scholarly journals Effects of Time-Compressed Speech Training on Multiple Functional and Structural Neural Mechanisms Involving the Left Superior Temporal Gyrus

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsukasa Maruyama ◽  
Hikaru Takeuchi ◽  
Yasuyuki Taki ◽  
Kosuke Motoki ◽  
Hyeonjeong Jeong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Active Control Group ◽  
Compressed Speech ◽  
Speech Training

Time-compressed speech is an artificial form of rapidly presented speech. Training with time-compressed speech (TCSSL) in a second language leads to adaptation toward TCSSL. Here, we newly investigated the effects of 4 weeks of training with TCSSL on diverse cognitive functions and neural systems using the fractional amplitude of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) with the left superior temporal gyrus (STG), fractional anisotropy (FA), and regional gray matter volume (rGMV) of young adults by magnetic resonance imaging. There were no significant differences in change of performance of measures of cognitive functions or second language skills after training with TCSSL compared with that of the active control group. However, compared with the active control group, training with TCSSL was associated with increased fALFF, RSFC, and FA and decreased rGMV involving areas in the left STG. These results lacked evidence of a far transfer effect of time-compressed speech training on a wide range of cognitive functions and second language skills in young adults. However, these results demonstrated effects of time-compressed speech training on gray and white matter structures as well as on resting-state intrinsic activity and connectivity involving the left STG, which plays a key role in listening comprehension.

Differential patterns of interhemispheric functional connectivity between AQP4-optic neuritis and MOG-optic neuritis: a resting-state functional MRI study

2020 ◽  
pp. 028418512094025
Author(s):  
Mingming Sun ◽  
Huanfen Zhou ◽  
Quangang Xu ◽  
Mo Yang ◽  
Xintong Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Optic Neuritis ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Mri Scans ◽  
Mri Study ◽  
Post Hoc

Background Several neuroimaging studies demonstrated that optic neuritis (ON) leads to functional and anatomical architecture changes in the brain. The alterations of interhemispheric functional connectivity (IFC) in patients with AQP4-ON and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-ON are not well understood. Purpose To investigate the differential patterns of VMHC in patients with AQP4-ON and MOG-ON. Material and Methods Twenty-one patients with AQP4-ON, 11 patients with MOG-ON, and 34 healthy controls underwent resting-state MRI scans. One-way ANOVA was used to identify regions in which the zVMHC differed among the three groups. Post hoc two-sample t-tests were then conducted to compare zVMHC values between pairs of groups. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to reveal relationships between mean zVMHC values and clinical variables in the AQP4-ON and MOG-ON groups. Results The results revealed significant differences in zVMHC values in the PreCG among the three groups. Compared to the control group: the AQP4-ON group showed significantly lower VMHC values in the superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and PreCG; and the MOG-ON group showed significantly higher zVMHC values in the PostCG. Compared to the AQP4-ON group, the MOG-ON group showed significantly lower zVMHC values in the PreCG/PostCG (voxel-level P<0.01, GRF correction, cluster-level P<0.05) Conclusion Patients with AQP4-ON and those with MOG-ON showed abnormal VMHC in the motor cortices, sensorimotor cortices, and frontal lobe, possibly indicating impaired sensorimotor function in patients with ON. Moreover, differential patterns of VMHC in patients with AQP4-ON, compared to patients with MOG-ON, might serve as a clinical indicator for classification of ON.

scholarly journals Increased Resting-State Interhemispheric Functional Connectivity of Posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus and Posterior Cingulate Cortex in Congenital Amusia

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhishuai Jin ◽  
Sizhu Huyang ◽  
Lichen Jiang ◽  
Yajun Yan ◽  
Ming Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Posterior Cingulate ◽  
Congenital Amusia

Interhemispheric connectivity of the two cerebral hemispheres is crucial for a broad repertoire of cognitive functions including music and language. Congenital amusia has been reported as a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by impaired music perception and production. However, little is known about the characteristics of the interhemispheric functional connectivity (FC) in amusia. In the present study, we used a newly developed voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) method to investigate the interhemispheric FC of the whole brain in amusia at resting-state. Thirty amusics and 29 matched participants underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. An automated VMHC approach was used to analyze the fMRI data. Compared to the control group, amusics showed increased VMHC within the posterior part of the default mode network (DMN) mainly in the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Correlation analyses revealed negative correlations between the VMHC value in pSTG/PCC and the music perception ability among amusics. Further ROC analyses showed that the VMHC value of pSTG/PCC showed a good sensibility/specificity to differentiate the amusics from the controls. These findings provide a new perspective for understanding the neural basis of congenital amusia and imply the immature state of DMN may be a credible neural marker of amusia.

scholarly journals Bilingualism : Advantages and Disadvantages in Cognitive Processing, Language and Reading Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilde Lowell Gunnerud
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Bilingual Learners ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Language Input ◽  
At Home

