Text comprehension in Chinese children: Relative contribution of verbal working memory, pseudoword reading, rapid automatized naming, and onset-rime phonological segmentation.

It is common in intervention research to use measures of working memory either as an explanatory or control variable. This study examines the contribution of cognitive abilities, including verbal working memory (WM) and attention, to language performance in first- and second-grade children. We assessed children ( N = 414) on two forms of verbal WM, one attention, and two standardized assessments of language. Scores from all three measures of cognitive abilities significantly predicted latent language (64% variance). Both verbal WM measures were stronger predictors of a latent language variable compared to attention. Exploratory analyses revealed differences in the role of cognitive variables to language subdomains. The findings deepen our understanding on the relative associations between verbal WM, attention, and language. We conclude that it is important to consider the language demands of tasks when making decisions about assessment of verbal WM, specifically in the context of intervention research in domains that require language.

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Tapping to Music Predicts Literacy Skills of First-Grade Children

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741540 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Csaba Kertész ◽

Ferenc Honbolygó

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Phonological Awareness ◽

Reading Fluency ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Word Reading ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

First Grade ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Rapid Automatized Naming ◽

Reading Accuracy

The ability to synchronise one’s movements to the sound of a regular beat has been found to be associated with children’s language and reading abilities. Sensorimotor synchronisation or tapping performance can among other factors [e.g., working memory and rapid automatized naming (RAN)] predict phonological awareness and word reading accuracy and fluency of first graders. While tapping tasks that use a simple metronome sound are more often used, applying musical stimuli has the potential advantage of being more engaging and motivating for children. In the present study, we investigated whether tapping to a metronome beat or complex musical stimuli would predict phonological awareness and reading outcomes of Hungarian 6-7-year olds (N=37). We also measured participants’ general cognitive abilities (RAN, non-verbal intelligence and verbal working memory). Our results show that phonological awareness, spelling and reading accuracy were associated with the musical tasks while reading fluency was predicted by the metronome trials. Our findings suggest that complex musical tasks should be considered when investigating this age group, as they were, in general, more effective in predicting literacy outcomes.

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The relationship between listening comprehension of text and sentences in preschoolers: Specific or mediated by lower and higher level components?

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716411000749 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 395-415 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

ELENA FLORIT ◽

MAJA ROCH ◽

M. CHIARA LEVORATO

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Text Comprehension ◽

Listening Comprehension ◽

Sentence Comprehension ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Word Knowledge ◽

Not Given ◽

Linguistic Context ◽

The Relationship

ABSTRACTTwo studies explored the relation between listening comprehension of text and listening comprehension of sentences in preschoolers aged 4 to 5 years, 11 months. The first study analyzed this relationship taking into account the role of lower level components, namely, word knowledge and verbal working memory, as possible mediators. These components specifically accounted for listening text comprehension, whereas sentence comprehension did not. Given that sentences forming a text are not processed in isolation but in context, the second study explored the role of the ability to use linguistic context, a higher level component, in listening comprehension of text and sentences. Listening sentence comprehension was facilitated by the use of context, which accounted for individual differences in listening text comprehension. Overall, results showed that listening text comprehension is related to lower level as well as higher level components, whereas listening sentence comprehension does not play a specific role.

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Effects of reading goals on reading comprehension, reading rate, and allocation of working memory in children and adolescents with spina bifida meningomyelocele

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617710000123 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 517-525 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

LIANNE ENGLISH ◽

MARCIA A. BARNES ◽

JACK M. FLETCHER ◽

MAUREEN DENNIS ◽

KIMBERLY P. RAGHUBAR

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Spina Bifida ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Text Comprehension ◽

Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Effort ◽

Specific Information ◽

Word Decoding ◽

Spina Bifida Meningomyelocele

AbstractSpina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intact word decoding and deficient text and discourse comprehension. This study investigated the ability to adjust reading in accordance with specified reading goals in 79 children and adolescents with SBM (9–19 years of age) and 39 controls (8–17 years of age). Both groups demonstrated slower reading times and enhanced comprehension when reading to study or to come up with a title than when reading for specific information or for entertainment. For both groups, verbal working memory contributed to comprehension performance in those reading conditions hypothesized to require more cognitive effort. Despite their sensitivity to the goals of reading, the group with SBM answered fewer comprehension questions correctly across all reading goal conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesized cognitive underpinnings of comprehension deficits in SBM and to current models of text comprehension. (JINS, 2010, 16, 517–525.)

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Basic numerical processing, calculation, and working memory in children with dyscalculia and/or ADHD symptoms

Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1024/1422-4917/a000450 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 365-375 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jörg-Tobias Kuhn ◽

Elena Ise ◽

Julia Raddatz ◽

Christin Schwenk ◽

Christian Dobel

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Cognitive Profiles ◽

Adhd Symptoms ◽

Memory Processing ◽

Numerical Processing ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Neurocognitive Measures

Abstract. Objective: Deficits in basic numerical skills, calculation, and working memory have been found in children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) as well as children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This paper investigates cognitive profiles of children with DD and/or ADHD symptoms (AS) in a double dissociation design to obtain a better understanding of the comorbidity of DD and ADHD. Method: Children with DD-only (N = 33), AS-only (N = 16), comorbid DD+AS (N = 20), and typically developing controls (TD, N = 40) were assessed on measures of basic numerical processing, calculation, working memory, processing speed, and neurocognitive measures of attention. Results: Children with DD (DD, DD+AS) showed deficits in all basic numerical skills, calculation, working memory, and sustained attention. Children with AS (AS, DD+AS) displayed more selective difficulties in dot enumeration, subtraction, verbal working memory, and processing speed. Also, they generally performed more poorly in neurocognitive measures of attention, especially alertness. Children with DD+AS mostly showed an additive combination of the deficits associated with DD-only and A_Sonly, except for subtraction tasks, in which they were less impaired than expected. Conclusions: DD and AS appear to be related to largely distinct patterns of cognitive deficits, which are present in combination in children with DD+AS. 

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