P 119 - Machine learning as a tool to ensure movement quality in balance training exergames

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): E. Klæbo Vonstad, B. Vereijken, J.H. Nilsen, K. Bach

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P 119 - Machine learning as a tool to ensure movement quality in balance training exergames

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): E. Klæbo Vonstad, B. Vereijken, J.H. Nilsen, K. Bach

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Treatment for Residual Rhotic Errors With High- and Low-Frequency Ultrasound Visual Feedback: A Single-Case Experimental Design

Purpose

The aim of this study was to explore how the frequency with which ultrasound visual feedback (UVF) is provided during speech therapy affects speech sound learning.

Method

Twelve children with residual speech errors affecting /ɹ/ participated in a multiple-baseline across-subjects design with 2 treatment conditions. One condition featured 8 hr of high-frequency UVF (HF; feedback on 89% of trials), whereas the other included 8 hr of lower-frequency UVF (LF; 44% of trials). The order of treatment conditions was counterbalanced across participants. All participants were treated on vocalic /ɹ/. Progress was tracked by measuring generalization on /ɹ/ in untreated words.

Results

After the 1st treatment phase, participants who received the HF condition outperformed those who received LF. At the end of the 2-phase treatment, within-participant comparisons showed variability across individual outcomes in both HF and LF conditions. However, a group level analysis of this small sample suggested that participants whose treatment order was HF–LF made larger gains than those whose treatment order was LF–HF.

Conclusions

The order HF–LF may represent a preferred order for UVF in speech therapy. This is consistent with empirical work and theoretical arguments suggesting that visual feedback may be particularly beneficial in the early stages of acquiring new speech targets.

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Incorporating a Peer-Mediated Approach Into Speech-Generating Device Intervention: Effects on Communication of Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose

This study examined the effects of incorporating a peer-mediated approach into a speech-generating device (SGD) intervention on communication of 45 nonverbal and minimally verbal preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 95 peers without disabilities. The SGD was an iPad 2 (Apple) with voice output app.

Method

Effects were evaluated using a multivariate randomized control trial design with repeated measures for 4 cohorts across baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases. Children were randomly assigned to an experimental treatment that trained peers on use of the SGD or a business-as-usual comparison condition with untrained peers. Communication outcomes were measured for both children with ASD and peers.

Results

Children receiving the treatment demonstrated significant increases in rates of communication and more balanced responses and initiations (a measure of reciprocity) than children in the comparison group. They were able to generalize improvements and maintain communication gains. Treatment fidelity was high for school staff and peer implementation.

Conclusions

Results support positive effects on communication of teaching young children with ASD and peers without disabilities to use the same SGD system in typical preschool activities. SGD interventions that utilize peer-mediated approaches may improve core deficits in communication and reciprocity and allow for greater classroom social participation and interactions with peers.

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Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Social Support as Predictors of Communicative Participation in Adults Who Stutter

Purpose

This study aimed to identify contributors to communicative participation in adults who stutter. Specifically, it was of interest to determine whether psychosocial variables of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support were predictive of communicative participation beyond contributions of demographic and speech-related variables.

Method

Adults who stutter (N = 339) completed an online survey that included measures of communicative participation, self-esteem, self-efficacy, social support, self-reported speech-related variables (speech usage, number of years stuttering, history of treatment and self-help support group participation for stuttering, and physical speech disruption severity), and demographics (age, sex, living situation, education, and employment status). Hierarchical regression was performed for prediction of communicative participation, in addition to calculating Spearman correlations between social roles variables, communicative participation, and physical speech disruption severity.

Results

After controlling for demographic and speech-related variables, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support each significantly predicted communicative participation in adults who stutter. Large correlations were observed between communicative participation and measures of social roles, whereas medium correlations were observed between physical speech disruption severity and measures of social roles.

Conclusions

Communicative participation in adults who stutter is associated with a variety of demographic, speech-related, and psychosocial variables. Speech-language pathologists should be aware of predictors of communicative participation such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support, in addition to severity of physical speech disruptions. They should consider and evaluate these factors in clients who stutter and target them in treatment if necessary.

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The Effects of Emotion Suppression During Language Planning and Production

Purpose

Emotion regulation and language planning occur in parallel during interactive communication, but their processes are often studied separately. It has been suggested that emotion suppression and more complex language production both recruit cognitive resources. However, it is currently less clear how the language planning and production system is impacted when required to emotionally suppress outward displays of affect (i.e., expressive suppression). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the interactive effects of emotion regulation and language production processes.

Method

Through discourse analysis of a corpus of interactive dialogue, we evaluated the production of interjections (i.e., also termed “filled pauses,” a type of speech disfluency) when participants regulated outward displays of emotion and when language was lexically complex (i.e., via lexical diversity). One participant (the sender) was assigned to either express or suppress affective displays during the interaction. The other person (the receiver) was given no special instructions before the interaction. The interactions were transcribed, and their linguistic content (i.e., lexical diversity, lexical alignment, and interjections) was analyzed.

Results

Results indicated that participants actively suppressing outward displays of affect produced more interjections and that participants asked to emotionally regulate, both expressors and suppressors, were more disfluent when producing lexically diverse statements (2 cognitively demanding tasks).

Conclusions

The current research provides support that, when suppressing emotion, one might be more disfluent when speaking. However, also when engaged in 2 simultaneous, demanding tasks of having to either upregulate or downregulate emotions and utter lexically diverse statements, the combined cognitive load may impede fluency in language production. More specifically, in the context of language planning and production, emotion suppression may pilfer resources away from the language planning and production system, leading to higher rates of disfluent speech. This finding is of particular importance because understanding the interactive effects of emotion and language production may be impactful to interventions for communication disorders.

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The Role of Lexical Status and Individual Differences for Perceptual Learning in Younger and Older Adults

Purpose

This study examined whether older adults remain perceptually flexible when presented with ambiguities in speech in the absence of lexically disambiguating information. We expected older adults to show less perceptual learning when top-down information was not available. We also investigated whether individual differences in executive function predicted perceptual learning in older and younger adults.

Method

Younger (n = 31) and older adults (n = 27) completed 2 perceptual learning tasks composed of a pretest, exposure, and posttest phase. Both learning tasks exposed participants to clear and ambiguous speech tokens, but crucially, the lexically guided learning task provided disambiguating lexical information whereas the distributional learning task did not. Participants also performed several cognitive tasks to investigate individual differences in working memory, vocabulary, and attention-switching control.

Results

We found that perceptual learning is maintained in older adults, but that learning may be stronger in contexts where top-down information is available. Receptive vocabulary scores predicted learning across both age groups and in both learning tasks.

Conclusions

Implicit learning is maintained with age across different learning conditions but remains stronger when lexically biasing information is available. We find that receptive vocabulary is relevant for learning in both types of learning tasks, suggesting the importance of vocabulary knowledge for adapting to ambiguities in speech.

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Evaluation of an Explicit Intervention to Teach Novel Grammatical Forms to Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose

Unlike traditional implicit approaches used to improve grammatical forms used by children with developmental language disorder, explicit instruction aims to make the learner consciously aware of the underlying language pattern. In this study, we compared the efficacy of an explicit approach to an implicit approach when teaching 3 novel grammatical forms varying in linguistic complexity.

