general lack of research in this area and highlight the potential clinical implications in choosing appropriate and effective interventions. This theory could have broader clinical implications than working with people with stroke-related language difficulties as we are increasingly aware of progressive language difficulties in people with dementia.

Working memory in aphasia: considering discourse processing and treatment implications.
Henderson A, Kim H, Kintz S, et al.
SEMINARS IN SPEECH AND LANGUAGE
2017;38(1):40-51