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PubMed2006

Analysis of fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer and vocal intensity in children with phonological disorders.

UNLABELLED: Phonological Disorder is a disturbance of primary manifestation of undefined causes that makes speech become unintelligible. The analysis of vocal parameters becomes important in the process of diagnosis of this disorder, since voice disorders could interfere in the production of speech sounds. AIM: The objective of this study was to verify vocal characteristics related to the intensity and fundamental frequency--F0--and their disturbance indexes--jitter and shimmer--in children with phonological disorders. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical prospective with transversal cohort. MATERIAL AND METHOD: There were 40 children, 20 of them with phonological disorders and 20 with no speech and language disturbances. Phonological exams with the ABFW infantile language test and spontaneous speech were applied. The Computer Speech Lab was used to record and perform acoustic analyses of the vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, through the vocal parameters: fundamental frequency, intensity, jitter and shimmer. RESULTS: F0--vowel /e/ was smaller, on average, in the Phonological Disorder Group and it was 126 Hz in the Control Group. To shimmer and jitter there was no evidence that the means of the Phonological Disorder Group were different from the ones of the Control Group (p= 0.191, p= 0.865, respectively). As for intensity, there was evidence that the average did not differ in the Phonological Disorder Group and the Control Group (p= 0.002). CONCLUSION: The frequency of the vowel /e/ was smaller in the Phonological Disorder Group. There was difference between the two groups regarding the means of intensity of vowels /a/, /e/ and /i/, smaller in the Phonological Disorder Group. No differences between the groups were found regarding the averages of jitter and shimmer.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1989

[A study on restriction of the areas working in speech function--application of multivariate analysis of aphasia test data and of lesions on CT images, by composing a "restricted-aphasia-lesion-map"].

Computed tomography (CT) gave a large contribution to morphological analysis of the aphasia syndromes. The aphasia problems are, however, still controversial and have many unresolved issues, even from a morphological point of view. In most cases with cerebral vascular lesion causing speech dysfunction, we are able to define an extent of density change on CT images. But its extent seems to be often not consistent with the area supposed to be deranged in functional work-up of speech. CT appearance of some areas may be little changed or normal when those areas are to be in poor condition in their functional maintenance. This may be due to such a vascular supply which permits brain tissues to be sustained but which does not work for their function to be normally performed. From 642 cases with cerebral vascular lesion we reviewed CT images of 382 cases: 171 cases having a lesion in the left hemisphere and 46 of them showing aphasia syndrome; 151, a lesion in the right hemisphere alone and 3, aphasic; and 60 cases having lesions on both sides and 7 showing aphasia syndrome. First, we determined anatomically the extent of CT change in 102 cases, all right-handed, with a lesion in the left hemisphere. The extents were piled and made up to a "non-aphasia-lesion-map". This map was used for eliminating those areas as not working in speech function. The other map of the areas was made out of CT images of aphasia cases (33 cases including one agraphia). The latter map was put upon the "non-aphasia-lesion-map", so that the very area working in speech function could be more restricted. The third map, "restricted-aphasia-lesion-map" demonstrated those areas related to speech function: (1) the region limited around the three rami in the Sylvian fissure (Broca A); (2) the inferior frontal gyrus and the posterior aspect of the middle frontal gyrus (Broca B); (3) the inferior aspect of the cortex and subcortex of the Reil's island; (4) most of the middle temporal gyrus, the posterior third of the superior temporal gyrus, a large portion of the supramarginal gyrus and a part of the limbic system; (5) a large portion of the limbic system; (6) the anterior aspect of the superior frontal gyrus; and (7) the corpus callosum. The Standard Language Test for Aphasia (SLTA) was applied for 33 cases of aphasia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1977

A comparison of two Spanish tests of receptive language.

Twenty Spanish-speaking Mexican-American children were administered the receptive portion of the Screening Test of Spanish Grammar (STSG) and the Spanish version of the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language (TACL). The correlation obtained between the two tests was not statistically significant. The correlation obtained between 24 syntactical items common to both tests was also not statistically significant. The probable reasons for the nonsignificant correlations obtained are discussed. In addition, a detailed critique of the Spanish version of the TACL is presented.

Child↗
PubMed1979

Pathophysiological effects of Möbius syndrome on speech and hearing.

The effects of Möbius syndrome (MoS) on the functioning of the peripheral speech and hearing mechanisms has not hithertofore been described, to my knowledge. Speech and hearing function of an 8-year-old MoS speaker was studied. Data were obtained from several sources. These included: electromyography of the facial muscles, physical examination of the peripheral speech mechanism, speech and language test batteries, audiological evaluation, and acoustic analyses of the speech signal. A pathologic condition was found to exist in a number of cranial nerves and in structures in the oral cavity. This resulted in consonant and vowel misarticulations, which notably affected speech intelligibility. Middle ear dysfunction was also present. Neurological mechanisms are discussed to account for these pathologies in human communication. Strategies for speech therapy and future research in MoS are presented.

