TBIBank English Coelho Corpus


Carl Coelho
Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences
University of Connecticut

Participants: 55 speakers with closed head injuries, 52 controls
Type of Study: discourse -- story retelling, story generation, conversation
Location: USA
Media type: audio
DOI: doi:10.21415/T5Q01Z

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Citation information

Coelho, C. A. (2002). Story narratives of adults with closed head injury and non-brain-injured adults: influence of socioeconomic status, elicitation task, and executive functioning. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45, 1232-1248.

Coelho, C. A., Youse, K. M., & Lê, K. N. (2002). Conversational discourse in closed-head-injured and non-brain-injured adults. Aphasiology, 16(4-6), 659-672.

Coelho, C. A., Youse, K., Lê, K., & Feinn, R. (2003). Narrative and conversational discourse of adults with closed head injuries and non-brain-injured adults: A discriminant analysis. Aphasiology, 17(5), 499-510.

Coelho, C. A., Grela, B., Corso, M., Gamble, A., & Feinn, R. (2005). Microlinguistic deficits in the narrative discourse of adults with traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 19(13), 1139-1145.

Peach, R. K., & Hanna, L. E. (2021). Sentence-level processing predicts narrative coherence following traumatic brain injury: evidence in support of a resource model of discourse processing. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 1-17.

Youse, K. M., & Coelho, C. A. (2005). Working memory and discourse production abilities following closed-head injury. Brain Injury, 19(12), 1001-1009.

Youse, K., Coelho, C., Mozeiko, J., & Feinn, R. (2005). Discourse characteristics of closed-head-injured and non-brain-injured adults misclassified by discriminant function analyses. Aphasiology, 19(3-5), 297-313.

Guidelines for citations when using these data. (The citations are given in full in the above list of references.)

If you use the conversation data, please cite:

If you use the story narrative data please cite:

If you compare narrative and conversation please cite:

If you use the Peach data (see explanation and links below) please cite:

Project Description

This corpus comprises discourse and conversation samples from 55 native speakers of English with closed head injuries and 52 native speakers of English with no brain injury. Each group and language task is described below.

Closed Head Injury (CHI) Participants

CHI participants (n=55) were selected who had recovered a high level of functional language; they had achieved fluent conversation and did not demonstrate appreciable deficits on traditional clinical language tests. All CHI participants met the following criteria:

  • no history of substance abuse or psychiatric illness;
  • visual acuity and visual perceptual abilities adequate to distinguish stimulus materials;
  • hearing acuity adequate to follow task directions;
  • aphasia quotient (AQ) on the Western Aphasia Battery above 93;
  • no significant motor speech disorder as determined by an experienced speech-language pathologist;
  • Rancho Los Amigos Level of Cognitive Functioning of VII (automatic-appropriate) or above;
  • Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test score of 75 or above; and
  • Dementia Rating Scale score of 120 or above.

    Participants ranged in age from 16–69 (mean = 28.6). Years of education ranged from 9–21 (mean = 13.0). All of the participants’ injuries were rated as either moderate (duration of coma less than 6 hours) or severe (duration of coma greater than 6 hours) on the basis of criteria established by Lezak (1995). Time post-onset ranged from 1–99 months (mean = 10.5). Participant characteristics are given in Table 1. The “Class” column indicates S for Skilled, U for Unskilled, and P for Professional according to the Hollingshead (1972) rating; “LOC” is length of coma.

    Table 1. Demographic data for CHI participants
    Note: in LOC column, d=days, h=hours, m=minutes

