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Wang S, Wong LLN, Chen Y. Development of the mandarin reading span test and confirmation of its relationship with speech perception in noise. Int J Audiol 2024:1-10. [PMID: 38270384 DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2024.2305685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop a dual-task Mandarin Reading Span Test (RST) to assess verbal working memory related to speech perception in noise. DESIGN The test material was developed taking into account psycholinguistic factors (i.e. sentence structure, number of syllables, word familiarity, and sentences plausibility), to achieve good test reliability and face validity. The relationship between the 28-sentence Mandarin RST and speech perception in noise was confirmed using three speech perception in noise measures containing varying levels of contextual and linguistic information. STUDY SAMPLE The study comprised 42 young adults with normal hearing and 56 older adult who were hearing aid users with moderate to severe hearing loss. RESULTS In older hearing aid users, the 28-sentence RST showed significant correlation with speech reception thresholds as measured by three Mandarin sentence in noise tests (rs or r = -.681 to -.419) but not with the 2-digit sequence Digit-in-Noise Test. CONCLUSION The newly developed dual-task Mandarin RST, constructed with careful psycholinguistic consideration, demonstrates a significant relationship with sentence perception in noise. This suggests that the Mandarin RST could serve as a measure of verbal working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shangqiguo Wang
- Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lena L N Wong
- Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, Integrated Center for Wellbeing (I-WELL), The Education University of Hong Kong, Taipo, New Territories, China
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Sugiura L, Hata M, Matsuba-Kurita H, Uga M, Tsuzuki D, Dan I, Hagiwara H, Homae F. Explicit Performance in Girls and Implicit Processing in Boys: A Simultaneous fNIRS-ERP Study on Second Language Syntactic Learning in Young Adolescents. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:62. [PMID: 29568265 PMCID: PMC5853835 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning a second language (L2) proceeds with individual approaches to proficiency in the language. Individual differences including sex, as well as working memory (WM) function appear to have strong effects on behavioral performance and cortical responses in L2 processing. Thus, by considering sex and WM capacity, we examined neural responses during L2 sentence processing as a function of L2 proficiency in young adolescents. In behavioral tests, girls significantly outperformed boys in L2 tests assessing proficiency and grammatical knowledge, and in a reading span test (RST) assessing WM capacity. Girls, but not boys, showed significant correlations between L2 tests and RST scores. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and event-related potential (ERP) simultaneously, we measured cortical responses while participants listened to syntactically correct and incorrect sentences. ERP data revealed a grammaticality effect only in boys in the early time window (100–300 ms), implicated in phrase structure processing. In fNIRS data, while boys had significantly increased activation in the left prefrontal region implicated in syntactic processing, girls had increased activation in the posterior language-related region involved in phonology, semantics, and sentence processing with proficiency. Presumably, boys implicitly focused on rule-based syntactic processing, whereas girls made full use of linguistic knowledge and WM function. The present results provide important fundamental data for learning and teaching in L2 education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Sugiura
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masahiro Hata
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroko Matsuba-Kurita
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Minako Uga
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Welfare and Psychology, Health Science University, Yamanashi, Japan
| | - Daisuke Tsuzuki
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ippeita Dan
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroko Hagiwara
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fumitaka Homae
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
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Minamoto T, Azuma M, Yaoi K, Ashizuka A, Mima T, Osaka M, Fukuyama H, Osaka N. The anodal tDCS over the left posterior parietal cortex enhances attention toward a focus word in a sentence. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:992. [PMID: 25538609 PMCID: PMC4260498 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Accepted: 11/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has two attentional functions: top-down attentional control and stimulus-driven attentional processing. Using the focused version of the reading span test (RST), in which the target word to be remembered is the critical word for comprehending a sentence (focused word) or a non-focused word, we examined the effect of tDCS on resolution of distractor interference by the focused word in the non-focus condition (top-down attentional control) and on augmented/shrunk attentional capture by the focused word in both the focus and non-focus conditions (stimulus-driven attentional processing). Participants were divided into two groups: anodal tDCS (atDCS) and cathodal tDCS (ctDCS). Online stimulation was given while participants performed