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Dąbrowska E, Pascual E, Macías-Gómez-Estern B, Llompart M. Literacy-related differences in morphological knowledge: A nonce-word study. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1136337. [PMID: 37179849 PMCID: PMC10171427 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1136337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Using a nonce-word inflection task, we examine the morphosyntactic productivity of adult native speakers of Spanish who are either beginning to learn to read and write (semi-literates) or have acquired literacy in late adulthood (late-literates), as well as age-matched controls (high-literates). High-literates consistently provided the appropriate form more often than late-literates, who in turn were better than semi-literate participants. Crucially, group interacted with person, number, and conjugation, such that the between-group differences were larger for the less frequent cells in the paradigm, indicating that literacy-related differences are not merely a consequence of the high-literacy group being more engaged or test-wise. This suggests that the availability of written representations may facilitate the acquisition of certain aspects of grammar. We also observed vast individual differences in productivity with inflectional endings. These results add to the growing body of research which challenges the assumption that all native speakers converge on the same grammar early in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewa Dąbrowska
- Chair of Language and Cognition, Department of English and American Studies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
- Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Esther Pascual
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Esther Pascual,
| | - Beatriz Macías-Gómez-Estern
- Department of Social Anthropology, Basic Psychology and Public Health, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
| | - Miquel Llompart
- Chair of Language and Cognition, Department of English and American Studies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
- Department of Translation and Language Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
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Rodriguez M, Mendoza L, Rodriguez I, Rosselli M, Loewenstein D, Burke S, Orozco A, Duara R. Cultural factors related to neuropsychological performance and brain atrophy among Hispanic older adults with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI): A pilot study. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2022; 29:364-372. [PMID: 32397837 PMCID: PMC10021027 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2020.1761368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study examined the association of cultural factors and literacy to neuropsychological performance and measures of regional brain atrophy among Hispanic elders diagnosed with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI). METHOD Acculturation and literacy levels were measured among 45 subjects tested in Spanish; their primary language. Scores for measures of memory, executive functioning, and verbal fluency, as well as volumetric analysis of MRI scans of left hemisphere structures commonly affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) were examined. Linear regression models were employed to examine the association of acculturation and literacy to neuropsychological performance and MRI measures. RESULTS After controlling for age, higher literacy levels were associated with better performance on phonemic verbal fluency (r = 0.300, p < .05), while higher levels of acculturation to the U.S. was associated with poorer performance on category verbal fluency (r = 0.300, p < .05). There was a significant inverse relationship after controlling for age between literacy and the left entorhinal cortex (r = -0.455, p < .05), left precuneus (r = -0.457, p < .05), and left posterior cingulate (r = -0.415, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS Results of the current pilot study indicate that high acculturation to the U.S. among aMCI immigrants from Latin-American countries may hinder performance on verbal learning measures when they are administered in one's primary language. Moreover, in this cohort, a higher literacy level, which is indicative of greater cognitive reserve, was associated with better performance in language measures, but with greater atrophy in brain regions susceptible to neurodegenerative disease. These preliminary findings should be further examined among larger cohorts and using more diverse measures, which capture other cultural constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Rodriguez
- Department of Psychology Doctoral Program, Albizu University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Lisandra Mendoza
- Department of Psychology Doctoral Program, Albizu University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Ivan Rodriguez
- Department of Psychology Doctoral Program, Albizu University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Mónica Rosselli
- Department of Psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL, USA
| | - David Loewenstein
- Department of Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami and Center on Aging, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Shanna Burke
- Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Amanda Orozco
- Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Ranjan Duara
- Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Miami Beach, FL, USA
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3
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Pereira A, Ortiz KZ. Language skills differences between adults without formal education and low formal education. PSICOLOGIA-REFLEXAO E CRITICA 2022; 35:4. [PMID: 34982275 PMCID: PMC8727659 DOI: 10.1186/s41155-021-00205-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The influence of education on cognition has been extensively researched, particularly in countries with high levels of illiteracy. However, the impact of low education in all cognitive functions appears to differ. Regarding to language, the effects of education on many linguistic tasks-supported by different processing-remain unclear. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether oral language task performance differs among individuals with no formal and low-educated subjects, as measured by the Brazilian Montreal-Toulouse Language Assessment Battery (MTL-BR). This is the only language battery available for use in Brazil, but lacks normative data for illiterate individuals. The secondary objective was to gather data for use as clinical parameters in assessing persons with aphasia (PWA) not exposed to a formal education. METHODS A total of 30 healthy illiterate individuals aged 34-60 years were assessed. All participants underwent the MTL-BR Battery, excluding its written communication tasks. The data obtained in the present study were compared against results of a previous investigation of individuals with 1-4 years of education evaluated using the same MTL-BR instrument. RESULTS Statistically significant differences in performance were found between non-formal education and the low-educated (2-4 years) groups on the tasks Auditory Comprehension, Repetition, Orthographic/Phonological Fluency, Number dictation, Reading of numbers and also on simple numerical calculations. CONCLUSION The study results showed that individuals with no formal education/illiterate had worse performance than low-education individuals on some of the language tasks of the MTL-Br Battery, suggesting that each year of education impacts cognitive-language performance. Also, data were obtained which can serve as a guide for PWA not exposed to a formal education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Pereira
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Botucatu, São Paulo, 802 Brazil
| | - Karin Zazo Ortiz
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Botucatu, São Paulo, 802 Brazil
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Sahraei I, Hildesheim FE, Thome I, Kessler R, Rusch KM, Sommer J, Kamp-Becker I, Stark R, Jansen A. Developmental changes within the extended face processing network: A cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Dev Neurobiol 2021; 82:64-76. [PMID: 34676995 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In the field of face processing, the so-called "core network" has been intensively researched. Its neural activity can be reliably detected in children and adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, the core network's counterpart, the so-called "extended network," has been less researched. In the present study, we compared children's and adults' brain activity in the extended system, in particular in the amygdala, the insula, and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Using fMRI, we compared the brain activation pattern between children aged 7-9 years and adults during an emotional face processing task. On the one hand, children showed increased activity in the extended face processing system in relation to adults, particularly in the left amygdala, the right insula, and the left IFG. On the other hand, lateralization indices revealed a "leftward bias" in children's IFG compared to adults. These results suggest that brain activity associated with face processing is characterized by a developmental decrease in activity. They further show that the development is associated with a rightward migration of face-related IFG activation, possibly due to the competition for neural space between several developing brain functions ("developmental competition hypothesis").
