scholarly journals Narrative Language Sampling in Typical Development: Implications for Clinical Trials

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Moore Channell ◽  
Susan J. Loveall ◽  
Frances A. Conners ◽  
Danielle J. Harvey ◽  
Leonard Abbeduto
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Expressive Language ◽  
Sampling Procedure ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Language Sampling ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Narrative Language

Purpose This study examined cross-sectional age-related trajectories of expressive language variables (syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, unintelligibility, dysfluency, and talkativeness) derived from a narrative language sampling procedure. Method Narrative samples were analyzed from 103 typically developing individuals, ages 4–21 years. Results Results showed that this procedure was effective for the entire age range, with participants producing an utterance on virtually every page of the wordless picture books used to prompt the narrative. Importantly, the cross-sectional trajectories for syntactic complexity and lexical diversity showed age-related increases through the age of 18 years, although measures of other dimensions of language showed different relationships with age. Conclusions These data inform developmental work and document the extent to which the narrative procedure can be used to characterize expressive language over a wide age range. This procedure has been proposed as an outcome measure for clinical trials and interventions involving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The present data document the developmental levels for which the procedure and metrics derived are appropriate.

scholarly journals Age-related change in task-evoked amygdala-prefrontal circuitry: a multiverse approach with an accelerated longitudinal cohort aged 4-22 years

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Alexander Bloom ◽  
Michelle VanTieghem ◽  
Laurel Gabard-Durnam ◽  
Dylan G Gee ◽  
Jessica Flannery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Separation Anxiety ◽  
Developmental Change ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Amygdala Reactivity

There has been considerable interest in the development of the amygdala and its connections with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) given the central role of these brain regions in emotional processes. While several studies have suggested that this circuitry exhibits functional changes across the first two decades of life, they have typically employed cross-sectional designs, and findings have been mixed. Additionally, analytic choices may contribute to discrepancies across studies. Here we used an accelerated longitudinal design to examine task-evoked changes in amygdala-mPFC circuitry from 4-22 years of age (N=98; 183 total scans; 1-3 scans per participant). Participants were recruited from the greater Los Angeles area, and completed an event-related emotional face (fear, neutral) task designed to be appropriate for the wide age range. 'Multiverse' analyses examined the robustness of our findings to fMRI analysis choices. 2808 parallel analyses varying in preprocessing and modeling choices found evidence for average age-related decreases in amygdala reactivity to faces. Greater amygdala reactivity at younger ages was attributable to elevated responses during the first few trials relative to later trials. Within-participant changes in amygdala reactivity with age could not be differentiated from between-participant differences, however. Across analysis decision points, we did not find consistent evidence of age-related change in amygdala-mPFC connectivity through generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) or beta-series correlation (BSC) methods. We also did not find evidence for associations between separation anxiety behaviors and amygdala reactivity or amygdala-mPFC connectivity. Within the context of this faces task and age range, age-related changes in amygdala reactivity were more robust to processing pipeline than were task-evoked functional connectivity measures, particularly those using gPPI. These findings highlight both the challenges in estimating developmental change in longitudinal cohorts and the value of multiverse approaches in developmental neuroimaging for assessing robustness of results.

A Comparison of Natural Language Samples Collected From Minimally and Low-Verbal Children and Adolescents With Autism by Parents and Examiners

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4018-4028
Author(s):  
Mihaela D. Barokova ◽  
Sommer Hassan ◽  
Collin Lee ◽  
Mengyuan Xu ◽  
Helen Tager-Flusberg
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Expressive Language ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Standardized Assessments ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Verbal Interactions ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Adolescents With Autism ◽  
Adolescents With Asd ◽  
At Home

Purpose We aimed to compare the speech of parents and examiners as they elicited language samples from minimally and low-verbal (MLV) children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while following the same semi-structured elicitation protocol, Eliciting Language Samples for Analysis–Adolescents (ELSA-A). We also compared the speech elicited from the MLV children/adolescents by their parents at home and by trained examiners in the lab and assessed the feasibility of parents collecting language samples at home. Method Thirty-three (five female, 28 male) MLV children and adolescents with ASD between the ages of 6;6 and 19;7 (years;months) participated. All participants were administered standardized assessments, and a trained examiner collected an ELSA-A language sample from them in the lab. The parents of 22 of the children/adolescents collected an ELSA-A sample at home. All language samples were transcribed following standard procedures, and measures of expressive language were extracted to assess the quantity of speech, its syntactic complexity, and lexical diversity. At the end of the study, parents filled out a feedback survey about their experiences collecting ELSA-A. Results On average, parents produced twice as much speech as trained examiners during ELSA-A. However, their speech did not differ in syntactic complexity or lexical diversity. When with their parents, the MLV children/adolescents also produced twice as much speech than with trained examiners. In addition, their samples were more lexically diverse. Overall, parents elicited longer language samples but administered fewer of the ELSA-A activities. Nevertheless, the majority of parents rated the experience of collecting language samples at home favorably. Conclusions When parents collect language samples at home, their older MLV children/adolescents with ASD produce more speech and engage in more back-and-forth verbal interactions than when with trained examiners. Because parent-elicited language samples allow for a richer assessment of children's expressive language abilities, future studies should focus on identifying ways to encourage parents to collect data at home.

