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Chenain L, Riad R, Fraisse N, Jubin C, Morgado G, Youssov K, Lunven M, Bachoud-Levi AC. Graph methods to infer spatial disturbances: Application to Huntington's Disease's speech. Cortex 2024; 176:144-160. [PMID: 38795650 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Huntington's Disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by the mutation of the Htt gene, impacting all aspects of living and functioning. Among cognitive disabilities, spatial capacities are impaired, but their monitoring remains scarce as limited by lengthy experts' assessments. Language offers an alternative medium to evaluate patients' performance in HD. Yet, its capacities to assess HD's spatial abilities are unknown. Here, we aimed to bring proof-of-concept that HD's spatial deficits can be assessed through speech. METHODS We developed the Spatial Description Model to graphically represent spatial relations described during the Cookie Theft Picture (CTP) task. We increased the sensitivity of our model by using only sentences with spatial terms, unlike previous studies in Alzheimer's disease. 78 carriers of the mutant Htt, including 56 manifest and 22 premanifest individuals, as well as 25 healthy controls were included from the BIOHD & (NCT01412125) & Repair-HD (NCT03119246) cohorts. The convergence and divergence of the model were validated using the SelfCog battery. RESULTS Our Spatial Description Model was the only one among the four assessed approaches, revealing that individuals with manifest HD expressed fewer spatial relations and engaged in less spatial exploration compared to healthy controls. Their graphs correlated with both visuospatial and language SelfCog performances, but not with motor, executive nor memory functions. CONCLUSIONS We provide the proof-of-concept using our Spatial Description Model that language can grasp HD patient's spatial disturbances. By adding spatial capabilities to the panel of functions tested by the language, it paves the way for eventual remote clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Chenain
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, 75005 Paris, France; Univ Paris Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, Equipe NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, F-94010 Créteil, France; NeurATRIS Créteil, France; ALMAnaCH, INRIA, 75012 Paris, France; Learning Planet Institute, Université de Paris, 75004 Paris, France
| | - Rachid Riad
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, 75005 Paris, France; Univ Paris Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, Equipe NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, F-94010 Créteil, France; NeurATRIS Créteil, France
| | - Nicolas Fraisse
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, 75005 Paris, France; Univ Paris Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, Equipe NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, F-94010 Créteil, France; NeurATRIS Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Henri Mondor-Albert Chenevier, Centre de référence Maladie de Huntington, Service de Neurologie, F-94010 Créteil, France
| | - Cécilia Jubin
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, 75005 Paris, France; Univ Paris Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, Equipe NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, F-94010 Créteil, France; NeurATRIS Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Henri Mondor-Albert Chenevier, Centre de référence Maladie de Huntington, Service de Neurologie, F-94010 Créteil, France
| | - Graça Morgado
- Inserm, Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1430, AP-HP, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France
| | - Katia Youssov
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, 75005 Paris, France; Univ Paris Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, Equipe NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, F-94010 Créteil, France; NeurATRIS Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Henri Mondor-Albert Chenevier, Centre de référence Maladie de Huntington, Service de Neurologie, F-94010 Créteil, France; Inserm, Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1430, AP-HP, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France
| | - Marine Lunven
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, 75005 Paris, France; Univ Paris Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, Equipe NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, F-94010 Créteil, France; NeurATRIS Créteil, France.
| | - Anne-Catherine Bachoud-Levi
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, 75005 Paris, France; Univ Paris Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, Equipe NeuroPsychologie Interventionnelle, F-94010 Créteil, France; NeurATRIS Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Henri Mondor-Albert Chenevier, Centre de référence Maladie de Huntington, Service de Neurologie, F-94010 Créteil, France; Inserm, Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1430, AP-HP, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France
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Angelopoulou G, Kasselimis D, Goutsos D, Potagas C. A Methodological Approach to Quantifying Silent Pauses, Speech Rate, and Articulation Rate across Distinct Narrative Tasks: Introducing the Connected Speech Analysis Protocol (CSAP). Brain Sci 2024; 14:466. [PMID: 38790445 PMCID: PMC11119743 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14050466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The examination of connected speech may serve as a valuable tool for exploring speech output in both healthy speakers and individuals with language disorders. Numerous studies incorporate various fluency and silence measures into their analyses to investigate speech output patterns in different populations, along with the underlying cognitive processes that occur while speaking. However, methodological inconsistencies across existing studies pose challenges in comparing their results. In the current study, we introduce CSAP (Connected Speech Analysis Protocol), which is a specific methodological approach to investigate fluency metrics, such as articulation rate and speech rate, as well as silence measures, including silent pauses' frequency and duration. We emphasize the importance of employing a comprehensive set of measures within a specific methodological framework to better understand speech output patterns. Additionally, we advocate for the use of distinct narrative tasks for a thorough investigation of speech output in different conditions. We provide an example of data on which we implement CSAP to showcase the proposed pipeline. In conclusion, CSAP offers a comprehensive framework for investigating speech output patterns, incorporating fluency metrics and silence measures in distinct narrative tasks, thus allowing a detailed quantification of connected speech in both healthy and clinical populations. We emphasize the significance of adopting a unified methodological approach in connected speech studies, enabling the integration of results for more robust and generalizable conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Angelopoulou
- Neuropsychology & Language Disorders Unit, 1st Neurology Department, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 28 Athens, Greece; (G.A.); (D.K.)
| | - Dimitrios Kasselimis
- Neuropsychology & Language Disorders Unit, 1st Neurology Department, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 28 Athens, Greece; (G.A.); (D.K.)
- Department of Psychology, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, 176 71 Athens, Greece
| | - Dionysios Goutsos
- Department of Linguistics, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
| | - Constantin Potagas
- Neuropsychology & Language Disorders Unit, 1st Neurology Department, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 28 Athens, Greece; (G.A.); (D.K.)