The overall aim of this study is, as suggested by Bialystok (2009), to investigate whether bilingual learners have an advantage in executive functions and a disadvantage in language compared to monolingual learners. In addition, the thesis examines whether the theory holds true for different groups of bilingual learners and different aspects of language and cognitive domains. The study has a multi-method approach. It consists of a meta-analysis investigating the bilingual advantage theory in executive functions (EF) and two studies based on data from the longitudinal study The Stavanger Project—The Learning Child (The Stavanger Project). Study 2 uses data from the first wave of The Stavanger Project. The study investigates Norwegian language comprehension in a monolingual control group and three different groups of bilingual children at 2 years and 9 months. The three bilingual groups had different amounts of exposure to Norwegian. The third article is based on data from the fourth wave of The Stavanger Project and investigates different aspects of Norwegian language and reading skills across bilingual learners and a monolingual control group of 5th graders. The sample in Study 3 is a subsample of the participants in Study 2; thus, the bilingual learners had been systematically exposed to Norwegian by early childhood education and care (ECEC) attendance and schools from at least the age of 2. The thesis contributes three main findings. The first article provides little support for a bilingual advantage in overall EF. Moderator analysis targeting sample characteristics of bilingual subgroups that are theorized to have the largest bilingual advantage in EF shows no relation to the overall outcome of the analysis of differences in executive functions between bilingual and monolingual learners. Furthermore, there is limited evidence for a bilingual advantage in any EF domain. There is an advantage in switching, but not for all populations of bilingual learners. he second article shows that bilingual toddlers have weaker second language comprehension skills than monolingual toddlers, but the differences in second language skills between different groups of bilingual learners are not fully explained by the time on task hypothesis. Bilingual children with mostly first language (L1) input at home had poorer Norwegian language comprehension than the two other bilingual groups. Bilingual toddlers with both first and second language input at home and bilingual toddlers with mostly second language input at home had equivalent second language skills. It therefore seems likely that a threshold value exists for the amount of second language input necessary to develop good second language skills rather than a direct relationship between the amount of input and language skills. The third article shows that even after long and massive exposure to the second language, early bilingual 5th graders have lower vocabulary depth, listening comprehension and reading comprehension in their second language than their monolingual peers. The difference cannot be explained by differences in socioeconomic status (SES). Their decoding and text cohesion vocabulary skills are equal to those of monolingual learners. In contrast to some other studies, the strength of the predictive path between different aspects of language skills and reading comprehension was found to be equal across language groups. In total, these findings contribute to the knowledge base of what is typical development of language, reading skills and executive functions for different groups of bilingual learners. Without information of what is typical development for different bilingual groups, it is difficult to identify atypical development. Hence, the knowledge this thesis provides can support educators in identifying bilingual learners with learning disabilities earlier and with greater certainty, thereby reducing the risk of both over- and under-identifying bilingual learners in need of special needs education.

scholarly journals Tasks, Talkers and the Perceptual Learning of Time-Compressed Speech

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maram Tarabeih-Ghanayim ◽  
Yizhar Lavner ◽  
Karen Banai
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Transfer Of Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
New Materials ◽  
Talker Variability ◽  
Compressed Speech ◽  
Marginal Effects ◽  
Speech Training ◽  
Auditory Skills

Many auditory skills improve with practice, but the generalization of this learning to untrained materials is limited. Here, we asked whether the type of practice (semantic or accent judgment) and talker variability (defined as the number of different talkers encountered during practice, two or six), influenced the perceptual learning of time-compressed speech and its generalization to unpracticed materials. Four groups of participants trained on the four task/talker variability combinations, and their pre- and post-training recognition of time-compressed speech was compared to that of a group of untrained participants (n = 14-16 participants/group). Across groups, training led to substantial learning of the trained tokens and to generalization to new talkers producing previously encountered sentences (compared to the untrained control group). However, neither type of training had a significant effect on the recognition of new sentences, even for familiar talkers. Semantic training yielded more learning and better retention of learning over a 2 week interval than accent training. The number of talkers had only marginal effects. These results suggest that learning of time-compressed speech is robust and only partially task specific, but its generalization to untrained tokens following brief practice is limited. In contrast to other types of speech training, here exposure to a variety of talkers during training did not contribute to the transfer of learning to new materials.

Feasibility of an Exercise Program for Older Depressive Inpatients

GeroPsych ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Heissel ◽  
Anou Vesterling ◽  
Stephanie A. White ◽  
Gunnar Kallies ◽  
Diana Behr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Exercise Group ◽  
Neurocognitive Functioning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Active Control Group ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Older Inpatients ◽  
Relaxation Exercises

Abstract. Twelve older inpatients (M age = 66.8) with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) participated in this controlled pilot trial either in a physical exercise group (PEG; n = 6; aerobic, strength, and coordination exercises) or an active control group (ACG; n = 6; relaxation exercises) twice a week for four weeks. While depressive symptoms decreased in both groups, reduction of symptoms was significantly larger in the PEG. However, the PEG had higher BDI scores compared to the ACG at pretest. Neurocognitive functioning and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration did not change significantly. A four-week exercise program may be a feasible adjunct therapy in older MDD patients but the efficacy of the program needs to be proven with larger samples.

