Myrna F. Schwartz, PhD

Institute Scientist Emerita
Former Director of the Language and Aphasia Laboratory
Former Director of Research for the MossRehab Aphasia Center
Myrna F. Schwartz, PhD
Bio

Dr. Schwartz is co-founder of MRRI. Before coming to Moss, she earned a PhD in experimental psychology (University of Pennsylvania), completed a fellowship in behavioral neurology (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine), and held faculty appointments at Hopkins Medical School, Swarthmore College, and University of Pennsylvania.

At MRRI, Dr. Schwartz headed the Language and Aphasia Laboratory, which conducts basic and applied research on language processing impairments in stroke. She pioneered the use of convergent behavioral, computational, and neuroimaging methods to investigate how the mind and brain access the names of things.

Dr. Schwartz’s research program has received continuous NIH funding for more than 30 years. She has served on many NIH scientific review committees and frequently reviews for journals in psychology, neuroscience, and speech-language pathology.

Research Interests
  • Lexical access in aphasic and neurotypical speakers
  • Learning models of naming treatment effects
  • Spontaneous monitoring of speech errors
  • Mechanisms of executive control in language production
  • Semantic representation and access in the brain
  • Univariate and multivariate methods of lesion-symptom mapping
Selected Publications
2017

Schuchard J, Middleton EL, Schwartz MF. The timing of spontaneous detection and repair of naming errors in aphasia. Cortex. 2017 Aug;93:79-91. PubMed PMID:28624680; NIHMSID: NIHMS885514; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5536244.

2016

Middleton EL, Schwartz MF, Rawson KA, Traut H, Verkuilen J. Towards a Theory of Learning for Naming Rehabilitation: Retrieval Practice and Spacing Effects. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2016 Oct 1;59(5):1111-1122. PubMed PMID:27716858; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5345556.

Schwartz MF, Middleton EL, Brecher A, Gagliardi M, Garvey K. Does naming accuracy improve through self-monitoring of errors?. Neuropsychologia. 2016 Apr;84:272-81. PubMed PMID:26863091; NIHMSID: NIHMS769148; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4826482.

Pustina D, Coslett HB, Turkeltaub PE, Tustison N, Schwartz MF, et al. Automated segmentation of chronic stroke lesions using LINDA: Lesion identification with neighborhood data analysis. Hum Brain Mapp. 2016 Apr;37(4):1405-21.PubMed PMID:26756101; NIHMSID: NIHMS747597; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4783237.

Schwartz MF, Dell GS. Neurobiology of Language. Small S, Hickok G, editors. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 2016. Word production from the perspective of speech errors in aphasia; p.701-720.

2015

Schwartz MF. The Marin Lab at the Dawn of Cognitive Neuropsychology. Cogn Behav Neurol. 2015 Sep;28(3):122-6. PubMed PMID:26413736; NIHMSID: NIHMS719453; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4588055.

Schwartz MF, Middleton E.L, Hamilton R. (2015). Word retrieval impairment in adult aphasia. In R.H. Bahr and E.R. Silliman (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Communication Disorders. London: Routledge.

Mirman D, Chen Q, Zhang Y, Wang Z, Faseyitan OK, Coslett HB, Schwartz MF. (2015). Neural organization of spoken language revealed by lesion-symptom mapping. Nature Communications, 16, 6762.  PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4400840; PMID: 25879574.

Mirman D, Zhang Y, Wang Z, Coslett HB, Schwartz MF. The ins and outs of meaning: Behavioral and neuroanatomical dissociation of semantically-driven word retrieval and multimodal semantic recognition in aphasia. Neuropsychologia, 2015 Feb 12. pii: S0028-3932(15)00075-5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.014. [Epub ahead of print]   NIHMS682342; PMC4534364; PMID: 25681739

Middleton EL, Schwartz MF, Rawson KA, Garvey K. Test-enhanced learning versus errorless learning in aphasia rehabilitation: Testing competing psychological principles. (2015). Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 41, 1253-61. PMC4476962; PMID: 25528093

2014

Schwartz, M.F. (2014). Theoretical analysis of word production deficits in adult aphasia. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society B, Vol. 369, No. 1634, 20120390. PMID: 24324234

Schwartz, M.F., Middleton, E.L., & Hamilton, R. Word retrieval impairment in adult aphasia. To appear in: R.H. Bahr & E.R. Silliman (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of Communication Disorders, Routledge, New York.

Schwartz, M.F. & Dell, G.S. Word production from the perspective of speech errors in aphasia. To appear in: G. Hickok & S. Small (Eds). Neurobiology of Language, Elsevier: San Diego.