    ID Age Sex Educ Class MPO LOC Cause of injury (CT/MRI findings)
    TB01 21 M 10 U 8 4 d MVA - multiple contusions: left frontal & right posterior temporal lobes
    TB02 39 M 10 U 2 13 d MVA - edema left temporo-parietal & right parietal regions
    TB03 45 F 15 S 10 42 d MVA - left frontal subdural hematoma
    TB04 28 M 12 U 1 3 d MVA - negative
    TB05 21 F 12 S 8 NA MVA - cerebral contusion
    TB06 24 M 14 S 6 63 d MVA - small right frontal subdural hematoma & left hemorrhagic contusion
    TB07 23 M 12 U 3 <24 h MVA - intraventricular blood
    TB08 21 M 14 P 4 19 d MVA - hemorrhage of left frontal lobe with bony fragments adjacent to right superior orbital fissure & right optic nerve compression
    TB09 17 M 13 S 2 3 d MVA - bilateral contusions, left hemorrhagic contusion
    TB10 22 M 16 P 1 NA MVA - multiple areas of high density in brain parenchyma, subdural & subarachnoid hemorrhage in region of interhemispheric fissures
    TB011 21 M 12 U 9 <24 h MVA - small lesion left basal ganglia, left frontal contusion
    TB012 19 M 12 U 2 4 d MVA - left parietal epidural hematoma & small right subdural hematoma
    TB013 20 M 13 S 21 6 d MVA - subarachnoid hemorrhage & generalized edema
    TB014 33 F 14 U 17 21 d MVA - subarachnoid blood on upper temporo-parietal region
    TB015 20 M 9 U 43 99 d MVA - diffuse encephalopathy & local structural lesion right frontal-parietal area
    TB016 27 F 14 P 1 <5 m MVA - right frontotemporal contusion with intracerebral hemorrhage, displacement of left ventricle, small subarachnoid hemorrhage
    TB017 30 M 12 S 2 7 d MVA - contusion deep in right hemisphere, blood in subarachnoid space in region of frontal intrahemispheric fissure
    TB018 20 F 12 U 3 21 d MVA - bilateral cerebral edema
    TB019 17 M 11 P 3 NA MVA - high midbrain contusion, soft tissue swelling in right fronto-temporal region
    TB020 21 M 12 U 6 21 d MVA - posterior fossa hemorrhage including left cerebellar contusion, intra-vetricular hemorrhage, & CNS edema with compression of brainstem
    TB021 22 F 16 P 2 14 d MVA - multiple parenchymal hemorrhages
    TB022 16 M 12 P 3 17 d MVA - bilateral hemorrhagic contusions left > right, left frontal epidural hematoma
    TB023 33 M 14 S 1 4 d MVA - multiple petechial hemorrhages & diffuse edema
    TB024 19 F 12 S 2 3 d MVA - mild lateral ventricular enlargement
    TB025 49 M 21 P 2 <24 h MVA - subarachnoid hemorrhage left occipital area
    TB026 47 M 18 P 2 10 d Fall - right frontal contusion with subdural hematoma, right frontal lobectomy performed
    TB027 26 M 13 S 2 17 d hematoma & subarachnoid blood
    TB028 16 M 1o U 1 3 d MVA - left frontal contusion & left posterior internal capsule contusion
    TB029 27 M 12 S 2 none Struck by car - negative
    TB030 29 M 12 U 2 14 d Struck with bat - diffuse edema with punctate contusions & scattered hemorrhages, right posterior temporo-parietal contusion with mass effect
    TB031 28 M 12 U 1 7 d Fall - right fronto-temporal contusion with subdural hematoma & edema
    TB032 28 F 12 U 2 <20 m MVA - edema right parietal lobe
    TB033 24 F 13 S 9 24 d MVA - right frontal & parietal hematomas, right parietal craniotomy
    TB034 22 M 16 P 2 4 d MVA - intraventricular subarachnoid hemorrhage, bilateral frontal & right parietal contusions, left ventricular bleed, diffuse edema
    TB035 20 F 12 P 33 42 d MVA - subarachnoid air secondary to basilar skull fracture, multiple contusions in both hemispheres, small amount ventricular blood
    TB036 54 M 16 P 8 none Struck by car - multiple bilateral lacerations
    TB037 16 F 11 P 1 <2 h MVA - blood in left occipital horn with probable small hemorrhage, right frontal lobe contusion
    TB038 19 M 12 S 2 NA MVA - frontal skull fracture
    TB039 42 M 16 P 7 NA MVA - NA
    TB040 17 M 11 S 4 NA MVA - NA
    TB041 33 F 15 P 12 NA MVA - NA
    TB042 21 F 11 U 1 7 d MVA - NA
    TB043 60 M 12 S 28 21 d Fall - NA
    TB044 31 M 12 U 29 30 d Fall - multiple skull fractures, left cerebral aneurysm clipped
    TB045 47 M 18 P 14 <24 h Fall - edema left hemisphere
    TB046 18 F 12 S 8 35 d MVA - NA
    TB047 69 F 13 S 75 30 d MVA - NA
    TB048 34 M 13 S 99 45 d MVA - NA
    TB049 40 F 16 P 26 none MVA - NA
    TB050 18 M 12 P 2 2 d MVA - NA
    TB051 55 M 18 P 1 <24 h MVA - NA
    TB052 29 M 10 U 7 none MVA - NA
    TB053 27 M 12 S 1 10 d MVA - NA
    TB054 19 M 10 U 18 90 d MVA - NA
    TB055 25 M 12 U 8 21 d Fall - right temporal contusion with scattered subarachnoid hemorrhages

    No Brain Injury (NBI) Participants

    Participants (n=50) were hospital employees who were native speakers of English. No one in this group reported a history of neurologic disease or injury, psychiatric condition or substance abuse. All passed hearing and vision screening. These participants were matched as closely as possible with individuals from the TBI group on the basis of age and gender. Mean age was 31.9 years (ranging from 16–63 years old). Level of education ranged from 11–22 years (mean = 14.2 years). Participant characteristics are given in Table 2.