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Young CB, Smith V, Karjadi C, Grogan S, Ang TFA, Insel PS, Henderson VW, Sumner M, Poston KL, Au R, Mormino EC. Speech patterns during memory recall relates to early tau burden across adulthood. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:2552-2563. [PMID: 38348772 PMCID: PMC11032578 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Early cognitive decline may manifest in subtle differences in speech. METHODS We examined 238 cognitively unimpaired adults from the Framingham Heart Study (32-75 years) who completed amyloid and tau PET imaging. Speech patterns during delayed recall of a story memory task were quantified via five speech markers, and their associations with global amyloid status and regional tau signal were examined. RESULTS Total utterance time, number of between-utterance pauses, speech rate, and percentage of unique words significantly correlated with delayed recall score although the shared variance was low (2%-15%). Delayed recall score was not significantly different between β-amyoid-positive (Aβ+) and -negative (Aβ-) groups and was not associated with regional tau signal. However, longer and more between-utterance pauses, and slower speech rate were associated with increased tau signal across medial temporal and early neocortical regions. DISCUSSION Subtle speech changes during memory recall may reflect cognitive impairment associated with early Alzheimer's disease pathology. HIGHLIGHTS Speech during delayed memory recall relates to tau PET signal across adulthood. Delayed memory recall score was not associated with tau PET signal. Speech shows greater sensitivity to detecting subtle cognitive changes associated with early tau accumulation. Our cohort spans adulthood, while most PET imaging studies focus on older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina B. Young
- Department of Neurology and Neurological SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Viktorija Smith
- Department of Neurology and Neurological SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Cody Karjadi
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Framingham Heart StudyBoston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of MedicineBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Selah‐Marie Grogan
- Department of Neurology and Neurological SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ting Fang Alvin Ang
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Framingham Heart StudyBoston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of MedicineBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Philip S. Insel
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Victor W. Henderson
- Department of Neurology and Neurological SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Epidemiology and Population HealthStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Meghan Sumner
- Department of LinguisticsStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kathleen L. Poston
- Department of Neurology and Neurological SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Wu Tsai Neuroscience InstituteStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Rhoda Au
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Framingham Heart StudyBoston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of MedicineBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Elizabeth C. Mormino
- Department of Neurology and Neurological SciencesStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Wu Tsai Neuroscience InstituteStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
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Barnett MD, Smith LN, Coldiron AM. Processing speed and executive functioning in relation to off-topic verbosity among young adults and older adults. Int J Neurosci 2024:1-8. [PMID: 38501277 DOI: 10.1080/00207454.2024.2327401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Off-topic verbosity (OTV) is a tendency towards excessive, off-topic speech and has been linked with age-related deficits in executive functioning, particularly inhibition. However, there are numerous disagreements within the literature on what constitutes OTV, and there is a further lack of investigation into alternative cognitive explanations for the link between inhibition and OTV. The purpose of this study was to investigate the speech characteristics of OTV in young and older adults as well as to examine whether variations in OTV are better explained by diminished executive functioning or processing speed, as measured by the D-KEFS Stroop test. METHODS Young adults (n = 65; age 18-28) and older adults (n = 85; age 60-98) completed the D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test and provided verbal samples of autobiographical episodic and procedural speech. These speech samples were rated on three facets of OTV: tangentiality, egocentrism and quantity of speech. RESULTS Procedural autobiographical speech was found to best measure age cohort variations in OTV, and higher OTV was associated with poorer Stroop test performance in older adults but not in young adults. In fact, young adults only displayed associations between poorer Stroop performance and a reduction in speech quantity. Finally, processing speed deficits were more associated with increased OTV in older adults than executive functioning. CONCLUSION These results provide support for links between age-related cognitive decline and OTV, but the results suggest that processing speed may be more implicated than executive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Barnett
- Department of Psychology, The University of TX at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA
| | - Leah N Smith
- Department of Psychology, The University of TX at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA
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5
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Baraldi MA, Domaneschi F. Pragmatic Skills in Late Adulthood. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2024; 53:20. [PMID: 38424410 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-024-10061-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Research investigating pragmatic abilities in healthy aging suggests that both production and comprehension might be compromised; however, it is not clear how pragmatic abilities evolve in late adulthood, as well as when difficulties are more likely to arise. The aim of this study is to investigate the decline of pragmatic skills in aging, and to explore what cognitive and demographic factors support pragmatic competence. We assessed pragmatic production skills, including discourse abilities such as speech, informativeness, information flow, paralinguistic aspects, as well as the ability to produce informative descriptions of pictures, and pragmatic comprehension skills, which encompassed the ability to understand discourse and the main aspects of a narrative text, to infer non-literal meanings and to comprehend verbal humor in a group of elderly individuals and in a sample of younger participants. Moreover, specific cognitive functions (short-term memory, verbal and visuospatial working memory, inhibition Theory of Mind, and Cognitive Reserve) were assessed in both groups. Pragmatic difficulties seem to occur in late adulthood, likely around 70 years, and emerge more prominently when participants are asked to understand verbal humor. Age was the only predictor of general pragmatic performance in a sample of cognitively unimpaired older adults; conversely, when elderly individuals with less intact inhibitory control are considered, a general role of inhibition emerged, in addition to working memory and ToM in specific tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Alice Baraldi
- Laboratory of Language and Cognition, Department of Humanities, University of Genoa, Via Balbi 2, 16126, Genoa, Italy.
- Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology Unit, University of Genoa, Corso Podestà 2, 16128, Genoa, Italy.