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabell Sahraei
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Franziska E Hildesheim
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ina Thome
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Roman Kessler
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany.,Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Gjøvik, Norway.,University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Kristin M Rusch
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jens Sommer
- Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Inge Kamp-Becker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Rudolf Stark
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Jansen
- Laboratory for Multimodal Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
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Chao PC, Chen WF, Zevin J, Lee CY. Neural correlates of phonology-to-orthography mapping consistency effects on Chinese spoken word recognition. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 219:104961. [PMID: 33965686 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.104961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that reading experience reshapes speech processing. The orthography can be implemented in the brain by restructuring the phonological representations or being co-activated during spoken word recognition. This study utilized event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional connectivity analysis to examine the neural mechanism underlying two types of orthographic effects in the Chinese auditory semantic category task, namely phonology-to-orthography consistency (POC) and homophone density (HD). We found that the POC effects originated from the speech network, suggesting that sublexical orthographic information could change the organization of preexisting phonological representations when learning to read. Meanwhile, the HD effects were localized to the left fusiform and lingual gyrus, suggesting that lexical orthographic knowledge may be activated online during spoken word recognition. These results demonstrated the different natures and neural mechanisms for the POC and HD effects on Chinese spoken word recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Chun Chao
- Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Fan Chen
- Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jason Zevin
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Chia-Ying Lee
- Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Research Center for Mind, Brain, and Learning, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan; Interdisciplinary Neuroscience, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
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6
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Zhang Y, Pattamadilok C, Lau DKY, Bakhtiar M, Yim LY, Leung KY, Zhang C. Early Auditory Event-Related Potentials Are Modulated by Alphabetic Literacy Skills in Logographic Chinese Readers. Front Psychol 2021; 12:663166. [PMID: 34393900 PMCID: PMC8358453 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of an alphabetic orthography transforms speech processing in the human brain. Behavioral evidence shows that phonological awareness as assessed by meta-phonological tasks like phoneme judgment, is enhanced by alphabetic literacy acquisition. The current study investigates the time-course of the neuro-cognitive operations underlying this enhancement as revealed by event-related potentials (ERPs). Chinese readers with and without proficiency in Jyutping, a Romanization system of Cantonese, were recruited for an auditory onset phoneme judgment task; their behavioral responses and the elicited ERPs were examined. Proficient readers of Jyutping achieved higher response accuracy and exhibited more negative-going ERPs in three early ERP time-windows corresponding to the P1, N1, and P2 components. The phonological mismatch negativity component exhibited sensitivity to both onset and rhyme mismatch in the speech stimuli, but it was not modulated by alphabetic literacy skills. The sustained negativity in the P1-N1-P2 time-windows is interpreted as reflecting enhanced phonetic/phonological processing or attentional/awareness modulation associated with alphabetic literacy and phonological awareness skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yubin Zhang
- Department of Linguistics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Chotiga Pattamadilok
- Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL), CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Dustin Kai-Yan Lau
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Mehdi Bakhtiar
- Unit of Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Long-Ying Yim
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ka-Yui Leung
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Caicai Zhang
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
- Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
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7
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Impact of literacy on the functional connectivity of vision and language related networks. Neuroimage 2020; 213:116722. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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8
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Toomela A. Studies in the Mentality of Literates: Searching for the Cultural Great Divide at the Individual Level of Analysis. Integr Psychol Behav Sci 2019; 54:1-29. [PMID: 31641930 DOI: 10.1007/s12124-019-09503-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Today it is usually agreed that cultures are different but no culture is more developed than some other. It follows that culture did not develop hierarchically. Otherwise some cultures must be more developed than the others. This position, however, contradicts ample evidence that individual mental development is hierarchical. As culture can develop only on the basis of individual development, cultural development has to be hierarchical too. In this paper a research program to study cultural and individual development in one framework is outlined. Particularly it is discussed whether it is possible to define a Great Divide, a characteristic that would distinguish more developed cultures from less developed cultures today. Both literacy and formal education are rejected as candidates for a Great Divide. Then, following and extending Vygotsky's theory, it is demonstrated that a Great Divide can be defined in terms of the development of word meaning structure (WMS). A novel theory of the development of WMS over five hierarchical stages is shortly described and it is suggested that both individuals and cultures develop over the same stages in invariant order. Particularly differences between everyday and logical (or "scientific" in Vygotsky's terms) concepts are discussed. It is theoretically explained how study of adult individuals can be used to support the presented theory of developmental similarities between cultures and individuals. Specific hypotheses for the study are put forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaro Toomela
- School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Narva Rd 29, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia.
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9
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The characteristics of face configural effect in illiterates and literates. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2019; 201:102951. [PMID: 31733434 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2019.102951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Revised: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Literacy acquisition can modulate the way we process visual words and language. However, little is known about its function in reshaping how we process non-linguistic materials, like faces. In this study, we explored this question by comparing the facial recognition skills of illiterate and literate adults in China. Our results showed that illiterates were less sensitive to changes in spatial configuration among key features in upright faces when stimuli were presented simultaneously. The differences in sensitivity of spatial configuration between the literates and illiterates were also observed in house processing. These results thus provide evidence that literacy acquisition during childhood could reshape configural processing.
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Hervais-Adelman A, Kumar U, Mishra RK, Tripathi VN, Guleria A, Singh JP, Eisner F, Huettig F. Learning to read recycles visual cortical networks without destruction. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaax0262. [PMID: 31555732 PMCID: PMC6750915 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Learning to read is associated with the appearance of an orthographically sensitive brain region known as the visual word form area. It has been claimed that development of this area proceeds by impinging upon territory otherwise available for the processing of culturally relevant stimuli such as faces and houses. In a large-scale functional magnetic resonance imaging study of a group of individuals of varying degrees of literacy (from completely illiterate to highly literate), we examined cortical responses to orthographic and nonorthographic visual stimuli. We found that literacy enhances responses to other visual input in early visual areas and enhances representational similarity between text and faces, without reducing the extent of response to nonorthographic input. Thus, acquisition of literacy in childhood recycles existing object representation mechanisms but without destructive competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Hervais-Adelman
- Neurobiology of Language Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Neurolinguistics, University of Zürich, Department of Psychology, Binzmühlerstrasse 14, 8050, Zürich, Switzerland
- Corresponding author.
