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Psychological Bulletin Apr 2021The present meta-analysis aimed to quantify sex differences in verbal working memory and to examine potential moderators of these differences. We examined 802 effect... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
The present meta-analysis aimed to quantify sex differences in verbal working memory and to examine potential moderators of these differences. We examined 802 effect sizes from 478 samples in 284 studies in a multilevel meta-analysis. Results revealed a small overall female advantage (g = .028, 95% CI [.006, .050]). In the overall sample, results showed that sex differences differed across tasks. Specifically, the female advantage was significant for cued tasks (g = .079, 95% CI [.030, .128]) and Free Recall tasks (g = .145, 95% CI [.102, .188]) whereas there was a male advantage on Complex Span (g = -.042, 95% CI [-.083, -.002]), and no sex differences on Serial Recall (g = .003, 95% CI [-.055, .050]), and Simple Span tasks (g < .001, 95% CI [-.034, .033]). Within each task, we found that recall direction, stimulus type, presentation format, response format, and age accounted for significant variance in at least 1 of the tasks. Analyses provided no evidence of a publication bias, although the female advantage varied as a function of sample source, whether the title made reference to sex, and whether authors had to be contacted to obtain relevant data. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for sex differences in episodic memory and in the context of clinical applications and theory building. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Cues; Humans; Language; Memory, Episodic; Memory, Short-Term; Mental Recall; Sex Characteristics; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 34166005
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000320 -
World Neurosurgery Nov 2023Awake craniotomy is a unique method to prevent motor deficits during the resection of lesions located in or close to functional areas. We sought to study the outcomes of... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Awake craniotomy is a unique method to prevent motor deficits during the resection of lesions located in or close to functional areas. We sought to study the outcomes of pediatric craniotomy on published studies.
METHODS
The search for articles was performed through multiple search engines: PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Wiley. The following search terms were used for screening the titles and abstracts: "awake brain surgery" and "children" or "pediatrics," "awake craniotomy," and "children" or "pediatrics," "pediatrics awake craniotomy," "awake brain surgery pediatrics," and "tumors." On initial screening of the titles and abstracts, 54 articles were found. After a thorough review of the full texts of obtained articles and removing duplicates, 16 articles remained.
RESULTS
The mean age group was 12.23 years. There was a slight difference between genders who underwent awake craniotomy in the pediatric age group, 52.7% male and 47.3% for female. Tumor resection was the most common indication of the surgery. Almost half (47.9%) experienced complete recovery following the surgery. However, of those who had complicated recovery, 7.5% experienced a speech deficit.
CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review summarized that awake brain surgery can prevent significant motor and language deficits postoperatively in children after tumor resection as it is considered a feasible and safe procedure.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Child; Brain Neoplasms; Wakefulness; Monitoring, Intraoperative; Craniotomy; Speech; Brain Mapping
PubMed: 37595837
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2023.08.040 -
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease... 2023The Observable Well-being in Living with Dementia-Scale was developed to address conceptual and methodological issues in current observational scales for music therapy....
The Observable Well-being in Living with Dementia-Scale was developed to address conceptual and methodological issues in current observational scales for music therapy. Creative interventions may receive lowered scores, as existing instruments rely heavily on verbal behavior. Methods were (1) Systematic review of observational instruments: (2) field work with music therapy and sociable interactions to operationalize the items; (3) field testing assessing feasibility and preliminary psychometric properties; (4) focus groups with experts to investigate content validity; (5) final field test and revision. 2199 OWLS-ratings were conducted in 11 participants. Hypotheses of construct validity and responsiveness were supported (r = .33 -.65). Inter-rater reliability was good (84% agreement between coders, Cohen's Kappa = .82), and intra-rater reliability was excellent (98% agreement, Cohen's Kappa = .98). Focus groups with 8 experts supported the relevance of the items and suggested further refinements to increase comprehensiveness. The final field-tested OWLS showed improved inter-rater reliability and usability.
Topics: Humans; Dementia; Music Therapy; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 37269060
DOI: 10.1177/15333175231171990 -
Neuropsychology Review Mar 2021Verbal fluency is a neuropsychological measure commonly used to examine cognitive-linguistic performance as reported in pediatric TBI literature. We synthesized the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Verbal fluency is a neuropsychological measure commonly used to examine cognitive-linguistic performance as reported in pediatric TBI literature. We synthesized the scholarly literature of verbal fluency performance in pediatric TBI and estimated the effects of TBI according to: (i) type of verbal fluency task (phonemic or semantic), (ii) severity of TBI, and (iii) time post-injury. Meta-analysis revealed that childhood TBI negatively impacted phonemic fluency and semantic fluency and that effect sizes were larger for children with more severe TBI. The negative effect of TBI was evident across time post injury within each level of severity. Verbal fluency tasks are efficient indicators of potential underlying impairments in lexical knowledge and executive functioning in children with TBI regardless of severity of injury or time post injury. Future research employing verbal fluency tasks are encouraged to explore if age at injury differentiates semantic versus phonemic fluency outcomes across severity levels.