Zhang, Y., Kimberg, D.Y., Coslett, H.B., Schwartz, M.F., & Wang, Z. (2014). Multi-variate lesion-symptom mapping using support vector regression. Human Brain Mapping. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22590. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 25044213.

2013

Dell, G. S., Schwartz, M. F., Nozari, N., Faseyitan, O., & Coslett, H. B. (2013). Voxel-based lesion-parameter mapping: Identifying the neural correlates of a computational model of word production in aphasia. Cognition, 128, 380-396. PMID: 23765000

Middleton EL, Schwartz MF. (2013). Learning to fail in aphasia: an investigation of error learning in naming. J Speech Lang Hear Res., 56(4):1287-97. PMID: 23816662

2012

Middleton, E.L. & Schwartz, M.F. (2012). Errorless learning in cognitive rehabilitation: A critical review. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 22, 138-168. PMID: 22247957

Schwartz, M. F., Faseyitan, O., Kim, J., & Coslett, H. B. (2012). The dorsal stream contribution to phonological retrieval in object naming. Brain, 135, 3799-3814. PMID: 23171662

Thothathiri M, Gagliardi M, Schwartz MF. (2012). Subdivision of frontal cortex mechanisms for language production in aphasia. Neuropsychologia, 50(14):3284-94. PMID: 23022077

Thothathiri M, Kimberg DY, Schwartz MF. (2012). The neural basis of reversible sentence comprehension: evidence from voxel-based lesion symptom mapping in aphasia. J Cogn Neurosci.;24(1):212-22. PMID: 21861679

Walker, G.M. & Schwartz, M.F. (2012). Short form Philadelphia Naming Test: Rationale and empirical evaluation. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2012; 21: S140 – S153. PMID: 22294412

2011

Dell GS, Schwartz MF. (2011). Who’s in and who’s out? Inclusion criteria, model evaluation, and the treatment of exceptions in case series. Cogn Neuropsychol., 28(7):515-520. PMID: 22746692

Nozari, N., Dell, G.S., & Schwartz, M.F. (2011). Is comprehension necessary for error detection? A conflict-based account of monitoring in speech production. Cognitive Psychology, 63, 1-33. PMID: 21652015

Schwartz, M.F., Kimberg, D.Y., Walker, G.M., Brecher, A., Faseyitan, O., Dell, G.S., Mirman, D. & Coslett, H.B. (2011). Neuroanatomical dissociation for taxonomic and thematic knowledge in the human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108, 8520-8524. PMID: 21540329

Walker, G. M., Schwartz, M. F., Kimberg, D. Y., Faseyitan, O., Brecher, A., Dell, G. S., & Coslett, H.B. (2011). Support for anterior temporal involvement in semantic error production in aphasia: New evidence from VLSM. Brain and Language, 117, 110-122. PMID: 20961612

2010

Barde, L. H. F., Schwartz, M. F., Chrysikou, E. G., & Thompson-Schill, S. L. (2010). Reduced short-term memory span in aphasia and susceptibility to interference: Contribution of material-specific maintenance deficits. Neuropsychologia, 48(4), 909-920. PMID: 19925813

Middleton, E.L. & Schwartz, M.F. (2010). Density pervades: An analysis of phonological neighbourhood density effects in aphasic speakers with different types of naming impairment. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 27, 401-427. PMID: 21718214

Mirman, D., Strauss, T.J., Brecher, A., Walker, G.M., Sobel, P., Dell, G.S., & Schwartz, M.F. (2010). A large, searchable, web-based database of aphasic performance on picture naming and other tests of cognitive function. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 27, 495-504. PMID: 21714742

Nozari, N., Kittredge, A. K., Dell, G. S., & Schwartz, M. F. (2010). Naming and repetition in aphasia: Steps, routes, and frequency effects. Journal of Memory and Language, 63(4): 541-559. PMID: 21076661

Oppenheim, G. M., Dell, G. S., & Schwartz, M. F. (2010). The dark side of incremental learning: A model of cumulative semantic interference during lexical access in speech production. Cognition, 114, 227-452. PMID: 19854436

Schwartz, M. F., & Dell, G. S. (2010). Case series investigations in cognitive neuropsychology. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 27, 477-494. PMID: 21714756

Thothathiri, M., Schwartz, M. F., & Thompson-Schill, S. L. (2010). Selection for position: The role of left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in sequencing language. Brain and Language, 113(1), 28-38. PMID: 20149424

2009

Hsaio, E. Y., Schwartz, M. F., Schnur, T. T., & Dell, G. S. (2009). Temporal characteristics of semantic perseverations induced by blocked-cyclic picture naming. Brain and Language, 108(3), 133-144. PMID: 19138794