Abducens Nerve↗
PubMed1999

In vivo brain concentrations of N-acetyl compounds, creatine, and choline in Alzheimer disease.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer disease (AD) and normal aging result in cortical gray matter volume deficits. The extent to which the remaining cortex is functionally compromised can be estimated in vivo with magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of age and dementia on gray matter and white matter concentrations of 3 metabolites visible in the proton spectrum: N-acetyl compounds, present only in living neurons; creatine plus phosphocreatine, reflecting high-energy phosphate metabolism; and choline, increasing with membrane synthesis and degradation. METHOD: Fifteen healthy young individuals, 19 healthy elderly individuals, and 16 patients with AD underwent 3-dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging and memory and language testing. RESULTS: Gray matter N-acetyl compound concentrations (signal intensity corrected for the amount of brain tissue contributing to the magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging signal) was significantly reduced only in patients with AD, even though both the AD and elderly control groups had substantial gray matter volume deficits relative to the young control group. Both the healthy elderly and AD groups had abnormally high gray matter creatine plus phosphocreatine concentrations. Gray matter choline concentrations were higher in the elderly than the younger controls, and even higher in the AD group than in the elderly control group. Functional significance of these findings was supported by correlations between poorer performance on recognition memory tests and lower gray matter N-acetyl compounds in elderly controls and higher gray matter creatine plus phosphocreatine and choline concentrations in patients with AD. CONCLUSION: Cortical gray matter volume deficits in patients with AD are accompanied by disease-related increases in gray matter choline concentrations suggestive of cellular degeneration and reduced N-acetyl compound concentrations, with possible effects on behavioral function.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Detection and explanation of sentence ambiguity are unaffected by hippocampal lesions but are impaired by larger temporal lobe lesions.

We address the recent suggestion that the "hippocampal system" is important for understanding ambiguities in language (MacKay et al., J Cogn Neurosci 1998;10:377-394). Seven amnesic patients and 11 controls first decided whether a sentence was ambiguous and then tried to explain the ambiguity. Three amnesic patients with damage limited to the hippocampal formation and one amnesic patient with primarily diencephalic damage performed like the controls in all respects. Thus, the ability to comprehend ambiguity is independent of the hippocampal formation. By contrast, three patients with larger temporal lobe lesions, which extended beyond the medial temporal lobe, were impaired to about the same degree as the noted amnesic patient H.M. (as reported by Lackner, Neuropsychologia 1974;12:199-207; MacKay et al., J Cogn Neurosci 1998;10:377-394). Patient H.M., like our 3 impaired patients, has some damage outside the medial temporal lobe. However, patient H.M. also had additional difficulties on these and other language tests that the patients with larger temporal lobe lesions did not exhibit. Accordingly, it is possible that H.M.'s impairment has a different basis.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Neuropsychological performance in early and late onset Alzheimer's disease: comparisons in a memory clinic population.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the neuropsychological performance associated with early and late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), in order to identify differences and compare these with previous reports. METHODS: Patients attending a memory clinic were given a detailed multi-disciplinary diagnostic assessment, including a battery of neuropsychological tests. From those meeting ICD-10 criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD), an early-onset (EO) group (n = 40) and a late-onset (LO) group (n = 90) were identified, and their performances compared. Patients with mixed dementia and co-morbid depression were excluded. RESULTS: After adjustment, the EO and LO groups performed at a comparable level on the majority of the neuropsychological tests. The LO group performed better on the WAIS digit span test, AMIPB Complex Design and the written picture description, and the EO group performed better on the WAIS similarities test and the Boston naming test. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that, after adjusting for overall dementia severity and pre-morbid IQ, there is greater fronto-parietal/right hemisphere involvement in early-onset AD, and greater temporal/left hemisphere involvement in late-onset AD. This may be due to different genetic risk profiles for AD at different ages.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed2004

Importance of treatment efficacy research on language comprehension in MR/DD research.

The purpose of this review is to discuss the importance of treatment efficacy research in language comprehension in MR/DD populations. Although receptive language deficit is an integral part of most MR/DD typologies, there have been relatively few studies evaluating the effectiveness or efficacy of treatment for this condition. Recently, there has been increased attention placed on auditory processing in children with disabilities, an aspect of cognition related to receptive language, but there have also been few studies investigating the effectiveness or efficacy of training designed to improve auditory processing. In addition to arguing that additional studies in this area are needed, the review includes several theoretical frameworks for addressing the treatment of receptive language deficits in MR/DD.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed2005

Assessment of social communication skills in preschoolers.

This paper orients the reader to social communication assessment and reviews methods for assessing social communication behavior in children from toddlerhood through the preschool years. Most standardized, normed tests of language in this age range focus on morpho-syntactic and semantic comprehension and production abilities. While social communication is perhaps one of the most important skills for peer acceptance, these skills are often overlooked in language evaluation with children. However, there are a number of caregiver questionnaires, interviews, or direct social-communication sampling methods that are available to assist clinicians or researchers in documenting social-communication skills or behaviors. Since assessment of social communication is essential in clinical work with children with an autism spectrum disorder, some of the tools described below are outgrowths of autism research or provide autism-related scores. While many children receiving social communication assessments do not have autism, the need to assess social communication skills in children with language impairment is highlighted by the growing literature documenting social and pragmatic difficulties in this population (Bishop 2000 Causes, Characteristics, Intervention, and Outcome. Hove, UK: Psychology press). Regardless of whether the measures presented herein were initially designed for children with autism or not, they will provide insights into the social communicative behaviors or tendencies in young children.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2003

"A school for all kinds of minds." The impact of neuropsychiatric disorders, gender and ethnicity on school-related tasks administered to 9-10-year-old children.