| | - Uttam Kumar
- Centre of Biomedical Research, Raibareli Road, Lucknow, 226014 Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Ramesh K. Mishra
- University of Hyderabad, Prof. C.R. Rao Road, Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500046, Telangana, India
| | - Viveka N. Tripathi
- Centre for Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, University Road, Old Katra, Prayagraj, 211002 Uttar Pradesh, India
- Department of Psychology, Iswar Saran Degree College, Prayagraj, 211002 Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Anupam Guleria
- Centre of Biomedical Research, Raibareli Road, Lucknow, 226014 Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Jay P. Singh
- Centre for Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, University Road, Old Katra, Prayagraj, 211002 Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Frank Eisner
- Donders Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Falk Huettig
- Psychology of Language Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Houtlaan 4, 6525 XZ Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Antonio RDL, Pompeia S. A fractionated analysis of hot and cool self-regulation in cigarette smokers from different socioeconomic backgrounds. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220222. [PMID: 31430293 PMCID: PMC6701789 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Smoking cigarettes and low socioeconomic status (SES) are both related to impaired cognition. However, it is unknown whether people of lower SES, who comprise most tobacco smokers worldwide, are more susceptible to cognitive impairment associated with smoking. In this non-randomized, cross-sectional study we investigated the effects of cigarette smoking, SES and their interaction on dissociable executive or “cool” and “hot” measures of behavioural self-regulation. Participants (n = 80) were selected among young physically and mentally healthy smokers and non-smokers who had graduated high school and were from different SES backgrounds. Cool self-regulation was measured by executive function tasks that tap inhibition, updating, shifting, dual tasking, planning, access to long-term memory (semantic fluency), and working memory capacity. Hot measures assessed self-reported impulsivity, delay discounting and risk taking. Exposure to tobacco (cotinine, exhaled carbon monoxide, tobacco dependence, cigarette consumption) was assessed to determine to what extent it mediated the cognitive effects of smoking. Nicotine abstinence and its acute effects were controlled, as were sex, age, schooling, and psychiatric symptoms despite the fact that smokers and non-smokers were selected as being as similar as possible in these demographic characteristics. Lower SES (less years of parental schooling) was associated with worse performance on tasks that measured all cool domains except dual tasking and fluency, while smoking status was related to impaired delayed discounting and impulsivity (hot domains), effects that were not mediated by tobacco exposure. Smoking and SES, however, did not interact. In short, impaired performance in measures of most cool skills was associated with SES irrespective of smoking status; in contrast, regardless of SES, smokers showed specific impairment in hot self-regulation domains (more difficulty resisting immediate temptations and weighing future consequences of actions). Possible explanations for the lack of mediation of tobacco exposure on hot skills of smokers are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel de Luna Antonio
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Curso de Naturologia, Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Sabine Pompeia
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Bulajić A, Despotović M, Lachmann T. Understanding functional illiteracy from a policy, adult education, and cognition point of view: Towards a joint referent framework. ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR NEUROPSYCHOLOGIE 2019. [DOI: 10.1024/1016-264x/a000255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Abstract. The article discusses the emergence of a functional literacy construct and the rediscovery of illiteracy in industrialized countries during the second half of the 20th century. It offers a short explanation of how the construct evolved over time. In addition, it explores how functional (il)literacy is conceived differently by research discourses of cognitive and neural studies, on the one hand, and by prescriptive and normative international policy documents and adult education, on the other hand. Furthermore, it analyses how literacy skills surveys such as the Level One Study (leo.) or the PIAAC may help to bridge the gap between cognitive and more practical and educational approaches to literacy, the goal being to place the functional illiteracy (FI) construct within its existing scale levels. It also sheds more light on the way in which FI can be perceived in terms of different cognitive processes and underlying components of reading. By building on the previous work of other authors and previous definitions, the article brings together different views of FI and offers a perspective for a needed operational definition of the concept, which would be an appropriate reference point for future educational, political, and scientific utilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandar Bulajić
- Center for Cognitive Science, Cognitive and Developmental Psychology Unit, Technical University of Kaiserslautern
- Chair of Andragogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
| | | | - Thomas Lachmann
- Center for Cognitive Science, Cognitive and Developmental Psychology Unit, Technical University of Kaiserslautern
- Facultad de Lenguas y Educación, Universidad Nebrija, Madrid
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Akashi DA, Ortiz KZ. Formal language assessment in low-educated healthy subjects. Dement Neuropsychol 2018; 12:284-291. [PMID: 30425792 PMCID: PMC6200164 DOI: 10.1590/1980-57642018dn12-030009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many studies have shown the influence of education on cognition, the impact of low education on the various cognitive functions appears to differ. The hypothesis of the present study is that, with regards to language, the use of parameters derived from populations with 5-8 years of education leads to false-positive results. OBJECTIVE to determine the influence of low education on the language tasks assessed by the MTL-Brazil Battery. METHODS 30 healthy adults with 2-4 years of education were submitted to the MTL-Br Battery, comprising 22 subtests. The data were submitted to descriptive statistical analysis for each subtest and Z-scores were then calculated based on the parameters of a population with 5-8 years of education. All participants would be considered impaired if the Battery had been applied according to published normative criteria for a population with 5-8 years of education. RESULTS Separate analysis revealed that published scores for 17 out of the 22 Battery tasks were inappropriate for a population with 2-4 years of education. CONCLUSION Education was found to effect performance for each of the language abilities differently. In addition, the study results can be applied to language assessments of individuals with 1-4 years of education using the MTL-Br battery, since this is the only language test for adults available in Brazil, and for which there are no normative data for low-educated subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Aiko Akashi
- Speech Pathologist, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Karin Zazo Ortiz
- PhD, Speech Pathologist, Associate Professor, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Ghazi-Saidi L, Ansaldo AI. Second Language Word Learning through Repetition and Imitation: Functional Networks as a Function of Learning Phase and Language Distance. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:463. [PMID: 29033804 PMCID: PMC5625023 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction and Aim: Repetition and imitation are among the oldest second language (L2) teaching approaches and are frequently used in the context of L2 learning and language therapy, despite some heavy criticism. Current neuroimaging techniques allow the neural mechanisms underlying repetition and imitation to be examined. This fMRI study examines the influence of verbal repetition and imitation on network configuration. Integration changes within and between the cognitive control and language networks were studied, in a pair of linguistically close languages (Spanish and French), and compared to our previous work on a distant language pair (Ghazi-Saidi et al., 2013). Methods: Twelve healthy native Spanish-speaking (L1) adults, and 12 healthy native Persian-speaking adults learned 130 new French (L2) words, through a computerized audiovisual repetition and imitation program. The program presented colored photos of objects. Participants were instructed to look at each photo and pronounce its name as closely as possible to the native template (imitate). Repetition was encouraged as many times as necessary to learn the object's name; phonological cues were provided if necessary. Participants practiced for 15 min, over 30 days, and were tested while naming the same items during fMRI scanning, at week 1 (shallow learning phase) and week 4 (consolidation phase) of training. To compare this set of data with our previous work on Persian speakers, a similar data analysis plan including accuracy rates (AR), response times (RT), and functional integration values for the language and cognitive control network at each measure point was included, with further L1-L2 direct comparisons across the two populations. Results and Discussion: The evidence shows that learning L2 words through repetition induces neuroplasticity at the network level. Specifically, L2 word learners showed increased network integration after 3 weeks of training, with both close and distant language pairs. Moreover, higher network integration was observed in the learners with the close language pair, suggesting that repetition effects on network configuration vary as a function of task complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ladan Ghazi-Saidi
- Department of Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska at KearneyKearney, NE, United States
| | - Ana Ines Ansaldo
- School of Speech Therapy and Audiology, University of MontrealMontreal, QC, Canada.,Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de MontréalMontreal, QC, Canada
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15
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Peterson RL, Arnett AB, Pennington BF, Byrne B, Samuelsson S, Olson RK. Literacy acquisition influences children's rapid automatized naming. Dev Sci 2017; 21:e12589. [PMID: 28812316 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 02/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has established that learning to read improves children's performance on reading-related phonological tasks, including phoneme awareness (PA) and nonword repetition. Few studies have investigated whether literacy acquisition also promotes children's rapid automatized naming (RAN). We tested the hypothesis that literacy acquisition should influence RAN in an international, longitudinal population sample of twins. Cross-lagged path models evaluated the relationships among literacy, PA, and RAN across four time points from pre-kindergarten through grade 4. Consistent with previous research, literacy showed bidirectional relationships with reading-related oral language skills. We found novel evidence for an effect of earlier literacy on later RAN, which was most evident in children at early phases of literacy development. In contrast, the influence of earlier RAN on later literacy was predominant among older children. These findings imply that the association between these two related skills is moderated by development. Implications for models of reading development and for dyslexia research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin L Peterson
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Children's Hospital Colorado, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, CO, USA
| | - Anne B Arnett
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Brian Byrne
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,School of Cognitive, Behavioural, and Social Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Twin Research, Australia
| | - Stefan Samuelsson
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Richard K Olson
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder, CO, USA
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16
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Abstract
Many experimental studies have investigated the relationship between the acquisition of reading and working memory in a unidirectional way, attempting to determine to what extent individual differences in working memory can predict reading achievement. In contrast, very little attention has been dedicated to the converse possibility that learning to read shapes the development of verbal memory processes. In this paper, we present available evidence that advocates a more prominent role for reading acquisition on verbal working memory and then discuss the potential mechanisms of such literacy effects. First, the early decoding activities might bolster the development of subvocal rehearsal, which, in turn, would enhance serial order performance in immediate memory tasks. In addition, learning to read and write in an alphabetical system allows the emergence of phonemic awareness and finely tuned phonological representations, as well as of orthographic representations. This could improve the quality, strength, and precision of lexical representations, and hence offer better support for the temporary encoding of memory items and/or for their retrieval.
