Monthly Archives: May 2010
The influence of visual information on auditory lateralization
The classic McGurk study showed that presentation of one syllable in the visual modality simultaneous with a different syllable in the auditory modality creates the perception of a third, not presented syllable. The current study presented dichotic syllable pairs (one in each ear) simultaneously with video clips of a mouth pronouncing the syllables from one of the ears, or pronouncing a syllable that was not part of the dichotic pair. When asked to report the auditory stimuli, responses were shifted towards selecting the auditory stimulus from the side that matched the visual stimulus.
A Market Update and the Top-20 Trends in Hearing Care, Part 1
A review of recent hearing industry market conditions, as well as speculation on what the future might hold in the next several years for hearing care professionals.
from The Hearing Review
Early Detection of Parkinson’s Disease by Voice Analysis
A new technique assisting in early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease has been developed by Prof. Shimon Sapir of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Haifa. This technique involves analysis of voice and articulation. The research was carried out alongside U.S. scientists and with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and results have been published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. “This is a non-invasive, reliable and accurate technique that only requires the patient to read out a few simple sentences,” Prof. Sapir explains.
from ScienceDaily.com
Most Medicaid Children in Nine States Are Not Receiving All Required Preventive Screening Services
Most children in nine selected States are not fully benefitting from Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) comprehensive screening services.
from Docuticker
Summer Sounds Can Lead to Hearing Loss
Expert urges people to protect their ears when going to firework displays, concerts
from HealthScout.com
Fat injection aids paralyzed vocal cords
Fat injections can help restore normal speech and improve quality of life in patients with paralyzed vocal cords, new research shows.
from MedlinePlus.gov
New Method Scans Ear Canal to Improve Fitting of Hearing Aids
Douglas Hart, a mechanical engineering professor at MIT, adapted technology he originally developed for dentistry to scan the shape of the ear canal. Because the procedure is relatively fast and easy compared to traditional silicone method, it may not only improve the fitting of hearing aids but may also lead to customized ear buds for your audio player.
from MedGadget.com
Delaying Childhood Vaccines Doesn’t Improve Mental Development
New research that followed more than 1,000 children over the course of seven to 10 years shows that delaying the childhood vaccines doctors recommend does not improve their mental development.
In fact, the study showed that the kids who got their vaccines on time actually did slightly better on some speech and language tests than their peers whose parents delayed or declined vaccination (see Table 2).
from NPR.org
Maternal expression of communicative intentions and pragmatic fine tuning in early infancy
This study focuses on pragmatic characteristics of infant-directed speech and pragmatic fine tuning during the first 18 months of life. The subjects of the study were a mother–child dyad involved in a longitudinal/observational study in a familial context. Audiovisual recordings were transcribed according to the conventions of the Child Language Data Exchange System ([MacWhinney, 2000] and [MacWhinney and Snow, 1990]). The Ninio and Wheeler’s (1988) system for coding communicative intentions was adapted.
The results of this research show that most of the communicative exchanges identified at 14, 20 and 32 months by Snow, Pan, Imbens-Bailey, and Herman (1996) appear in mother–child interaction from the beginning, while other communicative interchanges appear later. With respect to speech acts, the results highlight, from an early age, the general tendencies discussed by Snow et al. and some novelties. Interestingly, changes in some pragmatic measures were identified around 8 months of age, and the appearance of new communicative interchanges also took place around this age. These changes are interpreted as maternal adjustments to the child’s communicative competence.
Problems and limitations in studies on screening for language delay
This study discusses six common methodological limitations in screening for language delay (LD) as illustrated in 11 recent studies. The limitations are (1) whether the studies define a target population, (2) whether the recruitment procedure is unbiased, (3) attrition, (4) verification bias, (5) small sample size and (6) inconsistencies in choice of “gold standard”. It is suggested that failures to specify a target population, high attrition (both at screening and in succeeding validation), small sample sizes and verification bias in validations are often caused by a misguided focus on screen positives (SPs). Other limitations are results of conflicting methodological goals. We identified three such conflicts. One consists of a dilemma between unbiased recruitment and attrition, another between the comprehensiveness of the applied gold standard and sample size in validation and the third between the specificity of the gold standard and the risk of not identifying co-morbid conditions.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Percent Retention Scores on RBANS Verbal Memory Subtests for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Previous research has supported the use of percent retention scores in the neuropsychological assessment of memory, and many widely used memory measures provide for the calculation and normative comparison of these scores. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), an increasingly utilized assessment tool for cognitive impairment, provides normative data on delayed memory total raw scores only. The current study was aimed at determining the diagnostic accuracy of a novel percent retention score calculated from RBANS verbal memory subtests (delayed recall minus last learning trial) when distinguishing between normal controls, individuals diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, and individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Results revealed excellent diagnostic accuracy of the RBANS percent retention scores when discriminating between the three groups. Findings suggest that RBANS percent retention scores provide excellent diagnostic accuracy offering supplementary information to clinicians and researchers alike.
Closing the evidence, research, and practice loop: Examples of knowledge transfer and exchange from the field of aphasia
Conclusions: The application of KTE principles and methods has positive implications for clinical and policy decision making in the field of clinical aphasiology.
from Aphasiology
Language, meaning, context, and functional communication
Conclusions: Language as information is only one form of language use. The paper argues for further consideration in aphasiology of the importance of multiple language uses and their relation to context. It is proposed that regarding language forms from these different perspectives of use will enable clinicians to further address the different aspects of communication required for meaningful and satisfying interactions in everyday social life.
from Aphasiology
“Natural” conversation: A treatment for severe aphasia
Conclusions: The conversation/rehabilitation treatment partly reconciles the impairment- and consequences-based approaches and this study demonstrates that at least for one man with aphasia, Mr I, the treatment was successful.
from Aphasiology
IMITATE: An intensive computer-based treatment for aphasia based on action observation and imitation
Conclusions: IMITATE is a novel computer-assisted treatment for aphasia that is supported by theoretical rationales and previous human and primate data from neurobiology. The treatment is feasible, and preliminary behavioural data are emerging. However, the results will not be known until the clinical trial data are available to evaluate fully the efficacy of IMITATE and to inform theoretically about the mechanism of action and the role of a human mirror system in aphasia treatment.
from Aphasiology
