Technical Difficulties
Sorry for the long time since we last posted. We are going through some staff changes at Callier Library and people that normally handle posting responsibilities have either graduated or are being reassigned to other functions in the university. Another announcement about the blog will be made in about a month when staffing issues settle down. Those of us who have been working on COMD News for the last four years appreciate the support we have received from our readers.
Augmentation of Vocal Fold Using a Fat Block Implant Following Cordotomy Through a Minithyrotomy Approach in a Rabbit Model
Conclusions
Minithyrotomy vocal fold augmentation using an autologous fat block may soon be feasible in humans undergoing rehabilitation for postcordotomy dysphonia without causing additional damage to the vocal folds.
from the Journal of Voice
Laryngeal Electromyography-Guided Hyaluronic Acid Vocal Fold Injection for Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis—Preliminary Results
Conclusion
LEMG-guided HA VFI provides UVFP patients with neuromuscular function evaluation and treatment in one step. This clinical technique is feasible, and the short-term results are satisfactory.
from the Journal of Voice
Normative Values for the Voice Handicap Index-10
Conclusions
This study offers normative data for the VHI-10 that has been missing in the literature. A VHI-10 score >7 should be considered abnormal.
from the Journal of Voice
Combined Imaging Markers Dissociate Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration – An ALE Meta-Analysis.
To compare and dissociate the neural correlates of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), we combine and synthesize here recent comprehensive meta-analyses. Systematic and quantitative meta-analyses were conducted according to the QUOROM statement by calculating anatomical likelihood estimates (ALE). AD (n = 578) and the three subtypes of FTLD, frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia (SD), and progressive non-fluent aphasia (n = 229), were compared in conjunction analyses, separately for atrophy and reductions in glucose metabolism. Atrophy coincided in the amygdala and hippocampal head in AD and the FTLD subtype SD. The other brain regions did not show any overlap between AD and FTLD subtypes for both atrophy and changes in glucose metabolism. For AD alone (n = 826), another conjunction analysis revealed a regional dissociation between atrophy and hypoperfusion/hypometabolism, whereby hypoperfusion and hypometabolism coincided in the angular/supramarginal gyrus and inferior precuneus/posterior cingulate gyrus. Our data together with other imaging studies suggest a specific dissociation of AD and FTLD if, beside atrophy, additional imaging markers in AD such as abnormally low parietal glucose utilization and perfusion are taken into account. Results support the incorporation of standardized imaging inclusion criteria into future diagnostic systems, which is crucial for early individual diagnosis and treatment in the future.
Perceiving onset clusters in infancy
By 9-months infants are sensitive to native-language sound combinations. Our studies show that while younger infants discriminate clusters, they are not sensitive to differences in statistical frequency. Thus, the emergence of phonotactic knowledge is driven by experience with the frequency of occurrence of the sound combinations in one’s language.
Physical and Perceptual Factors Shape the Neural Mechanisms That Integrate Audiovisual Signals in Speech Comprehension
Face-to-face communication challenges the human brain to integrate information from auditory and visual senses with linguistic representations. Yet the role of bottom-up physical (spectrotemporal structure) input and top-down linguistic constraints in shaping the neural mechanisms specialized for integrating audiovisual speech signals are currently unknown. Participants were presented with speech and sinewave speech analogs in visual, auditory, and audiovisual modalities. Before the fMRI study, they were trained to perceive physically identical sinewave speech analogs as speech (SWS-S) or nonspeech (SWS-N). Comparing audiovisual integration (interactions) of speech, SWS-S, and SWS-N revealed a posterior–anterior processing gradient within the left superior temporal sulcus/gyrus (STS/STG): Bilateral posterior STS/STG integrated audiovisual inputs regardless of spectrotemporal structure or speech percept; in left mid-STS, the integration profile was primarily determined by the spectrotemporal structure of the signals; more anterior STS regions discarded spectrotemporal structure and integrated audiovisual signals constrained by stimulus intelligibility and the availability of linguistic representations. In addition to this “ventral” processing stream, a “dorsal” circuitry encompassing posterior STS/STG and left inferior frontal gyrus differentially integrated audiovisual speech and SWS signals. Indeed, dynamic causal modeling and Bayesian model comparison provided strong evidence for a parallel processing structure encompassing a ventral and a dorsal stream with speech intelligibility training enhancing the connectivity between posterior and anterior STS/STG. In conclusion, audiovisual speech comprehension emerges in an interactive process with the integration of auditory and visual signals being progressively constrained by stimulus intelligibility along the STS and spectrotemporal structure in a dorsal fronto-temporal circuitry.
from the Journal of Neuroscience
Bilingual Language Assessment: A Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy
Conclusions: The available evidence does not support strong claims concerning the diagnostic accuracy of these measures, but a number appear promising. Several steps are suggested for strengthening future investigations of diagnostic accuracy.
Development of a Short Form of the Boston Naming Test for Individuals With Aphasia
Conclusions: The new short form demonstrates good psychometric properties when used with individuals with aphasia. However, the Mack et al. form proved to be as psychometrically sound as the BNT–Aphasia Short Form and is also appropriate for individuals with aphasia.
Evidence for Preserved Novel Word Learning in Down Syndrome Suggests Multiple Routes to Vocabulary Acquisition
Conclusions: Vocabulary acquisition in Down syndrome may not rely on verbal short-term memory to the same extent as in typically developing children, lending support to the suggestion that new word learning may be underpinned by an additional memory process.
Initial Mean Length of Utterance Predicts the Relative Efficacy of Two Grammatical Treatments in Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment
Results: Predictions were confirmed for children with initially low MLU but not for children with initially high MLUs. MLT facilitated growth of grammar better than BTR in children who were initially in Brown’s stage I. Effects maintained 5 months after treatment ended.
Peer Interactions of Preschool Children With and Without Hearing Loss
Conclusions: Preschool children with SPHL were excluded from interactions by their playmates. Having age-appropriate language skills did not ensure successful peer interactions. Inclusive preschool programs may consider offering classroom-wide social skills training to enhance interaction opportunities.
Perceptual Adaptation of Voice Gender Discrimination With Spectrally Shifted Vowels
Conclusions: Temporal envelope cues are important for voice gender discrimination under spectral shift conditions with perceptual adaptation, but spectral shift may limit the exclusive use of spectral information and/or the use of formant structure on voice gender discrimination. The results have implications for cochlear implant users and for understanding voice gender discrimination.
Prosodic Adaptations to Pitch Perturbation in Running Speech
Conclusions: Present findings suggest that F0 and intensity are controlled in an integrated fashion to maintain the contrast between stressed and unstressed words. When a cue is impaired through perturbation, speakers not only oppose the perturbation but enhance other prosodic cues to achieve emphatic stress.
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