ABSTRACT
Although we still have not yet achieved the holy grail of a unified model of aphasia since the original version of this chapter was published, connectionist models have continued to play a role for many researchers in synthesizing complex data sets and understanding diverse, nonlinear patterns of speech and language behaviors among different people with aphasia. We briefly review the principles of connectionist models that were highlighted in the original chapter, and then discuss several connectionist models that have been published since that time to provide a sense of the direction in which the field is moving. In particular, attempts to explicitly incorporate more neurological concepts into connectionist models of aphasic language processing have created more opportunities to leverage the explanatory power of connectionist principles. Behavior emerges from the prior structure of processing networks responding to dynamic task demands, and connectionist models allow us to formalize these relationships to explain complex patterns of speech and language behavior that emerge after focal neurological damage.
