Date of Award

Spring 2026

Abstract

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is used as the central communication modality by many individuals with a wide variety of communication disorders. However, the neural processes involved in learning or relearning language via AAC are largely unknown. This results in a research gap that has broad implications for success versus failure with AAC use. Thus, as foundational research for later work investigating clinical populations, this study aims to explore the difference in cortical activity during verb production via an AAC system versus spoken production in healthy participants. It is hypothesized that if an AAC device is used to produce verbs, then there will be a difference in the cortical activity within the language regions of the brain as compared to verbs produced using spoken production. Healthy participants (n = 30) were recruited to produce 40 target verbs, both spoken and with the AAC system CoughDrop. The participants engaged in one session, including a training protocol in which they learned to produce words on the AAC device, followed by the main task, in which they produced the 40 target stimuli using either AAC or spoken speech while cortical activity was measured using fNIRS. NIRx’s Satori, specifically a General Linear Model (GLM), was used to analyze the data. Results show significant differences in 20/29 channels when AAC was used instead of speech. An increase in activation was seen in the left anterior prefrontal cortex of the brain, suggesting that Broca’s area had increased use during the novel task of using the AAC system as compared to spoken production.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

First Advisor

Szu Han Kay Chen

Second Advisor

Marisa Nagano

Third Advisor

Erin Meier

Department or Program

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Degree Name

Master of Science

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