Brain Signatures of Syntactic and Semantic Processes during Children's Language Development

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1302-1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Hahne ◽  
Korinna Eckstein ◽  
Angela D. Friederici
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Late Childhood ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Late Positivity ◽  
Automatic Structure ◽  
Anterior Negativity ◽  
Neurophysiological Basis ◽  
Semantic Processes

Developmental aspects of language comprehension were investigated using event-related brain potentials. Children between the ages of 6 and 13 listened to passive sentences that were correct, semantically incorrect, or syntactically incorrect, and data in each condition were compared with those of adults. For semantic violations, adults demonstrated a negativity (N400), as did children, but the latency decreased with age. For syntactic violations, adults displayed an early left anterior negativity (ELAN) and a late centro-parietal positivity (P600). A syntactic negativity and a late positivity were also present for children between 7 and 13 years, again with latency decreasing with age. Six-year-olds, in contrast, did not demonstrate an ELAN effect, but a late, reduced P600 pattern for the syntactic violation condition. In the early time window, the 6-year-olds displayed a widely distributed negativity that was larger for the correct than for the syntactically incorrect condition. These data indicate that the neurophysiological basis for semantic processes during auditory sentence comprehension does not change dramatically between early childhood and adulthood. Syntactic processes for passive sentences appear to differ between early and late childhood, at least with respect to those processes reflected in the ELAN component. As there is evidence that the ELAN reflects highly automatic structure building processes, we conclude that these processes are not yet established at age 7, but gradually develop toward adult-like processing during late childhood.

Processing a second language: late learners' comprehension mechanisms as revealed by event-related brain potentials

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Hahne ◽  
Angela D. Friederici
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Native Japanese Speakers ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Anterior Negativity

Sentence comprehension in second language (L2) learners was examined using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Native Japanese speakers who had learned German as a second language after puberty listened to German sentences which were either correct, semantically incorrect, syntactically incorrect or both semantically and syntactically incorrect. Brain responses were registered while participants listened to these sentences. Grammaticality judgments required after each sentence revealed that their overall performance was not perfect but clearly above chance. When comparing the L2-learners' brain responses to those of native listeners, a variety of differences were observed. Whereas semantically incorrect sentences showed an ERP pattern similar to that of native listeners (a centro-parietal N400-effect), correct sentences elicited a greater positivity in L2-learners than in native listeners, possibly in reflection of greater difficulties in syntactic integration. For sentences containing a phrase structure violation, L2-learners did not show significant modulations of the syntax-related ERP components usually seen in native listeners (i.e. the early anterior negativity and the P600). Furthermore, sentences containing a pure semantic or a combined syntactic and semantic violation elicited a late right anterior-central negativity, an effect which has not been observed for native language processing. The topography of the effect may suggest that these additional processes are based on conceptual-semantic rather than on lexical-semantic aspects.

scholarly journals Auditory Language Comprehension in Children with Developmental Dyslexia: Evidence from Event-related Brain Potentials

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 1676-1695 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Sabisch ◽  
A. Hahne ◽  
E. Glass ◽  
W. von Suchodoletz ◽  
A. D. Friederici
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Dyslexia ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Semantic Integration ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
N400 Component ◽  
Anterior Negativity ◽  
Bilateral Distribution ◽  
Underlying Processes

In the present study, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to compare auditory sentence comprehension in 16 children with developmental dyslexia (age 9–12 years) and unimpaired controls matched on age, sex, and nonverbal intelligence. Passive sentences were presented, which were either correct or contained a syntactic violation (phrase structure) or a semantic violation (selectional restriction). In an overall sentence correctness judgment task, both control and dyslexic children performed well. In the ERPs, control children and dyslexic children demonstrated a similar N400 component for the semantic violation. For the syntactic violation, control children demonstrated a combined pattern, consisting of an early starting bilaterally distributed anterior negativity and a late centro-parietal positivity (P600). Dyslexic children showed a different pattern that is characterized by a delayed left lateralized anterior negativity, followed by a P600. These data indicate that dyslexic children do not differ from unimpaired controls with respect to semantic integration processes (N400) or controlled processes of syntactic reanalyses (P600) during auditory sentence comprehension. However, early and presumably highly automatic processes of phrase structure building reflected in the anterior negativity are delayed in dyslexic children. Moreover, the differences in hemispheric distribution of the syntactic negativity indicate different underlying processes in dyslexic children and controls. The bilateral distribution in controls suggests an involvement of right hemispherically established prosodic processes in addition to the left hemispherically localized syntactic processes, supporting the view that prosodic information may be used to facilitate syntactic processing during normal comprehension. The left hemispheric distribution observed for dyslexic children, in contrast, suggests that these children do not rely on information about the prosodic contour during auditory sentence comprehension as much as controls do. This finding points toward a phonological impairment in dyslexic children that might hamper the development of syntactic processes.

