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Marschik PB, Widmann CAA, Lang S, Kulvicius T, Boterberg S, Nielsen-Saines K, Bölte S, Esposito G, Nordahl-Hansen A, Roeyers H, Wörgötter F, Einspieler C, Poustka L, Zhang D. Emerging Verbal Functions in Early Infancy: Lessons from Observational and Computational Approaches on Typical Development and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. ADVANCES IN NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS 2022; 6:369-388. [PMID: 36540761 PMCID: PMC9762685 DOI: 10.1007/s41252-022-00300-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Research on typically developing (TD) children and those with neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic syndromes was targeted. Specifically, studies on autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, fragile X syndrome, cerebral palsy, Angelman syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, Williams-Beuren syndrome, Cri-du-chat syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and West syndrome were searched. The objectives are to review observational and computational studies on the emergence of (pre-)babbling vocalisations and outline findings on acoustic characteristics of early verbal functions. METHODS A comprehensive review of the literature was performed including observational and computational studies focusing on spontaneous infant vocalisations at the pre-babbling age of TD children, individuals with genetic or neurodevelopmental disorders. RESULTS While there is substantial knowledge about early vocal development in TD infants, the pre-babbling phase in infants with neurodevelopmental and genetic syndromes is scarcely scrutinised. Related approaches, paradigms, and definitions vary substantially and insights into the onset and characteristics of early verbal functions in most above-mentioned disorders are missing. Most studies focused on acoustic low-level descriptors (e.g. fundamental frequency) which bore limited clinical relevance. This calls for computational approaches to analyse features of infant typical and atypical verbal development. CONCLUSIONS Pre-babbling vocalisations as precursor for future speech-language functions may reveal valuable signs for identifying infants at risk for atypical development. Observational studies should be complemented by computational approaches to enable in-depth understanding of the developing speech-language functions. By disentangling features of typical and atypical early verbal development, computational approaches may support clinical screening and evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter B. Marschik
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Göttingen, Germany and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- iDN - Interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Claudius A. A. Widmann
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Göttingen, Germany and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sigrun Lang
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Göttingen, Germany and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tomas Kulvicius
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Göttingen, Germany and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sofie Boterberg
- Research in Developmental Disorders Lab, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Karin Nielsen-Saines
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Region Stockholm, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden
- Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Austria
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Affiliative Behavior and Physiology Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Anders Nordahl-Hansen
- Department of Education, ICT and Learning, Østfold University College, Halden, Norway
| | - Herbert Roeyers
- Research in Developmental Disorders Lab, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Florentin Wörgötter
- Third Institute of Physics-Biophysics, Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christa Einspieler
- iDN - Interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Luise Poustka
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Göttingen, Germany and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dajie Zhang
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Göttingen, Germany and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- iDN - Interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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Pokorny FB, Schmitt M, Egger M, Bartl-Pokorny KD, Zhang D, Schuller BW, Marschik PB. Automatic vocalisation-based detection of fragile X syndrome and Rett syndrome. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13345. [PMID: 35922535 PMCID: PMC9349308 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17203-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Rett syndrome (RTT) are developmental disorders currently not diagnosed before toddlerhood. Even though speech-language deficits are among the key symptoms of both conditions, little is known about infant vocalisation acoustics for an automatic earlier identification of affected individuals. To bridge this gap, we applied intelligent audio analysis methodology to a compact dataset of 4454 home-recorded vocalisations of 3 individuals with FXS and 3 individuals with RTT aged 6 to 11 months, as well as 6 age- and gender-matched typically developing controls (TD). On the basis of a standardised set of 88 acoustic features, we trained linear kernel support vector machines to evaluate the feasibility of automatic classification of (a) FXS vs TD, (b) RTT vs TD, (c) atypical development (FXS+RTT) vs TD, and (d) FXS vs RTT vs TD. In paradigms (a)-(c), all infants were correctly classified; in paradigm (d), 9 of 12 were so. Spectral/cepstral and energy-related features were most relevant for classification across all paradigms. Despite the small sample size, this study reveals new insights into early vocalisation characteristics in FXS and RTT, and provides technical underpinnings for a future earlier identification of affected individuals, enabling earlier intervention and family counselling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian B Pokorny
