EXPRESS: Investigating the underlying mechanisms of the Enactment Effect: The role of action-object bindings in aiding immediate memory performance

Previous research has established that enacted action-object phrases lead to superior immediate memory performance compared to purely verbal memory. In the current investigation, Experiment 1 examined how enactment separately affects immediate memory for actions and objects in 24 adults by presenting action-object phrases and asking participants to recall either the actions or the objects presented in correct serial order. The results showed that when employed at presentation, enactment led to superior recall performance compared to verbal repetition, but this effect was significant only for memory for actions and not objects. Enactment during immediate recall did not lead to better memory performance compared to verbal recall for either actions or objects. In order to examine whether the lack of an enactment at recall was due to the splitting of action-object phrases at retrieval, Experiment 2 (n=24) examined memory for whole action-object phrases under enactment at recall. The results showed a typical enactment at recall benefit. Furthermore, a novel binding analysis showed that enactment recall increased the likelihood of action features being remembered in a bound pair rather than alone. Together these findings suggest that action-object bindings play a crucial role in the manifestation of the enactment effect in immediate recall, especially when enactment is employed at the recall phase.

Spontaneous verbal repetition in toddler-adult conversations: a longitudinal study with Spanish-speaking two- year-olds

The role of children’s verbal repetition of parents’ utterances on vocabulary growth has been well documented (Masur, 1999). Nevertheless, few studies have analyzed adults’ and children’s spontaneous verbal repetition around the second birthday distinguishing between the types of repetition. We analyzed longitudinally Spanish-speaking parent-child dyads during spontaneous interaction at 21, 24 and 30 months. Linguistic level was measured using the Spanish version of the MacArthur CDI (López-Ornat et al., 2005). Children’s and adults’ repetitions are about 17% of the speech. Children repeated adults’ utterances in a reduced manner whereas adults produced more extended repetitions. Adults’ rate of repetition predicted children’s linguistic level at 30 months. Children’s rate of repetition did not predict linguistic level. These results suggest that parents adapt their speech to children’s communicative abilities. Since children’s rate of repetition did not predict linguistic level, we suggest that verbal imitation plays an indirect and complex role in communicative development.

Neural substrates of verbal repetition deficits in primary progressive aphasia

In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between cortical thickness and performance on several verbal repetition tasks in a cohort of patients with primary progressive aphasia in order to test predictions generated by theoretical accounts of phonological working memory that predict phonological content buffers in left posterior inferior frontal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus. Cortical surfaces were reconstructed from magnetic resonance imaging scans from 42 participants diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia. Cortical thickness was measured in a set of anatomical regions spanning the entire cerebral cortex. Correlation analyses were performed between cortical thickness and average score across three phonological working memory related tasks: the Repetition subtest from the Western Aphasia Battery, a forward digit span task, and a backward digit span task. Significant correlations were found between average working memory score across tasks and cortical thickness in left supramarginal gyrus and left posterior inferior frontal sulcus, in support of prior theoretical accounts of phonological working memory. Exploratory whole-brain correlation analyses performed for each of the three behavioral tasks individually revealed a distinct set of positively-correlated regions for each task. Comparison of cortical thickness measures from different primary progressive aphasia subtypes to cortical thickness in age-matched controls further revealed unique patterns of atrophy in the different subtypes.

HELEN GRIME (b. 1981)In the Mist (2008)

This chapter studies Scottish composer Helen Grime’s In the Mist (2008). In this work, Grime’s writing for the medium of voice and piano shows a healthy resistance against the growing trend amongst younger composers to revisit conventionally expressive, ‘accessible’ styles. Especially distinctive is her treatment of the piano, not as a nineteenth-century Romantic instrument, but as a purveyor of bright, steely resonances that occasionally evoke the metallic sheen of keyed percussion. Void of weighty, sustaining chords, spaces are filled out with decorative figures, as in harpsichord music. There is also much verbal repetition, expanding Lloyd Schwartz’s poem’s spare, gnomic lines. The singer’s part is exhilaratingly physical, requiring fitness and stamina. As a former oboist, the composer thinks in long phrases, which, well controlled, will be of benefit to the voice. A clear, youthful tenor sound is needed—heavier voices could find the highly sprung phrases uncomfortable.