| | - Filippo Domaneschi
- Laboratory of Language and Cognition, Department of Humanities, University of Genoa, Via Balbi 2, 16126, Genoa, Italy
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Marcotte K, Lachance A, Brisebois A, Mazzocca P, Désilets-Barnabé M, Desjardins N, Brambati SM. Validation of Videoconference Administration of Picture Description From the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised in Neurotypical Canadian French Speakers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2022; 31:2825-2834. [PMID: 36332144 DOI: 10.1044/2022_ajslp-22-00084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE During the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians and researchers have increasingly used remote online assessments to pursue their activities, but mostly with tests not validated for videoconference administration. This study aims to validate the remote online administration of picture description in Canadian French neurotypical speakers and to explore the thematic unit (TU) checklist recently developed. METHOD Spoken discourse elicited through the picture description task of the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R) was collected from Canadian French neurotypical speakers from Québec aged between 50 and 79 years old. Forty-seven participants completed the task in person, and 49 participants completed the task by videoconference. Videos of each discourse sample were transcribed using CHAT conventions. Microstructural variables were extracted using the CLAN (Computerized Language ANalysis) program, whereas thematic informativeness was scored for each sample using TUs. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare both groups on each TU; t tests were also performed on the total score of TUs and microstructural variables. RESULTS Groups were matched on sex, age, and education variables. The t tests revealed no intergroup difference for the total TU score and for the microstructural variables (e.g., mean length of utterances and number of words per minute). Chi-square tests showed no significant intergroup difference for all 16 TUs. CONCLUSIONS These findings support remote online assessment of the picnic scene of the WAB-R picture description in Canadian French neurotypical speakers. These results also validate the 16 TUs most consistently produced. The use of videoconference could promote and improve the recruitment of participants who are usually less accessible, such as people using assistive mobility technologies. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21476961.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karine Marcotte
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche du Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Arianne Lachance
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Amélie Brisebois
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche du Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Patrizia Mazzocca
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Noémie Desjardins
- Centre de recherche du Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Simona Maria Brambati
- Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Département de psychologie, Faculté des arts et des sciences, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Sanborn V, Ostrand R, Ciesla J, Gunstad J. Automated assessment of speech production and prediction of MCI in older adults. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2022; 29:1250-1257. [PMID: 33377800 PMCID: PMC8243401 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2020.1864733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The population of older adults is growing dramatically and, with it comes increased prevalence of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Though existing cognitive screening tests can aid early detection of cognitive decline, these methods are limited in their sensitivity and require trained administrators. The current study sought to determine whether it is possible to identify persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using automated analysis of spontaneous speech. Participants completed a brief neuropsychological test battery and a spontaneous speech task. MCI was classified using established research criteria, and lexical-semantic features were calculated from spontaneous speech. Logistic regression analyses compared the predictive ability of a commonly-used cognitive screening instrument (the Modified Mini Mental Status Exam, 3MS) and speech indices for MCI classification. Testing against constant-only logistic regression models showed that both the 3MS [χ2(1) = 6.18, p = .013; AIC = 41.46] and speech indices [χ2(16) = 32.42, p = .009; AIC = 108.41] were able to predict MCI status. Follow-up testing revealed the full speech model better predicted MCI status than did 3MS (p = .049). In combination, the current findings suggest that spontaneous speech may have value as a potential screening measure for the identification of cognitive deficits, though confirmation is needed in larger, prospective studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Sanborn
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, U.S
| | - Rachel Ostrand
- Department of Healthcare & Life Sciences, IBM Research,
Yorktown Heights, NY, U.S
| | - Jeffrey Ciesla
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, U.S
| | - John Gunstad
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, U.S
- Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University,
Kent, OH U.S
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8
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Marini A. The beauty of diversity in cognitive neuroscience: The case of sex-related effects in language production networks. J Neurosci Res 2022; 101:633-642. [PMID: 35692091 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Over the past few decades, several studies have focused on potential sex-related differences in the trajectories of language development and functioning. From a behavioral point of view, the available literature shows controversial results: differences between males and females in language production tasks may not always be detectable and, even when they are, are potentially biased by sociological and educational confounding factors. The problem regarding potential sex-related differences in language production has also been investigated at the neural level, again with controversial results. The current minireview focuses on studies assessing sex-related differences in the neural networks of language production. After providing a theoretical framework of language production, it is shown that the few available investigations have provided mixed results. The major reasons for discrepant findings are discussed with theoretical and methodological implications for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Marini
- Department of Language and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.,Claudiana - Landesfachhochschule für Gesundheitsberufe, Bolzano, Italy
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9
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Bunker LD, Walker A, Meier E, Goldberg E, Leigh R, Hillis AE. Hyperintense vessels on imaging account for neurological function independent of lesion volume in acute ischemic stroke. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 34:102991. [PMID: 35339984 PMCID: PMC8957047 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Studies have revealed variable significance of FLAIR hyperintense vessels (FHV). We found number and location of FHV are associated with functional deficits. Functional measures correlated with FHV independently of lesion volume.
In acute ischemic stroke, reported relationships between lesion metrics and behavior have largely focused on lesion volume and location. However, hypoperfusion has been shown to correlate with deficits in the acute stage. Hypoperfusion is typically identified using perfusion imaging in clinical settings, which requires contrast. Unfortunately, contrast is contraindicated for some individuals. An alternative method has been proposed to identify hypoperfusion using hyperintense vessels on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging. This study aimed to validate the clinical importance of considering hypoperfusion when accounting for behavior in acute stroke and demonstrate the clinical utility of scoring the presence of hyperintense vessels to quantify it. One hundred and fifty-three participants with acute ischemic stroke completed a battery of commonly-used neurological and behavioral measures. Clinical MRIs were used to determine lesion volume and to score the presence of hyperintense vessels seen on FLAIR images to estimate severity of hypoperfusion in six different vascular regions. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, naming accuracy (left hemisphere strokes), and language content produced during picture description were examined in relation to lesion volume, hypoperfusion, and demographic variables using correlational analyses and multivariable linear regression. Results showed that lesion volume and hypoperfusion, in addition to demographic variables, were independently associated with performance on NIHSS, naming, and content production. Specifically, hypoperfusion in the frontal lobe independently correlated with NIHSS scores, while hypoperfusion in parietal areas independently correlated with naming accuracy and content production. These results correspond to previous reports associating hypoperfusion with function, confirming that hypoperfusion is an important consideration—beyond lesion volume—when accounting for behavior in acute ischemic stroke. Quantifying hypoperfusion using FLAIR hyperintense vessels can be an essential clinical tool when other methods of identifying hypoperfusion are unavailable or time prohibitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa D Bunker