- iDN - interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
- Machine Intelligence & Signal Processing group (MISP), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
- EIHW - Chair of Embedded Intelligence for Health Care and Wellbeing, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
| | - Maximilian Schmitt
- EIHW - Chair of Embedded Intelligence for Health Care and Wellbeing, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
| | - Mathias Egger
- iDN - interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Katrin D Bartl-Pokorny
- iDN - interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- EIHW - Chair of Embedded Intelligence for Health Care and Wellbeing, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
| | - Dajie Zhang
- iDN - interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Björn W Schuller
- EIHW - Chair of Embedded Intelligence for Health Care and Wellbeing, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
- GLAM - Group on Language, Audio, & Music, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Peter B Marschik
- iDN - interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Division of Phoniatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Center for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Lang S, Zhang D, Poustka L, Bartl-Pokorny KD, Pokorny FB, Bölte S, Sachse S, Mani N, Fox-Boyer AV, Hartung M, Einspieler C, Marschik PB. Früherkennung von Entwicklungsstörungen: Kanonisches Lallen (k)ein diagnostischer Marker(!)? KINDHEIT UND ENTWICKLUNG 2021. [DOI: 10.1026/0942-5403/a000324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Forschungsergebnisse zum frühen Spracherwerb bei Kindern mit spät erkannten Entwicklungsstörungen sind inkonsistent und angesichts unterschiedlicher Forschungsparadigmen und Definitionen nur bedingt vergleichbar. Fragestellung: Ziel dieser Übersichtsarbeit ist es, das Potenzial früher verbaler Fähigkeiten, vor allem des kanonischen Lallens, als Marker zur Früherkennung von Autismus-Spektrum-Störung, Rett-Syndrom und Fragilem-X-Syndrom zu beschreiben. Methode: Übersichtsarbeit über retrospektive und prospektive Studien zu frühen verbalen Fähigkeiten in der Prodromalphase dieser Störungsbilder. Ergebnisse: Einige Kinder mit spät erkannten Entwicklungsstörungen erwerben das kanonische Lallen nach dem kritischen Zeitfenster von 6 bis 10 Monaten und/oder haben oft qualitative Veränderungen in ihren Lautäußerungen. Diskussion und Schlussfolgerung: Eine abweichende Entwicklung des kanonischen Lallens kann auf spätere atypische Entwicklung hinweisen. Als funktioneller Marker für die spezifische Früherkennung von Entwicklungsstörungen scheint dieser Erwerbsmeilenstein jedoch nicht geeignet. Linguistische und signalbasierte Detailanalysen frühkindlicher Vokalisationen könnten zukünftig einen entscheidenden Beitrag hierzu leisten.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sigrun Lang
- Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
| | - Dajie Zhang
- Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
- Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus Primatenkognition Göttingen
- iDN – interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Klinische Abteilung für Phoniatrie, Medizinische Universität Graz
| | - Luise Poustka
- Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
- Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus Primatenkognition Göttingen
| | - Katrin D. Bartl-Pokorny
- iDN – interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Klinische Abteilung für Phoniatrie, Medizinische Universität Graz
| | - Florian B. Pokorny
- iDN – interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Klinische Abteilung für Phoniatrie, Medizinische Universität Graz
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm und Health Care Services, Region Stockholm
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm und Health Care Services, Region Stockholm
- Curtin Autism Research Group, School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth
| | - Steffi Sachse
- Institut für Psychologie, Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg
| | - Nivedita Mani
- Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus Primatenkognition Göttingen
- Georg-Elias-Müller-Institut für Psychologie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
| | - Annette V. Fox-Boyer
- Institut für Gesundheitswissenschaften, Universität zu Lübeck
- Department of Human Communication Sciences, University Sheffield
| | | | - Christa Einspieler
- iDN – interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Klinische Abteilung für Phoniatrie, Medizinische Universität Graz
| | - Peter B. Marschik
- Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
- Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus Primatenkognition Göttingen
- iDN – interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience, Klinische Abteilung für Phoniatrie, Medizinische Universität Graz
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm und Health Care Services, Region Stockholm
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Filippa M, Grandjean D. Introduction to the Special Issue on Nonverbal Vocal Communication in Development. JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-020-00338-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
AbstractNonverbal vocal aspects of communication, often related to affective states, are crucial to social interactions not only for animals but also for humans during early infancy, as well as being one of the pillars of human language development and acquisition. The thread that binds together the contributions to this Special Issue is the analysis of nonverbal vocal communication during development, both from ontogenetic and phylogenetic perspectives. This introduction presents the multiple viewpoints emerging from this Special Issue and delineates future research directions for investigating the nonverbal aspects of vocal communication in early development.
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