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Scientific Reports Nov 2021In this systematic review, we analyzed and evaluated the findings of studies on prosodic features of vocal productions of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
In this systematic review, we analyzed and evaluated the findings of studies on prosodic features of vocal productions of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in order to recognize the statistically significant, most confirmed and reliable prosodic differences distinguishing people with ASD from typically developing individuals. Using suitable keywords, three major databases including Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus, were searched. The results for prosodic features such as mean pitch, pitch range and variability, speech rate, intensity and voice duration were extracted from eligible studies. The pooled standard mean difference between ASD and control groups was extracted or calculated. Using I statistic and Cochrane Q-test, between-study heterogeneity was evaluated. Furthermore, publication bias was assessed using funnel plot and its significance was evaluated using Egger's and Begg's tests. Thirty-nine eligible studies were retrieved (including 910 and 850 participants for ASD and control groups, respectively). This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that ASD group members had a significantly larger mean pitch (SMD = - 0.4, 95% CI [- 0.70, - 0.10]), larger pitch range (SMD = - 0.78, 95% CI [- 1.34, - 0.21]), longer voice duration (SMD = - 0.43, 95% CI [- 0.72, - 0.15]), and larger pitch variability (SMD = - 0.46, 95% CI [- 0.84, - 0.08]), compared with typically developing control group. However, no significant differences in pitch standard deviation, voice intensity and speech rate were found between groups. Chronological age of participants and voice elicitation tasks were two sources of between-study heterogeneity. Furthermore, no publication bias was observed during analyses (p > 0.05). Mean pitch, pitch range, pitch variability and voice duration were recognized as the prosodic features reliably distinguishing people with ASD from TD individuals.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Adolescent; Adult; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child; Child, Preschool; Emotions; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Speech; Speech Perception; Voice; Young Adult
PubMed: 34845298
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02487-6 -
International Journal of Public Health 2021Studies of storytelling (ST) used as a research tool to extract information and/or as an intervention to effect change in the public knowledge, attitudes, and...
Studies of storytelling (ST) used as a research tool to extract information and/or as an intervention to effect change in the public knowledge, attitudes, and behavior/practice (KAB/P) were sought and analyzed. Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Web of Science, Art and Humanities database, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched, and a basic and broad quantitative analysis was performed, followed by an in-depth narrative synthesis of studies on carefully selected topics. From this search, 3,077 studies were identified. 145 studies entered quantitative analysis [cancer and cancer screening (32/145), HIV (32/145), mental health (10/145), vaccination (8/145), and climate change (3/145)]. Ten studies entered final analysis [HIV/AIDs (5), climate change (1), sexual health (3), and croup (1)]. ST techniques included digital ST (DST), written ST, verbal ST, and use of professional writers. Of the ten studies, seven used ST to change KAB/P; the remainder used ST to extract insights. Follow-up and evaluation were very limited. ST reveals insights and serves as an intervention in public health. Benefits of ST largely outweigh the limitations, but more follow-up/evaluation is needed. ST should play a more significant role in tackling public health issues. CRD42019124704.
Topics: Humans; Narration; Public Health; Research Design
PubMed: 34795554
DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2021.1604262 -
Translational Psychiatry Nov 2021Although the pathophysiology of auditory verbal hallucinations remains uncertain, the inner speech model remains a prominent theory. A systematic review and... (Review)
Review
Although the pathophysiology of auditory verbal hallucinations remains uncertain, the inner speech model remains a prominent theory. A systematic review and meta-analyses of both functional and structural neuroimaging studies were performed to investigate the inner speech model. Of the 417 papers retrieved, 26 met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses found the left insula to be significantly active during auditory verbal hallucinations and to have a significantly reduced grey matter volume in hallucinators. Dysfunction of the left insula may contribute to the misattribution of inner speech due to its suggested roles in both inner speech production and the salience network. No significant activity was found at Broca's area or Heschl's gyrus during auditory verbal hallucinations. Furthermore, no structural abnormalities were found at these sites or in the arcuate fasciculi. Overall, evidence was found to both support and oppose the inner speech model. Further research should particularly include a systematic review of task-based trait studies with a focus on inner speech production and self-referential processing, and analyses of additional language-related white matter tracts.