Topics: Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Child; Executive Function; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Semantics; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 33398784
DOI: 10.1007/s11065-020-09475-z -
Journal of Clinical and Experimental... Apr 2024Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) is a widely used measure of frontal executive function and access to semantic memory. SVF scoring metrics include the number of unique... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) is a widely used measure of frontal executive function and access to semantic memory. SVF scoring metrics include the number of unique words generated, perseverations, intrusions, semantic cluster size and switching between clusters, and scores vary depending on the language the test is administered in. In this paper, we review the existing normative data for Turkish, the main metrics used for scoring SVF data in Turkish, and the most frequently used categories.
METHOD
We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed papers using Medline, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and two Turkish databases, TR-Dizin and Yok-Tez. Included papers contained data on the SVF performance of healthy adult native speakers of Turkish, and reported the categories used. Versions of the SVF that required participants to alternate categories were excluded. We extracted and tabulated demographics, descriptions of groups, metrics used, categories used, and sources of normative data. Studies were assessed for level of detail in reporting findings.
RESULTS
1400 studies were retrieved. After deduplication, abstract, full text screening, and merging of theses with their published versions, 121 studies were included. 114 studies used the semantic category "animal", followed by first names ( = 14, 12%). All studies reported word count. More complex measures were rare (perseverations: = 12, 10%, clustering and switching: = 5, 4%). Four of seven normative studies reported only word count, two also measured perseverations, and one reported category violations and perseverations. Two normative studies were published in English.
CONCLUSIONS
There is a lack of normative Turkish SVF data with more complex metrics, such as clustering and switching, and a lack of normative data published in English. Given the size of the Turkish diaspora, normative SVF data should include monolingual and bilingual speakers. Limitations include a restriction to key English and Turkish databases.
Topics: Humans; Semantics; Turkey; Neuropsychological Tests; Verbal Behavior; Reference Values; Adult; Female; Male; Executive Function
PubMed: 38904178
DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2024.2331827 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Jan 2022Up to 1 in 5 children are exposed to maternal depressive symptoms. Children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms have poorer language skills than children not exposed... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Up to 1 in 5 children are exposed to maternal depressive symptoms. Children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms have poorer language skills than children not exposed to maternal depressive symptoms. Due to the crucial role of children's language skills in school readiness and academic achievement, it is imperative to understand the factors that underlie the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and children's language skills. Previous reviews have examined the mechanistic role of social-pragmatic features of mother-child interactions. However, the literature on the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and data-providing aspects of mother-child interactions, including child-directed speech, has yet to be consolidated. In this systematic review, we present maternal child-directed speech as a potential pathway through which maternal depressive symptoms influence children's language skills.
METHODS
Following PRISMA guidelines, three database searches produced 546 articles related to maternal depressive symptoms, child-directed speech, and children's language skills, ten of which examined the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and child-directed speech.
RESULTS
Findings revealed that increases in maternal depressive symptoms may be associated with decreases in amount of child-directed speech but not necessarily with decreases in the complexity of child-directed speech.
LIMITATIONS
The studies in this review varied in sample size, the inclusion of important sociodemographic factors, and the operationalization of depression and child-directed speech, thereby limiting conclusions, especially about whether maternal depressive symptoms are associated with the complexity of child-directed speech.
CONCLUSIONS
This review has implications for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at optimizing children's language skills; child-directed speech is modifiable, and mothers experiencing depressive symptoms may benefit from resources encouraging rich child-directed speech.
Topics: Depression; Female; Humans; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Sociodemographic Factors; Speech
PubMed: 34656673
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.10.015 -
Special Care in Dentistry : Official... Jul 2021Various innovations of oral health education media were used to bring an impact on oral health behavior and status among visually impaired children. This paper was aimed... (Review)
Review
AIM
Various innovations of oral health education media were used to bring an impact on oral health behavior and status among visually impaired children. This paper was aimed to systematically investigate which innovation brings the best impact of change.