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Alexandra Walker
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Erin Meier
- Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Emily Goldberg
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Communication Science and Disorders, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Richard Leigh
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Argye E Hillis
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. https://twitter.com/@HopkinsSKSI
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Malcorra BLC, Wilson MA, Schilling LP, Hübner LC. Lower Education and Reading and Writing Habits Are Associated With Poorer Oral Discourse Production in Typical Adults and Older Adults. Front Psychol 2022; 13:740337. [PMID: 35369132 PMCID: PMC8972065 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.740337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
During normal aging there is a decline in cognitive functions that includes deficits in oral discourse production. A higher level of education and more frequent reading and writing habits (RWH) might delay the onset of the cognitive decline during aging. This study aimed at investigating the effect of education and RWH on oral discourse production in older adults. Picture-based narratives were collected from 117 healthy adults, aged between 51 and 82 years (68.6 ± 6.38) with 0-20 years of formal education (10.1 ± 5.69). Measures of macro, microlinguistic and modalizations were computed and entered as dependent variables in hierarchical regression analyses that included age, education and RWH as regressors. Results revealed that higher education explained a better performance at the macrostructure and microstructure dimensions. Higher frequency of RWH explained the production of fewer modalizations. These results demonstrate the positive effect of education and RWH in oral discourse production in older adults. Therefore, higher attention should be given to these social factors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maximiliano A. Wilson
- Département de Réadaptation, Faculté de Médecine, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS), Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada
| | - Lucas Porcello Schilling
- Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Lilian Cristine Hübner
- Department of Linguistics, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
- National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brasília, Brazil
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Klusek J, Fairchild A, Moser C, Mailick MR, Thurman AJ, Abbeduto L. Family history of FXTAS is associated with age-related cognitive-linguistic decline among mothers with the FMR1 premutation. J Neurodev Disord 2022; 14:7. [PMID: 35026985 PMCID: PMC8903682 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-022-09415-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Women who carry a premutation allele of the FMR1 gene are at increased vulnerability to an array of age-related symptoms and disorders, including age-related decline in select cognitive skills. However, the risk factors for age-related decline are poorly understood, including the potential role of family history and genetic factors. In other forms of pathological aging, early decline in syntactic complexity is observed and predicts the later onset of neurodegenerative disease. To shed light on the earliest signs of degeneration, the present study characterized longitudinal changes in the syntactic complexity of women with the FMR1 premutation across midlife, and associations with family history of fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and CGG repeat length. METHODS Forty-five women with the FMR1 premutation aged 35-64 years at study entry participated in 1-5 longitudinal assessments spaced approximately a year apart (130 observations total). All participants were mothers of children with confirmed fragile X syndrome. Language samples were analyzed for syntactic complexity and participants provided information on family history of FXTAS. CGG repeat length was determined via molecular genetic testing. RESULTS Hierarchical linear models indicated that women who reported a family history of FXTAS exhibited faster age-related decline in syntactic complexity than those without a family history, with that difference emerging as the women reached their mid-50 s. CGG repeat length was not a significant predictor of age-related change. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that women with the FMR1 premutation who have a family history of FXTAS may be at increased risk for neurodegenerative disease, as indicated by age-related loss of syntactic complexity. Thus, family history of FXTAS may represent a personalized risk factor for age-related disease. Follow-up study is needed to determine whether syntactic decline is an early indicator of FXTAS specifically, as opposed to being a more general age-related cognitive decline associated with the FMR1 premutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Klusek
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 1705 College Street, SC 29208, Columbia, USA
| | - Amanda Fairchild
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street Columbia, Columbia, SC 29208 USA
| | - Carly Moser
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 1705 College Street, SC 29208, Columbia, USA
| | - Marsha R. Mailick
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705 USA
| | - Angela John Thurman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and MIND Institute, University of California Davis Health, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817 USA
| | - Leonard Abbeduto
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and MIND Institute, University of California Davis Health, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817 USA
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12
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The Impact of Primary Progressive Aphasia on Picture Naming and General Language Ability. Cogn Behav Neurol 2021; 34:188-199. [PMID: 34473670 DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0000000000000275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a clinical syndrome that is characterized by progressive deterioration of language while other cognitive domains remain relatively intact. The extent to which print exposure and cortical volume atrophy jointly influence picture naming and general language ability in individuals with PPA remains underexplored. OBJECTIVE To investigate the language performance of individuals with the nonfluent variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA) and to explore the impact of print exposure and cortical volume atrophy on their language ability. METHOD We compared 14 Greek individuals with nfvPPA and similar age, education, disease duration, and cognitive ability with age-, gender- and education-matched Greek controls on picture naming and on language tasks of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination-Short Form, including oral word reading, word and sentence repetition, complex ideational material, and reading comprehension. The effects of print exposure and left-hemisphere cortical volume on the individuals' language performance were estimated through stepwise regression models. RESULTS The language performance of the individuals with nfvPPA was affected by print exposure and cortical volume atrophy. Picture naming and word reading were affected by print exposure. The highest contributions of cortical volume atrophy were found for the repetition, complex ideational material, and reading comprehension tasks. CONCLUSION Print exposure and cortical volume atrophy may help explain variability in the language performance of nfvPPA individuals with similar age, education, disease duration, and cognitive ability.
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Changes in Computer-Analyzed Facial Expressions with Age. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21144858. [PMID: 34300600 PMCID: PMC8309819 DOI: 10.3390/s21144858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Facial expressions are well known to change with age, but the quantitative properties of facial aging remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the differences in the intensity of facial expressions between older (n = 56) and younger adults (n = 113). In laboratory experiments, the posed facial expressions of the participants were obtained based on six basic emotions and neutral facial expression stimuli, and the intensities of their faces were analyzed using a computer vision tool, OpenFace software. Our results showed that the older adults expressed strong expressions for some negative emotions and neutral faces. Furthermore, when making facial expressions, older adults used more face muscles than younger adults across the emotions. These results may help to understand the characteristics of facial expressions in aging and can provide empirical evidence for other fields regarding facial recognition.