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Julayanont P, Ruthirago D. The illiterate brain and the neuropsychological assessment: From the past knowledge to the future new instruments. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-ADULT 2016; 25:174-187. [PMID: 27841690 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2016.1250211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The lifetime learning of illiterate and low-educated individuals shapes their cognitive skills, which are challenging to grade by the current available neuropsychological tools. Eight hundred million of the global population are illiterate. It is very challenging to interpret the cognitive performance of this population by the available formal neuropsychological tests, mainly developed for higher educated people. From extensive literature investigation, we reviewed the cognitive process and performance of illiterate and low-educated population on various cognitive domains including language, executive function, memory, visual-related function, and motor skills. We also suggested the concept in the development of the appropriate tools for the cognitive assessment among this population. Finally, we provide the available cognitive screening tools validated in the illiterate and low-educated subjects within the last three decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parunyou Julayanont
- a Department of Neurology , Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center , Lubbock , Texas , USA
| | - Doungporn Ruthirago
- a Department of Neurology , Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center , Lubbock , Texas , USA
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18
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Vágvölgyi R, Coldea A, Dresler T, Schrader J, Nuerk HC. A Review about Functional Illiteracy: Definition, Cognitive, Linguistic, and Numerical Aspects. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1617. [PMID: 27891100 PMCID: PMC5102880 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Formally, availability of education for children has increased around the world over the last decades. However, despite having a successful formal education career, adults can become functional illiterates. Functional illiteracy means that a person cannot use reading, writing, and calculation skills for his/her own and the community's development. Functional illiteracy has considerable negative effects not only on personal development, but also in economic and social terms. Although functional illiteracy has been highly publicized in mass media in the recent years, there is limited scientific knowledge about the people termed functional illiterates; definition, assessment, and differential diagnoses with respect to related numerical and linguistic impairments are rarely studied and controversial. The first goal of our review is to give a comprehensive overview of the research on functional illiteracy by describing gaps in knowledge within the field and to outline and address the basic questions concerning who can be considered as functional illiterates: (1) Do they possess basic skills? (2) In which abilities do they have the largest deficits? (3) Are numerical and linguistic deficits related? (4) What is the fundamental reason for their difficulties? (5) Are there main differences between functional illiterates, illiterates, and dyslexics? We will see that despite partial evidence, there is still much research needed to answer these questions. Secondly, we emphasize the timeliness for a new and more precise definition that results in uniform sampling, better diagnosis, conclusion, and intervention. We propose the following working definition as the result of the review: functional illiteracy is the incapability to understand complex texts despite adequate schooling, age, language skills, elementary reading skills, and IQ. These inabilities must also not be fully explained by sensory, domain-general cognitive, neurological or mental disorders. In sum, we suggest that functional illiteracy must be more thoroughly understood and assessed from a theoretical, empirical, and diagnostic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Réka Vágvölgyi
- LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of TuebingenTuebingen, Germany
| | - Andra Coldea
- School of Psychology, University of GlasgowGlasgow, Scotland
| | - Thomas Dresler
- LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of TuebingenTuebingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of TuebingenTuebingen, Germany
| | - Josef Schrader
- LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of TuebingenTuebingen, Germany
- German Institute for Adult Education – Leibniz Centre for Lifelong LearningBonn, Germany
| | - Hans-Christoph Nuerk
- LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of TuebingenTuebingen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of TuebingenTuebingen, Germany
- Knowledge Media Research Center – Leibniz Institut für WissensmedienTuebingen, Germany
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19
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Lu C, Qi Z, Harris A, Weil LW, Han M, Halverson K, Perrachione TK, Kjelgaard M, Wexler K, Tager-Flusberg H, Gabrieli JDE. Shared neuroanatomical substrates of impaired phonological working memory across reading disability and autism. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2016; 1:169-177. [PMID: 26949750 PMCID: PMC4776338 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2015.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with reading disability or individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized, respectively, by their difficulties in reading or social communication, but both groups often have impaired phonological working memory (PWM). It is not known whether the impaired PWM reflects distinct or shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in these two diagnostic groups. METHODS White-matter structural connectivity via diffusion weighted imaging was examined in sixty-four children, ages 5-17 years, with reading disability, ASD, or typical development (TD), who were matched in age, gender, intelligence, and diffusion data quality. RESULTS Children with reading disability and children with ASD exhibited reduced PWM compared to children with TD. The two diagnostic groups showed altered white-matter microstructure in the temporo-parietal portion of the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) and in the temporo-occipital portion of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), as indexed by reduced fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity. Moreover, the structural integrity of the right ILF was positively correlated with PWM ability in the two diagnostic groups, but not in the TD group. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that impaired PWM is transdiagnostically associated with shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in ASD and reading disability. Microstructural characteristics in left AF and right ILF may play important roles in the development of PWM. The right ILF may support a compensatory mechanism for children with impaired PWM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Zhenghan Qi
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Adrianne Harris
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Lisa Wisman Weil
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Michelle Han
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Kelly Halverson
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Tyler K. Perrachione
- Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Margaret Kjelgaard
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Kenneth Wexler
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - John D. E. Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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20
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Román P, González J, Ventura-Campos N, Rodríguez-Pujadas A, Sanjuán A, Ávila C. Neural differences between monolinguals and early bilinguals in their native language during comprehension. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2015; 150:80-89. [PMID: 26340683 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2015.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2014] [Revised: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Research has shown that semantic processing of sentences engages more activity in the bilingual compared to the monolingual brain and, more specifically, in the inferior frontal gyrus. The present study aims to extend those results and examines whether semantic and also grammatical sentence processing involve different cerebral structures when testing in the native language. In this regard, highly proficient Spanish/Catalan bilinguals and Spanish monolinguals made grammatical and semantic judgments in Spanish while being scanned. Results showed that both types of judgments recruited more cerebral activity for bilinguals in language-related areas including the superior and middle temporal gyri. Such neural differences co-occurred with similar performance at the behavioral level. Taken together, these data suggest that early bilingualism shapes the brain and cognitive processes in sentence comprehension even in their native language; on the other hand, they indicate that brain over activation in bilinguals is not constrained to a specific area.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Román
- Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló 12701, Spain; Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802, USA.