    Table 2. Demographic data for NBI Participants

    ID Age Sex Educ Class
    N01 56 M 13 P
    N02 63 M 12 S
    N03 54 M 12 P
    N04 18 M 12 U
    N05 22 F 12 U
    N06 23 F 12 U
    N07 28 M 11 U
    N08 46 F 18 P
    N09 22 F 17 P
    N10 22 F 16 S
    N11 56 F 13 S
    N12 32 M 12 U
    N13 26 M 12 U
    N14 26 M 12 U
    N15 31 M 14 U
    N16 46 M 12 U
    N17 43 F 12 U
    N18 58 M 12 U
    N19 26 M 12 U
    N20 26 F 12 U
    N21 28 M 11 U
    N22 33 M 12 U
    N23 19 F 12 U
    N24 25 M 14 U
    N25 30 F 18 P
    N26 18 M 12 U
    N27 23 F 18 P
    N28 26 F 16 S
    N29 46 F 14 S
    N30 48 M 14 S
    N31 59 M 18 P
    N32 39 M 22 P
    N33 28 M 17 S
    N34 52 M 22 P
    N35 51 M 17 P
    N36 30 M 17 P
    N37 24 M 16 S
    N38 25 F 18 P
    N39 26 F 18 P
    N40 30 M 16 S
    N41 26 F 17 S
    N42 38 M 17 P
    N43 26 M 12 S
    N44 16 M 11 S
    N45 17 M 11 S
    N46 18 M 12 P
    N47 17 M 11 U
    N48 16 M 11 P
    N49 18 M 11 P
    N50 17 M 11 S

    Discourse Elicitation Procedures

    Two discourse samples were elicited from all participants: story retelling and story generation. An informal conversation sample was also collected. Each discourse task took about 15 minutes to complete.

    Discourse Samples

  • Story retelling task. Participants were shown a film strip of the picture story, The Bear and the Fly. The picture story has 19 frames with no sound track and shows how a Father Bear inadvertently wrecks his house and mistreats his family in an attempt to kill a bothersome fly. After viewing the filmstrip the participants were instructed: ‘Tell me that story’. When a participant stopped telling the story, the examiner waited 10 seconds and then asked, ‘Is that the end of the story?’ If the participant answered affirmatively, the task was ended.
  • Story generation task. Participants were presented with a reproduction of the Norman Rockwell painting, “The Runaway”. The picture depicts a small boy and a large, friendly policeman sitting at a diner counter. The boy has a knapsack attached to a stick lying on the floor by his feet. A counterman is facing the boy and the policeman and seems to be amused by the situation. The participants were instructed: ‘Tell me a story about what you think is happening in this picture’. The picture remained in view of the examiner and participant until the task was completed. When a participant stopped telling the story, the examiner waited 10 seconds and then asked, ‘Is that the end of the story?’ If the participant answered affirmatively, the task was ended.

    Conversation

    The examiner engaged each participant in an informal conversation for approximately 10 minutes.

    Note: These audio files are not transcribed due to poor sound quality: TB28, TB30, TB31, TB42, TB46, TB53, N24.

    Peach Transcripts

    Richard Peach, Ph.D., (Rush University) contributed a set of coded transcripts from 24 TBI participants' story retell of The Bear and the Fly. The transcripts are coded for global coherence, inter-sentential cohesion, and intra-sentential production behaviors (pause time and mazes) and can be found here. The codes are explained in the article (citation and link above), and each transcript has a list of the codes used in that transcript. The folder also contains a demographics file and a Readme file with information about the pause notations used in the transcripts.
    NOTE: These files were converted from SALT to CHAT format. They need more work to be in legal CHAT format and fully usable in CLAN. This could be a good student project that we hope will happen soon. In the meantime, it is valuable and instructive to have these transcripts available for research and training purposes.

    Acknowledgements

    Lillian Jarold, Anthony Kelly, and Andrew Yankes reformatted this corpus into accord with current versions of CHAT.