Neural Correlates of Syntactic Processing in Two-Year-Olds

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 1667-1678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regine Oberecker ◽  
Manuela Friedrich ◽  
Angela D. Friederici
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Late Positivity ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
First Pass ◽  
Anterior Negativity

Event-related brain potential (ERP) studies of sentence processing in adults have shown that phrase-structure violations are associated with two ERP components: an early left anterior negativity (ELAN) and a late, centro-parietal positivity (P600). Although the ELAN reflects highly automatic first-pass sentence parsing, the P600 has been interpreted to reflect later, more controlled processes. The present ERP study investigates the processing of phrase-structure violations in children below three years of age. Both children (mean age of 2.8 years) and adults passively listened to short active sentences that were either correct or syntactically incorrect. Adults displayed an ELAN that was followed by a P600 to the syntactic violation. Children also demonstrated a biphasic ERP pattern consisting of an early left hemispheric negativity and a late positivity. Both components, however, started later and persisted longer than those observed in adults. The left lateralization of the children's negativity suggests that this component can be interpreted as a child-specific precursor to the ELAN observed in adults. The appearance of the early negativity indicates that the neural mechanisms of syntactic parsing are present, in principle, during early language development.

scholarly journals Unattended Emotional Prosody Affects Visual Processing of Facial Expressions in Mandarin-Speaking Chinese: A Comparison With English-Speaking Canadians

2021 ◽  
pp. 002202212199089
Author(s):  
Pan Liu ◽  
Simon Rigoulot ◽  
Xiaoming Jiang ◽  
Shuyi Zhang ◽  
Marc D. Pell
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Late Time ◽  
Cultural Comparison ◽  
Emotional Prosody ◽  
Eastern Culture ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
English Speaking

Emotional cues from different modalities have to be integrated during communication, a process that can be shaped by an individual’s cultural background. We explored this issue in 25 Chinese participants by examining how listening to emotional prosody in Mandarin influenced participants’ gazes at emotional faces in a modified visual search task. We also conducted a cross-cultural comparison between data of this study and that of our previous work in English-speaking Canadians using analogous methodology. In both studies, eye movements were recorded as participants scanned an array of four faces portraying fear, anger, happy, and neutral expressions, while passively listening to a pseudo-utterance expressing one of the four emotions (Mandarin utterance in this study; English utterance in our previous study). The frequency and duration of fixations to each face were analyzed during 5 seconds after the onset of faces, both during the presence of the speech (early time window) and after the utterance ended (late time window). During the late window, Chinese participants looked more frequently and longer at faces conveying congruent emotions as the speech, consistent with findings from English-speaking Canadians. Cross-cultural comparison further showed that Chinese, but not Canadians, looked more frequently and longer at angry faces, which may signal potential conflicts and social threats. We hypothesize that the socio-cultural norms related to harmony maintenance in the Eastern culture promoted Chinese participants’ heightened sensitivity to, and deeper processing of, angry cues, highlighting culture-specific patterns in how individuals scan their social environment during emotion processing.

scholarly journals Blood gene expression-based prediction of lethality after respiratory infection by influenza A virus in mice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Milanez-Almeida ◽  
Andrew J. Martins ◽  
Parizad Torabi-Parizi ◽  
Luis M. Franco ◽  
John S. Tsang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza A Virus ◽  
Respiratory Infection ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Transcriptional Signature ◽  
Affected Tissue ◽  
Using Data

AbstractLethality after respiratory infection with influenza A virus (IAV) is associated with potent immune activation and lung tissue damage. In a well-controlled animal model of infection, we sought to determine if one could predict lethality using transcriptional information obtained from whole blood early after influenza virus exposure. We started with publicly available transcriptomic data from the lung, which is the primary site of the infection and pathology, to derive a multigene transcriptional signature of death reflective of innate inflammation associated with tissue damage. We refined this affected tissue signature with data from infected mouse and human blood to develop and validate a machine learning model that can robustly predict survival in mice after IAV challenge using data obtained from as little as 10 μl of blood from early time points post infection. Furthermore, in genetically identical, cohoused mice infected with the same viral bolus, the same model can predict the lethality of individual animals but, intriguingly, only within a specific time window that overlapped with the early effector phase of adaptive immunity. These findings raise the possibility of predicting disease outcome in respiratory virus infections with blood transcriptional data and pave the way for translating such approaches to humans.

