Brain and Language 71, 78–81 (2000) doi:10.1006/brln.1999.2218, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on Aphasia Treatment: A Key Issue for Research into the Twenty-First Century Leslie J. Gonzalez Rothi, Stephen E. Nadeau, and Methlee R. Ennis North Florida/South Georgia Veteran’s Health System and the Department of Neurology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida The neuropsychology of human cognition has been of interest since bibli- cal times and has been an area of intense research for well over a century. Early research in language focused primarily upon patterns of language be- havior in patients with cerebral injury, and there was relatively little attention to aphasia rehabilitation. Until World War I, the majority of techniques used in aphasia rehabilitation were ‘‘borrowed’’ from the field of childhood edu- cation (Howard & Hatfield, 1987). In the few anecdotal notes or experimental studies reported during the early part of the twentieth century, the benefits of treatment were extolled (Franz, 1906, 1924; Froeschels, 1914, 1916; Gutz- man, 1896, 1916; Mills, 1904). The years following World War I witnessed an increase in aphasia treatment studies because of the large numbers of patients with penetrating cranial injuries returning from the war (Frazier & Ingham, 1920; Weisenburg & McBride, 1935). After World War II, the focus shifted to aphasia associated with stroke. Controversy soon developed re- garding the efficacy of aphasia treatment (for example, compare Barton, Mar- uszewski, & Urrea, 1970, and Sarno, Silverman, & Sands, 1970). This led Darley (1972) to suggest that research should focus on whether ‘‘. . . lan- guage rehabilitation accomplish(es) measurable gains in language function beyond (that which) can be expected to occur as a result of spontaneous recovery.’’ In the past fifteen years, we have witnessed an outpouring of investigations, most employing the single-subject, multiple baseline designs, that have authoritatively answered this question in the affirmative. These This paper was supported by a grant to Rothi and Nadeau from the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Leslie J. Gonzalez Rothi, Ph.D., Brain Reha- bilitation Research Center, Neurology Service-127, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gaines- ville, FL 32608. E-mail: gonzalez-rothi.leslie j@forum.va.gov. 78 0093-934X/00 $35.00 Copyright  2000 by Academic Press All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.