Method

The study included twenty-five 5- to 8-year-old children with developmental language disorder, 13 of whom were randomized to receive an implicit-only (I-O) intervention whereas the remaining 12 participants were randomized to receive a combined explicit–implicit (E-I) intervention to learn 3 novel grammatical forms. On average, participants completed 4.5 teaching sessions for each form across 9 days. Acquisition was assessed during each teaching session. Approximately 9 days posttreatment for each form, participants completed probes to assess maintenance and generalization.

Results

Analyses revealed a meaningful and statistically significant learning advantage for the E-I group on acquisition, maintenance, and generalization measures when performance was collapsed across the 3 novel targets (p < .02, Φs > 0.60). Significant differences between the groups, with the E-I group outperforming the I-O group, only emerged for 1 of the 3 target forms. However, all effect sizes ranged from medium to large (Φs = 0.25–0.76), and relative risk calculations all exceeded 0, indicating a greater likelihood of learning the target form with E-I instruction than I-O instruction.

Conclusions

Study findings indicate that, as compared to implicit instruction, children are more likely to acquire, maintain, and generalize novel grammatical forms when taught with explicit instruction. Further research is needed to evaluate the use of explicit instruction when teaching true grammatical forms to children with language impairment.

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Effects of Specific Language Impairment on a Contrastive Dialect Structure: The Case of Infinitival TO Across Various Nonmainstream Dialects of English

Purpose

Using data from children who spoke various nonmainstream dialects of English and who were classified as either children with specific language impairment (SLI) or typically developing (TD) children, we examined children's marking of infinitival TO by their dialect and clinical status.

Method

The data came from 180 kindergartners (91 speakers of African American English, 60 speakers of Southern White English, 29 speakers of +Cajun); 53 were children with SLI, and 127 were TD children. Data included 4,537 infinitival TO contexts extracted from language samples; each was coded as zero or overtly marked and by preceding verb context (i.e., verbs of motion vs. other).

Results

Across dialects, overall rates of zero marking differed by the children's clinical status (SLI > TD), and other verb contexts accounted for this result. Across the TD and SLI groups, dialect variation was evident for verbs of motion contexts, and the effect was stronger for the TD than for the SLI groups, particularly if the TD children's dialects were classified as +Cajun.

Conclusion

Children's marking of infinitival TO can be affected by both their dialect and clinical status. Results support language assessments that include context-specific rate-based measures of infinitival TO and other contrastive structures when they prove useful for understanding the linguistic profile of SLI within a dialect.

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Parents' Perception of Health-Related Quality of Life in Children With Cochlear Implants: The Impact of Language Skills and Hearing

Purpose

The study compared how parents of children with cochlear implants (CIs) and parents of children with normal hearing perceive their children's health-related quality of life (HR-QOL).

Method

The sample consisted of 186 Norwegian-speaking children in the age span of 5;0–12;11 (years;months): 106 children with CIs (53% boys, 47% girls) and 80 children with normal hearing (44% boys, 56% girls). No children had known additional disabilities affecting language, cognitive development, or HR-QOL. Parents completed the generic questionnaire Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (Varni, Seid, & Kurtin, 2001), whereas children completed a test battery measuring different aspects of language and hearing.

Results

Parents of children with CIs reported statistically significantly poorer HR-QOL in their children, on Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory total score and the subdomains social functioning and school functioning. Roughly 50% of parents of children with CIs reported HR-QOL levels (total score) within normal limits. No significant differences between groups emerged on the physical health and emotional functioning subscales. For the children in the group with CIs, better speech perception in everyday situations was associated with higher proxy-ratings of HR-QOL. Better spoken language skills were weakly to moderately associated with higher HR-QOL.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that the social and school situation is not yet resolved satisfactorily for children with CIs. Habilitation focusing on spoken language skills and better sound environment may improve social interactions with peers and overall school functioning.

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Children With Dyslexia Benefit From Orthographic Facilitation During Spoken Word Learning

Purpose

Orthographic facilitation describes the phenomenon in which a spoken word is produced more accurately when its corresponding written word is present during learning. We examined the orthographic facilitation effect in children with dyslexia because they have poor learning and recall of spoken words. We hypothesized that including orthography during spoken word learning would facilitate learning and recall.

Method

Children with dyslexia and children with typical development (n = 46 per group), 7–9 years old, were matched for grade and nonverbal intelligence. Across 4 blocks of exposure in 1 session, children learned pairings between 4 spoken pseudowords and novel semantic referents in a modified paired-associate learning task. Two of the pairings were presented with orthography present, and 2 were presented with orthography absent. Recall of newly learned spoken words was assessed using a naming task.

Results

Both groups showed orthographic facilitation during learning and naming. During learning, both groups paired pseudowords and referents more accurately when orthography was present. During naming, children with typical development showed a large orthographic facilitation effect that increased across blocks. For children with dyslexia, this effect was present initially but then plateaued.

Conclusions

We demonstrate for the first time that children with dyslexia benefit from orthographic facilitation during spoken word learning. These findings have direct implications for teaching spoken vocabulary to children with dyslexia.

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Measuring Sound-Processor Thresholds for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients Using Visual Reinforcement Audiometry via Telepractice

Purpose

The goal of this study was to test the feasibility of using telepractice for measuring behavioral thresholds (T levels) in young children with cochlear implants (CIs) using visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA). Specifically, we examined whether there were significant differences in T levels, test time, or measurement success rate between in-person and remote test conditions.

Method

Data were collected for 17 children, aged 1.1–3.4 years. A within-subject AB-BA (A, in-person; B, remote) study design was used, with data collection typically occurring over 2 visits. T levels were measured during each test session using VRA for one basal, middle, and apical electrode. Two additional outcome measures included test time and response success rate, the latter of which was calculated as the ratio of the number of electrode thresholds successfully measured versus attempted. All 3 outcome measures were compared between the in-person and remote sessions. Last, a parent/caregiver questionnaire was administered at the end of the study to evaluate subjective aspects of remote versus traditional CI programming.

Results

Results showed no significant difference in T levels between in-person and remote test conditions. There were also no significant differences in test time or measurement success rate between the two conditions. The questionnaires indicated that 82% of parents or caregivers would use telepractice for routine CI programming visits some or all of the time if the option was available.

Conclusion

Results from this study suggest that telepractice can be used successfully to set T levels for young children with CIs using VRA.

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Orthographic Fast-Mapping Across Time in 5- and 6-Year-Old Children

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the orthographic fast-mapping abilities of 5- and 6-year-old children across time to determine (a) growth in the ability to quickly acquire mental images of written words, (b) the effect of words' statistical regularities on the learning of written word images across time, (c) whether the statistical regularities of words impact children's eye movements during an orthographic fast-mapping task, and (d) the relation among written word learning and future literacy skills.

Method

Twenty-eight 5- and 6-year-old children viewed and listened to 12 short stories while their eye movements were recorded across 2 time points (approximately 3 months apart). At each time point, objects in the stories represented 12 novel pseudowords differing in their phonotactic and orthotactic probabilities. After viewing each story, the children were asked to spell and identify the target pseudowords; they also completed a battery of literacy measures.

Results

The children were able to quickly acquire mental orthographic representations of the novel written pseudowords as evidenced by their ability to identify and spell the target pseudowords after viewing the stories. This ability was related to future literacy performance and significantly improved over time. Performance on the orthographic fast-mapping tasks and the children's eye movements at Time 2 were influenced by the words' linguistic properties.

