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Journal of Communication Disorders 2023Late talkers represent a heterogeneous population. We aimed to describe communication profiles of low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers according to their...
INTRODUCTION
Late talkers represent a heterogeneous population. We aimed to describe communication profiles of low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers according to their receptive and expressive vocabulary size, considering communicative, linguistic, cognitive, and motor skills, as well as biological and environmental risk factors.
METHODS
Sixty-eight late talkers (33 born low-risk preterm and 35 full-term) were identified through a language screening at 30 months. Parents filled out the Italian Short Forms of the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories and the Socio Conversational Skills Rating Scales. Children were assessed with the Picture Naming Game test and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development.
RESULTS
A two-step cluster analysis identified three distinct profiles among late talkers according to their receptive and expressive vocabulary size. Severe late talkers (25%) showed less frequent use of pointing, limited verbal imitation, receptive vocabulary size, lexical and sentence production, responsiveness and assertiveness, and lower cognitive scores than mild late talkers (40%). Moderate late talkers (35%) showed less frequent verbal imitation, limited lexical and sentence production and lower cognitive scores than mild late talkers. Male gender was significantly more represented in the severe late profile, whereas other biological and environmental factors did not differ among the three profiles.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings highlighted the relevance of assessing communicative, lexical, grammar, pragmatic, and cognitive skills to describe late talkers' profiles. A deeper investigation of phonological skills might also contribute to a further understanding of interindividual variability in this population.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Infant; Humans; Male; Communication; Vocabulary; Linguistics; Parents; Italy; Language Development Disorders; Language Development
PubMed: 37257297
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2023.106336 -
International Journal of Pediatric... Nov 2022The main goal of this study was to describe the expressive vocabulary of school-age children with mild to moderately severe hearing loss (CHL group) and to compare their...
OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this study was to describe the expressive vocabulary of school-age children with mild to moderately severe hearing loss (CHL group) and to compare their performance with children with normal hearing (CNH group) of the same age. Another aim was to examine the interaction between nonword repetition and expressive vocabulary size. Furthermore, the interaction between results on vocabulary tests and background factors, such as the age of diagnosis, age of hearing aid fitting, and amount of hearing aid use, was explored.
METHOD
School-aged children with mild to moderately severe, permanent bilateral hearing loss and children with normal hearing were included in this cross-sectional study. The children participated in assessments of naming pictures, defining words, and repetition of nonwords and sentences. Results of the CHL group and the CNH group were compared. The analysis also included the degree of hearing loss, the age of diagnosis, amount of hearing aid use, and level of parental education.
RESULTS
The CHL group performed significantly below the CNH group on all measures: picture naming, defining words, nonword repetition, and repetition of sentences. The proportion of words pronounced with correct phonological structure when picture naming was more limited in the CHL group than in the CNH group. There was a significant positive correlation between the amount of hearing aid use and nonword repetition ability in the CHL group. Age of diagnosis and age of hearing aid fitting was not significantly correlated with the outcomes of the vocabulary assessments in this study.
CONCLUSION
Despite the technological advancement of hearing aids, the expressive vocabulary in school-aged children with mild to moderately severe, permanent bilateral, hearing impairment does not reach the same level as for children with normal hearing, although there is a variation in performance within the group. The variation in the CHL group was not uniquely impacted by either age, degree of hearing loss, or the age of diagnosis. The amount of hearing aid use seems to impact the perception of new words. More studies of expressive vocabulary are needed, because they capture a dimension of word learning that seems particularly sensitive to hearing loss and hearing aid use.
Topics: Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Deafness; Hearing Aids; Hearing Loss, Bilateral; Humans; Language Tests; Vocabulary
PubMed: 36001910
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2022.111281 -
Neuropsychology Review Dec 2023Although attention and early associative learning in preverbal children is predominantly driven by rapid eye-movements in response to moving visual stimuli and... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Although attention and early associative learning in preverbal children is predominantly driven by rapid eye-movements in response to moving visual stimuli and sounds/words (e.g., associating the word "bottle" with the object), the literature examining the role of visual attention and memory in ongoing vocabulary development across childhood is limited. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis examined the association between visual memory and vocabulary development, including moderators such as age and task selection, in neurotypical children aged 2-to-12 years, from the brain-based perspective of cognitive neuroscience. Visual memory tasks were classified according to the visual characteristics of the stimuli and the neural networks known to preferentially process such information, including consideration of the distinction between the ventral visual stream (processing more static visuo-perceptual details, such as form or colour) and the more dynamic dorsal visual stream (processing spatial temporal action-driven information). Final classifications included spatio-temporal span tasks, visuo-perceptual or spatial concurrent array tasks, and executive judgment tasks. Visuo-perceptual concurrent array tasks, reliant on ventral stream processing, were moderately associated with vocabulary, while tasks measuring spatio-temporal spans, associated with dorsal stream processing, and executive judgment tasks (central executive), showed only weak correlations with vocabulary. These findings have important implications for health professionals and researchers interested in language, as they advocate for the development of more targeted language learning interventions that include specific and relevant aspects of visual processing and memory, such as ventral stream visuo-perceptual details (i.e., shape or colour).