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Bonnechère B, Klass M, Langley C, Sahakian BJ. Brain training using cognitive apps can improve cognitive performance and processing speed in older adults. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12313. [PMID: 34112925 PMCID: PMC8192763 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91867-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Managing age-related decrease of cognitive function is an important public health challenge, especially in the context of the global aging of the population. Over the last years several Cognitive Mobile Games (CMG) have been developed to train and challenge the brain. However, currently the level of evidence supporting the benefits of using CMG in real-life use is limited in older adults, especially at a late age. In this study we analyzed game scores and the processing speed obtained over the course of 100 sessions in 12,000 subjects aged 60 to over 80 years. Users who trained with the games improved regardless of age in terms of scores and processing speed throughout the 100 sessions, suggesting that old and very old adults can improve their cognitive performance using CMG in real-life use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Bonnechère
- REVAL Rehabilitation Research Center, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium. .,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK.
| | - Malgorzata Klass
- Laboratory of Applied Biology and Neurophysiology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Christelle Langley
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK
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Jongman SR, Khoe YH, Hintz F. Vocabulary Size Influences Spontaneous Speech in Native Language Users: Validating the Use of Automatic Speech Recognition in Individual Differences Research. LANGUAGE AND SPEECH 2021; 64:35-51. [PMID: 32223517 DOI: 10.1177/0023830920911079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that vocabulary size affects performance on laboratory word production tasks. Individuals who know many words show faster lexical access and retrieve more words belonging to pre-specified categories than individuals who know fewer words. The present study examined the relationship between receptive vocabulary size and speaking skills as assessed in a natural sentence production task. We asked whether measures derived from spontaneous responses to everyday questions correlate with the size of participants' vocabulary. Moreover, we assessed the suitability of automatic speech recognition (ASR) for the analysis of participants' responses in complex language production data. We found that vocabulary size predicted indices of spontaneous speech: individuals with a larger vocabulary produced more words and had a higher speech-silence ratio compared to individuals with a smaller vocabulary. Importantly, these relationships were reliably identified using manual and automated transcription methods. Taken together, our results suggest that spontaneous speech elicitation is a useful method to investigate natural language production and that automatic speech recognition can alleviate the burden of labor-intensive speech transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne R Jongman
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
| | - Yung Han Khoe
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Florian Hintz
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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16
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Cho S, Nevler N, Shellikeri S, Parjane N, Irwin DJ, Ryant N, Ash S, Cieri C, Liberman M, Grossman M. Lexical and Acoustic Characteristics of Young and Older Healthy Adults. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2021; 64:302-314. [PMID: 33439761 PMCID: PMC8632482 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Purpose This study examines the effect of age on language use with an automated analysis of digitized speech obtained from semistructured, narrative speech samples. Method We examined the Cookie Theft picture descriptions produced by 37 older and 76 young healthy participants. Using modern natural language processing and automatic speech recognition tools, we automatically annotated part-of-speech categories of all tokens, calculated the number of tense-inflected verbs, mean length of clause, and vocabulary diversity, and we rated nouns and verbs for five lexical features: word frequency, familiarity, concreteness, age of acquisition, and semantic ambiguity. We also segmented the speech signals into speech and silence and calculated acoustic features, such as total speech time, mean speech and pause segment durations, and pitch values. Results Older speakers produced significantly more fillers, pronouns, and verbs and fewer conjunctions, determiners, nouns, and prepositions than young participants. Older speakers' nouns and verbs were more familiar, more frequent (verbs only), and less ambiguous compared to those of young speakers. Older speakers produced shorter clauses with a lower vocabulary diversity than young participants. They also produced shorter speech segments and longer pauses with increased total speech time and total number of words. Lastly, we observed an interaction of age and sex in pitch ranges. Conclusions Our results suggest that older speakers' lexical content is less diverse, and these speakers produce shorter clauses than young participants in monologic, narrative speech. Our findings show that lexical and acoustic characteristics of semistructured speech samples can be examined with automated methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunghye Cho
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Naomi Nevler
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Sanjana Shellikeri
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Natalia Parjane
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - David J. Irwin
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Neville Ryant
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Sharon Ash
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Christopher Cieri
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Mark Liberman
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Murray Grossman
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
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17
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Angelopoulou G, Meier EL, Kasselimis D, Pan Y, Tsolakopoulos D, Velonakis G, Karavasilis E, Kelekis NL, Goutsos D, Potagas C, Kiran S. Investigating Gray and White Matter Structural Substrates of Sex Differences in the Narrative Abilities of Healthy Adults. Front Neurosci 2020; 13:1424. [PMID: 32063823 PMCID: PMC7000661 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.01424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Linguistic aspects of narration have been investigated in healthy populations, in a wide variety of languages and speech genres with very different results. There is some evidence indicating that linguistic elements, such as speech rate (i.e., the measure indicating the amount of speech produced in a certain time period), mean length of utterance (MLU) (i.e., the index reflecting sentence grammatical structure), frequency of nouns and verbs, might be affected by non-linguistic factors such as sex. On the other hand, despite the existence of neuroimaging evidence of structural differences between males and females, it is yet unknown how such differences could explain between-sex disparities in linguistic abilities in natural speech contexts. To date, no study has evaluated discourse production elements in relation to sex differences and their neural correlates in terms of brain structure, a topic that could provide unique insights on the relationship between language and the brain. The aim of the present study was to determine sex differences in narrative skills in healthy adults and to investigate white and gray matter structural correlates of linguistic skills in each group. Twenty-seven male and 30 female (N = 57) right-handed, neurologically intact, monolingual Greek speakers, matched for age and years of education, participated. Narrations of a personal medical event were elicited. Linguistic elements of speech rate (words per minute), MLUs, frequency of nouns and verbs were calculated for each speech sample, by two independent raters. Structural 3D T1 images were segmented and parcellated using FreeSurfer and whole-brain between-sex differences in cortical thickness, cortical volume and surface area, were obtained. Between-group differences in white matter diffusion tensor scalars were examined via Tract-Based Spatial-Statistics and whole-brain tractography and automated tract delineation using Automated Fiber Quantification. Speech rate and noun frequency were significantly lower for men, while verb frequency was significantly higher for women, but no differences were identified for MLU. Regarding cortical measures, males demonstrated increased volume, surface area and cortical thickness in several bilateral regions, while no voxel-wise or tractography-based between-group differences in white matter metrics were observed. Regarding the relationship between sex and speech variables, hierarchical regression analyses showed that the superior/middle frontal cluster in surface area may serve as a significant predictor of speech rate variance, but only in females. We discuss several possible interpretations of how sex-related speech abilities could be represented differently in men and women in gray matter structures within the broad language network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Angelopoulou