Conclusions

This study adds to accumulating evidence that orthographic fast-mapping is largely influenced by the orthotactic probabilities of words. These findings, taken together with those from previous investigations, provide a rich amount of evidence indicating that children are statistical learners when developing their orthographic knowledge.

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Victimization, Bullying, and Emotional Competence: Longitudinal Associations in (Pre)Adolescents With and Without Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose

Victimization is a common problem for many children but is exacerbated for children with a developmental language disorder (DLD). However, the severity of communication problems does not explain their victimization rates. In children without DLD, difficulties with emotional competence are a risk factor for victimization and also increase the risk of bullying. In this longitudinal study, we examined the extent to which the level and development of emotional competence (understanding of one's own emotions and levels of anger, sadness, and fear) contributed to the prediction of victimization and bullying in children with and without DLD, over and above the type and severity of communication problems of children with DLD.

Method

Clinically referred youngsters (8–16 years old) with (n = 112; 48% girls, 52% boys) and without (n = 233; 58% girls, 42% boys) DLD completed self-reports 3 times over an 18-month period. Parents of children with DLD reported on their children's communication problems.

Results

Participants with DLD reported more victimization but comparable levels of bullying behavior compared with peers without DLD. Higher levels of sadness and fear were risk factors for more victimization in both groups. Better understanding of one's own emotions had a larger effect on less victimization in children with DLD, independent of their communication problems. In addition, increased levels of anger and lower levels of understanding of one's own emotions explained more bullying in both groups.

Conclusion

Outcomes indicate that secondary difficulties in emotional competence in children with DLD make these children more vulnerable to victimization and warrant specific support and interventions.

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Treatment for Residual Rhotic Errors With High- and Low-Frequency Ultrasound Visual Feedback: A Single-Case Experimental Design

Purpose

The aim of this study was to explore how the frequency with which ultrasound visual feedback (UVF) is provided during speech therapy affects speech sound learning.

Method

Twelve children with residual speech errors affecting /ɹ/ participated in a multiple-baseline across-subjects design with 2 treatment conditions. One condition featured 8 hr of high-frequency UVF (HF; feedback on 89% of trials), whereas the other included 8 hr of lower-frequency UVF (LF; 44% of trials). The order of treatment conditions was counterbalanced across participants. All participants were treated on vocalic /ɹ/. Progress was tracked by measuring generalization on /ɹ/ in untreated words.

Results

After the 1st treatment phase, participants who received the HF condition outperformed those who received LF. At the end of the 2-phase treatment, within-participant comparisons showed variability across individual outcomes in both HF and LF conditions. However, a group level analysis of this small sample suggested that participants whose treatment order was HF–LF made larger gains than those whose treatment order was LF–HF.

Conclusions

The order HF–LF may represent a preferred order for UVF in speech therapy. This is consistent with empirical work and theoretical arguments suggesting that visual feedback may be particularly beneficial in the early stages of acquiring new speech targets.

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Incorporating a Peer-Mediated Approach Into Speech-Generating Device Intervention: Effects on Communication of Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose

This study examined the effects of incorporating a peer-mediated approach into a speech-generating device (SGD) intervention on communication of 45 nonverbal and minimally verbal preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 95 peers without disabilities. The SGD was an iPad 2 (Apple) with voice output app.

Method

Effects were evaluated using a multivariate randomized control trial design with repeated measures for 4 cohorts across baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases. Children were randomly assigned to an experimental treatment that trained peers on use of the SGD or a business-as-usual comparison condition with untrained peers. Communication outcomes were measured for both children with ASD and peers.

Results

Children receiving the treatment demonstrated significant increases in rates of communication and more balanced responses and initiations (a measure of reciprocity) than children in the comparison group. They were able to generalize improvements and maintain communication gains. Treatment fidelity was high for school staff and peer implementation.

Conclusions

Results support positive effects on communication of teaching young children with ASD and peers without disabilities to use the same SGD system in typical preschool activities. SGD interventions that utilize peer-mediated approaches may improve core deficits in communication and reciprocity and allow for greater classroom social participation and interactions with peers.

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Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Social Support as Predictors of Communicative Participation in Adults Who Stutter

Purpose

This study aimed to identify contributors to communicative participation in adults who stutter. Specifically, it was of interest to determine whether psychosocial variables of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support were predictive of communicative participation beyond contributions of demographic and speech-related variables.

Method

Adults who stutter (N = 339) completed an online survey that included measures of communicative participation, self-esteem, self-efficacy, social support, self-reported speech-related variables (speech usage, number of years stuttering, history of treatment and self-help support group participation for stuttering, and physical speech disruption severity), and demographics (age, sex, living situation, education, and employment status). Hierarchical regression was performed for prediction of communicative participation, in addition to calculating Spearman correlations between social roles variables, communicative participation, and physical speech disruption severity.

Results

After controlling for demographic and speech-related variables, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support each significantly predicted communicative participation in adults who stutter. Large correlations were observed between communicative participation and measures of social roles, whereas medium correlations were observed between physical speech disruption severity and measures of social roles.

Conclusions

Communicative participation in adults who stutter is associated with a variety of demographic, speech-related, and psychosocial variables. Speech-language pathologists should be aware of predictors of communicative participation such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support, in addition to severity of physical speech disruptions. They should consider and evaluate these factors in clients who stutter and target them in treatment if necessary.

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The Effects of Emotion Suppression During Language Planning and Production

Purpose

Emotion regulation and language planning occur in parallel during interactive communication, but their processes are often studied separately. It has been suggested that emotion suppression and more complex language production both recruit cognitive resources. However, it is currently less clear how the language planning and production system is impacted when required to emotionally suppress outward displays of affect (i.e., expressive suppression). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the interactive effects of emotion regulation and language production processes.

Method

Through discourse analysis of a corpus of interactive dialogue, we evaluated the production of interjections (i.e., also termed “filled pauses,” a type of speech disfluency) when participants regulated outward displays of emotion and when language was lexically complex (i.e., via lexical diversity). One participant (the sender) was assigned to either express or suppress affective displays during the interaction. The other person (the receiver) was given no special instructions before the interaction. The interactions were transcribed, and their linguistic content (i.e., lexical diversity, lexical alignment, and interjections) was analyzed.

Results

Results indicated that participants actively suppressing outward displays of affect produced more interjections and that participants asked to emotionally regulate, both expressors and suppressors, were more disfluent when producing lexically diverse statements (2 cognitively demanding tasks).

Conclusions

The current research provides support that, when suppressing emotion, one might be more disfluent when speaking. However, also when engaged in 2 simultaneous, demanding tasks of having to either upregulate or downregulate emotions and utter lexically diverse statements, the combined cognitive load may impede fluency in language production. More specifically, in the context of language planning and production, emotion suppression may pilfer resources away from the language planning and production system, leading to higher rates of disfluent speech. This finding is of particular importance because understanding the interactive effects of emotion and language production may be impactful to interventions for communication disorders.

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The Role of Lexical Status and Individual Differences for Perceptual Learning in Younger and Older Adults

Purpose

This study examined whether older adults remain perceptually flexible when presented with ambiguities in speech in the absence of lexically disambiguating information. We expected older adults to show less perceptual learning when top-down information was not available. We also investigated whether individual differences in executive function predicted perceptual learning in older and younger adults.