| | - J González
- Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló 12701, Spain
| | - N Ventura-Campos
- Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló 12701, Spain
| | - A Rodríguez-Pujadas
- Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló 12701, Spain
| | - A Sanjuán
- Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló 12701, Spain; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - C Ávila
- Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló 12701, Spain
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21
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Arbib MA. Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology: Framing the language-ready brain. Phys Life Rev 2015; 16:1-54. [PMID: 26482863 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2015.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Revised: 09/11/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
We make the case for developing a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology to inform the analysis of the function and evolution of the human brain. First, we update the mirror system hypothesis on the evolution of the language-ready brain by (i) modeling action and action recognition and opportunistic scheduling of macaque brains to hypothesize the nature of the last common ancestor of macaque and human (LCA-m); and then we (ii) introduce dynamic brain modeling to show how apes could acquire gesture through ontogenetic ritualization, hypothesizing the nature of evolution from LCA-m to the last common ancestor of chimpanzee and human (LCA-c). We then (iii) hypothesize the role of imitation, pantomime, protosign and protospeech in biological and cultural evolution from LCA-c to Homo sapiens with a language-ready brain. Second, we suggest how cultural evolution in Homo sapiens led from protolanguages to full languages with grammar and compositional semantics. Third, we assess the similarities and differences between the dorsal and ventral streams in audition and vision as the basis for presenting and comparing two models of language processing in the human brain: A model of (i) the auditory dorsal and ventral streams in sentence comprehension; and (ii) the visual dorsal and ventral streams in defining "what language is about" in both production and perception of utterances related to visual scenes provide the basis for (iii) a first step towards a synthesis and a look at challenges for further research.
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22
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Huettig F, Brouwer S. Delayed Anticipatory Spoken Language Processing in Adults with Dyslexia—Evidence from Eye-tracking. DYSLEXIA (CHICHESTER, ENGLAND) 2015; 21:97-122. [PMID: 25820191 DOI: 10.1002/dys.1497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
It is now well established that anticipation of upcoming input is a key characteristic of spoken language comprehension. It has also frequently been observed that literacy influences spoken language processing. Here, we investigated whether anticipatory spoken language processing is related to individuals' word reading abilities. Dutch adults with dyslexia and a control group participated in two eye-tracking experiments. Experiment 1 was conducted to assess whether adults with dyslexia show the typical language-mediated eye gaze patterns. Eye movements of both adults with and without dyslexia closely replicated earlier research: spoken language is used to direct attention to relevant objects in the environment in a closely time-locked manner. In Experiment 2, participants received instructions (e.g., 'Kijk naar de(COM) afgebeelde piano(COM)', look at the displayed piano) while viewing four objects. Articles (Dutch 'het' or 'de') were gender marked such that the article agreed in gender only with the target, and thus, participants could use gender information from the article to predict the target object. The adults with dyslexia anticipated the target objects but much later than the controls. Moreover, participants' word reading scores correlated positively with their anticipatory eye movements. We conclude by discussing the mechanisms by which reading abilities may influence predictive language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Falk Huettig
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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23
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The cognitive impact of the education revolution: A possible cause of the Flynn Effect on population IQ. INTELLIGENCE 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2015.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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24
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Kolinsky R, Monteiro-Plantin RS, Mengarda EJ, Grimm-Cabral L, Scliar-Cabral L, Morais J. How formal education and literacy impact on the content and structure of semantic categories. Trends Neurosci Educ 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tine.2014.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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25
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Word reading skill predicts anticipation of upcoming spoken language input: a study of children developing proficiency in reading. J Exp Child Psychol 2014; 126:264-79. [PMID: 24955519 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2014] [Revised: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Despite the efficiency with which language users typically process spoken language, a growing body of research finds substantial individual differences in both the speed and accuracy of spoken language processing potentially attributable to participants' literacy skills. Against this background, the current study took a look at the role of word reading skill in listeners' anticipation of upcoming spoken language input in children at the cusp of learning to read; if reading skills affect predictive language processing, then children at this stage of literacy acquisition should be most susceptible to the effects of reading skills on spoken language processing. We tested 8-year-olds on their prediction of upcoming spoken language input in an eye-tracking task. Although children, like in previous studies to date, were successfully able to anticipate upcoming spoken language input, there was a strong positive correlation between children's word reading skills (but not their pseudo-word reading and meta-phonological awareness or their spoken word recognition skills) and their prediction skills. We suggest that these findings are most compatible with the notion that the process of learning orthographic representations during reading acquisition sharpens pre-existing lexical representations, which in turn also supports anticipation of upcoming spoken words.
