scholarly journals Nonverbal Semantics Test (NVST)—A Novel Diagnostic Tool to Assess Semantic Processing Deficits: Application to Persons with Aphasia after Cerebrovascular Accident

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 359
Author(s):  
Katharina Hogrefe ◽  
Georg Goldenberg ◽  
Ralf Glindemann ◽  
Madleen Klonowski ◽  
Wolfram Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Cerebrovascular Accident ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Verbal Tasks ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
The Relationship

Assessment of semantic processing capacities often relies on verbal tasks which are, however, sensitive to impairments at several language processing levels. Especially for persons with aphasia there is a strong need for a tool that measures semantic processing skills independent of verbal abilities. Furthermore, in order to assess a patient’s potential for using alternative means of communication in cases of severe aphasia, semantic processing should be assessed in different nonverbal conditions. The Nonverbal Semantics Test (NVST) is a tool that captures semantic processing capacities through three tasks—Semantic Sorting, Drawing, and Pantomime. The main aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the NVST and measures of standard neurolinguistic assessment. Fifty-one persons with aphasia caused by left hemisphere brain damage were administered the NVST as well as the Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT). A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted across all AAT and NVST subtests. The analysis resulted in a two-factor model that captured 69% of the variance of the original data, with all linguistic tasks loading high on one factor and the NVST subtests loading high on the other. These findings suggest that nonverbal tasks assessing semantic processing capacities should be administered alongside standard neurolinguistic aphasia tests.

scholarly journals Tactile cortical responses and association with tactile reactivity in young children on the autism spectrum

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Svenja Espenhahn ◽  
Kate J. Godfrey ◽  
Sakshi Kaur ◽  
Maia Ross ◽  
Niloy Nath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Real World ◽  
Somatosensory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Childhood Autism ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Early Childhood Autism

Abstract Background Unusual behavioral reactions to sensory stimuli are frequently reported in individuals on the autism spectrum (AS). Despite the early emergence of sensory features (< age 3) and their potential impact on development and quality of life, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying sensory reactivity in early childhood autism. Methods Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate tactile cortical processing in young children aged 3–6 years with autism and in neurotypical (NT) children. Scalp EEG was recorded from 33 children with autism, including those with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities, and 45 age- and sex-matched NT children during passive tactile fingertip stimulation. We compared properties of early and later somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) and their adaptation with repetitive stimulation between autistic and NT children and assessed whether these neural measures are linked to “real-world” parent-reported tactile reactivity. Results As expected, we found elevated tactile reactivity in children on the autism spectrum. Our findings indicated no differences in amplitude or latency of early and mid-latency somatosensory-evoked potentials (P50, N80, P100), nor adaptation between autistic and NT children. However, latency of later processing of tactile information (N140) was shorter in young children with autism compared to NT children, suggesting faster processing speed in young autistic children. Further, correlational analyses and exploratory analyses using tactile reactivity as a grouping variable found that enhanced early neural responses were associated with greater tactile reactivity in autism. Limitations The relatively small sample size and the inclusion of a broad range of autistic children (e.g., with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities) may have limited our power to detect subtle group differences and associations. Hence, replications are needed to verify these results. Conclusions Our findings suggest that electrophysiological somatosensory cortex processing measures may be indices of “real-world” tactile reactivity in early childhood autism. Together, these findings advance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying tactile reactivity in early childhood autism and, in the clinical context, may have therapeutic implications.

scholarly journals Effect of corpus callosum agenesis on the language network in children and adolescents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Bartha-Doering ◽  
Ernst Schwartz ◽  
Kathrin Kollndorfer ◽  
Florian Ph. S. Fischmeister ◽  
Astrid Novak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Corpus Callosum ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Functional Language ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Language Network

AbstractThe present study is interested in the role of the corpus callosum in the development of the language network. We, therefore, investigated language abilities and the language network using task-based fMRI in three cases of complete agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), three cases of partial ACC and six controls. Although the children with complete ACC revealed impaired functions in specific language domains, no child with partial ACC showed a test score below average. As a group, ACC children performed significantly worse than healthy controls in verbal fluency and naming. Furthermore, whole-brain ROI-to-ROI connectivity analyses revealed reduced intrahemispheric and right intrahemispheric functional connectivity in ACC patients as compared to controls. In addition, stronger functional connectivity between left and right temporal areas was associated with better language abilities in the ACC group. In healthy controls, no association between language abilities and connectivity was found. Our results show that ACC is associated not only with less interhemispheric, but also with less right intrahemispheric language network connectivity in line with reduced verbal abilities. The present study, thus, supports the excitatory role of the corpus callosum in functional language network connectivity and language abilities.