Method

Younger (n = 31) and older adults (n = 27) completed 2 perceptual learning tasks composed of a pretest, exposure, and posttest phase. Both learning tasks exposed participants to clear and ambiguous speech tokens, but crucially, the lexically guided learning task provided disambiguating lexical information whereas the distributional learning task did not. Participants also performed several cognitive tasks to investigate individual differences in working memory, vocabulary, and attention-switching control.

Results

We found that perceptual learning is maintained in older adults, but that learning may be stronger in contexts where top-down information is available. Receptive vocabulary scores predicted learning across both age groups and in both learning tasks.

Conclusions

Implicit learning is maintained with age across different learning conditions but remains stronger when lexically biasing information is available. We find that receptive vocabulary is relevant for learning in both types of learning tasks, suggesting the importance of vocabulary knowledge for adapting to ambiguities in speech.

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Evaluation of an Explicit Intervention to Teach Novel Grammatical Forms to Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose

Unlike traditional implicit approaches used to improve grammatical forms used by children with developmental language disorder, explicit instruction aims to make the learner consciously aware of the underlying language pattern. In this study, we compared the efficacy of an explicit approach to an implicit approach when teaching 3 novel grammatical forms varying in linguistic complexity.

Method

The study included twenty-five 5- to 8-year-old children with developmental language disorder, 13 of whom were randomized to receive an implicit-only (I-O) intervention whereas the remaining 12 participants were randomized to receive a combined explicit–implicit (E-I) intervention to learn 3 novel grammatical forms. On average, participants completed 4.5 teaching sessions for each form across 9 days. Acquisition was assessed during each teaching session. Approximately 9 days posttreatment for each form, participants completed probes to assess maintenance and generalization.

Results

Analyses revealed a meaningful and statistically significant learning advantage for the E-I group on acquisition, maintenance, and generalization measures when performance was collapsed across the 3 novel targets (p < .02, Φs > 0.60). Significant differences between the groups, with the E-I group outperforming the I-O group, only emerged for 1 of the 3 target forms. However, all effect sizes ranged from medium to large (Φs = 0.25–0.76), and relative risk calculations all exceeded 0, indicating a greater likelihood of learning the target form with E-I instruction than I-O instruction.

Conclusions

Study findings indicate that, as compared to implicit instruction, children are more likely to acquire, maintain, and generalize novel grammatical forms when taught with explicit instruction. Further research is needed to evaluate the use of explicit instruction when teaching true grammatical forms to children with language impairment.

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Effects of Specific Language Impairment on a Contrastive Dialect Structure: The Case of Infinitival TO Across Various Nonmainstream Dialects of English

Purpose

Using data from children who spoke various nonmainstream dialects of English and who were classified as either children with specific language impairment (SLI) or typically developing (TD) children, we examined children's marking of infinitival TO by their dialect and clinical status.

Method

The data came from 180 kindergartners (91 speakers of African American English, 60 speakers of Southern White English, 29 speakers of +Cajun); 53 were children with SLI, and 127 were TD children. Data included 4,537 infinitival TO contexts extracted from language samples; each was coded as zero or overtly marked and by preceding verb context (i.e., verbs of motion vs. other).

Results

Across dialects, overall rates of zero marking differed by the children's clinical status (SLI > TD), and other verb contexts accounted for this result. Across the TD and SLI groups, dialect variation was evident for verbs of motion contexts, and the effect was stronger for the TD than for the SLI groups, particularly if the TD children's dialects were classified as +Cajun.

Conclusion

Children's marking of infinitival TO can be affected by both their dialect and clinical status. Results support language assessments that include context-specific rate-based measures of infinitival TO and other contrastive structures when they prove useful for understanding the linguistic profile of SLI within a dialect.

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Parents' Perception of Health-Related Quality of Life in Children With Cochlear Implants: The Impact of Language Skills and Hearing

Purpose

The study compared how parents of children with cochlear implants (CIs) and parents of children with normal hearing perceive their children's health-related quality of life (HR-QOL).

Method

The sample consisted of 186 Norwegian-speaking children in the age span of 5;0–12;11 (years;months): 106 children with CIs (53% boys, 47% girls) and 80 children with normal hearing (44% boys, 56% girls). No children had known additional disabilities affecting language, cognitive development, or HR-QOL. Parents completed the generic questionnaire Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (Varni, Seid, & Kurtin, 2001), whereas children completed a test battery measuring different aspects of language and hearing.

Results

Parents of children with CIs reported statistically significantly poorer HR-QOL in their children, on Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory total score and the subdomains social functioning and school functioning. Roughly 50% of parents of children with CIs reported HR-QOL levels (total score) within normal limits. No significant differences between groups emerged on the physical health and emotional functioning subscales. For the children in the group with CIs, better speech perception in everyday situations was associated with higher proxy-ratings of HR-QOL. Better spoken language skills were weakly to moderately associated with higher HR-QOL.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that the social and school situation is not yet resolved satisfactorily for children with CIs. Habilitation focusing on spoken language skills and better sound environment may improve social interactions with peers and overall school functioning.

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Children With Dyslexia Benefit From Orthographic Facilitation During Spoken Word Learning

Purpose

Orthographic facilitation describes the phenomenon in which a spoken word is produced more accurately when its corresponding written word is present during learning. We examined the orthographic facilitation effect in children with dyslexia because they have poor learning and recall of spoken words. We hypothesized that including orthography during spoken word learning would facilitate learning and recall.

Method

Children with dyslexia and children with typical development (n = 46 per group), 7–9 years old, were matched for grade and nonverbal intelligence. Across 4 blocks of exposure in 1 session, children learned pairings between 4 spoken pseudowords and novel semantic referents in a modified paired-associate learning task. Two of the pairings were presented with orthography present, and 2 were presented with orthography absent. Recall of newly learned spoken words was assessed using a naming task.

Results

Both groups showed orthographic facilitation during learning and naming. During learning, both groups paired pseudowords and referents more accurately when orthography was present. During naming, children with typical development showed a large orthographic facilitation effect that increased across blocks. For children with dyslexia, this effect was present initially but then plateaued.

Conclusions

We demonstrate for the first time that children with dyslexia benefit from orthographic facilitation during spoken word learning. These findings have direct implications for teaching spoken vocabulary to children with dyslexia.

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Measuring Sound-Processor Thresholds for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients Using Visual Reinforcement Audiometry via Telepractice

Purpose

The goal of this study was to test the feasibility of using telepractice for measuring behavioral thresholds (T levels) in young children with cochlear implants (CIs) using visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA). Specifically, we examined whether there were significant differences in T levels, test time, or measurement success rate between in-person and remote test conditions.

Method

Data were collected for 17 children, aged 1.1–3.4 years. A within-subject AB-BA (A, in-person; B, remote) study design was used, with data collection typically occurring over 2 visits. T levels were measured during each test session using VRA for one basal, middle, and apical electrode. Two additional outcome measures included test time and response success rate, the latter of which was calculated as the ratio of the number of electrode thresholds successfully measured versus attempted. All 3 outcome measures were compared between the in-person and remote sessions. Last, a parent/caregiver questionnaire was administered at the end of the study to evaluate subjective aspects of remote versus traditional CI programming.

Results

Results showed no significant difference in T levels between in-person and remote test conditions. There were also no significant differences in test time or measurement success rate between the two conditions. The questionnaires indicated that 82% of parents or caregivers would use telepractice for routine CI programming visits some or all of the time if the option was available.