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27
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Kim J, Yoon JH, Kim SR, Kim H. Effect of literacy level on cognitive and language tests in Korean illiterate older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 14:911-7. [PMID: 24261573 DOI: 10.1111/ggi.12195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
AIM Illiterate individuals represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Acquisition of reading and writing skills influences the functional status of the brain, and consequently alters the performance on cognitive and language tests. Thus, it is important to identify the degree of the impact of levels of both illiteracy and education as potential confounders on test performance in people with neurological communication disorders. METHODS A total of 203 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older were recruited for the present study. Participants were classified into four groups based on the literacy level; pure illiterate (n=29), semi-illiterate (n=67), literate (n=75) and high-level literate (n=32). The participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination, Boston Naming Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test (animal), verb naming, and sentence comprehension tests. RESULTS The pure illiterate group showed the lowest performance on all five tests. Regression analysis showed that literacy level was the variable that best predicted the performance on cognitive and language tests. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that literacy in performance on cognitive and language tests is an important factor in neuropsychological evaluations for older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- JungWan Kim
- Department of Speech and Language Pathology, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, Korea
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28
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Cavaco S, Gonçalves A, Pinto C, Almeida E, Gomes F, Moreira I, Fernandes J, Teixeira-Pinto A. Semantic Fluency and Phonemic Fluency: Regression-based Norms for the Portuguese Population. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2013; 28:262-71. [DOI: 10.1093/arclin/act001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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29
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Wu J, Li X, Yang J, Cai C, Sun H, Guo Q. Prominent activation of the bilateral inferior parietal lobule of literate compared with illiterate subjects during Chinese logographic processing. Exp Brain Res 2012; 219:327-37. [PMID: 22543811 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-012-3094-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2011] [Accepted: 04/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Chinese is a logographic language system that differs from alphabetic languages, and some of the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying Chinese logographic reading also differ from those underlying alphabetic word reading. However, whether education level effects the neural activation associated with logographic processing of Chinese is still unknown. In the present study, 11 Chinese illiterate and 11 literate (age-matched) subjects participated in an event-related fMRI experiment with Chinese character discrimination (CD) and figure discrimination (FD) tasks. All subjects were asked to view the character or figure pairs and discriminate whether the characters or figures of each stimuli pair were the same or not using response keys. Both literate and illiterate subjects activated a widely distributed cerebral network, including the bilateral inferior, middle and superior frontal gyri, superior temporal gyrus and parietal lobe, in the CD task. Finally, we directly compared the activations of literate subjects with illiterate subjects. The results suggest that the bilateral parts of the angular gyrus and supramarginal gyrus are more active for literate than illiterate subjects in the CD task. We found no significant group difference in the FD task. Therefore, the present results may indicate that education level effects the neural activation associated with the logographic processing of Chinese.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinglong Wu
- Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, The Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
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30
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Silva C, Faísca L, Ingvar M, Petersson KM, Reis A. Literacy: Exploring working memory systems. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2012; 34:369-77. [DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2011.645017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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31
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Landgraf S, Beyer R, Hild I, Schneider N, Horn E, Schaadt G, Foth M, Pannekamp A, van der Meer E. Impact of phonological processing skills on written language acquisition in illiterate adults. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2012; 2 Suppl 1:S129-38. [PMID: 22682902 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2011.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2011] [Revised: 11/16/2011] [Accepted: 11/18/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Illiteracy remains a world-wide problem not only for children but also for adults. Phonological processing has been defined as a crucial factor for the acquisition of written language, which usually occurs in childhood. However, it is unclear to what extent phonological processing is necessary in order for adults to acquire written language skills. We tested 47 illiterate adults before and after a one-year alphabetization course in several cognitive domains relevant to phonological processing and compared their results to 41 matched controls who did not take part in the alphabetization course. Phonological awareness in the narrower sense (e.g., phoneme association) was a stronger predictor of alphabetization outcome than demographic variables such as years of education. In addition, despite improvement of illiterate individuals in phonological awareness, short-term memory, and visual attention from before to after the alphabetization course, they did not reach the phonological processing level of literate controls. Our results confirm that the alphabetization of adults requires and enhances phonological processes similar to those of children. Nevertheless, specific aspects, such as improvements in short-term memory or visual attention, need to be considered in order to improve and optimize alphabetization programs for adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Landgraf
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, 12489 Berlin, Germany
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32
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Baker DP, Salinas D, Eslinger PJ. An envisioned bridge: schooling as a neurocognitive developmental institution. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2012; 2 Suppl 1:S6-17. [PMID: 22682912 PMCID: PMC4507825 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2011.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2011] [Revised: 12/01/2011] [Accepted: 12/03/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The potential contribution of social science research to close the gap of knowledge between cognitive neuroscience and educational research has been underappreciated. Despite their virtual absence in the interdisciplinary dialog of neuroscience, sociology of education and related study of the cultural impact of formal education have generated research relevant to an understanding of how the social environment, such as widespread schooling, co-evolves with, and enhances neurocognitive development. Two clusters of isolated research literatures are synthesized that taken together anticipates a dynamic integration of neuroscience and education. The first cluster is on the social construction of cognition through formal education in contemporary society, including the effects of schooling on neurological and cognitive development; the demographic expansion of exposure to the developmental influence of schooling; and education's cultural impact on the meaning of the learning experience and reinforcement of cognition as the key human capability across ever more key institutions in postindustrial society. The second cluster turns the issue around by examining current investigations from neuroscience that support neurological hypotheses about the causes behind the schooling effect on neurocognitive development. We propose that further integration of these literatures will provide a more ecologically valid context in which to investigate the evolving functional architecture of the contemporary brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- David P Baker
- Department of Education Policy Studies, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
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Ortiz KZ, Costa FPD. M1-Alpha test in normal subjects with low educational level: a pilot study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 23:220-6. [PMID: 22012156 DOI: 10.1590/s2179-64912011000300007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2011] [Accepted: 07/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To determine the performance of normal subjects with low educational level on the M1-Alpha test, and to obtain parameters for potential use in the clinical evaluation of aphasic patients with low educational level. METHODS Participants were 30 normal subjects with low educational level (one to four years of schooling), 15 male and 15 female, with ages over 18 years and below 60 years. All subjects were submitted to the M1-Alpha test, which comprehends semi-directed interview and controlled tasks. One point was given for every correct answer. Data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS It was verified a higher number of errors, as well as greater variability of responses, in the following tasks: copying, writing to dictation, reading comprehension, and reading aloud. CONCLUSION Low educational level influences the performance of subjects on the tasks copying, writing to dictation, reading aloud, and reading comprehension. It was possible to obtain reference data for potential clinical application of the M1-Alpha test in patients with low educational level.
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Montant M, Schön D, Anton JL, Ziegler JC. Orthographic Contamination of Broca's Area. Front Psychol 2011; 2:378. [PMID: 22207859 PMCID: PMC3245630 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2011] [Accepted: 11/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Strong evidence has accumulated over the past years suggesting that orthography plays a role in spoken language processing. It is still unclear, however, whether the influence of orthography on spoken language results from a co-activation of posterior brain areas dedicated to low-level orthographic processing or whether it results from orthographic restructuring of phonological representations located in the anterior perisylvian speech network itself. To test these hypotheses, we ran a fMRI study that tapped orthographic processing in the visual and auditory modalities. As a marker for orthographic processing, we used the orthographic decision task in the visual modality and the orthographic consistency effect in the auditory modality. Results showed no specific orthographic activation neither for the visual nor the auditory modality in left posterior occipito-temporal brain areas that are thought to host the visual word form system. In contrast, specific orthographic activation was found both for the visual and auditory modalities at anterior sites belonging to the perisylvian region: the left dorsal-anterior insula and the left inferior frontal gyrus. These results are in favor of the restructuring hypothesis according to which learning to read acts like a "virus" that permanently contaminates the spoken language system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Montant
- Laboratoire de Psychology Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
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Abstract
BACKGROUND In Asia, where illiteracy rates are high, determining the degree to which neuropsychological measures can be used to identify cognitive impairment in illiterate elders is important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using formal neuropsychological assessments to distinguish healthy illiterate elders from dementia patients. METHODS We compared the cognitive performance of healthy elders who were illiterate (illiterate NC, n = 25) with those who were literate (literate NC, n = 25), literate patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (literate AD, n = 25), and illiterate patients with mild AD (illiterate AD, n = 25). Neuropsychological measures included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the verbal fluency test, the Boston naming test, the Rosen drawing test, and the verbal learning test. RESULTS In the between-group analyses, the scores on all tests, except verbal fluency and recognition memory, were lower for illiterate NC compared to the literate NC. The scores on the MMSE, Boston naming test, Rosen drawing test, and immediate free recall could not distinguish the illiterate NC from literate AD. However, the scores on all tests, except the Rosen drawing test, could distinguish illiterate NC from illiterate AD. ROC analyses showed the same pattern of results. In addition, age-, sex-, and education-matched cut-off scores of all tests, except immediate recall and delayed recall trials of the verbal learning test, showed good specificities in participants who were illiterate compared to those in participants who were literate. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that the impact of literacy on neuropsychological test performance is an important aspect of cognitive evaluations for elders who are illiterate.