Children's Story Retelling Under Different Modality and Task Conditions

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Gazella ◽  
Ida J. Stockman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Presentation Modality ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Sentence Complexity ◽  
Story Retelling ◽  
Language Sampling ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
And Task

This study was motivated by the possibility of standardizing a story-retelling task well enough to function as a brief screener of children's global syntactic features. Specifically, the study determined whether the story presentation modality (i.e., audio-only or combined auditory and visual presentation) differentially influenced the quantity of talk, its lexical diversity and sentence complexity, as expressed in children's retold story narratives and responses to direct questions about the story. Twenty-nine Caucasian male preschoolers, who ranged in age from 4;2 to 5;6 (years;months), were randomly assigned to a modality presentation condition. The audio-only group did not differ significantly from the audiovisual group in the amount of talk, lexical diversity, or syntactic complexity of sentences used in the narratives or responses to direct questions. Nevertheless, the story-retelling task yielded the longest and most grammatically complete utterances. Responses to direct questions yielded the largest number of utterances and different words. The clinical implications of these results for standardizing language sampling are discussed.

Adaptive Resources of the Aging Self: Outlines of an Emergent Perspective

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Brandtstadter ◽  
Dirk Wentura ◽  
Werner Greve
Keyword(s):  
Personal Development ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Personal Goals ◽  
Sense Of Control ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Functional Capacities ◽  
Age Range

The transition to old age has often been related to loss of control, depression, and lowered self-esteem. A different picture, however, begins to emerge from recent age-comparative studies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from two larger studies in the age range from middle to late adulthood are presented which indicate that elderly people, while being perceptive of age-related developmental losses, are quite effective in maintaining a sense of control and a positive view of self and personal development. It is argued that the apparent resiliency of the aging self hinges on the interplay between two basic processes: (1) instrumental activities that aim at preventing or alleviating developmental losses in domains that are relevant to the individual's self-esteem and identity; (2) accommodative processes by which personal goals and frames of self-evaluation are adjusted to changes in action resources and functional capacities. Evidence is presented in support of the assumption that with advancing age, accommodative processes become increasingly important aspects of coping and life-management.

scholarly journals Effect of Polyphenols on Cognitive Function: Evidence from Population-based Studies and Clinical Trials

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenzhe Yang ◽  
Kaiwang Cui ◽  
X. Li ◽  
J. Zhao ◽  
Z. Zeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Dietary Polyphenols ◽  
Age Related

AbstractDue to progressive population aging, a new dementia case occurs at every 3 seconds, placing a heavy burden of disease. Identifying potential risk or preventive factors is emphasized owing to a lack of effective treatment for dementia. There has been emerging evidence on the link of certain dietary components, particularly polyphenols, to brain wellness and cognitive outcomes. Findings from animal and in vitro studies appear more consistent and conclusive. However, such an association has not been investigated in depth in human beings. In this review, we examined studies on the effect of dietary polyphenols (including flavonoids, curcumin, and resveratrol) on cognitive function. Intervention in early stages of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease might be a target to slow down age-related cognitive decline before disease onset. We summarized 28 epidemiological studies (8 cross-sectional and 20 cohort studies) and 55 trials in this review. Preliminary evidence from epidemiological data provides the necessity for intervention trials, even though the measures of polyphenol intake tend to be less precise. Clinical trials are in favor of the role of some polyphenols in benefiting specific domains of cognition. This review also describes the divergence of results and current limitations of research in this field.

scholarly journals Influence of schooling on language abilities of adults without linguistic disorders

2009 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Cristina Siqueira Soares ◽  
Karin Zazo Ortiz
Keyword(s):  
Language Assessment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Range

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: In order to properly assess language, sociodemographic variables that can influence the linguistic performance of individuals with or without linguistic disorders need to be taken into account. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of schooling and age on the results from the Montreal Toulouse (Modified MT Beta-86) language assessment test among individuals without linguistic disorders. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study carried out between March 2006 and August 2007 in the Speech, Language and Hearing Pathology Department of Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp), São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: Eighty volunteers were selected. Schooling was stratified into three bands: A (1-4 years), B (5-8 years) and C (nine years and over). The age range was from 17 to 80 years. All the subjects underwent the Montreal Toulouse (Modified MT Beta-86) language assessment protocol. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found in relation to schooling levels, in the tasks of oral comprehension, reading, graphical comprehension, naming, lexical availability, dictation, graphical naming of actions and number reading. Statistically significant age-related differences in dictation and lexical availability tasks were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The Montreal Toulouse (Modified MT Beta-86) test seems to be sensitive to variations in schooling and age. These variables should be taken into account when this test is used for assessing patients with brain damage.