Schnur, T. T., Schwartz, M. F., Kimberg, D. Y., Hirshorn, E., Coslett, H. B., & Thompson-Schill, S. L. (2009). Localizing interference during naming: Convergent neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence for the function of Broca’s area. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(1), 322-327. PMID: 19118194

Schwartz, M. F., Kimberg, D. Y., Walker, G. M., Faseyitan, O., Brecher, A., Dell, G. S., & Coslett, H.B. (2009). Anterior temporal involvement in semantic word retrieval: VLSM evidence from aphasia. Brain, 132, 3411-3427. PMID: 19942676

2008

Fink RB, Bartlett MR, Lowery JS, Linebarger MC, Schwartz MF. (2008). Aphasic speech with and without SentenceShaper: Two methods for assessing informativeness. Aphasiology; 22(7-8):679-690. PMID: 18846247

Kittredge, A.K., Dell, G.S., Verkuilen, J., & Schwartz, M.F. (2008). Where is the effect of frequency in word production? Insights from aphasic picture-naming errors. Cognitive Neuropsychology. 25, 463-492. PMID: 18704797

Linebarger MC, Romania JF, Fink RB, Bartlett MR, Schwartz MF. (2008). Building on residual speech: a portable processing prosthesis for aphasia. J Rehabil Res Dev., 45(9):1401-14. PMID: 19319763

2007

Bartlett MR, Fink RB, Schwartz MF, Linebarger M. (2007). Informativeness ratings of messages created on an AAC processing prosthesis. Aphasiology;21(5):475-498. PMID: 18648580

Dell, G.S., Martin, N., & Schwartz, M.F. (2007). A case-series test of the interactive two-step model of lexical access: Predicting word repetition from picture naming. Journal of Memory and Language, 56, 490-520. PMID: 21085621

Giovannetti, T., Schwartz, M.F., & Buxbaum, L.J. (2007). The coffee challenge: A new method for the study of everyday action errors. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 29, 690-705. PMID: 17891679

Kimberg, D.Y., Coslett, H.B., & Schwartz, M.F. (2007). Power in voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19(7), pp. 1067-80. PMID: 17583984

2006

Barde, L.H.F., Schwartz, M.F., & Boronat, C. (2006). Semantic weight and verb retrieval in aphasia. Brain and Language, 97, 266-278. PMID: 16359726

Schnur, T.T., Schwartz, M.F., Brecher, A., & Hodgson, C., (2006). Semantic interference during blocked-cyclic naming. Evidence from aphasia. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 199-227.

Schwartz, M.F., Dell, G.S., Martin, N., Gahl, S., & Sobel, P. (2006). A case-series test of the interactive two-step model of lexical access: Evidence from picture naming. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 228-264. PMID: 21085621

Schwartz MF. The cognitive neuropsychology of everyday action and planning. (2006). Cogn Neuropsychol.;23(1):202-21. PMID: 21049328

2005

Cooper, R.P., Schwartz, M.F., Yule, P., & Shallice, T. (2005) The simulation of action disorganization in complex activities of daily living. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 22, 959-1004. PMID: 21038286

Schwartz, M.F., Brecher, A.R., Whyte, J.W., Klein, M.G. (2005). A patient registry for cognitive rehabilitation research: A strategy for balancing patients’ privacy rights with researchers’ need for access. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 86, 1807-1814. PMID: 16181947

Selected publications before 2005 (alphabetical, by author)

Buxbaum, L.J., Schwartz, M.F., & Carew, T.G. (1997). The role of semantic memory in object use. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 14, 219 – 254

Dell, G.S., Schwartz, M.F., Martin, N., Saffran, E.M., & Gagnon, D.A. (1997). Lexical Access in non-aphasic and aphasic speakers. Psychological Review, 104, 801 – 838. PMID: 9337631

Linebarger MC, Schwartz MF, Romania JR, Kohn SE, Stephens DL (2000). Grammatical encoding in aphasia: evidence from a “processing prosthesis”. Brain Lang. 2000;75(3):416-27. PMID: 11112295

Fink, R.B., Brecher, A., Schwartz,M. & Robey, R. (2002). A computer implemented protocol for treatment of naming disorders: Evaluation of clinician-guided and partially self-guided instruction. Aphasiology, 16 (10/11), 1061-1086.