Conclusion

Results from this study suggest that telepractice can be used successfully to set T levels for young children with CIs using VRA.

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Orthographic Fast-Mapping Across Time in 5- and 6-Year-Old Children

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the orthographic fast-mapping abilities of 5- and 6-year-old children across time to determine (a) growth in the ability to quickly acquire mental images of written words, (b) the effect of words' statistical regularities on the learning of written word images across time, (c) whether the statistical regularities of words impact children's eye movements during an orthographic fast-mapping task, and (d) the relation among written word learning and future literacy skills.

Method

Twenty-eight 5- and 6-year-old children viewed and listened to 12 short stories while their eye movements were recorded across 2 time points (approximately 3 months apart). At each time point, objects in the stories represented 12 novel pseudowords differing in their phonotactic and orthotactic probabilities. After viewing each story, the children were asked to spell and identify the target pseudowords; they also completed a battery of literacy measures.

Results

The children were able to quickly acquire mental orthographic representations of the novel written pseudowords as evidenced by their ability to identify and spell the target pseudowords after viewing the stories. This ability was related to future literacy performance and significantly improved over time. Performance on the orthographic fast-mapping tasks and the children's eye movements at Time 2 were influenced by the words' linguistic properties.

Conclusions

This study adds to accumulating evidence that orthographic fast-mapping is largely influenced by the orthotactic probabilities of words. These findings, taken together with those from previous investigations, provide a rich amount of evidence indicating that children are statistical learners when developing their orthographic knowledge.

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Victimization, Bullying, and Emotional Competence: Longitudinal Associations in (Pre)Adolescents With and Without Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose

Victimization is a common problem for many children but is exacerbated for children with a developmental language disorder (DLD). However, the severity of communication problems does not explain their victimization rates. In children without DLD, difficulties with emotional competence are a risk factor for victimization and also increase the risk of bullying. In this longitudinal study, we examined the extent to which the level and development of emotional competence (understanding of one's own emotions and levels of anger, sadness, and fear) contributed to the prediction of victimization and bullying in children with and without DLD, over and above the type and severity of communication problems of children with DLD.

Method

Clinically referred youngsters (8–16 years old) with (n = 112; 48% girls, 52% boys) and without (n = 233; 58% girls, 42% boys) DLD completed self-reports 3 times over an 18-month period. Parents of children with DLD reported on their children's communication problems.

Results

Participants with DLD reported more victimization but comparable levels of bullying behavior compared with peers without DLD. Higher levels of sadness and fear were risk factors for more victimization in both groups. Better understanding of one's own emotions had a larger effect on less victimization in children with DLD, independent of their communication problems. In addition, increased levels of anger and lower levels of understanding of one's own emotions explained more bullying in both groups.

Conclusion

Outcomes indicate that secondary difficulties in emotional competence in children with DLD make these children more vulnerable to victimization and warrant specific support and interventions.

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Upright Balance Control Strategies During Pregnancy

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Alessander Danna-Dos-Santos, Alessandra T. Magalhaes, Baldomero A. Silva, Biara S. Duarte, Glena L. Barros, Maria De Fátima C. Silva, Cristiano S. Silva, Sambit Mohapatra, Adriana M. Degani, Vinicius S. Cardoso

Abstract

Background

Morphological and physiological changes during pregnancy are considered to interfere with the mechanisms of postural control and potentially increase the risk of falling. A clear understanding of these mechanisms is important to improve pre-natal care and reduce the fall risk in this population.

Objectives

This study focused on investigating how pregnancy affects postural control in each trimester of pregnancy by analyzing pelvic inclination and body sway behavior. Our main hypothesis was that balance control and posture would change during pregnancy. More specifically, pregnancy would increase sway amplitude, anterior pelvic tilt, and body sway regularity in time.

Study Design

Forty women formed four groups: non-pregnant women (NP) and women at their first, second, and third trimester of pregnancy (P1, P2, and P3, respectively). All participants performed (1) postural evaluation of the pelvic inclination using a digital system of postural analysis and (2) instrumented posturography using a force platform to collect the coordinates of the body’s center of pressure (COP) during quiet bipedal stance for 120 seconds. Kruskal-Wallis H test and post-hoc Mann-Whitney U tests were used to investigate the effects of pregnancy (NP, P1, P2, and P3) on pelvic inclination angle and postural indices computed from the COP signals.

Results

Results revealed significant larger body sway accompanied by a more regular medial-lateral pattern of oscillation and a more synchronized anterior-posterior and medial-lateral sway already at the first trimester of pregnancy. The averaged COP migrated posteriorly at third trimester of pregnancy and the anterior pelvic tilt increased at second and third trimesters.

Conclusions

Our results indicate the existence of changes in posture and balance metrics even at early stages of pregnancy. We suggest the use of posturography as one of screening tools for postural instability and fall risk during pregnancy.

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Postural threat influences the conscious perception of body position during voluntary leaning

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Taylor W. Cleworth, J. Timothy Inglis, Mark G. Carpenter

Abstract

Background

Height-related changes in postural control can alter feedback used to control balance, which may lead to a mismatch in perceived and actual sway changes during quiet stance. However, there is still a need to examine these changes affect the ability to detect limits of stability (and movements related to base of support limits).

Research question

The aim of this study was to examine how changes in height-related threat influence conscious perceptions of body position during voluntary balance tasks.

Methods

Twenty young healthy adults, fitted with kinematic markers on the right side of the body, stood on a forceplate mounted to a hydraulic lift placed at two heights (0.8 m and 3.2 m). At height (completed first), participants leaned as far forward as possible, at the ankle joint, while trying to remain as an inverted pendulum. Then, at each height, participants stood with eyes open, and voluntarily leaned to one of ten targets (10% to 100% maximum lean) displayed visually as angular displacement of body segments on a screen. Once on target, participants reported a perceived position relative to their maximum lean. Balance confidence, fear and anxiety, and physiological arousal (hand electrodermal activity, EDA) were recorded and statistically tested using paired sample t-tests. Actual and perceived body positions were tested using repeated measures ANOVAs (height x target).

Results

Height significantly increased EDA, fear and anxiety, and decreased balance confidence. Participants voluntarily leaned to all target positions equally across heights. However, at any given target position, the perceived lean changed with height. When participants are asked to lean to a target in at height, their amount of perceived lean was larger by 4.9%, on average (range: 1.8% to 9.7%).

Significance

This modulation in perceived limits of stability may increase the risk of falls in those who have an increased fear of falling.

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Kinematics and postural muscular activity during continuous oscillating platform movement in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Richard Mills, Danielle Levac, Heidi Sveistrup

Abstract

Background

Reactive and anticipatory postural activity has been described in single discrete perturbations in youth with cerebral palsy (CP) but not in continuous perturbation situations.

Research Question

: We sought to determine how the ability to control postural responses (as reflected in the number of steps taken, postural muscle activity, and marker-pair trajectory cross-correlations) compares between typically developing (TD) youth and age-matched youth with CP when exposed to various frequencies of continuous platform oscillation. We also sought to determine if youth with CP could further modify postural activity based on knowledge of platform movement.

Methods

Eleven youth with CP and sixteen TD youth aged 7–17 years stood with eyes open on a movable platform progressively translated antero-posteriorly through four speeds in experimenter-triggered and self-triggered perturbations. Postural muscle activity and 3D kinematics were recorded. The Anchoring Index and marker-pair trajectories were used to quantify body stabilization strategies. Transition states and steady states were analysed. Mann Whitney-U tests analysed between-group differences at each frequency.