How Adolescents Interpret the Moral Messages of Fables: Examining the Development of Critical Thinking

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1212-1226
Author(s):  
Marilyn A. Nippold ◽  
Scott LaFavre ◽  
Kristin Shinham
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Standards ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Core State ◽  
Language And Thought ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Language Sampling ◽  
The Common

Purpose Critical thinking pervades formal educational benchmarks in the United States, including the Common Core State Standards. However, little information is available on how it develops. Hence, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the development of critical thinking in adolescents using a written language-sampling task. We also examined related aspects of development: verbal productivity, syntactic complexity, and metacognitive verb use. Method The participants included two groups of adolescents, aged 13 and 16 years ( n = 40 per group). All testing took place in classrooms at a middle school or high school. Participants read four fables by the Greek storyteller Aesop (circa 620–560 B.C.) and explained in writing why they agreed or disagreed with the moral message of each story. To examine critical thinking, we evaluated their explanations using a unique 0- to 4-point scoring system. We also examined each participant's transcript for verbal productivity, syntactic complexity, and metacognitive verb use. Results On the critical thinking task, the 16-year-olds outperformed the 13-year-olds, providing explanations that were more elaborate and detailed. However, there were many individual differences within groups, and even the older group did not consistently perform at the highest level, indicating that critical thinking is a late-developing ability. Age-related gains also occurred on verbal productivity and metacognitive verb use but not on syntactic complexity. Conclusion Information gleaned from this study demonstrates how critical thinking develops during adolescence but remains incomplete. The study also has implications for assessing critical thinking in adolescents and knowing how to prompt complex language and thought. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12100989

scholarly journals The Relationship between Expressive Language Sampling and Clinical Measures in Fragile X Syndrome and Typical Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca C. Shaffer ◽  
Lauren Schmitt ◽  
Angela John Thurman ◽  
Leonard Abbeduto ◽  
Michael Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fragile X Syndrome ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Fragile X ◽  
Expressive Language ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Typical Development ◽  
Language Sampling ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Clinical Measures

Language impairment is a core difficulty in fragile X syndrome (FXS), and yet standardized measures lack the sensitivity to assess developmental changes in the nature of these impairments. Expressive Language Sampling Narrative (ELS-N) has emerged as a promising new measure with research demonstrating its usefulness in a wide range of ages in developmental disabilities and typical development. We examined ELS-N results in FXS and age-matched typically developing (TD) controls along with cognitive, adaptive, and clinical measures. We found the groups differed significantly on all ELS-N variables. Cognitive abilities were related to lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, and unintelligibility for the FXS group, but only verbal abilities were related to syntactic complexity in TD. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomatology was related to less intelligibility in speech. Measures of hyperactivity were related to increased talkativeness and unintelligibility. In addition, FXS males in comparison to FXS females were more impaired in cognitive ability, ASD symptoms, hyperactivity, and anxiety. This study extends the previous ELS research, supporting its use in FXS research as a measure to characterize language abilities. It also demonstrates the relationships between ELS-N variables and measures of cognitive, adaptive, ASD symptoms, and clinical symptoms.

scholarly journals Retinal Vascular Density on OCT-A and Age-Related Central and Peripheral Hearing Loss in an Italian Older Population

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 157-157
Author(s):  
Ilaria Bortone ◽  
Francesco Panza ◽  
Giancarlo Sborgia ◽  
Gianluigi Giuliani ◽  
Valentina Pastore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Retinal Vessel ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Vascular Density ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Hearing Loss ◽  
Age Range

Abstract Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and retinal vessel changes have both been associated to neurodegeneration/dementia, suggesting a possible link between these two conditions in older age. We analyzed data on 886 older participants (65 years+, age range: 65-92 years) in the cross-sectional population-based Salus in Apulia Study. OCT-A scan was used to measure SVD and DVD of the capillary plexi of the macula in different retinal quadrants. Peripheral ARHL was defined as >40 dB HL of PTA (0.5,1,2, and 4KHz) in the worst ear, and age-related CAPD as <50% at the SSI-ICM test in at least one ear. DVD at the whole retina and at the parafoveal quadrant were inversely associated only with age-related CAPD [OR:0.93; 95%CI: 0.88-0.96 and OR:0.94; 95 CI:0.90-0.99, respectively]. The association of retinal vascular density with age-related CAPD may bring us a further step forward in understanding the biological mechanisms underlying the links between neurodegeneration/dementia and ARHL.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document