Topics: Auditory Cortex; Hallucinations; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuroimaging; Schizophrenia; Speech
PubMed: 34764242
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01670-7 -
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 -
JMIR MHealth and UHealth Sep 2021Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities worldwide and affects both individual and public health. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) is the gold standard for hearing... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities worldwide and affects both individual and public health. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) is the gold standard for hearing assessment, but it is often not available in many settings, given its high cost and demand for human resources. Smartphone-based audiometry may be equally effective and can improve access to adequate hearing evaluations.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the current evidence of the role of smartphone-based audiometry in hearing assessments and further explore the factors that influence its diagnostic accuracy.
METHODS
Five databases-PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus-were queried to identify original studies that examined the diagnostic accuracy of hearing loss measurement using smartphone-based devices with conventional PTA as a reference test. A bivariate random-effects meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled sensitivity and specificity. The factors associated with diagnostic accuracy were identified using a bivariate meta-regression model. Study quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool.
RESULTS
In all, 25 studies with a total of 4470 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for smartphone-based audiometry were 89% (95% CI 83%-93%), 93% (95% CI 87%-97%), and 0.96 (95% CI 0.93-0.97), respectively; the corresponding values for the smartphone-based speech recognition test were 91% (95% CI 86%-94%), 88% (95% CI 75%-94%), and 0.93 (95% CI 0.90-0.95), respectively. Meta-regression analysis revealed that patient age, equipment used, and the presence of soundproof booths were significantly related to diagnostic accuracy.
CONCLUSIONS
We have presented comprehensive evidence regarding the effectiveness of smartphone-based tests in diagnosing hearing loss. Smartphone-based audiometry may serve as an accurate and accessible approach to hearing evaluations, especially in settings where conventional PTA is unavailable.
Topics: Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Hearing Loss; Humans; Sensitivity and Specificity; Smartphone; Speech
PubMed: 34515644
DOI: 10.2196/28378 -
Brain Sciences Jul 2021Interpersonal distance (IPD) plays a critical role in a human being's social life, especially during interpersonal interaction, and IPD is non-verbal social information... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Interpersonal distance (IPD) plays a critical role in a human being's social life, especially during interpersonal interaction, and IPD is non-verbal social information and not only provides silent cues but also provides a secure space for personal relationships. IPD has been a research field of neural studies from the recent decade, researches had provided behavior and neural correlates of IPD.
OBJECTIVES
This review aims to summarize the experimental paradigms of IPD-neural research, to reveal the neural activity processes associated with it, and to explore the correlation between IPD-neural activity and IPD-behavior.
METHODS
We conducted a standardized systematic review procedure, including the formal search method be adopted to seek out any type of studies related to IPD and brain, then devised them into categories to make a systematic review.
RESULTS
17 articles met the inclusion criteria of the review, 5 event-related potential (ERP) studies measured the amplitude and latencies of ERPs, and 12 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies provided the neural activation during IPD tasks. In addition, the passive IPD experimental paradigm is the main experimental paradigm for exploring neural activity in IPD cognition, with the parietal lobe, motor areas, prefrontal lobe, and amygdala being the main brain areas involved. Functional connections between the identified brain regions were found and have a moderate correlation with IPD behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
This review provides the neural activity of the IPD interaction process. However, the insufficient ecological validity of IPD tasks and ignore the initiative of people in IPD interaction. Therefore, there is a large research space on this topic. The work of the current systematic review contributed to linking the external performance and inner neural activities of IPD.
PubMed: 34439634
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11081015 -
Journal of General Internal Medicine Dec 2021Many health providers and communicators who are concerned that patients will not understand numbers instead use verbal probabilities (e.g., terms such as "rare" or...
INTRODUCTION
Many health providers and communicators who are concerned that patients will not understand numbers instead use verbal probabilities (e.g., terms such as "rare" or "common") to convey the gist of a health message.