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the cognitive and clinical evolution of post-acute stroke patients and the evolution of each Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) item. A longitudinal study was conducted with 42 poststroke individuals in rehabilitation. The MMSE and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale were used to assess cognition and stroke severity. Significant evolution in MMSE was found only for schooled individuals, total MMSE (P=0.008), spatial orientation (P=0.010) and language (P=0.010). Significant improvement was observed in clinical severity for both schooled and illiterate individuals (P<0.001). Relation between cognitive and clinical evolution showed significance only for the schooled individuals (r=-0.47; P=0.01). These findings showed a favorable improvement in the cognitive evolution of poststroke schooled individuals in the first 6 months, in addition to a relationship between clinical severity and cognition, and evidenced the necessity of cognitive rehabilitation.
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Rispens J, Parigger E. Non-word repetition in Dutch-speaking children with specific language impairment with and without reading problems. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2010; 28:177-88. [DOI: 10.1348/026151009x482633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Ardila A, Bertolucci PH, Braga LW, Castro-Caldas A, Judd T, Kosmidis MH, Matute E, Nitrini R, Ostrosky-Solis F, Rosselli M. Illiteracy: The Neuropsychology of Cognition Without Reading. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2010; 25:689-712. [DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acq079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 176] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Dehaene S, Pegado F, Braga LW, Ventura P, Nunes Filho G, Jobert A, Dehaene-Lambertz G, Kolinsky R, Morais J, Cohen L. How learning to read changes the cortical networks for vision and language. Science 2010; 330:1359-64. [PMID: 21071632 DOI: 10.1126/science.1194140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 704] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Does literacy improve brain function? Does it also entail losses? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured brain responses to spoken and written language, visual faces, houses, tools, and checkers in adults of variable literacy (10 were illiterate, 22 became literate as adults, and 31 were literate in childhood). As literacy enhanced the left fusiform activation evoked by writing, it induced a small competition with faces at this location, but also broadly enhanced visual responses in fusiform and occipital cortex, extending to area V1. Literacy also enhanced phonological activation to speech in the planum temporale and afforded a top-down activation of orthography from spoken inputs. Most changes occurred even when literacy was acquired in adulthood, emphasizing that both childhood and adult education can profoundly refine cortical organization.
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Nation K, Hulme C. Learning to read changes children’s phonological skills: evidence from a latent variable longitudinal study of reading and nonword repetition. Dev Sci 2010; 14:649-59. [PMID: 21676086 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01008.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kate Nation
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
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Codina C, Buckley D, Port M, Pascalis O. Deaf and hearing children: a comparison of peripheral vision development. Dev Sci 2010; 14:725-37. [PMID: 21676093 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01017.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated peripheral vision (at least 30° eccentric to fixation) development in profoundly deaf children without cochlear implantation, and compared this to age-matched hearing controls as well as to deaf and hearing adult data. Deaf and hearing children between the ages of 5 and 15 years were assessed using a new, specifically paediatric designed method of static perimetry. The deaf group (N = 25) were 14 females and 11 males, mean age 9.92 years (range 5-15 years). The hearing group (N = 64) were 34 females, 30 males, mean age 9.13 years (range 5-15 years). All participants had good visual acuity in both eyes (< 0.200 LogMAR). Accuracy of detection and reaction time to briefly presented LED stimuli of three light intensities, at eccentricities between 30° and 85° were measured while fixation was maintained to a central target. The study found reduced peripheral vision in deaf children between 5 and 10 years of age. Deaf children (aged 5-10 years) showed slower reaction times to all stimuli and reduced ability to detect and accurately report dim stimuli in the far periphery. Deaf children performed equally to hearing children aged 11-12 years. Deaf adolescents aged 13-15 years demonstrated faster reaction times to all peripheral stimuli in comparison to hearing controls. Adolescent results were consistent with deaf and hearing adult performances wherein deaf adults also showed significantly faster reaction times than hearing controls. Peripheral vision performance on this task was found to reach adult-like levels of maturity in deaf and hearing children, both in reaction time and accuracy of detection at the age of 11-12 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Codina
- Academic Unit of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics, University of Sheffield, UK.
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Colaço D, Mineiro A, Leal G, Castro-Caldas A. Revisiting 'The influence of literacy in paraphasias of aphasic speakers'. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2010; 24:890-905. [PMID: 20964507 DOI: 10.3109/02699206.2010.511406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Literature suggests that illiterate subjects are unaware of the phonological structure of language. This fact may influence the characteristics of aphasic speech, namely the structure of paraphasias. A battery of tests was developed for this study to be used with aphasic subjects (literate and illiterate), in order to explore this topic in more detail. This article aims to present the experimental design and the results of this test battery composed of two sub-tests: (i) a naming test with words that belong to three distinct groups: high frequency simple words (HFSW), low frequency simple words (LFSW), and low frequency complex words (LFCW); and (ii) a word repetition test. The variables of literacy, frequency and word morphology, and their effect on the performance of aphasic groups, were correlated in this study. Morphology was the variable that exercised the greatest influence on the verbal production of the participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dora Colaço
- Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal
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Dick AS, Solodkin A, Small SL. Neural development of networks for audiovisual speech comprehension. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2010; 114:101-14. [PMID: 19781755 PMCID: PMC2891225 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2009.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2009] [Revised: 07/17/2009] [Accepted: 08/20/2009] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Everyday conversation is both an auditory and a visual phenomenon. While visual speech information enhances comprehension for the listener, evidence suggests that the ability to benefit from this information improves with development. A number of brain regions have been implicated in audiovisual speech comprehension, but the extent to which the neurobiological substrate in the child compares to the adult is unknown. In particular, developmental differences in the network for audiovisual speech comprehension could manifest through the incorporation of additional brain regions, or through different patterns of effective connectivity. In the present study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and structural equation modeling (SEM) to characterize the developmental changes in network interactions for audiovisual speech comprehension. The brain response was recorded while children 8- to 11-years-old and adults passively listened to stories under audiovisual (AV) and auditory-only (A) conditions. Results showed that in children and adults, AV comprehension activated the same fronto-temporo-parietal network of regions known for their contribution to speech production and perception. However, the SEM network analysis revealed age-related differences in the functional interactions among these regions. In particular, the influence of the posterior inferior frontal gyrus/ventral premotor cortex on supramarginal gyrus differed across age groups during AV, but not A speech. This functional pathway might be important for relating motor and sensory information used by the listener to identify speech sounds. Further, its development might reflect changes in the mechanisms that relate visual speech information to articulatory speech representations through experience producing and perceiving speech.