Hart, T., Giovannetti, T., Montgomery, M.M., & Schwartz, M.F. (1998). Awareness of errors in naturalistic action after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 13, 16-28. PMID: 9753532

Linebarger, M., Schwartz, M.F., & Saffran, E.M. (1983). Sensitivity to grammatical structure in so-called agrammatic aphasics. Cognition, 13, 361-392. PMID: 6683142

Marin, O.S.M., Saffran, E.M., & Schwartz, M.F. (1976). Dissociations of language in aphasia: Implications for normal function. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 280, 868-884. PMID: 1070946

Martin N, Dell GS, Saffran EM, Schwartz MF. Origins of paraphasias in deep dysphasia: testing the consequences of a decay impairment to an interactive spreading activation model of lexical retrieval. (1994) Brain Lang. 47(4):609-60. PMID: 7859057

Roach, A., Schwartz, M.F., Martin, N., Grewal, R.S., & Brecher, A. (1996). The Philadelphia Naming Test: Scoring and Rationale. Clinical Aphasiology, 24, 121-133.

Saffran, E.M., Berndt, R.S., & Schwartz, M.F. (1989). The quantitative analysis of agrammatic production: Procedure and data. Brain and Language, 37, 440-479. PMID: 2804622

Saffran EM, Schwartz MF. (1994). Impairment of sentence comprehension. Philos Trans RSoc Lond B Biol Sci.;346(1315):47-53. Review. PMID: 7886152

Saffran, E. M., & Schwartz, M. F. (1994). Of cabbages and things: Semantic memory from a neuropsychological perspective—A tutorial review. In C. Umilta & M. Moscovitch (Eds.), Attention and performance XV: Conscious and nonconscious information processing (pp. 507-536). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Bradford.

Saffran, E.M., Schwartz, M.F., & Marin, O.S.M. (1980). The word order problem in agrammatism: II. Production. Brain and Language, 10, 249-262. PMID: 7407547

Saffran, E.M., Schwartz, M.F., & Marin, O.S.M. (1980). Evidence from aphasia: Isolating the components of a production model. In B.Butterworth (Ed.), Language Production. London: Academic Press.

Schwartz, M.F. (1984). What the classical aphasia categories can’t do for us, and why. Brain and Language, 21, 3-8.

Schwartz, M.F. (1987). Patterns of speech production deficit within and across aphasia syndromes: Application of a psycholinguistic model. In M.Coltheart, R.Job, & G. Sartori (Eds.), The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Language. London: Erlbaum.

Schwartz, M.F. (Ed.). (1990). Modular Deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease. Cambridge, MA: Bradford/MIT Press.

Schwartz, M.F. (1995). Re-examining the role of executive functions in routine action production. In Annals of the New York Academy of Science: Proceedings of a Workshop on the Structure and Functions of the Human Prefrontal Cortex, 769, 321-335.

Schwartz, M.F., & Brecher, A. (2000). A model-driven analysis of severity, response characteristics, and partial recovery in aphasics’ picture naming. Brain and Language, 73, 62-91. PMID: 10872638

Schwartz, M.F., Buxbaum, L.J., Ferraro, M., Veramonti, T., & Segal, M. (2003). Naturalistic action test. Suffolk, England: Pearson Assessment, Oxford UK.

Schwartz, M.F. & Hodgson, C. (2002). A new multiword naming deficit: Evidence and interpretation. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 19, 263-288. PMID: 20957540

Schwartz, M.F., Mayer, N.H., DeSalme, E.J.F., & Montgomery, M. (1993). Cognitive theory and the study of everyday action disorders after brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 8, 59-72.

Schwartz, M.F., Reed, E.S., Montgomery, M., Palmer, C, & Mayer, N. (1991). The quantitative description of action disorganization after brain damage: A case study. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 8, 381-414.

Schwartz, M.F., Saffran, E.M., Bloch, D.E., & Dell, G.S. (1994). Disordered speech production in aphasic and normal speakers. Brain and Language, 47, 52-88. PMID: 7922477

Schwartz, M.F., Saffran, E.M., Fink, R.B., Myers, J.L., & Martin, N. (1994). Mapping therapy: A treatment program for agrammatism. Aphasiology, 8, 19-54.

Schwartz, M.F., Saffran, E.M., & Marin, O.S.M. (1979). Dissociation of language function in dementia: A case study. Brain and Language, 7, 227-306. PMID: 455049

Schwartz, M.F., Saffran, E.M., & Marin, O.S.M. (1980). The word order problem in agrammatism: I. Comprehension. Brain and Language, 10, 263-280. PMID: 7407546

Schwartz, M.F., Saffran, E.M., & Marin, O.S.M. (1980). Fractionating the reading process in dementia: Evidence for word-specific print-to-sound associations. In M.Coltheart, K.Patterson & J.C.Marshall (Eds.), Deep Dyslexia. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Schwartz, M.F., & Schwartz, B. (1984). In defense of organology: A review of Jerry Fodor’s The Modularity of Mind. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 1, 25-42.