Results

At lower frequencies (0.1 and 0.25 Hz) youth with CP behaved like age-matched TD controls. At higher frequencies (0.5 and 0.61 Hz), youth with CP, took a greater number of steps, had a preference for stabilizing their head on the trunk, had low marker-pair correlations with high temporal lag, and showed increased tonic activity compared to their TD peers.

Significance

Higher frequency platform movements proved more difficult for youth with CP, however, like TD youth, they shifted from reactive to anticipatory mechanisms when the platform frequency remained constant by taking advantage of knowledge of platform movement. When given control over perturbation onset, further evidence of anticipatory mechanisms was observed following the transition to a new oscillation frequency.

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Real-time visual feedback about postural activity increases postural instability and visually induced motion sickness

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Ruixuan Li, Nicolette Peterson, Hannah J. Walter, Ruth Rath, Christopher Curry, Thomas A. Stoffregen

Abstract

Background

Several studies have shown that the kinematics of standing body sway can be influenced by the provision of real time feedback about postural activity through visual displays.

Research Question

We asked whether real time visual feedback about the position of the body’s center of pressure (COP) might affect body sway and the occurrence of visually induced motion sickness.

Methods

Standing participants (women) were exposed to complex visual oscillation in moving room, a device that nearly filled the field of view. During exposure to complex visual oscillations, we provided real time feedback about displacements of the body’s center of pressure through a visual display presented on a tablet computer.

Results

The incidence and severity of motion sickness were similar to studies that did not provide real time feedback. We monitored the kinematics of the body’s center of pressure before and during exposure to visual motion stimuli. Body sway differed between participants who reported motion sickness and those who did not. These differences existed before any participants experienced subjective symptoms of motion sickness.

Significance

Real time visual feedback about COP displacement did not reduce visually induced motion sickness, and may have increased it. We identified postural precursors of motion sickness that may have been exacerbated by the COP display. The results indicate that visual feedback about postural activity can destabilize postural control, leading to negative side effects. We suggest possible alternative types of visual displays that might help to stabilize posture, and reduce motion sickness.

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Upright Balance Control Strategies During Pregnancy

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Alessander Danna-Dos-Santos, Alessandra T. Magalhaes, Baldomero A. Silva, Biara S. Duarte, Glena L. Barros, Maria De Fátima C. Silva, Cristiano S. Silva, Sambit Mohapatra, Adriana M. Degani, Vinicius S. Cardoso

Abstract

Background

Morphological and physiological changes during pregnancy are considered to interfere with the mechanisms of postural control and potentially increase the risk of falling. A clear understanding of these mechanisms is important to improve pre-natal care and reduce the fall risk in this population.

Objectives

This study focused on investigating how pregnancy affects postural control in each trimester of pregnancy by analyzing pelvic inclination and body sway behavior. Our main hypothesis was that balance control and posture would change during pregnancy. More specifically, pregnancy would increase sway amplitude, anterior pelvic tilt, and body sway regularity in time.

Study Design

Forty women formed four groups: non-pregnant women (NP) and women at their first, second, and third trimester of pregnancy (P1, P2, and P3, respectively). All participants performed (1) postural evaluation of the pelvic inclination using a digital system of postural analysis and (2) instrumented posturography using a force platform to collect the coordinates of the body’s center of pressure (COP) during quiet bipedal stance for 120 seconds. Kruskal-Wallis H test and post-hoc Mann-Whitney U tests were used to investigate the effects of pregnancy (NP, P1, P2, and P3) on pelvic inclination angle and postural indices computed from the COP signals.

Results

Results revealed significant larger body sway accompanied by a more regular medial-lateral pattern of oscillation and a more synchronized anterior-posterior and medial-lateral sway already at the first trimester of pregnancy. The averaged COP migrated posteriorly at third trimester of pregnancy and the anterior pelvic tilt increased at second and third trimesters.

Conclusions

Our results indicate the existence of changes in posture and balance metrics even at early stages of pregnancy. We suggest the use of posturography as one of screening tools for postural instability and fall risk during pregnancy.

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Postural threat influences the conscious perception of body position during voluntary leaning

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Taylor W. Cleworth, J. Timothy Inglis, Mark G. Carpenter

Abstract

Background

Height-related changes in postural control can alter feedback used to control balance, which may lead to a mismatch in perceived and actual sway changes during quiet stance. However, there is still a need to examine these changes affect the ability to detect limits of stability (and movements related to base of support limits).

Research question

The aim of this study was to examine how changes in height-related threat influence conscious perceptions of body position during voluntary balance tasks.

Methods

Twenty young healthy adults, fitted with kinematic markers on the right side of the body, stood on a forceplate mounted to a hydraulic lift placed at two heights (0.8 m and 3.2 m). At height (completed first), participants leaned as far forward as possible, at the ankle joint, while trying to remain as an inverted pendulum. Then, at each height, participants stood with eyes open, and voluntarily leaned to one of ten targets (10% to 100% maximum lean) displayed visually as angular displacement of body segments on a screen. Once on target, participants reported a perceived position relative to their maximum lean. Balance confidence, fear and anxiety, and physiological arousal (hand electrodermal activity, EDA) were recorded and statistically tested using paired sample t-tests. Actual and perceived body positions were tested using repeated measures ANOVAs (height x target).

Results

Height significantly increased EDA, fear and anxiety, and decreased balance confidence. Participants voluntarily leaned to all target positions equally across heights. However, at any given target position, the perceived lean changed with height. When participants are asked to lean to a target in at height, their amount of perceived lean was larger by 4.9%, on average (range: 1.8% to 9.7%).

Significance

This modulation in perceived limits of stability may increase the risk of falls in those who have an increased fear of falling.

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Kinematics and postural muscular activity during continuous oscillating platform movement in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Richard Mills, Danielle Levac, Heidi Sveistrup

Abstract

Background

Reactive and anticipatory postural activity has been described in single discrete perturbations in youth with cerebral palsy (CP) but not in continuous perturbation situations.

Research Question

: We sought to determine how the ability to control postural responses (as reflected in the number of steps taken, postural muscle activity, and marker-pair trajectory cross-correlations) compares between typically developing (TD) youth and age-matched youth with CP when exposed to various frequencies of continuous platform oscillation. We also sought to determine if youth with CP could further modify postural activity based on knowledge of platform movement.

Methods

Eleven youth with CP and sixteen TD youth aged 7–17 years stood with eyes open on a movable platform progressively translated antero-posteriorly through four speeds in experimenter-triggered and self-triggered perturbations. Postural muscle activity and 3D kinematics were recorded. The Anchoring Index and marker-pair trajectories were used to quantify body stabilization strategies. Transition states and steady states were analysed. Mann Whitney-U tests analysed between-group differences at each frequency.

Results

At lower frequencies (0.1 and 0.25 Hz) youth with CP behaved like age-matched TD controls. At higher frequencies (0.5 and 0.61 Hz), youth with CP, took a greater number of steps, had a preference for stabilizing their head on the trunk, had low marker-pair correlations with high temporal lag, and showed increased tonic activity compared to their TD peers.