scholarly journals Mobile Interventional Stroke Teams Improve Outcomes in the Early Time Window for Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob R. Morey ◽  
Xiangnan Zhang ◽  
Naoum Fares Marayati ◽  
Stavros Matsoukas ◽  
Emily Fiano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scale Score ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Time ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Late Time ◽  
Modified Rankin Scale ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Endovascular Thrombectomy

Background and Purpose: Endovascular thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion stroke is a time-sensitive intervention. The use of a Mobile Interventional Stroke Team (MIST) traveling to Thrombectomy Capable Stroke Centers to perform endovascular thrombectomy has been shown to be significantly faster with improved discharge outcomes, as compared with the drip-and-ship (DS) model. The effect of the MIST model stratified by time of presentation has yet to be studied. We hypothesize that patients who present in the early window (last known well of ≤6 hours) will have better clinical outcomes in the MIST model. Methods: The NYC MIST Trial and a prospectively collected stroke database were assessed for patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy from January 2017 to February 2020. Patients presenting in early and late time windows were analyzed separately. The primary end point was the proportion with a good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score of 0–2) at 90 days. Secondary end points included discharge National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and modified Rankin Scale. Results: Among 561 cases, 226 patients fit inclusion criteria and were categorized into MIST and DS cohorts. Exclusion criteria included a baseline modified Rankin Scale score of >2, inpatient status, or fluctuating exams. In the early window, 54% (40/74) had a good 90-day outcome in the MIST model, as compared with 28% (24/86) in the DS model ( P <0.01). In the late window, outcomes were similar (35% versus 41%; P =0.77). The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale at discharge was 5.0 and 12.0 in the early window ( P <0.01) and 5.0 and 11.0 in the late window ( P =0.11) in the MIST and DS models, respectively. The early window discharge modified Rankin Scale was significantly better in the MIST model ( P <0.01) and similar in the late window ( P =0.41). Conclusions: The MIST model in the early time window results in better 90-day outcomes compared with the DS model. This may be due to the MIST capturing high-risk fast progressors at an earlier time point. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03048292.

Morphosyntax, Prosody, and Linking Elements: The Auditory Processing of German Nominal Compounds

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1647-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Koester ◽  
Th. C. Gunter ◽  
S. Wagner ◽  
A. D. Friederici
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Linking Elements ◽  
Nominal Compounds ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Anterior Negativity

The morphosyntactic decomposition of German compound words and a proposed function of linking elements were examined during auditory processing using event-related brain potentials. In Experiment 1, the syntactic gender agreement was manipulated between a determiner and the initial compound constituent (the “nonhead” constituent), and between a determiner and the last constituent (“head”). Although only the head is (morpho)syntactically relevant in German, both constituents elicited a left-anterior negativity if its gender was incongruent. This strongly suggests that compounds are morphosyntactically decomposed. Experiment 2 tested the function of those linking elements which are homophonous to plural morphemes. It has been previously suggested that these indicate the number of nonhead constituents. The number agreement was manipulated for both constituents analogous to Experiment 1. Number-incongruent heads, but not nonhead constituents, elicited an N400 and a subsequent broad negativity, suggesting that linking elements are not processed as plural morphemes. Experiment 3 showed that prosodic cues (duration and fundamental frequency) are employed to differentiate between compounds and single nouns and, thereby, betwen linking elements and plural morphemes. Number-incongruent words elicited a broad negativity if they were produced with a single noun prosody; the same words elicited no event-related potential effect if produced with a compound prosody. A dual-route model can account for the influence of prosody on morphosyntactic processing.

What predicts poor outcome after successful thrombectomy in early time window?

2021 ◽  
pp. neurintsurg-2021-017946
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Olivot ◽  
Jeremy J Heit ◽  
Mikael Mazighi ◽  
Nicolas Raposo ◽  
Jean François Albucher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Carotid ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Independent Predictor ◽  
Early Time ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Multivariable Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Modified Rankin Scale ◽  
Large Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Poor Outcome