This cross-sectional study of reading,writing and mathematics skills in a total population of 589 children attending 4th grade in regular public schools showed that neuropsychiatric disorder was a strong predictor of poor performance, girls scored better than boys on language tests and some mathematics test, and immigrant children had similar results as native Swedish children on most tests. Sixty percent of boys with and 7% of boys without DAMP (Deficits in Attention,Motor control and Perception) or ADHD (Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) had substantial school difficulties. The rate of children requiring individualised special education measures was estimated at a minimum of 15%. This constitutes a major challenge to a society claiming to offer equal opportunities and participation for all children.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1980

Preschool language disorders and subsequent language and academic difficulties.

Sixty-three language-disordered children first evaluated in their preschool years were followed four to five years after initial diagnosis. At follow-up approximately 40% of these children continued to present speech and language problems and approximately 40% presented other learning problems. Preschool levels of language comprehension, formulation, semantics, syntax, phonology, and speech production were found to be moderately correlated to subsequent class placement in the elementary grades. Duration of preschool therapy was not related to either the severity of preschool language disorder or to any subsequent speech, language, or academic abilities. Duration of school therapy was related to severity of phonologic deficit as rated during the preschool years and to all follow-up ratings for speech, language, and academic abilities.

Achievement↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Contextual strategy instruction: socially/emotionally maladjusted adolescents with language impairments.

Ten socially/emotionally maladjusted adolescents with language impairments (SEM/LI) and ten non-impaired adolescents received four treatment sessions in the use of a "context clues strategy" for facilitating comprehension of unfamiliar words in four sentence types. Both groups improved their ability to use a context clues strategy following direct instruction. The SEM/LI subjects exhibited greater difficulty with the appositive sentence type than did the non-impaired subjects. The results indicated that SEM/LI adolescents probably would benefit from receiving direct instruction involving any of the three other sentence types (i.e., cause/effect, example, grouping), prior to instruction involving the appositive sentence type

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1987

Impaired speech shadowing after early lesions of either hemisphere.

Patients with unilateral (right, left), non-progressive cerebral lesions incurred in infancy (prior to age one) or childhood (ages one to fifteen) were asked to shadow (rapidly repeat) passages of speech either in the form of syntactically correct sentences or random word order (RWO) sentences presented at varying rates. Both patient groups and same-age controls made more errors with faster rates of presentation. Error frequency was significantly higher for all patient groups than for controls, but did not significantly differ among the patient groups themselves. The abnormal performance of the group with later childhood right hemisphere lesions was remarkable in view of that group's normal function on other language tests and normal verbal IQ score, and suggested that the cause of the problem in this group was either a specific linguistic factor not assessed by the other tests or a general factor brought out by speech shadowing.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Eye movements, verbal material recall and negative symptoms in chronic schizophrenia.

Eye movements in response to verbal stimuli (Japanese cursive syllabary from the Standard Language test of Aphasia) were examined in 20 chronic schizophrenics diagnosed by DSM III and 15 normal controls. In chronic schizophrenics, the number of correct recalls in the test were lower than those in the normal controls, both the deviation indices and maximum deviation indices (the degree of fixation-time deviation) of chronic schizophrenics were higher than those of controls. Thus in chronic schizophrenics the fixation time for each character had greater deviation than in controls, and fixation on a single character was longer than in controls. In chronic schizophrenics there were significant negative correlations between syllables correctly recalled and both the deviation indices and the maximum deviation indices, while there were no significant correlations in controls. There were significant positive correlations between the four fixation time parameters; average fixation time on one character, deviation indices, maximum and minimum deviation indices and the severity of schizophrenia, especially that of negative symptoms. The results showed that chronic schizophrenics had distinct fixation time differences when presented with verbal stimuli, suggesting a mnemonic strategy deficit. The degree of fixation time deviation depended on the severity of negative symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Neuropsychological assessment in illiterates. II. Language and praxic abilities.

A basic neuropsychological examination of language and praxic abilities was administered to extreme educational groups (100 illiterates and 100 professionals). Subjects were matched according to sex and age (16-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, and 56-65). The following tasks were included: language comprehension, phonological discrimination, naming (objects, figures, and body parts), repetition of words, verbal fluency, calculation, buccofacial and ideomotor praxis, finger alternating movements, meaningless movements, cancellation task, coordinated movements with both hands, and motor impersistence tasks. All the differences between the two educational groups were statistically significant. Two of the eight language tests (phonological discrimination and naming figures) and three of the seven praxic tests (buccofacial praxis, coordinated movements, and cancellation task) showed differences between age groups with a better performance in the younger groups. Calculation tasks and ideomotor praxis showed differences between sexes with a better performance in males. Influence of educational factors in performing routine neuropsychological tests is analyzed.

Adolescent↗