OBJECTIVE
To assess patient interpretation of and preferences for verbal probability information in health contexts.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of literature published through September 2020. Original studies conducted in English with samples representative of lay populations were included if they assessed health-related information and elicited either (a) numerical estimates of verbal probability terms or (b) preferences for verbal vs. quantitative risk information.
RESULTS
We identified 33 original studies that referenced 145 verbal probability terms, 45 of which were included in at least two studies and 19 in three or more. Numerical interpretations of each verbal term were extremely variable. For example, average interpretations of the term "rare" ranged from 7 to 21%, and for "common," the range was 34 to 71%. In a subset of 9 studies, lay estimates of verbal probability terms were far higher than the standard interpretations established by the European Commission for drug labels. In 10 of 12 samples where preferences were elicited, most participants preferred numerical information, alone or in combination with verbal labels.
CONCLUSION
Numerical interpretation of verbal probabilities is extremely variable and does not correspond well to the numerical probabilities established by expert panels. Most patients appear to prefer quantitative risk information, alone or in combination with verbal labels. Health professionals should be aware that avoiding numeric information to describe risks may not match patient preferences, and that patients interpret verbal risk terms in a highly variable way.
Topics: Humans; Probability
PubMed: 34357577
DOI: 10.1007/s11606-021-07050-7 -
The Australian and New Zealand Journal... May 2022Low cholesterol has been linked with violent and suicidal behaviour in people with schizophrenia. This association, if consistently present, may be a promising...
OBJECTIVES
Low cholesterol has been linked with violent and suicidal behaviour in people with schizophrenia. This association, if consistently present, may be a promising biological marker that could assist clinicians in decision making regarding risk and treatment. We conducted a systematic review to assess whether there is a reliable association between lipid profile (total cholesterol, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides) and aggression, self-harm or suicide in people with schizophrenia, and whether effects are similar in males and females.
METHOD
Relevant databases were searched to identify primary research studies (up to November 2020) that (1) involved adults (some samples also included 16- to 18-year olds) with a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or psychosis; and (2) included a standardised assessment of verbal aggression, physical aggression against objects, physical aggression against self (including suicide) or others. The search yielded 23 studies eligible for inclusion following a quality appraisal.
RESULTS
Suicidality was the most commonly assessed subtype of aggression (20 studies). For suicidality, about half the studies, including the study with the largest sample size, found a link with total cholesterol. An association between low total cholesterol and violence towards others was found in six of nine studies that investigated this. The evidence for a link with violence was the strongest for total cholesterol, followed by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and the weakest for triglycerides. Only a few studies investigated sex differences and yielded mixed evidence. Studies focussed on self-harm as well as involving females in forensic settings were lacking.
CONCLUSION
There is encouraging evidence of an association between low total cholesterol and aggression towards others as well as suicidality in schizophrenia. Future studies should systematically explore this association in people with schizophrenia who have a significant history of violence, suicidality and self-harm, both inpatients and community, and also investigate underlying mechanisms.
Topics: Adult; Aggression; Cholesterol; Female; Humans; Lipoproteins, LDL; Male; Psychotic Disorders; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Triglycerides; Violence
PubMed: 34240626
DOI: 10.1177/00048674211025608 -
International Journal of Language &... Jul 2021Speech development requires intact and adequately functioning oral anatomy and cognitive 'speech processing' skills. There is evidence that speech input processing... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Speech development requires intact and adequately functioning oral anatomy and cognitive 'speech processing' skills. There is evidence that speech input processing skills are associated with speech output problems in children not born with a cleft. Children born with cleft palate ± lip (CP±L) are at high risk of developing disordered speech output. Less is known about their speech input processing skills and whether they are associated with cleft-related speech sound disorder (SSD).
AIMS
(1) To collate and evaluate studies reporting evidence regarding the speech input processing skills of children born with cleft palate in comparison with data from typically developing children or other comparison groups; and (2) to identify any available evidence regarding relationships between speech input processing skills and speech output in children born with CP±L.