Significance

Higher frequency platform movements proved more difficult for youth with CP, however, like TD youth, they shifted from reactive to anticipatory mechanisms when the platform frequency remained constant by taking advantage of knowledge of platform movement. When given control over perturbation onset, further evidence of anticipatory mechanisms was observed following the transition to a new oscillation frequency.

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Real-time visual feedback about postural activity increases postural instability and visually induced motion sickness

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Ruixuan Li, Nicolette Peterson, Hannah J. Walter, Ruth Rath, Christopher Curry, Thomas A. Stoffregen

Abstract

Background

Several studies have shown that the kinematics of standing body sway can be influenced by the provision of real time feedback about postural activity through visual displays.

Research Question

We asked whether real time visual feedback about the position of the body’s center of pressure (COP) might affect body sway and the occurrence of visually induced motion sickness.

Methods

Standing participants (women) were exposed to complex visual oscillation in moving room, a device that nearly filled the field of view. During exposure to complex visual oscillations, we provided real time feedback about displacements of the body’s center of pressure through a visual display presented on a tablet computer.

Results

The incidence and severity of motion sickness were similar to studies that did not provide real time feedback. We monitored the kinematics of the body’s center of pressure before and during exposure to visual motion stimuli. Body sway differed between participants who reported motion sickness and those who did not. These differences existed before any participants experienced subjective symptoms of motion sickness.

Significance

Real time visual feedback about COP displacement did not reduce visually induced motion sickness, and may have increased it. We identified postural precursors of motion sickness that may have been exacerbated by the COP display. The results indicate that visual feedback about postural activity can destabilize postural control, leading to negative side effects. We suggest possible alternative types of visual displays that might help to stabilize posture, and reduce motion sickness.

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No otoacoustic evidence for a peripheral basis of absolute pitch

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Hearing Research

Author(s): Larissa McKetton, David Purcell, Victoria Stone, Jessica Grahn, Christopher Bergevin

Abstract

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify the perceived pitch of a sound without an external reference. Relatively rare, with an incidence of approximately 1/10,000, the mechanisms underlying AP are not well understood. This study examined otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) to determine if there is evidence of a peripheral (i.e., cochlear) basis for AP. Two OAE types were examined: spontaneous emissions (SOAEs) and stimulus-frequency emissions (SFOAEs). Our motivations to explore a peripheral foundation for AP were several-fold. First is the observation that pitch judgment accuracy has been reported to decrease with age due to age-dependent physiological changes cochlear biomechanics. Second is the notion that SOAEs, which are indirectly related to perception, could act as a fixed frequency reference. Third, SFOAE delays, which have been demonstrated to serve as a proxy measure for cochlear frequency selectivity, could indicate tuning differences between groups. These led us to the hypotheses that AP subjects would (relative to controls) exhibit a. greater SOAE activity and b. sharper cochlear tuning. To test these notions, measurements were made in normal-hearing control (N=33) and AP-possessor (N=22) populations. In short, no substantial difference in SOAE activity was found between groups, indicating no evidence for one or more strong SOAEs that could act as a fixed cue. SFOAE phase-gradient delays, measured at several different probe levels (20-50 dB SPL), also showed no significant differences between groups. This observation argues against sharper cochlear frequency selectivity in AP subjects. Taken together, these data support the prevailing view that AP mechanisms predominantly arise at a processing level in the central nervous system (CNS) at the brainstem or higher, not within the cochlea.

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Prolonged low-level noise exposure reduces rat distortion product otoacoustic emissions above a critical level

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Hearing Research

Author(s): Deng-Ling Zhao, Adam Sheppard, Massimo Ralli, Xiaopeng Liu, Richard Salvi

Abstract

Prolonged noise exposures presented at low to moderate intensities are often used to investigate neuroplastic changes in the central auditory pathway. A common assumption in many studies is that central auditory changes occur independent of any hearing loss or cochlear dysfunction. Since hearing loss from a long term noise exposure can only occur if the level of the noise exceeds a critical level, prolonged noise exposures that incrementally increase in intensity can be used to determine the critical level for any given species and noise spectrum. Here we used distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) to determine the critical level in male, inbred Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to a 16-20 kHz noise that increased from 45 to 92 dB SPL in 8 dB increments. DPOAE amplitudes were largely unaffected by noise presented at 60 dB SPL and below. However, DPOAEs within and above the frequency band of the exposures declined rapidly at noise intensities presented at 68 dB SPL and above. The largest and most rapid decline in DPOAE amplitude occurred at 30 kHz, nearly an octave above the 16-20 kHz exposure band. The rate of decline in DPOAE amplitude was 0.54 for every 1 dB increase in noise intensity. Using a linear regression calculation, the estimated critical level for 16-20 kHz noise was remarkably low, approximately 60 dB SPL. These results indicate that long duration, 16-20 kHz noise exposures in the 65-70 dB SPL range likely affect the cochlea and central auditory system of male Sprague-Dawley rats.

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Changes in the Synchrony of Multimodal Communication in Early Language Development

Purpose

The aim of this study is to analyze the changes in temporal synchrony between gesture and speech of multimodal communicative behaviors in the transition from babbling to two-word productions.

Method

Ten Spanish-speaking children were observed at 9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age in a semistructured play situation. We longitudinally analyzed the synchrony between gestures and vocal productions and between their prominent parts. We also explored the relationship between gestural–vocal synchrony and independent measures of language development.

Results

Results showed that multimodal communicative behaviors tend to be shorter with age, with an increasing overlap of its constituting elements. The same pattern is found when considering the synchrony between the prominent parts. The proportion of overlap between gestural and vocal elements at 15 months of age as well as the proportion of the stroke overlapped with vocalization appear to be related to lexical development 3 months later.

Conclusions

These results suggest that children produce gestures and vocalizations as coordinated elements of a single communication system before the transition to the two-word stage. This coordination is related to subsequent lexical development in this period.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6912242

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No otoacoustic evidence for a peripheral basis of absolute pitch

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Hearing Research

Author(s): Larissa McKetton, David Purcell, Victoria Stone, Jessica Grahn, Christopher Bergevin

Abstract

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify the perceived pitch of a sound without an external reference. Relatively rare, with an incidence of approximately 1/10,000, the mechanisms underlying AP are not well understood. This study examined otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) to determine if there is evidence of a peripheral (i.e., cochlear) basis for AP. Two OAE types were examined: spontaneous emissions (SOAEs) and stimulus-frequency emissions (SFOAEs). Our motivations to explore a peripheral foundation for AP were several-fold. First is the observation that pitch judgment accuracy has been reported to decrease with age due to age-dependent physiological changes cochlear biomechanics. Second is the notion that SOAEs, which are indirectly related to perception, could act as a fixed frequency reference. Third, SFOAE delays, which have been demonstrated to serve as a proxy measure for cochlear frequency selectivity, could indicate tuning differences between groups. These led us to the hypotheses that AP subjects would (relative to controls) exhibit a. greater SOAE activity and b. sharper cochlear tuning. To test these notions, measurements were made in normal-hearing control (N=33) and AP-possessor (N=22) populations. In short, no substantial difference in SOAE activity was found between groups, indicating no evidence for one or more strong SOAEs that could act as a fixed cue. SFOAE phase-gradient delays, measured at several different probe levels (20-50 dB SPL), also showed no significant differences between groups. This observation argues against sharper cochlear frequency selectivity in AP subjects. Taken together, these data support the prevailing view that AP mechanisms predominantly arise at a processing level in the central nervous system (CNS) at the brainstem or higher, not within the cochlea.