Neural substrates of verbal repetition deficits in primary progressive aphasia

In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between cortical thickness and performance on several verbal repetition tasks in a cohort of patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) in order to test predictions generated by theoretical accounts of phonological working memory (PWM) that predict phonological content buffers in left posterior inferior frontal sulcus (pIFS) and supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Cortical surfaces were reconstructed from magnetic resonance imaging scans from 42 participants diagnosed with PPA. Cortical thickness was measured in a set of anatomical regions spanning the entire cerebral cortex. Correlation analyses were performed between cortical thickness and average score across three PWM related tasks: the Repetition subtest from the Western Aphasia Battery, a forward digit span task, and a backward digit span task. Significant correlations were found between average PWM score across tasks and cortical thickness in left SMG and left pIFS, in support of prior theoretical accounts of PWM. Exploratory whole-brain correlation analyses performed for each of the three behavioral tasks individually revealed a distinct set of positively-correlated regions for each task. Comparison of cortical thickness measures from different PPA subtypes to cortical thickness in age-matched controls further revealed unique patterns of atrophy in the different PPA subtypes.

Countering COVID-19-related anti-Chinese racism with translanguaged swearing on social media

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a spectacular rise in social media communication and an unprecedented avalanche of global conversation. This paper traces the emergence of the racist term “Chinese virus” used by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, on the Western social media platform Twitter and its reception and recontextualization on Chinese social media. Creative bilingual responses fusing English and Chinese resulted in a popular searchable meme “#用中式英语跨文化交流#” (“#Chinglish used for cross-cultural communication#”), on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. Such linguistic creativity involves a variation of swears to mock and condemn the racist phrase. Formally, linguistic practices such as self-coinage, transliteration, verbal repetition, and acronyms can be observed. Functionally, the recontexualizations evidence a defensive ideology linked to nationalism and modernism. Ultimately, combatting the English racist term “Chinese virus” with a creative mixture of English and Chinese demonstrates how English has become ever more decentered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pathological verbal repetition by Chinese elders with Dementia of Alzheimer’s Type

Verbal repetition has been acknowledged as one of the most common symptoms in early Dementia of Alzheimer's Type (DAT). Despite previous attempts, the applicability of verbal repetition as an essential linguistic marker indicating this disease remains unexplored for Chinese DAT patients. This study collects Chinese DAT patients' daily conversation data to investigate both structural and functional aspects of pathological verbal repetition. Three major types are set regarding the cases of pathological repetition, respectively ‘unconscious concept repetition', ‘perseveration', and ‘involuntary word repetition'. The analysis focuses on what features these repetitions have from the perspective of ‘ideational function', ‘interpersonal function', and ‘textual function' within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics. A better understanding of pathological verbal repetition by DAT elders as the linguistic markers of cognitive impairment promotes effective communication between patients, nursing staff, and family members.

PRACTICAL EDUCATION OF ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES USING A WEB COURSE

Education of adults with intellectual disabilities in labor activities can help them to successfully and repeatedly carry out their work tasks and significantly help their self-realization. The problem is that the need for frequent repetition of already learned skills requires the constant presence of a teacher or caregiver since such a worker is not able to work independently. This situation increases the cost of employing people with disabilities. The aim is to find a way to reduce the necessary number of caregivers needed in this kind of activity and enable greater self-sufficiency of workers. The presented research intended to verify whether a web course could be an effective educational tool for people with intellectual disabilities. During the research, a group of ten participants with intellectual disabilities was educated to acquire basic skills in horticulture. The first teaching was realized through practical demonstrations at the workplace in the university production garden by professional gardeners. After these demonstrations skills of all participants were verified and so the basic level for further verification and comparison of knowledge was set. Subsequently, using three approaches of repeating the already learned practical curriculum (verbal repetition, no repetition, and repetition using the web course) and different time intervals, the level of knowledge of each participant was verified. Statistical methods were used to compare the results of different repetition approaches. Research results demonstrated that a web course, with specific content that consists of video or animation, combined with the use of pictograms for confident navigation, can be used by people with intellectual disabilities with good results. At the same time, in addition to practical teaching, this was the second best-rated approach of repeating knowledge. Using a web course, participants achieved similar work results as they did in practical teaching. Keywords: adult education, intellectual disabilities, professional education, web course.