BackgroundHalf of the patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO)-related acute ischemic stroke (AIS) who undergo endovascular reperfusion are dead or dependent at 3 months. We hypothesize that in addition to established prognostic factors, baseline imaging profile predicts outcome among reperfusers.MethodsConsecutive patients receiving endovascular treatment (EVT) within 6 hours after onset with Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (TICI) 2b, 2c and 3 revascularization were included. Poor outcome was defined by a modified Rankin scale (mRS) 3–6 at 90 days. No mismatch (NoMM) profile was defined as a mismatch (MM) ratio ≤1.2 and/or a volume <10 mL on pretreatment imaging.Results187 patients were included, and 81 (43%) had a poor outcome. Median delay from stroke onset to the end of EVT was 259 min (IQR 209–340). After multivariable logistic regression analysis, older age (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.5; p=0.01), higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.25; p<0.0001), internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion (OR 3.02, 95% CI 1.2 to 8.0; p=0.021), and NoMM (OR 4.87, 95% CI 1.09 to 22.8; p=0.004) were associated with poor outcome. In addition, post-EVT hemorrhage (OR 3.64, 95% CI 1.5 to 9.1; p=0.04) was also associated with poor outcome.ConclusionsThe absence of a penumbra defined by a NoMM profile on baseline imaging appears to be an independent predictor of poor outcome after reperfusion. Strategies aiming to preserve the penumbra may be encouraged to improve these patients’ outcomes.

Abstract 241: Retinoic Acid Promotes Metabolic Maturation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-derived Cardiomyocytes

2020 ◽  
Vol 127 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shumei Miao ◽  
Xing Fang ◽  
Xiaoxiao Wang ◽  
Lingqun Ye ◽  
Jingsi Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
Retinoic Acid ◽  
Heart Development ◽  
Drug Testing ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cardiomyocyte Differentiation

Cardiomyocytes differentiated from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) represent a promising cell source for heart repair, disease modeling and drug testing. However, improving the differentiation efficiency and maturation of hESC-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) is still a major concern. Retinoic acid (RA) signaling plays multiple roles in heart development, and studies on RA can provide clues for understanding cardiomyocyte differentiation and maturation. In this study, we studied the roles of RA during cardiomyocyte differentiation and maturation, systematically. After adding RA at different stages of cardiomyocyte differentiation, we compared the efficiency of differentiation by quantitative real-time PCR and flow cytometry. We found that RA treatment at the lateral mesoderm stage (days 2-4) significantly improved cardiomyocyte differentiation, as evidenced by the upregulation of TNNT2, NKX2.5 and MYH6 on day 10 of differentiation. In addition, flow cytometry showed that the proportion of differentiated cardiomyocytes in the RA-treated group was significantly higher than that in control group. Furthermore, RA was added at different time intervals after purification to induce cardiomyocyte maturation. Our results demonstrated that RA treatment on days 15-20 increased cardiomyocyte area, sarcomere length, multinucleation and mitochondrial copy number, and promoted RNA splicing switch. Importantly, RA-treated cardiomyocytes showed decreased glycolysis and enhanced mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, with the increased utilization of fatty acid and exogenous pyruvate but not glutamine. In conclusion, our data indicated that RA treatment at an early time window (days 2-4) promotes the efficiency of cardiomyocyte differentiation and that RA treatment post beating (days 15-20) promotes cardiomyocyte metabolic maturation. The biphasic effects of RA provide new insights for improving cardiomyocyte differentiation and quality.

Early Inhibition of P-Selectin/P-Selectin Glycoprotein Ligand-1 Reduces Intimal Hyperplasia in Murine Vein Grafts through Platelet Adhesion

2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (12) ◽  
pp. 2014-2024
Author(s):  
Chi-Nan Tseng ◽  
Ya-Ting Chang ◽  
Cih-Yi Yen ◽  
Mariette Lengquist ◽  
Malin Kronqvist ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Intimal Hyperplasia ◽  
Vein Graft ◽  
Platelet Adhesion ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Leukocyte Recruitment ◽  
Luminal Surface ◽  
Vein Grafts ◽  
Inflammatory Phase

AbstractInflammatory processes contribute to intimal hyperplasia (IH) and long-term failure of vein grafts used in bypass surgery. Leukocyte recruitment on endothelial cells of vessels during inflammation is regulated by P-selectin and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), which also mediates the interaction between platelets and endothelial cells in vein grafts transferred to arteries. However, how this pathway causes IH in vein grafts is unclear. In this study, we used a murine model of vein grafting to investigate P-selectin-mediated platelet adhesion, followed by IH. On the luminal surface of the vein graft, leukocyte recruitment occurred mainly in areas with adhered platelets rather than on endothelial cells without adherent platelets 1 hour after vein grafting. Blockage of either P-selectin or PSGL-1 reduced platelet adhesion and leukocyte recruitment on the luminal surface of vein grafts. Inhibition of the P-selectin pathway in vein grafts significantly reduced platelet-mediated leukocyte recruitment and IH of vein grafts 28 days after surgery. The study demonstrates that functional blockage of the P-selectin/PSGL-1 pathway in the early inflammatory phase after vein grafting reduced leukocyte invasion in the vein graft wall and later IH development. The findings imply an attractive early time window for prevention of vein graft failure by manipulating platelet adhesion.

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