- Neuropsychology and Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Erin L. Meier
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Dimitrios Kasselimis
- Neuropsychology and Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Yue Pan
- Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Dimitrios Tsolakopoulos
- Neuropsychology and Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - George Velonakis
- 2nd Department of Radiology, General University Hospital “Attikon”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Efstratios Karavasilis
- 2nd Department of Radiology, General University Hospital “Attikon”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos L. Kelekis
- 2nd Department of Radiology, General University Hospital “Attikon”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Dionysios Goutsos
- Department of Linguistics, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Constantin Potagas
- Neuropsychology and Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Swathi Kiran
- Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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18
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Sherratt S, Bryan K. Textual cohesion in oral narrative and procedural discourse: the effects of ageing and cognitive skills. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2019; 54:95-109. [PMID: 30426622 DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 08/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Knowledge of the discourse performance of non-brain-damaged individuals is critical not only for its differentiation from disordered expression but also for more accurate models of ageing and communication. The effect of ageing and cognitive skills on the cohesive adequacy of discourse has, until now, presented a confusing and ambiguous picture. AIMS To examine comprehensively the effects of both age and cognitive skills on the discourse cohesion of 32 non-brain-damaged males divided into four age groups. METHODS & PROCEDURES A large body of narrative and procedural samples (394 samples) was elicited from the participants. Their cognitive skills were determined using three tests, whilst their discourse cohesion was analyzed and correlated with the cognitive test results. OUTCOMES & RESULTS This extensive investigation of ageing effects on discourse cohesion and their relationship to cognitive behaviour did not provide neat generalizable results. It showed that ageing significantly increases the number of cohesive errors and reduces the quantity of referential ties in picture-sequence narratives. The changes with age were limited to two aspects of cohesion and not linear across age groups. The participants' cognitive skills declined with age. Correlations between some cognitive tests and certain cohesive changes suggest co-occurring deficits rather than a causal explanation of cohesive decline with age. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS With ageing there are increased cohesive errors and decreased referential ties, co-occurring with declining cognitive skills. This study yields important guidance for future research, suggesting that picture-sequence narrative is the most effective tool for clinical evaluation of discourse, but also that findings from one discourse sample may be misleading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sue Sherratt
- Communication Research Australia, Rankin Park, NSW, Australia
| | - Karen Bryan
- Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Sheffield, UK
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19
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Yoon JH, Jeong HY, Lee Y, Kim YS, Choi J, Kim J. Lifespan Development of Syntactic Ability from Early Childhood to Old Age. COMMUNICATION SCIENCES & DISORDERS 2018. [DOI: 10.12963/csd.18552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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20
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Madden DL, Sale MV, Robinson GA. Improved conceptual generation and selection with transcranial direct current stimulation in older adults. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2018; 41:43-57. [DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2018.1491529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L. Madden
- Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD,Australia
| | - Martin V. Sale
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD,Australia
| | - Gail A. Robinson
- Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD,Australia
- Neurology Department, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Herston, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Systems Neuroscience, Queensland Institute of Medical Research Berghofer, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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21
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Madden DL, Sale MV, Robinson GA. Age-related differences in idea generation and selection for propositional language. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2018; 26:486-506. [PMID: 29781396 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2018.1476668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Conceptual preparation mechanisms such as novel idea generation and selection from amongst competing alternatives are critical for language production and may contribute to age-related language deficits. This study investigated whether older adults show diminished idea generation and selection abilities, compared to younger adults. Twenty younger (18-35 years) and 20 older (60-80 years) adults completed two novel experimental tasks, an idea generation task and a selection task. Older participants were slower than younger participants overall on both tasks. Importantly, this difference was more pronounced for task conditions with greater demands on generation and selection. Older adults were also significantly reduced on a semantic, but not phonemic, word fluency task. Overall, the older group showed evidence of age-related decline specific to idea generation and selection ability. This has implications for the message formulation stage of propositional language decline in normal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L Madden
- a Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Australia
| | - Martin V Sale
- b Queensland Brain Institute , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Australia.,c School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Australia
| | - Gail A Robinson
- a Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Australia
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22
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Lee Y, Choi J, Yoon JH, Kim YS, Min JS, Kim J. Lifespan Development of Word Use from Early Childhood to Old Age. COMMUNICATION SCIENCES & DISORDERS 2017. [DOI: 10.12963/csd.17440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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23
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Choi H. Ratio of Correct Information Unit and Cognitive Functions in Healthy Elderly Adults. COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS-CSD 2015. [DOI: 10.12963/csd.15239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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24
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Soares FC, de Oliveira TCG, de Macedo LDED, Tomás AM, Picanço-Diniz DLW, Bento-Torres J, Bento-Torres NVO, Picanço-Diniz CW. CANTAB object recognition and language tests to detect aging cognitive decline: an exploratory comparative study. Clin Interv Aging 2014; 10:37-48. [PMID: 25565785 PMCID: PMC4279672 DOI: 10.2147/cia.s68186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The recognition of the limits between normal and pathological aging is essential to start preventive actions. The aim of this paper is to compare the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and language tests to distinguish subtle differences in cognitive performances in two different age groups, namely young adults and elderly cognitively normal subjects. Method We selected 29 young adults (29.9±1.06 years) and 31 older adults (74.1±1.15 years) matched by educational level (years of schooling). All subjects underwent a general assessment and a battery of neuropsychological tests, including the Mini Mental State Examination, visuospatial learning, and memory tasks from CANTAB and language tests. Cluster and discriminant analysis were applied to all neuropsychological test results to distinguish possible subgroups inside each age group. Results Significant differences in the performance of aged and young adults were detected in both language and visuospatial memory tests. Intragroup cluster and discriminant analysis revealed that CANTAB, as compared to language tests, was able to detect subtle but significant differences between the subjects. Conclusion Based on these findings, we concluded that, as compared to language tests, large-scale application of automated visuospatial tests to assess learning and memory might increase our ability to discern the limits between normal and pathological aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Cabral Soares
