Distributed impact of cognitive-communication impairment: Disruptions in the use of definite references when speaking to individuals with amnesia

Duff, Melissa and Hengst, Julie and Gupta, Rupa and Tranel, Daniel and Cohen, Neal (2010) Distributed impact of cognitive-communication impairment: Disruptions in the use of definite references when speaking to individuals with amnesia. [Clinical Aphasiology Paper]

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Abstract

Definite references signal the belief that listeners can uniquely identify referents. Our previous research found participants with amnesia used fewer definite references, as directors in a barrier task, than comparison participants. If this is an interactional consequence of managing memory impairments (as opposed to a language deficit), we should expect a decrease in definite referencing by their communication partners. This paper presents a follow-up study in which the communication partners became directors. In addition to documenting the communicative and linguistic consequences of amnesia in interaction, this analysis may have implications for basic models of common ground.

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