Topics: Child; Humans; Vocabulary; Memory; Visual Perception; Brain; Language
PubMed: 36136174
DOI: 10.1007/s11065-022-09561-4 -
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Jun 2023Using electroencephalography (EEG) to study the neural oscillations supporting language development is increasingly common; however, a clear understanding of the...
Using electroencephalography (EEG) to study the neural oscillations supporting language development is increasingly common; however, a clear understanding of the relationship between neural oscillations and traditional Event Related Potentials (ERPs) is needed to disentangle how maturation of language-related neural networks supports semantic processing throughout grade school. Theta and the N400 are both thought to index semantic retrieval but, in adults, are only weakly correlated with one another indicating they may measure somewhat unique aspects of retrieval. Here, we studied the relationship between the N400 amplitude and theta power during semantic retrieval with key indicators of language abilities including age, vocabulary, reading comprehension and phonological memory in 226 children ages 8-15 years. The N400 and theta responses were positively correlated over posterior areas, but negatively correlated over frontal areas. When controlling for the N400 amplitude, the amplitude of the theta response was predicted by age, but not by language measures. On the other hand, when controlling theta amplitude, the amplitude of the N400 was predicted by both vocabulary knowledge and age. These findings indicate that while there is a clear relationship between the N400 and theta responses, they may each index unique aspects of development related to semantic retrieval.
Topics: Adult; Child; Humans; Male; Female; Adolescent; Semantics; Vocabulary; Electroencephalography; Evoked Potentials; Comprehension
PubMed: 37141791
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101251 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Jan 2023This feasibility study examined a caregiver-implemented telehealth model of the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) protocol. We asked whether...
PURPOSE
This feasibility study examined a caregiver-implemented telehealth model of the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) protocol. We asked whether caregivers could reach fidelity on VAULT, if the protocol was socially and ecologically valid, and if late-talking toddlers could learn new words with this model.
METHOD
Five late-talking monolingual and bilingual toddlers and four caregivers participated. The caregiver-related research questions involved measurements taken at multiple time points and replication across subjects but did not follow a specific research design. The toddler-related research questions included elements of a single-case design. Caregivers completed self-paced online training modules and then provided 8 weeks of VAULT to their children with remote coaching. Fidelity data were collected during coached sessions and through rating scales. Social and ecological validity data were collected via surveys and interviews. Children's word learning was measured before, during, and after treatment via production of targets and controls and via standardized vocabulary inventories.
RESULTS
Caregivers demonstrated high fidelity to VAULT throughout treatment. They reported being comfortable with many aspects of VAULT. Feedback was mixed regarding the time required. Many reported their child was talking more as a result of the program. Visual analysis revealed that toddlers learned more target than control words, which was corroborated by Tau-U and effect size analyses.
CONCLUSION
A caregiver-implemented telehealth model of VAULT was feasible, was socially and ecologically valid, and benefited toddlers, making this a worthwhile model for future studies to examine.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21753872.
Topics: Humans; Vocabulary; Caregivers; Feasibility Studies; Learning; Language Development Disorders; Telemedicine
PubMed: 36580564
DOI: 10.1044/2022_JSLHR-22-00285 -
Journal of Experimental Psychology.... May 2021For more than a half-century, lists of words have served as the memoranda of choice in studies of human memory. To better understand why some words and lists are easier...
For more than a half-century, lists of words have served as the memoranda of choice in studies of human memory. To better understand why some words and lists are easier to recall than others, we estimated multivariate models of word and list recall. In each of the 23 sessions, subjects ( = 98) studied and recalled the same set of 576 words, presented in 24 study-test lists. Fitting a statistical model to these data revealed positive effects of animacy, contextual diversity, valence, arousal, concreteness, and semantic structure on recall of individual words. We next asked whether a similar approach would allow us to account for list-level variability in recall performance. Here we hypothesized that semantically coherent lists would be most memorable. Consistent with this prediction, we found that semantic similarity, weighted by temporal distance, was a strong positive predictor of list-level recall. Additionally, we found significant effects of average contextual diversity, valence, animacy, and concreteness on list-level recall. Our findings extend previous models of item-level recall and show that aggregate measures of item recallability also account for variability in list-level performance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Arousal; Humans; Mental Recall; Models, Statistical; Semantics; Vocabulary; Young Adult
PubMed: 33090842
DOI: 10.1037/xlm0000964 -
Developmental Psychology Apr 2022Toddlerhood is marked by advances in several lexico-semantic skills, including improvements in the size and structure of the lexicon and increased efficiency in lexical...