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Prolonged low-level noise exposure reduces rat distortion product otoacoustic emissions above a critical level

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018

Source: Hearing Research

Author(s): Deng-Ling Zhao, Adam Sheppard, Massimo Ralli, Xiaopeng Liu, Richard Salvi

Abstract

Prolonged noise exposures presented at low to moderate intensities are often used to investigate neuroplastic changes in the central auditory pathway. A common assumption in many studies is that central auditory changes occur independent of any hearing loss or cochlear dysfunction. Since hearing loss from a long term noise exposure can only occur if the level of the noise exceeds a critical level, prolonged noise exposures that incrementally increase in intensity can be used to determine the critical level for any given species and noise spectrum. Here we used distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) to determine the critical level in male, inbred Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to a 16-20 kHz noise that increased from 45 to 92 dB SPL in 8 dB increments. DPOAE amplitudes were largely unaffected by noise presented at 60 dB SPL and below. However, DPOAEs within and above the frequency band of the exposures declined rapidly at noise intensities presented at 68 dB SPL and above. The largest and most rapid decline in DPOAE amplitude occurred at 30 kHz, nearly an octave above the 16-20 kHz exposure band. The rate of decline in DPOAE amplitude was 0.54 for every 1 dB increase in noise intensity. Using a linear regression calculation, the estimated critical level for 16-20 kHz noise was remarkably low, approximately 60 dB SPL. These results indicate that long duration, 16-20 kHz noise exposures in the 65-70 dB SPL range likely affect the cochlea and central auditory system of male Sprague-Dawley rats.

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Changes in the Synchrony of Multimodal Communication in Early Language Development

Purpose

The aim of this study is to analyze the changes in temporal synchrony between gesture and speech of multimodal communicative behaviors in the transition from babbling to two-word productions.

Method

Ten Spanish-speaking children were observed at 9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age in a semistructured play situation. We longitudinally analyzed the synchrony between gestures and vocal productions and between their prominent parts. We also explored the relationship between gestural–vocal synchrony and independent measures of language development.

Results

Results showed that multimodal communicative behaviors tend to be shorter with age, with an increasing overlap of its constituting elements. The same pattern is found when considering the synchrony between the prominent parts. The proportion of overlap between gestural and vocal elements at 15 months of age as well as the proportion of the stroke overlapped with vocalization appear to be related to lexical development 3 months later.

Conclusions

These results suggest that children produce gestures and vocalizations as coordinated elements of a single communication system before the transition to the two-word stage. This coordination is related to subsequent lexical development in this period.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6912242

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Intraventricular haemorrhage as the first manifestation of congenital Cytomegalovirus infection.

Related Articles

Intraventricular haemorrhage as the first manifestation of congenital Cytomegalovirus infection.

Indian J Med Microbiol. 2018 Apr-Jun;36(2):279-281

Authors: Sobolewska-Pilarczyk M, Pawlak-Osinska K, Drewa S, Smok B, Pawlowska M

Abstract
Congenital Cytomegalovirus infection (CCMV) is the most common intrauterine infection. Early diagnosis of CCMV is hindered by three factors: There is no screening programme for CMV infection in pregnant women; a high percentage of infections in neonates are asymptomatic; the clinical signs of CCMV infection are uncharacteristic. The aim of this article is to analyse the clinical picture and course of CCMV treatment in a 3-week-old newborn, analyse adverse events in 14-week-long antiviral therapy and also assess intraventricular bleeding as an early indicator for the diagnosis of CCMV.

PMID: 30084424 [PubMed - in process]

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Efferent Inhibition of the Cochlea.

Related Articles

Efferent Inhibition of the Cochlea.

Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2018 Aug 06;:

Authors: Fuchs PA, Lauer AM

Abstract
Cholinergic efferent neurons originating in the brainstem innervate the acoustico-lateralis organs (inner ear, lateral line) of vertebrates. These release acetylcholine (ACh) to inhibit hair cells through activation of calcium-dependent potassium channels. In the mammalian cochlea, ACh shunts and suppresses outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility, reducing the essential amplification of basilar membrane motion. Consequently, medial olivocochlear neurons that inhibit OHCs reduce the sensitivity and frequency selectivity of afferent neurons driven by cochlear vibration of inner hair cells (IHCs). The cholinergic synapse on hair cells involves an unusual ionotropic ACh receptor, and a near-membrane postsynaptic cistern. Lateral olivocochlear (LOC) neurons modulate type I afferents by still-to-be-defined synaptic mechanisms. Olivocochlear neurons can be activated by a reflex arc that includes the auditory nerve and projections from the cochlear nucleus. They are also subject to modulation by higher-order central auditory interneurons. Through its actions on cochlear hair cells, afferent neurons, and higher centers, the olivocochlear system protects against age-related and noise-induced hearing loss, improves signal coding in noise under certain conditions, modulates selective attention to sensory stimuli, and influences sound localization.

PMID: 30082454 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Intraventricular haemorrhage as the first manifestation of congenital Cytomegalovirus infection.

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Intraventricular haemorrhage as the first manifestation of congenital Cytomegalovirus infection.

Indian J Med Microbiol. 2018 Apr-Jun;36(2):279-281

Authors: Sobolewska-Pilarczyk M, Pawlak-Osinska K, Drewa S, Smok B, Pawlowska M

Abstract
Congenital Cytomegalovirus infection (CCMV) is the most common intrauterine infection. Early diagnosis of CCMV is hindered by three factors: There is no screening programme for CMV infection in pregnant women; a high percentage of infections in neonates are asymptomatic; the clinical signs of CCMV infection are uncharacteristic. The aim of this article is to analyse the clinical picture and course of CCMV treatment in a 3-week-old newborn, analyse adverse events in 14-week-long antiviral therapy and also assess intraventricular bleeding as an early indicator for the diagnosis of CCMV.

PMID: 30084424 [PubMed - in process]

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Efferent Inhibition of the Cochlea.

Related Articles

Efferent Inhibition of the Cochlea.

Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2018 Aug 06;:

Authors: Fuchs PA, Lauer AM

Abstract
Cholinergic efferent neurons originating in the brainstem innervate the acoustico-lateralis organs (inner ear, lateral line) of vertebrates. These release acetylcholine (ACh) to inhibit hair cells through activation of calcium-dependent potassium channels. In the mammalian cochlea, ACh shunts and suppresses outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility, reducing the essential amplification of basilar membrane motion. Consequently, medial olivocochlear neurons that inhibit OHCs reduce the sensitivity and frequency selectivity of afferent neurons driven by cochlear vibration of inner hair cells (IHCs). The cholinergic synapse on hair cells involves an unusual ionotropic ACh receptor, and a near-membrane postsynaptic cistern. Lateral olivocochlear (LOC) neurons modulate type I afferents by still-to-be-defined synaptic mechanisms. Olivocochlear neurons can be activated by a reflex arc that includes the auditory nerve and projections from the cochlear nucleus. They are also subject to modulation by higher-order central auditory interneurons. Through its actions on cochlear hair cells, afferent neurons, and higher centers, the olivocochlear system protects against age-related and noise-induced hearing loss, improves signal coding in noise under certain conditions, modulates selective attention to sensory stimuli, and influences sound localization.

PMID: 30082454 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader https://ift.tt/2vv6aif
via IFTTT