Risk of Depression in Adolescents and Young Adults with Rheumatic Diseases

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-42
Author(s):  
Anna Kostiukow ◽  
Wojciech Strzelecki ◽  
Mateusz W. Romanowski ◽  
Marta Rosołek ◽  
Ewa Mojs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Young People ◽  
Rheumatic Diseases ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Control Group

Introduction: The study is aimed at drawing the attention of the medical environment to the mental health aspects of young patients as a factor that significantly influences the efficiency of their rheumatic disease treatment. Aim: This paper is to check the risk of depression among a group of adolescents and young adults with rheumatic diseases. Material and Methods: The study was conducted among a group of 68 late adolescents and young adults (18-22 years old) with rheumatic diseases. The control group consisted of 102 young people (18-22 years old) without a diagnosed chronic disease. Risk of depression was measured using a screening tool – the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (KADS). Results: The analysis showed that the probability of depression in the study group was 35.3%. In the control group, this rate was 19.6%. The results were statistical significance (p=0.028). Conclusions: The results of this study prove that the risk of depression among adolescents and young adults with rheumatic diseases is significantly higher than in healthy young people. The highest risk of depression is related to feeling tired, fatigue, low energy levels and lack of motivation as well as feeling worried, nervous, panicky, tense, keyed-up and anxious.

Germline EGFR variants are over-represented in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with adrenocortical carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Akhavanfard ◽  
Lamis Yehia ◽  
Roshan Padmanabhan ◽  
Jordan P Reynolds ◽  
Ying Ni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Adrenocortical Carcinoma ◽  
Kinase Inhibitor ◽  
Mapk Pathway ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Precision Oncology ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Germline Variants ◽  
Mutant Cells

Abstract Adrenocortical Carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine tumor with poor overall prognosis and 1.5-fold overrepresentation in females. In children, ACC is associated with inherited cancer syndromes with 50–80% of childhood-ACC associated with TP53 germline variants. ACC in adolescents and young adults (AYA) is rarely due to germline TP53, IGF2, PRKAR1A and MEN1 variants. We analyzed exome sequencing data from 21 children (&lt;15y), 32 AYA (15-39y), and 60 adults (&gt;39y) with ACC, and retained all pathogenic, likely pathogenic, and highly prioritized variants of uncertain significance. We engineered a stable lentiviral-mutant ACC cell line, harboring an EGFR variant (p.Asp1080Asn) from a 21-year-old female without germline-TP53-variant and with aggressive ACC. We found that 4.8% of the children (P = 0.004) and 6.2% of AYA (P &lt; 0.0001), all-female participants, harbored germline EGFR variants, compared to only 0.3% of the control group. Expanding our analysis to the RTK-RAS-MAPK pathway, we found that the RTK genes have the highest number of highly prioritized germline variants in these individuals amongst all three arms of this pathway. We showed EGFR mutant cells migrate faster and are characterized by a stem-like phenotype compared to wild type cells. While EGFR inhibitors did not affect the stemness of mutant cells, Sunitinib, a multireceptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, significantly reduced their stem-like behavior. Our data suggest that EGFR could be a novel underlying germline predisposition factor for ACC, especially in the Childhood-AYA (C-AYA) population. Further clinical validation can improve precision oncology management of this disease, which is known to have limited therapeutic options.

scholarly journals The effects of sleep deprivation on the processing of emotional facial expressions in young adults with and without ADHD

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ami Cohen ◽  
Kfir Asraf ◽  
Ivgeny Saveliev ◽  
Orrie Dan ◽  
Iris Haimov
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Sleep Deprivation ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Experimental Session ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Adhd Group ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Oddball Task

AbstractThe ability to recognize emotions from facial expressions is essential to the development of complex social cognition behaviors, and impairments in this ability are associated with poor social competence. This study aimed to examine the effects of sleep deprivation on the processing of emotional facial expressions and nonfacial stimuli in young adults with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Thirty-five men (mean age 25.4) with (n = 19) and without (n = 16) ADHD participated in the study. During the five days preceding the experimental session, the participants were required to sleep at least seven hours per night (23:00/24:00–7:00/9:00) and their sleep was monitored via actigraphy. On the morning of the experimental session, the participants completed a 4-stimulus visual oddball task combining facial and nonfacial stimuli, and repeated it after 25 h of sustained wakefulness. At baseline, both study groups had poorer performance in response to facial rather than non-facial target stimuli on all indices of the oddball task, with no differences between the groups. Following sleep deprivation, rates of omission errors, commission errors and reaction time variability increased significantly in the ADHD group but not in the control group. Time and target type (face/non-face) did not have an interactive effect on any indices of the oddball task. Young adults with ADHD are more sensitive to the negative effects of sleep deprivation on attentional processes, including those related to the processing of emotional facial expressions. As poor sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness are common in individuals with ADHD, it is feasible that poor sleep quality and quantity play an important role in cognitive functioning deficits, including the processing of emotional facial expressions that are associated with ADHD.

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