Toddlerhood is marked by advances in several lexico-semantic skills, including improvements in the size and structure of the lexicon and increased efficiency in lexical processing. This project seeks to delineate how early changes in vocabulary size and vocabulary structure support lexical processing (Experiment 1), and how these three skills together (vocabulary size, structure, and lexical processing) relate to later language outcomes at age 3 (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 explored how the size and semantic structure of toddlers' vocabulary from 18 to 24 months (N = 61) predicted performance on two lexical processing tasks (semantically related and semantically unrelated trials). Denser semantic connectivity (i.e., global level connectivity between near and far neighbors) positively associated with semantic interference during semantically related lexical processing, whereas denser category structure (i.e., lower-level connectivity between near neighbors) facilitated lexical processing in semantically unrelated trials. In Experiment 2, a subset of the same children (N = 49) returned at age 36 months and completed a comprehensive assessment of their language skills using the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamental, Preschool 2 (CELF-P2). Here, earlier measures of lexico-semantic connectivity and lexical processing best predicted age 3 language skill. The findings support accounts that early vocabulary structure and lexical processing skills promote continued growth in language. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Child, Preschool; Humans; Language; Language Development; Language Tests; Semantics; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35343711
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001291 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2023Communication between sound and music experts is based on the shared understanding of a metaphorical vocabulary derived from other sensory modalities. Yet, the impact of...
Communication between sound and music experts is based on the shared understanding of a metaphorical vocabulary derived from other sensory modalities. Yet, the impact of sound expertise on the mental representation of these sound concepts remains blurry. To address this issue, we investigated the acoustic portraits of four metaphorical sound concepts (brightness, warmth, roundness, and roughness) in three groups of participants (sound engineers, conductors, and non-experts). Participants (Nā=ā24) rated a corpus of orchestral instrument sounds (Nā=ā520) using Best-Worst Scaling. With this data-driven method, we sorted the sound corpus for each concept and population. We compared the population ratings and ran machine learning algorithms to unveil the acoustic portraits of each concept. Overall, the results revealed that sound engineers were the most consistent. We found that roughness is widely shared while brightness is expertise dependent. The frequent use of brightness by expert populations suggests that its meaning got specified through sound expertise. As for roundness and warmth, it seems that the importance of pitch and noise in their acoustic definition is the key to distinguishing them. These results provide crucial information on the mental representations of a metaphorical vocabulary of sound and whether it is shared or refined by sound expertise.
Topics: Humans; Acoustic Stimulation; Sound; Noise; Acoustics; Vocabulary; Music
PubMed: 36997613
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32214-2 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Feb 2021Purpose This study examines the effect of age on language use with an automated analysis of digitized speech obtained from semistructured, narrative speech samples....
Purpose This study examines the effect of age on language use with an automated analysis of digitized speech obtained from semistructured, narrative speech samples. Method We examined the Cookie Theft picture descriptions produced by 37 older and 76 young healthy participants. Using modern natural language processing and automatic speech recognition tools, we automatically annotated part-of-speech categories of all tokens, calculated the number of tense-inflected verbs, mean length of clause, and vocabulary diversity, and we rated nouns and verbs for five lexical features: word frequency, familiarity, concreteness, age of acquisition, and semantic ambiguity. We also segmented the speech signals into speech and silence and calculated acoustic features, such as total speech time, mean speech and pause segment durations, and pitch values. Results Older speakers produced significantly more fillers, pronouns, and verbs and fewer conjunctions, determiners, nouns, and prepositions than young participants. Older speakers' nouns and verbs were more familiar, more frequent (verbs only), and less ambiguous compared to those of young speakers. Older speakers produced shorter clauses with a lower vocabulary diversity than young participants. They also produced shorter speech segments and longer pauses with increased total speech time and total number of words. Lastly, we observed an interaction of age and sex in pitch ranges. Conclusions Our results suggest that older speakers' lexical content is less diverse, and these speakers produce shorter clauses than young participants in monologic, narrative speech. Our findings show that lexical and acoustic characteristics of semistructured speech samples can be examined with automated methods.
Topics: Acoustics; Adult; Humans; Language; Semantics; Speech; Vocabulary
PubMed: 33439761
DOI: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00384 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2022Meta-learning frameworks have been proposed to generalize machine learning models for domain adaptation without sufficient label data in computer vision. However, text...
Meta-learning frameworks have been proposed to generalize machine learning models for domain adaptation without sufficient label data in computer vision. However, text classification with meta-learning is less investigated. In this paper, we propose SumFS to find global top-ranked sentences by extractive summary and improve the local vocabulary category features. The SumFS consists of three modules: (1) an unsupervised text summarizer that removes redundant information; (2) a weighting generator that associates feature words with attention scores to weight the lexical representations of words; (3) a regular meta-learning framework that trains with limited labeled data using a ridge regression classifier. In addition, a marine news dataset was established with limited label data. The performance of the algorithm was tested on THUCnews, Fudan, and marine news datasets. Experiments show that the SumFS can maintain or even improve accuracy while reducing input features. Moreover, the training time of each epoch is reduced by more than 50%.
Topics: Algorithms; Machine Learning; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35746202
DOI: 10.3390/s22124420