Improving Emotion Perception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Computer-Based Training and Hearing Amplification

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience challenges with social communication, often involving emotional elements of language. This may stem from underlying auditory processing difficulties, especially when incoming speech is nuanced or complex. This study explored the effects of auditory training on social perception abilities of children with ASD. The training combined use of a remote-microphone hearing system and computerized emotion perception training. At baseline, children with ASD had poorer social communication scores and delayed mismatch negativity (MMN) compared to typically developing children. Behavioral results, measured pre- and post-intervention, revealed increased social perception scores in children with ASD to the extent that they outperformed their typically developing peers post-intervention. Electrophysiology results revealed changes in neural responses to emotional speech stimuli. Post-intervention, mismatch responses of children with ASD more closely resembled their neurotypical peers, with shorter MMN latencies, a significantly heightened P2 wave, and greater differentiation of emotional stimuli, consistent with their improved behavioral results. This study sets the foundation for further investigation into connections between auditory processing difficulties and social perception and communication for individuals with ASD, and provides a promising indication that combining amplified hearing and computer-based targeted social perception training using emotional speech stimuli may have neuro-rehabilitative benefits.

Attentional Control in Young Drivers: Does Training Impact Hazard Anticipation in Dynamic Environments?

The interaction between top-down and bottom-up processing is a way to characterize control of visual attention, but it has not been extensively applied to the driving domain. The Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT) has been effective in improving drivers’ latent hazard anticipation, a top-down process. However, it is unclear whether RAPT protects drivers from being distracted by salient items on the roadway, diminishing latent hazard anticipation. The current driving simulator study examines the potential interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes by having RAPT-and Placebo-trained drivers navigate simulated environments with latent hazards and a stationary or dynamically moving pedestrian. While RAPT-trained drivers were better able to anticipate latent hazards than Placebo-trained drivers, presence of salient, bottom-up stimuli did not negatively impact hazard anticipation performance in either group. This implies RAPT-trained drivers were able to successfully divide their attention, anticipating latent hazards even in the presence of dynamic, driving-relevant objects.

Mainz Foot-school: a course concept for prevention and treatment of foot disorders

BackgroundPhysiotherapy offers an active approach to prevent and treat foot dysfunction, but it is currently rarely used. A Spiraldynamik®-inspired 6‒8-h educational program, called “Mainzer Fußschule” (Mainz Foot-school, MFS), was established to offer a framework for effective implementation. Elements of the courses are: knowledge transfer about anatomy and function, perception training, mobilization, as well as strengthening and coordination. In order to evaluate opinions of former participants about the course format and their subjective effects of course participation, we collected patient-reported outcomes (PROs).MethodsIn mid-2018, we conducted a retrospective, monocentric, questionnaire-based cohort study. The online-questionnaire comprised 23-items. All MFS attendees in 2015‒2017 who were contactable via e-mail (522; 90.3%) were approached. Finally, 350 completed questionnaires (67%) were returned.ResultsThe overall framework of the course was evaluated very positively by most participants, with 94.8% expressing a positive opinion about the course format, 97.2% about the theory vs. practice ratio, and 97.2% about the information content. PROs regarding the offering were equally positive, with 84.3% stating that their feet are now used and treated differently, and 63,9% that they still perform exercises learned in the MFS. Furthermore, the majority (67.9%) believes that the procedure had a positive effect on their existing foot problem. Feedback on the various other examined aspects was similarly positive.ConclusionsThe courses were rated positively by the majority of former participants, both in terms of format and subjective effects. Thus the MFS is a promising therapy option that should be included in an extended treatment concept with individual orthopedic examination and therapy options. Our results should be verified in a multicenter, randomized controlled study.Trial registrationThe Trial was approved by the ethical review committee of the Rhineland-Palatinate state chamber of physicians (18.04.2018). International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), DRKS00013890. Registered 11 May 2018, http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=DRKS00013890.

perception of brazilian Portuguese open and close mid vowels by native Russian speakers

The perception of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) mid vowels is mainly investigated by foreign researchers who work with learners of Brazilian Portuguese, native speakers of English or Spanish. In Brazil, this field has been poorly explored. This work contributes to filling this gap by investigating the perception of two Brazilian Portuguese minimal vowel pairs in the group of 103 native Russian speakers and nine French speakers, most of them residing in Brazil. The test has been designed to evaluate the perception of the mid high and low front vowels [e] - [ε], and the mid high and low back vowels [o] - [ɔ]. The test is conducted online and includes 30 trials distributed in three types of tasks: image identification (8 trials), vowel identification (4) and word discrimination (18). It also contains a short sociolinguistic questionnaire. Our findings indicate that native Russian speakers do not differentiate the Brazilian Portuguese mid vowels very well: the mean percentage of the correct answers in the Russophone group was 68%, while in the French group it was 87% and in the Brazilian control group 99%. No correlation was found between the percentage of correct answers and residence time in Brazil or type of language instruction. As next steps, we plan to investigate the differentiation of the Brazilian Portuguese open and close mid vowels by Russophones at the level of production. We also intend to create a training corpus and develop strategies for perception training of the Brazilian Portuguese mid vowels, monitoring their efficiency at different time points.