METHODS
A systematic searching strategy in Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, SAGE, and Cochrane Library database was applied in this study, then followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline. Studies from the last 10 years that investigate the innovation of oral health education media for visually impaired children and its impact on change were included.
RESULTS
Of 653 studies identified, 10 were included in the data synthesis. Audio, Braille, audio-tactile performance, verbal, tactile, or combinations were found to be utilized as the alternative media innovation of oral health education for visually impaired children. The combination of two or more media brings the best impacts of oral health behavior and oral health status among them.
CONCLUSIONS
The combination of oral health education media may involve various senses of learning. Due to its impact on the improvement of oral health behavior and status among visually impaired children, this innovation should be chosen.
Topics: Child; Health Education, Dental; Humans; Oral Health; Oral Hygiene
PubMed: 33825212
DOI: 10.1111/scd.12592 -
Child Neuropsychology : a Journal on... Apr 2022For some children, psychological reactions to a traumatic event develop into severe or persistent post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or the clinical condition of... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
For some children, psychological reactions to a traumatic event develop into severe or persistent post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or the clinical condition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cognitive problems in children with PTSS have been reported, but it is not clear which specific functions are affected. Executive functions is a domain of particular interest, given its importance for academic performance and social and emotional functioning. A systematic literature search was performed, and 12 studies with 55 comparisons of executive functions in children with PTSS and healthy controls were eligible for meta-analysis. A subset of the studies also included a comparison group of children with traumatic experienced but without PTSS. Overall, across all tasks and measures, children with PTSS showed lower executive functioning than healthy controls (SMD = -0.57). The effect sizes between the subdomains complex tasks, verbal fluency, inhibition, shifting and working memory were not significantly different from each other, but was largest for verbal fluency (SMD = -1.45). Analyses comparing children with traumatic experiences with and without PTSS similarly showed overall lower executive functioning in the PTSS group (SMD = -0.34) and no significant differences in effect sizes between subdomains. The results have implications for assessment and clinical work with youth exposed to traumatic events. We should be aware of the poor executive functioning that may be an issue for some children with a history of trauma and subsequent development of PTSS, and the impact this could have on everyday functioning.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Emotions; Executive Function; Humans; Problem Behavior; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
PubMed: 34553675
DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2021.1979950 -
Perspectives on Behavior Science Jun 2020Skinner's (1957) book is a critical tool in designing effective communication programs for individuals with limited speech. The purpose of this systematic review was to...
Skinner's (1957) book is a critical tool in designing effective communication programs for individuals with limited speech. The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the speech generating device (SGD) research literature from Skinner's taxonomy of primary verbal operants. An extraction procedure yielded 56 studies published between 1995 and 2018, with a total of 221 participants, most of whom had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). The large majority of SGD studies (42) targeted multiply controlled mands, whereas only a handful of studies targeted verbal operants that were not mands. Few studies employed procedures for fading contrived sources of stimulus control to promote spontaneous responding, and few studies targeted more sophisticated, topography-based responses (e.g., typing, speech). Results of the review highlight the need for better dissemination of Skinner's , the need for research to evaluate effects of SGD in teaching a greater variety of spontaneous verbal operants, and the need to focus on application of SGD with populations beyond individuals with ASD and IDD.
PubMed: 32647788
DOI: 10.1007/s40614-020-00243-1 -
International Journal of Audiology Sep 2022This study aimed to systematically review and critically appraise the literature describing the phonetic characteristics and accuracy of the consonants, vowels and tones... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to systematically review and critically appraise the literature describing the phonetic characteristics and accuracy of the consonants, vowels and tones produced by Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs).
DESIGN
The protocol in this review was designed in conformity with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, ProQuest Central databases were searched for relevant articles which met the inclusion criteria.
STUDY SAMPLE
A total of 18 journal papers were included in this review.
RESULTS
The results revealed that Mandarin-speaking children with CIs perform consistently more poorly in their production of consonants, in particular on fricatives, have a smaller and less well-defined vowel space, and exhibit greater difficulties in tone realisation, notably T2 and T3, when compared to their normal-hearing (NH) peers. The results from acoustic and accuracy analyses are negatively correlated with CI implantation age, but largely positively correlated with hearing age.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings of this review highlight the factors that influence consonant, vowel and tone production in Mandarin-speaking children with CIs, thereby providing critical information for clinicians and researchers working with this population.
Topics: Child; Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Deafness; Humans; Phonetics; Speech; Speech Perception
PubMed: 34620034
DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2021.1978567