Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Research interests
Silke Coemans obtained her Master in Biomedical Sciences: Neurosciences at the University of Antwerp. She is currently pursueing a PhD in Neurolinguistics as a FWO Research Fellow, titled "Bilingualism and aging: the case of Primary Progressive Aphasia".
Summary of the Project:
Bilingualism is becoming the norm in our increasingly global, but also aging society. Whereas increased bilingualism is generally seen as a positive trend because it may have a beneficial effect on executive functions, the aging of our global population is not as it goes hand in hand with the proliferation of dementias. Our goal is to investigate the relationship between bilingualism, executive functions and dementias. We focus on people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA): a dementia specifically impairing language skills in the initial stage. In our project, these PPA patients will receive language therapy focused on problem areas in their first language (L1) complemented with cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in order to reinvigorate neural activation.
This project will investigate the effect of tDCS combined with language therapy on (1) the most severely impaired L1 and L2 skills, (2) the neural pathways implicated in speech and language functionsvia volume comparisons through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and (3) domain general executive functions subserving amongst otherslanguage control, which is of essential importance to bilinguals. It is expected that this project will broaden our understanding of language functions in the aging bilingual brain. With this project, we hope to contribute to ongoing discussions on the role of bilingualism in protecting against the first symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases.
Education/Academic qualification
Biomedical Sciences, Neurosciences
27 Sep 2016 → 28 Jun 2018
Keywords
- free keyword
- Neurolinguistics
- Primary Progressive Aphasia
- Bilingualism
- Executive Functions
- Aging
- transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
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Cerebellar tDCS in bilingual post-stroke aphasia: a case-study
Coemans, S., Struys, E., Tsapkini, K., Engelborghs, S., Vandenborre, D., Paquier, P., Wilssens, I. & Keulen, S., 2022, (Unpublished).Research output: Unpublished contribution to conference › Poster
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Cerebellar tDCS in bilingual post-stroke aphasia: a case-study
Coemans, S., Struys, E., Tsapkini, K., Engelborghs, S., Vandenborre, D., Paquier, P., Wilssens, I. & Keulen, S., 2022, (Unpublished).Research output: Unpublished contribution to conference › Poster
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Executive functions in primary progressive aphasia: A meta-analysis
Coemans, S., Keulen, S., Savieri, P., Tsapkini, K., Engelborghs, S., Chrispeels, N., Vandenborre, D., Paquier, P., Wilssens, I., Declerck, M. & Struys, E., Dec 2022, In: Cortex. 157, p. 304-322 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A Systematic Review of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Primary Progressive Aphasia: Methodological Considerations
Coemans, S., Struys, E., Vandenborre, D., Wilssens, I., Engelborghs, S., Paquier, P., Tsapkini, K. & Keulen, S., 7 Oct 2021, In: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 13, 17 p., 710818.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access4 Citations (Scopus) -
A Systematic Review on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Primary Progressive Aphasia: Methodological Considerations
Coemans, S., Struys, E., Vandenborre, D., Wilssens, I., Engelborghs, S., Paquier, P., Tsapkini, K. & Keulen, S., 10 Sep 2021.Research output: Unpublished contribution to conference › Poster
Prizes
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PhD Day Brussels Centre for Language Studies: Best Poster Award
Coemans, Silke (Recipient), 3 Jun 2022
Prize: Other distinction
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Activities
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Executive functions in primary progressive aphasia: A meta-analysis
Silke Coemans (Speaker), Stefanie Keulen (Contributor), Perseverence Savieri (Contributor), Kyrana Tsapkini (Contributor), Sebastiaan Engelborghs (Contributor), Nini Chrispeels (Contributor), Philippe Paquier (Contributor), Ineke Wilssens (Contributor), Mathieu Declerck (Contributor) & Esli Struys (Contributor)
9 Dec 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Talk or presentation at a workshop/seminar
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Executive Functions in Primary Progressive Aphasia: a Meta-analysis
Silke Coemans (Speaker), Stefanie Keulen (Contributor), Perseverence Savieri (Contributor), Kyrana Tsapkini (Contributor), Sebastiaan Engelborghs (Speaker), Nini Chrispeels (Contributor), Dorien Vandenborre (Contributor), Philippe Paquier (Contributor), Ineke Wilssens (Contributor), Mathieu Declerck (Contributor) & Esli Struys (Contributor)
27 May 2022 → 28 May 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Talk or presentation at a conference
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Cerebellar tDCS in bilingual post-stroke aphasia: a case-study
Silke Coemans (Speaker), Esli Struys (Contributor), Kyrana Tsapkini (Contributor), Dorien Vandenborre (Contributor), Sebastiaan Engelborghs (Contributor), Philippe Paquier (Contributor), Ineke Wilssens (Contributor) & Stefanie Keulen (Contributor)
12 Sep 2022 → 15 Sep 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Talk or presentation at a conference
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Workshop Multilingual Aphasia: Research and Treatment
Silke Coemans (Speaker)
17 Mar 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Talk or presentation at a workshop/seminar
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Radboud Summer School: Trends in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
Silke Coemans (Participant)
4 Jul 2022 → 8 Jul 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participating in or organizing a school event
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