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Thaís Cristina Galdino de Oliveira
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Liliane Dias e Dias de Macedo
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Alessandra Mendonça Tomás
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | | | - João Bento-Torres
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção Belém, Pará, Brazil ; Faculdade de Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Natáli Valim Oliver Bento-Torres
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção Belém, Pará, Brazil ; Faculdade de Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Cristovam Wanderley Picanço-Diniz
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção Belém, Pará, Brazil
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Hung PF, Nippold MA. Idiom understanding in adulthood: examining age-related differences. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2014; 28:208-221. [PMID: 24405225 DOI: 10.3109/02699206.2013.850117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Idioms are figurative expressions such as hold your horses, kick the bucket, and lend me a hand, which commonly occur in everyday spoken and written language. Hence, the understanding of these expressions is essential for daily communication. In this study, we examined idiom understanding in healthy adults in their 20s, 40s, 60s and 80s (n=30 per group) to determine if performance would show an age-related decline. Participants judged their own familiarity with a set of 20 idioms, explained the meaning of each, described a situation in which the idiom could be used, and selected the appropriate interpretation from a set of choices. There was no evidence of an age-related decline on any tasks. Rather, the 60s group reported greater familiarity and offered better explanations than did the 20s group. Moreover, greater familiarity with idioms was associated with better understanding in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Fang Hung
- Department of Communicative Disorders, California State University Long Beach , Long Beach, CA , USA and
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De Oliveira TCG, Soares FC, De Macedo LDED, Diniz DLWP, Bento-Torres NVO, Picanço-Diniz CW. Beneficial effects of multisensory and cognitive stimulation on age-related cognitive decline in long-term-care institutions. Clin Interv Aging 2014; 9:309-20. [PMID: 24600211 PMCID: PMC3933247 DOI: 10.2147/cia.s54383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present report was to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of multisensory and cognitive stimulation on improving cognition in elderly persons living in long-term-care institutions (institutionalized [I]) or in communities with their families (noninstitutionalized [NI]). We compared neuropsychological performance using language and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test scores before and after 24 and 48 stimulation sessions. The two groups were matched by age and years of schooling. Small groups of ten or fewer volunteers underwent the stimulation program, twice a week, over 6 months (48 sessions in total). Sessions were based on language and memory exercises, as well as visual, olfactory, auditory, and ludic stimulation, including music, singing, and dance. Both groups were assessed at the beginning (before stimulation), in the middle (after 24 sessions), and at the end (after 48 sessions) of the stimulation program. Although the NI group showed higher performance in all tasks in all time windows compared with I subjects, both groups improved their performance after stimulation. In addition, the improvement was significantly higher in the I group than the NI group. Language tests seem to be more efficient than the MMSE to detect early changes in cognitive status. The results suggest the impoverished environment of long-term-care institutions may contribute to lower cognitive scores before stimulation and the higher improvement rate of this group after stimulation. In conclusion, language tests should be routinely adopted in the neuropsychological assessment of elderly subjects, and long-term-care institutions need to include regular sensorimotor, social, and cognitive stimulation as a public health policy for elderly persons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaís Cristina Galdino De Oliveira
- Laboratory of Investigations in Neurodgeneration and Infection, Biological Sciences Institute, University Hospital João de Barros Barreto, Belém, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Cabral Soares
- Laboratory of Investigations in Neurodgeneration and Infection, Biological Sciences Institute, University Hospital João de Barros Barreto, Belém, Brazil
| | - Liliane Dias E Dias De Macedo
- Laboratory of Investigations in Neurodgeneration and Infection, Biological Sciences Institute, University Hospital João de Barros Barreto, Belém, Brazil
| | - Domingos Luiz Wanderley Picanço Diniz
- Laboratory of Investigations in Neurodgeneration and Infection, Biological Sciences Institute, University Hospital João de Barros Barreto, Belém, Brazil
| | - Natáli Valim Oliver Bento-Torres
- Laboratory of Investigations in Neurodgeneration and Infection, Biological Sciences Institute, University Hospital João de Barros Barreto, Belém, Brazil ; College of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil
| | - Cristovam Wanderley Picanço-Diniz
- Laboratory of Investigations in Neurodgeneration and Infection, Biological Sciences Institute, University Hospital João de Barros Barreto, Belém, Brazil
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Wengryn MI, Hester EJ. Pragmatic Skills Used by Older Adults in Social Communication Health Care Contexts: Precursors to Health Literacy. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1044/cicsd_38_s_41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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28
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Zhang L, Dean D, Liu JZ, Sahgal V, Wang X, Yue GH. Quantifying degeneration of white matter in normal aging using fractal dimension. Neurobiol Aging 2007; 28:1543-55. [PMID: 16860905 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2005] [Revised: 05/05/2006] [Accepted: 06/19/2006] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Although degeneration of brain white matter (WM) in aging is a well-recognized problem, its quantification has mainly relied on volumetric measurements, which lack detail in describing the degenerative adaptation. In this study, WM structural complexity was evaluated in healthy old and young adults by analyzing the three-dimensional fractal dimension (FD) of WM segmented from magnetic resonance images of brain. FDs detected in the old were significantly smaller than in the young subjects. Specifically, WM interior structure complexity degenerated in the left hemisphere in old men but in the right hemisphere in old women. Men showed more complex WM patterns than women. An asymmetrical (right-greater-than-left-hemisphere) complexity pattern was observed in the interior and general structures of WM, yet the surface complexity was symmetrical across WM structures of the two hemispheres. WM volumes were also measured, but no significant decline was found with aging. These results suggest that the deterioration of WM complexity is not uniformly distributed between the genders and across brain hemispheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luduan Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Lerner Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
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29
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Juncos-Rabadán O, Pereiro AX, Rodríguez MS. Narrative speech in aging: quantity, information content, and cohesion. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2005; 95:423-34. [PMID: 15913755 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2005.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2004] [Revised: 03/28/2005] [Accepted: 04/02/2005] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
This study examined age-related changes in narrative speech of 79 adults aged 40-91 who told stories from their pictorial representations. Quantity, information content and cohesion of narratives were analysed using a detailed transcription and codification system. We carried out a LISREL analysis to study relationships between narrative performance and age, level of education and verbal capacity. Our results showed that aging increases quantity, reduces density of informational content and cohesive reference of narratives and increases the units of irrelevant content. Verbal capacity measured by a vocabulary test improves content and cohesion. The implications of the findings for the cognitive deficit and pragmatic change explanations of narrative speech are discussed.
