scholarly journals A Nonsense Consonant-Vowel-Consonant Word Test to Assess Auditory Processing

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (08) ◽  
pp. 675-684
Author(s):  
Mariah Nicole Cheyney ◽  
Deborah W. Moncrieff
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Nonsense Word ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Ear Advantage ◽  
The Right

AbstractDichotic listening (DL), or how the two ears work together as a team, is often used in the assessment of auditory processing disorders in both children and adults. Currently, the battery of dichotic tests includes stimuli containing words, digits, and nonsense consonant–vowel syllables. Single-syllable nonsense words are of particular use in assessing processing abilities because they can evaluate auditory processing without a listener’s dependence on linguistic knowledge. Therefore, nonsense words may assess auditory processes independently of previous vocabulary knowledge.This study is designed to assess the clinical applicability and face validity of a nonsense word DL test in a young adult population.This study included an experimental design to investigate the performance of young adult listeners on a Dichotic Nonsense Word (DNW) test spoken by a male and female speaker. The results were compared with one study that investigated young adult listener’s performance on dichotic tests of English words.A total of 100 young adult participants were recruited from the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh to participate in the study. The participants ranged in age from 20 to 30, with an average age of 23, and all participants had normal hearing.DL performance was measured in all participants using the Dichotic Words Test (DWT) and the newly developed DNW test. Kolmogorov–Smirnoff tests of normality were used to assess distribution of right- and left-ear scores. Criterion cutoff scores were determined for the percent correct scores in the nondominant ear and dominant ear and for ear advantage.Scores were significantly different between the two tests in the right ear, Z = −8.258, p < 0.001, and in the left ear, Z = −8.471, p < 0.001. Scores within each test were higher for the right ear than for the left ear, and scores for both ears were significantly lower on the DNW test than for the DWT. Ear advantage scores from the DNW test were significantly larger than those obtained from the DWT. The low and high 95% criterion cutoff ranges for the DNW test were considerably wider than the 95% criterion cutoff ranges for the DWT.Results indicate that the new DNW test may be a useful clinical tool within a test battery for evaluating auditory processing skills independent of vocabulary knowledge.

scholarly journals Lateralization of Auditory Processing of Silbo Gomero

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1183
Author(s):  
Pamela Villar González ◽  
Onur Güntürkün ◽  
Sebastian Ocklenburg
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Dichotic Listening ◽  
Relative Increase ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Lateralization ◽  
Ear Advantage ◽  
Listening Task ◽  
Right Ear Advantage ◽  
The Right

Left-hemispheric language dominance is a well-known characteristic of the human language system. However, it has been shown that leftward language lateralization decreases dramatically when people communicate using whistles. Whistled languages present a transformation of a spoken language into whistles, facilitating communication over great distances. In order to investigate the laterality of Silbo Gomero, a form of whistled Spanish, we used a vocal and a whistled dichotic listening task in a sample of 75 healthy Spanish speakers. Both individuals that were able to whistle and to understand Silbo Gomero and a non-whistling control group showed a clear right-ear advantage for vocal dichotic listening. For whistled dichotic listening, the control group did not show any hemispheric asymmetries. In contrast, the whistlers’ group showed a right-ear advantage for whistled stimuli. This right-ear advantage was, however, smaller compared to the right-ear advantage found for vocal dichotic listening. In line with a previous study on language lateralization of whistled Turkish, these findings suggest that whistled language processing is associated with a decrease in left and a relative increase in right hemispheric processing. This shows that bihemispheric processing of whistled language stimuli occurs independent of language.

scholarly journals Factors associated with choosing fertility preservation in a pediatric, adolescent and young adult population

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. e67
Author(s):  
Megan R. Sax ◽  
Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff ◽  
Brycen Ferrara ◽  
Olivia Jaworek Frias ◽  
Lesley Breech ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Fertility Preservation ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Adolescent And Young Adult ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Young Adult Population

Quantitative Analysis of Enhanced Selfies in a Young Adult Population

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keon M. Parsa ◽  
Ish A. Talati ◽  
Haijun Wang ◽  
Eugenia Chu ◽  
Lily Talakoub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Expression Analysis ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Image Brightness ◽  
Young Adult Population ◽  
Digital Copy ◽  
Unrealistic Expectations ◽  
Neutral Expression

AbstractThe use of filters and editing tools for perfecting selfies is increasing. While some aesthetic experts have touted the ability of this technology to help patients convey their aesthetic goals, others have expressed concerns about the unrealistic expectations that may come from the ability for individuals to digitally alter their own photos in these so-called “super-selfies.” The aim of the study is to determine the changes that individuals seek when enhancing selfies. Twenty subjects participated in this study between July 25 and September 24, 2019. Subjects had two sets of headshots taken (neutral and smile) and were provided an introduction on the use of the Facetune2 app. Subjects received a digital copy of their photographs and were asked to download the free mobile app. After 1 week of trialing the different tools for enhancing their appearance, subjects submitted their self-determined most attractive edited photographs. Changes in marginal reflex distance (MRD) 1 and 2, nose height and width, eyebrow height, facial width, skin smoothness, skin hue, and saturation as well as overall image brightness were recorded. Paired two-tailed t-test was used to evaluate pre- and post-facial measurements. There were no statistically significant changes identified in the analysis of the altered photos in neutral expression. Analysis of all smiling photographs revealed that subjects increased their smile angle (right: +2.92 mm, p = 0.04; left: +3.58 mm, p < 0.001). When smiling photographs were assessed by gender, females were found to significantly increase their MRD2 (right: +0.64 mm, p = 0.04; left: +0.74 mm, p = 0.05) and their smile angle (right: +1.90 mm, p = 0.03; left: +2.31 mm, p = 0.005) while also decreasing their nose height (−2.8 mm, p = 0.04). Males did not significantly alter any of the facial measurements assessed. This study identifies the types of changes that individuals seek when enhancing selfies and specifies the different aspects of image adjustment that may be sought based on a patient's gender.

scholarly journals Resting state alpha oscillatory activity is a valid and reliable marker of schizotypy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Trajkovic ◽  
Francesco Di Gregorio ◽  
Francesca Ferri ◽  
Chiara Marzi ◽  
Stefano Diciotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Alpha Activity ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Reliable Marker ◽  
The Right

AbstractSchizophrenia is among the most debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders. However, clear neurophysiological markers that would identify at-risk individuals represent still an unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate possible alterations in the resting alpha oscillatory activity in normal population high on schizotypy trait, a physiological condition known to be severely altered in patients with schizophrenia. Direct comparison of resting-state EEG oscillatory activity between Low and High Schizotypy Group (LSG and HSG) has revealed a clear right hemisphere alteration in alpha activity of the HSG. Specifically, HSG shows a significant slowing down of right hemisphere posterior alpha frequency and an altered distribution of its amplitude, with a tendency towards a reduction in the right hemisphere in comparison to LSG. Furthermore, altered and reduced connectivity in the right fronto-parietal network within the alpha range was found in the HSG. Crucially, a trained pattern classifier based on these indices of alpha activity was able to successfully differentiate HSG from LSG on tested participants further confirming the specific importance of right hemispheric alpha activity and intrahemispheric functional connectivity. By combining alpha activity and connectivity measures with a machine learning predictive model optimized in a nested stratified cross-validation loop, current research offers a promising clinical tool able to identify individuals at-risk of developing psychosis (i.e., high schizotypy individuals).

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