the RST. A post-hoc recognition task was also administered in which three kinds of words were presented: target words in the RST, distractor words in the RST, and novel words. atDCS augmented the effect of the focused word by increasing differences in performance between the focus and non-focus conditions. Such an effect was not observed in the ctDCS group. As for the recognition task, atDCS again produced the augmented effect of the focused words in the distractor recognition. On the other hand, ctDCS brought less recognition of non-focused target words in comparison to sham. The results indicate that atDCS promotes stimulus-driven attentional processing, possibly by affecting neural firing in the inferior parietal regions. In contrast, ctDCS appears to prevent retrieval of less important information from episodic memory, which may require top-down attentional processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takehiro Minamoto
- Department of Advanced Human Sciences, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University Osaka, Japan
| | - Miyuki Azuma
- Department of Advanced Human Sciences, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University Osaka, Japan
| | - Ken Yaoi
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan
| | - Aoi Ashizuka
- Human Brain Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan
| | - Tastuya Mima
- Human Brain Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan
| | - Mariko Osaka
- Department of Advanced Human Sciences, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University Osaka, Japan
| | - Hidenao Fukuyama
- Human Brain Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan
| | - Naoyuki Osaka
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan
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Tanaka T, Sugimoto M, Tanida Y, Saito S. The influences of working memory representations on long-range regression in text reading: an eye-tracking study. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:765. [PMID: 25324760 PMCID: PMC4179682 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Accepted: 09/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the relationship between verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) capacity and long-range regression (i.e., word relocation) processes in reading. We analyzed eye movements during a "whodunit task", in which readers were asked to answer a content question while original text was being presented. The eye movements were more efficient in relocating a target word when the target was at recency positions within the text than when it was at primacy positions. Furthermore, both verbal and visuospatial WM capacity partly predicted the efficiency of the initial long-range regression. The results indicate that WM representations have a strong influence at the first stage of long-range regression by driving the first saccade movement toward the correct target position, suggesting that there is a dynamic interaction between internal WM representations and external actions during text reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teppei Tanaka
- Department of Cognitive Psychology in Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Masashi Sugimoto
- Department of Cognitive Psychology in Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan ; The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuki Tanida
- Department of Cognitive Psychology in Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Satoru Saito
- Department of Cognitive Psychology in Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
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Nakae A, Endo K, Adachi T, Ikeda T, Hagihira S, Mashimo T, Osaka M. The influence of working memory capacity on experimental heat pain. J Pain 2013; 14:1088-96. [PMID: 23773342 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2013.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2013] [Revised: 04/06/2013] [Accepted: 04/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Pain processing and attention have a bidirectional interaction that depends upon one's relative ability to use limited-capacity resources. However, correlations between the size of limited-capacity resources and pain have not been evaluated. Working memory capacity, which is a cognitive resource, can be measured using the reading span task (RST). In this study, we hypothesized that an individual's potential working memory capacity and subjective pain intensity are related. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated 31 healthy participants' potential working memory capacity using the RST, and then applied continuous experimental heat stimulation using the listening span test (LST), which is a modified version of the RST. Subjective pain intensities were significantly lower during the challenging parts of the RST. The pain intensity under conditions where memorizing tasks were performed was compared with that under the control condition, and it showed a correlation with potential working memory capacity. These results indicate that working memory capacity reflects the ability to process information, including precise evaluations of changes in pain perception. PERSPECTIVE In this work, we present data suggesting that changes in subjective pain intensity are related, depending upon individual potential working memory capacities. Individual working memory capacity may be a phenotype that reflects sensitivity to changes in pain perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Nakae
- Department of Anesthesiology & Intensive Care, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
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