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30
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Radanovic M, Mansur LL. Performance of a Brazilian population sample in the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination: a pilot study. Braz J Med Biol Res 2002; 35:305-17. [PMID: 11887208 DOI: 10.1590/s0100-879x2002000300005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Brazilian researchers and health professionals often face the challenge of having to use tests developed in foreign languages and standardized for populations of other countries, especially in the fields of Neuropsychology and Neurolinguistics. This fact promotes a feeling that some scoring systems may be inadequate for our sociocultural reality. In the present study, we describe the performance of a Brazilian population sample submitted to a translated and adapted version of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE). Sixty normal volunteers (21 men and 39 women), all Portuguese native speakers, ranging in age from 15 to 78 years (average 43.7) and with an educational level of 2 to 16 years (average 9.9), were tested using a translated and adapted Portuguese version of the BDAE. Cut-off scores are suggested for our population and the performance of the Brazilian sample is compared to that of American and Colombian samples, with the results being closely similar in all tasks. We also performed a correlation analysis between age, gender and educational level and the influence of these variables on the performance of the subjects. We found no statistically significant differences between genders. Educational level correlated positively with performance, especially in the subtests involving reading and writing. There was a negative correlation between age and performance in two subtests (Visual Confrontation Naming and Sentences to Dictation), but a coexisting effect of educational level could not be ruled out.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Radanovic
- Departamento de Neurologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
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31
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Ardila A, Rosselli M, Ostrosky-Solís F, Marcos J, Granda G, Soto M. Syntactic comprehension, verbal memory, and calculation abilities in Spanish-English bilinguals. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY 2000; 7:3-16. [PMID: 10800623 DOI: 10.1207/s15324826an0701_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
This article analyzes the interfering effect of the second language (L2) on the first language (L1) in native Spanish speakers living in the United States. We examined 3 linguistic aspects: (a) syntactic comprehension, (b) verbal memory, and (c) calculation abilities. We carried out 2 different studies. In the 1st study, we studied syntactic understanding in 50 Spanish-English bilinguals. For all participants, L1 was Spanish and L2 was English, and all learned English early in life and had attended English schools. Results for the Spanish Syntactic Comprehension Test (Marcos & Ostrosky, 1995) were compared with the normative results obtained with 40 Spanish monolingual participants. We observed that the closer to the English syntax the sentences were, the easier it was for the participants to understand them. Participants who had been exposed to English between the ages of 5 and 12 outperformed participants exposed to English before 5 years of age. Language preference correlated with syntactic comprehension. Women outperformed men. In the 2nd study, verbal memory and calculation abilities were examined in L1 and L2 in a group of 85 Spanish-English bilinguals. Parallel versions of the different tests were administered in Spanish and English. The results indicated some significant differences between the 2 languages in several verbal learning and calculation ability subtests. Most of the verbal memory subtests were better performed in L1. Scores on tasks measuring speed and calculation accuracy were higher in the participant's native language. Best spoken language proved to be a significant variable in some verbal memory subtests performed in English but not in Spanish. We analyze implications of bilingualism in neuropsychological testing. We also present some suggestions to minimize the bilingualism effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Ardila
- Miami Institute of Psychology, Florida, USA
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32
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Bird H, Lambon Ralph MA, Patterson K, Hodges JR. The rise and fall of frequency and imageability: noun and verb production in semantic dementia. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2000; 73:17-49. [PMID: 10872636 DOI: 10.1006/brln.2000.2293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
This study examines the impact of progressive degeneration of conceptual knowledge on the content words used in connected speech elicited using the Cookie Theft picture description (Goodglass & Kaplan. 1983). We began with an analysis of control subjects' descriptions with regard to word types and their frequency and imageability. Because the impairment of conceptual knowledge in semantic dementia is graded by concept familiarity, we created a model of a standardized normal Cookie Theft description that was then progressively degraded by the systematic removal of lower bands of word frequency. We drew two main predictions from this model: reduced availability of the lower bands of word frequency should result in (a) an apparent deficit for noun retrieval in relation to verb retrieval and (b) an apparent reverse imageability effect. Results from a longitudinal study. in which three patients with semantic dementia each described the Cookie Theft picture on three occasions during the progression of their disease, confirmed these predictions. An additional cross-sectional analysis, adding narratives from a larger number of cases, demonstrated that the decline in ability to produce suitable words for the picture description is closely related to the extent of semantic impairment as measured in tests of word comprehension and production. Both verbs and nouns are affected by the degradation of semantic memory; the fact that the impairment to noun production is manifested earlier and more catastrophically may be attributed to the relatively lower frequency of these terms.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Bird
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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33
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Mejia S, Pineda D, Alvarez LM, Ardila A. Individual differences in memory and executive function abilities during normal aging. Int J Neurosci 1998; 95:271-84. [PMID: 9777444 DOI: 10.3109/00207459809003345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of some individual variables on memory and executive function test performance in normal aging individuals. Sixty subjects (21 males and 39 females), with a mean age of 69.66 (SD = 7.09) were selected. The following neuropsychological tests were selected. The following neuropsychological tests were administered: Associative Learning and Logical Memory from the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) (Wechsler, 1945), Associative Memory with Semantic Enhancement Test (AMSET) (Pineda, Galeano and Giraldo, 1991), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WSCT) (Heaton, 1981), and Verbal Fluency (phonologic and semantic). The effects of demographic (age, education, and sex) and some individual variables (academic history, working history, physical activity, and leisure activities) were measured. Age and education effects on test scores were observed, but no sex effect was found. Working history and leisure activities established significant differences in some test scores. A multiple regression analysis was performed. Not only demographic variables, but also individual variables were associated with memory, and albeit at a lesser extend, with executive function test scores. It was emphasized that not only demographic factors, but also individual variables have a significant effect on cognitive changes observed during normal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Mejia
- Neuropsychology Program, University of San Buenaventura, Medellin, Colombia
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