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Pattamadilok C, Lafontaine H, Morais J, Kolinsky R. Auditory word serial recall benefits from orthographic dissimilarity. LANGUAGE AND SPEECH 2010; 53:321-341. [PMID: 21033650 DOI: 10.1177/0023830910371450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The influence of orthographic knowledge has been consistently observed in dissimilarity speech recognition and metaphonological tasks. The present study provides data suggesting that such influence also pervades other cognitive domains phonological related to language abilities, such as verbal working memory. Using serial similarity effect recall of auditory seven-word lists, we observed that inter-item orthographic dissimilarity assists verbal working memory by reducing or even avoiding verbal serial recall the detrimental effect of phonological similarity. However, this orthographic modulation of the phonological similarity effect only occurred at positions four to six of the word list. Performance at position seven benefited from a recency effect that may be assumed to result from a more surface-level (acoustic-phonetic) representation, while better performance at positions one to three is attributable to primacy effects, and can be accounted for in terms of consolidation through recapitulation. The beneficial influence of orthographic knowledge may, therefore, only be apparent when the item stored in short-term memory takes the form of an abstract but unconsolidated phonological representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chotiga Pattamadilok
- Unité de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
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Bostrom N, Sandberg A. Cognitive enhancement: methods, ethics, regulatory challenges. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2009; 15:311-341. [PMID: 19543814 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-009-9142-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 194] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2006] [Accepted: 03/25/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive enhancement takes many and diverse forms. Various methods of cognitive enhancement have implications for the near future. At the same time, these technologies raise a range of ethical issues. For example, they interact with notions of authenticity, the good life, and the role of medicine in our lives. Present and anticipated methods for cognitive enhancement also create challenges for public policy and regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick Bostrom
- Future of Humanity Institute, Faculty of Philosophy & James Martin 21st Century School, Oxford University, Littlegate House, Oxford OX1 1PT, UK.
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Arbib MA. Evolving the language-ready brain and the social mechanisms that support language. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2009; 42:263-271. [PMID: 19409574 PMCID: PMC3543814 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2009.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2009] [Accepted: 03/26/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED We first review the mirror-system hypothesis on the evolution of the language-ready brain, stressing the important role of imitation and protosign in providing the scaffolding for protospeech. We then assess the role of social interaction and non-specific knowledge of language in the emergence of new sign languages in deaf communities (focusing on Nicaraguan Sign Language). LEARNING OUTCOMES (1) Readers will understand the difference between mirror systems in humans and monkeys, and see how the evolution of imitation and protosign required the biological evolution of mirror systems with linkages to diverse regions beyond the mirror system. (2) Readers will see how social structure complements brain mechanisms in yielding language through cultural evolution supported by having language-ready brains, rather than through possession of an innate Universal Grammar. (3) Readers will understand that ontogeny does not recapitulate phylogeny, but will appreciate what mechanisms currently operative in modern children acquiring language may also have served early humans during the cumulative invention of the idea of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Arbib
- Computer Science, Neuroscience and the USC Brain Project, University of Southern California, HNB 03, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520, USA.
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Perre L, Midgley K, Ziegler JC. Whenbeefprimesreefmore thanleaf: Orthographic information affects phonological priming in spoken word recognition. Psychophysiology 2009; 46:739-46. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2009.00813.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Orthographic effects in spoken language: On-line activation or phonological restructuring? Brain Res 2009; 1275:73-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2008] [Revised: 04/06/2009] [Accepted: 04/08/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Folia V, Uddén J, Forkstam C, Ingvar M, Hagoort P, Petersson KM. Implicit learning and dyslexia. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2009; 1145:132-50. [PMID: 19076394 DOI: 10.1196/annals.1416.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have reported an association between dyslexia and implicit learning deficits. It has been suggested that the weakness in implicit learning observed in dyslexic individuals may be related to sequential processing and implicit sequence learning. In the present article, we review the current literature on implicit learning and dyslexia. We describe a novel, forced-choice structural "mere exposure" artificial grammar learning paradigm and characterize this paradigm in normal readers in relation to the standard grammaticality classification paradigm. We argue that preference classification is a more optimal measure of the outcome of implicit acquisition since in the preference version participants are kept completely unaware of the underlying generative mechanism, while in the grammaticality version, the subjects have, at least in principle, been informed about the existence of an underlying complex set of rules at the point of classification (but not during acquisition). On the basis of the "mere exposure effect," we tested the prediction that the development of preference will correlate with the grammaticality status of the classification items. In addition, we examined the effects of grammaticality (grammatical/nongrammatical) and associative chunk strength (ACS; high/low) on the classification tasks (preference/grammaticality). Using a balanced ACS design in which the factors of grammaticality (grammatical/nongrammatical) and ACS (high/low) were independently controlled in a 2 x 2 factorial design, we confirmed our predictions. We discuss the suitability of this task for further investigation of the implicit learning characteristics in dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Folia
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Pattamadilok C, Perre L, Dufau S, Ziegler JC. On-line Orthographic Influences on Spoken Language in a Semantic Task. J Cogn Neurosci 2009; 21:169-79. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2009.21014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Literacy changes the way the brain processes spoken language. Most psycholinguists believe that orthographic effects on spoken language are either strategic or restricted to meta-phonological tasks. We used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate the locus and the time course of orthographic effects on spoken word recognition in a semantic task. Participants were asked to decide whether a given word belonged to a semantic category (body parts). On no-go trials, words were presented that were either orthographically consistent or inconsistent. Orthographic inconsistency (i.e., multiple spellings of the same phonology) could occur either in the first or the second syllable. The ERP data showed a clear orthographic consistency effect that preceded lexical access and semantic effects. Moreover, the onset of the orthographic consistency effect was time-locked to the arrival of the inconsistency in a spoken word, which suggests that orthography influences spoken language in a time-dependent manner. The present data join recent evidence from brain imaging showing orthographic activation in spoken language tasks. Our results extend those findings by showing that orthographic activation occurs early and affects spoken word recognition in a semantic task that does not require the explicit processing of orthographic or phonological structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chotiga Pattamadilok
- 1Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
- 2Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (F.N.R.S.), Belgium
| | - Laetitia Perre
- 3Aix-Marseille Université, France
- 4CNRS, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, France
| | - Stéphane Dufau
- 3Aix-Marseille Université, France
- 4CNRS, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, France
| | - Johannes C. Ziegler
- 3Aix-Marseille Université, France
- 4CNRS, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, France
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