scholarly journals Non-g Factors Predict Educational and Occupational Criteria: More than g

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Coyle
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
College Majors ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Scientific Issue ◽  
Armed Services ◽  
Integration Effort ◽  
G Factors

In a prior issue of the Journal of Intelligence, I argued that the most important scientific issue in intelligence research was to identify specific abilities with validity beyond g (i.e., variance common to mental tests) (Coyle, T.R. Predictive validity of non-g residuals of tests: More than g. Journal of Intelligence 2014, 2, 21–25.). In this Special Issue, I review my research on specific abilities related to non-g factors. The non-g factors include specific math and verbal abilities based on standardized tests (SAT, ACT, PSAT, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). I focus on two non-g factors: (a) non-g residuals, obtained after removing g from tests, and (b) ability tilt, defined as within-subject differences between math and verbal scores, yielding math tilt (math > verbal) and verbal tilt (verbal > math). In general, math residuals and tilt positively predict STEM criteria (college majors, jobs, GPAs) and negatively predict humanities criteria, whereas verbal residuals and tilt show the opposite pattern. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research, with a focus on theories of non-g factors (e.g., investment theories, Spearman’s Law of Diminishing Returns, Cognitive Differentiation-Integration Effort Model) and a magnification model of non-g factors.

Implicit Theories or Halo Effect? Conceptions about Children's Intelligence

1989 ◽  
Vol 65 (3_suppl2) ◽  
pp. 1187-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne Murrone ◽  
Malcolm D. Gynther
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Social Competence ◽  
Implicit Theories ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Average Intelligence ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Nonverbal Skills ◽  
Broad Level ◽  
Average Average

Information about implicit conceptions of children's intelligence was obtained by having undergraduates, aged 20 yr. or older, rate behavioral descriptions for hypothetical children classified as having “Above Average,” “Average,” and “Below Average” intelligence. While sex of subject and sex of child rated did not significantly influence the ratings, a main effect for level of intelligence was obtained, that is, ratings of behaviors rationally classified as Verbal Abilities, Problem-solving Abilities, Social Competence, Character/Personality Traits, Interest in Learning and/or Culture, Other Intellectual (Nonverbal) Skills or Abilities were significantly influenced only by the broad level of intelligence by which the child was classified. Factor analysis gave a social competence and a problem-solving factor comparable to those in people's conceptions of adult intelligence but did not substantiate a verbal abilities factor.

scholarly journals Contribution to Vocabulary Learning via Mobiles

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Khazaie ◽  
Saeed Ketabi
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
L2 Learners

As mobile connectedness continues to sweep across the landscape, the value of deploying mobile technology at the service of learning and teaching seems to be both self-evident and unavoidable. To this end, this study employed multimedia to develop three types of vocabulary learning materials. Due to the importance of short-term memory in the realm of vocabulary learning, careful consideration was given to the L2 learners’ different visual and verbal short-term memories. 158 L2 learners aged 18-23 participated in the major phases of vocabulary learning experiment through mobile. Based on their scores on the English Vocabulary and Recall tests and statistical analysis of the results it was revealed that L2 learners with high-visual and high-verbal abilities find it easier to learn the content presented with both pictorial and written annotations. However, L2 learners with low-visual and low-verbal abilities benefit from learning materials presented without annotations. Furthermore, delivery of learning materials with pictorial annotation to learners with high-visual ability and the delivery of learning materials with written annotation to learners with high-verbal ability result in better vocabulary learning. The findings of this study could perform as a roadmap in creating learning materials for mobile learning English language.

Developmental Adaptations for FB-IPT for Depressed Preadolescents

2018 ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Laura J. Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Psychosocial Intervention ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Interpersonal Psychotherapy ◽  
Interpersonal Therapy ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Treatment Targets ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Family Based

Chapter 3 of Family-based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) for Depressed Preadolescents presents the basics of family-based interpersonal therapy (FB-IPT), which is a psychosocial intervention for treating depression in preadolescents (ages 7–12). Adapted from interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed adolescents (IPT-A), FB-IPT includes several developmental modifications, including systematically involving a parent weekly in treatment, presenting treatment strategies visually, teaching communication skills in age-appropriate language, and having the preteen experiment with initiating social interactions outside of sessions in order to improve her engagement intreatment and acquisition of new skills. FB-IPT identifies treatment targets for both preadolescents and parents and is easily modified to target younger children’s (ages 7–8) cognitive and verbal abilities.

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