METHODS & PROCEDURES
Potentially relevant studies published up to November 2019 were identified from the following databases: Medline via Ovid, Embase via Ovid, Cinahl via Ebscohost, PsycInfo via Ebscohost, BNI via ProQuest, AMED via Ovid, Cochrane Library and Scopus. Inclusion criteria were: peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals, any design, published in English, participants born with a CP±L aged up to age 18 years who completed speech input processing assessments compared with normative data and/or a control or other comparison group. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists were used to quality appraise included studies.
OUTCOMES & RESULTS
Six studies were retained in the final review. There is some evidence that children born with CP±L perform less well than non-cleft controls on some speech input processing tasks and that specific input processing skills may be related to errors in the children's speech. Heterogeneity in relation to study groups and assessments used, as well as small sample sizes, limits generalization of findings.
CONCLUSION & IMPLICATIONS
There is limited evidence regarding the speech input processing skills of children born with CP±L. There are indications that children born with CP+/L may have difficulty in some aspects of speech input processing in comparison with children not born with a cleft, and that difficulties with some speech input processing tasks may be specific to errors in children's speech output. Further research is required to develop our understanding of these skills in this population and any associations with speech output.
WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS
What is already known on the subject Few studies have been published that examine aspects of speech input processing in children born with CP±L. Theoretical models of speech processing, and published studies, propose that speech input processing skills are associated with SSD in children who were not born with a cleft. However, it is less clear whether there is any association between speech input processing and cleft-related SSD. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This review systematically collates and evaluates the published, peer-reviewed evidence regarding speech input processing skills in children born with CP±L. The collated evidence indicates that some speech input processing skills differ between children with and without CP±L. There is some evidence, from a single study, that speech input processing of specific cleft speech characteristics (CSCs) may be associated with the presence of these CSCs in the speech output of some children born with CP±L. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? While the evidence is currently limited, increasing our knowledge of speech input processing skills in children born with CP±L contributes to our clinical understanding of the nature of cleft-related SSD. The current evidence suggests that speech and language therapists should consider speech input processing skills when assessing children with cleft-related SSD to support intervention planning. Considering these skills in relation to literacy development in these children may also be important.
Topics: Adolescent; Aged; Child; Cleft Lip; Cleft Palate; Humans; Speech; Speech Disorders; Speech Sound Disorder
PubMed: 34125466
DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12633 -
The Laryngoscope Mar 2022To determine how above cuff vocalization (ACV) is implemented in clinical practice, to identify what evidence exists on the effectiveness and safety of ACV, and to...
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS
To determine how above cuff vocalization (ACV) is implemented in clinical practice, to identify what evidence exists on the effectiveness and safety of ACV, and to evaluate the acceptability of ACV.
STUDY DESIGN
Systematic review.
METHODS
A literature search was conducted in eight databases (MEDLINE, Embase, AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science) in May 2019 and updated in June 2020. Two reviewers independently screened, selected, and extracted data. Study quality was appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools and a narrative synthesis was conducted. Systematic review registration number: CRD42019133942.
RESULTS
The searches identified 1327 records. The 13 eligible studies included four case studies, three case series, four observational studies without a control group, one quasi-experimental study, and one randomized controlled trial. Study quality was low, with most studies having high risk of bias. There was a high level of heterogeneity in study design and outcome measures used. Detailed information on ACV application and dose-delivered was lacking in 12 studies. Positive effects were reported for communication (n = 7), swallowing (n = 4), cough response (n = 2), and quality-of-life (n = 2), but with inconsistent use of objective outcome measures. There is limited quantitative or qualitative evidence for acceptability. Adverse events and complications were reported in nine studies, and four highlighted the importance of involving an experienced speech and language therapist.
CONCLUSIONS
There is limited evidence for the acceptability, effectiveness, safety, or optimal implementation of ACV. The evidence is insufficient to provide recommendations regarding optimal intervention delivery. Future research should ensure detailed recording of ACV delivery and utilize a core outcome set. Laryngoscope, 132:600-611, 2022.
Topics: Humans; Intubation, Intratracheal; Speech; Tracheostomy; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 33932229
DOI: 10.1002/lary.29591