PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B E Murdoch

Publications and source records attributed to B E Murdoch.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Closed-head-injured children's performance on narrative tasks.

Stories were elicited from a group of 20 closed-head-injured children. Story grammar and intersentential cohesion were examined. Performance of the head-injured children was compared to that of a group of nonneurologically impaired accident victims matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. No significant differences were found between the performance of the closed-head-injured children and the matched controls on any of the measures of narrative ability applied to the elicited narratives.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Respiratory kinematics in speakers with cerebellar disease.

The respiratory abilities of a group of 12 speech disordered subjects with cerebellar disease were assessed using both spirometric and kinematic techniques and compared to those of a group of 12 non-neurologically impaired controls matched for age and gender. Results of the spirometric assessment showed that although all of the cerebellar-diseased subjects had normal total lung capacities, almost half had vital capacities below normal limits. All except 1 of the cerebellar-diseased subjects exhibited irregularities in their chest wall movements while performing sustained vowel and syllable repetition tasks. Over half of the cerebellar-diseased subjects also displayed similar irregularities when reading and conversing. The same irregularities were not present in the chest wall movements exhibited by the control subjects suggesting that their presence was caused by the cerebellar disease. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of cerebellar disease on neuromuscular function.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Automatic and volitional semantic processing in aphasia.

The present study investigated the status of semantic information in aphasia by comparing the performances of aphasic and nonaphasic subjects on two tasks: an automatic semantic facilitation task and a volitional task of relatedness judgment. Both the aphasic and nonaphasic groups evidenced a semantic facilitation effect, in an on-line task of semantic processing. However, those aphasics with severe comprehension and naming disturbances (termed low comprehension aphasics) demonstrated considerable difficulty in judging the relatedness between a pictured object and members of that object's semantic field, the severity of the impairment being greater for those pictures that the low comprehension aphasics were unable to name. The pattern of results can best be explained by supposing the structural integrity of the store of semantic information in aphasia, and in particular in low comprehension aphasia: information that is retrieved and manipulated in judgment-mediated tasks with considerable difficulty.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Speech and language skills in children with early treated phenylketonuria.

The speech and language skills of 29 children with early treated phenylketonuria (PKU) were reported. The performances of two experimental groups that differed in language development level on standardized speech/language tests were compared with the performances of appropriate control groups matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic level. No significant differences were found on speech and/or language measures between either of the two experimental groups and their respective controls. Examination of individual scores, however, did reveal linguistic impairment in a small number of persons with PKU. No pattern of linguistic deficit was found nor were there any consistent relations between individual speech/language scores, cognitive abilities, or dietary control ratings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Semantic abilities in dementia of the Alzheimer type. 1. Lexical semantics.

The lexical semantic abilities of 18 Alzheimer patients were investigated using confrontation naming tasks (including both visual and tactile naming tests) and compared to those of a group of institutionalized, nonneurologically impaired control subjects matched for age, sex, and educational level. The Alzheimer patients produced a greater number of naming errors than the control subjects. The errors made by subjects during the naming tasks were analyzed according to a set of 16 error response types. The Alzheimer patients' response patterns suggest that they do recognize objects which they are unable to name and are able to identify the semantic class to which the target belongs, but cannot provide the lexeme corresponding to the correct individual class member. The results support a semantic network disruption rather than a visual perceptual deficit as the basis of the naming disturbance observed in Alzheimer patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Semantic abilities in dementia of the Alzheimer type. II. Grammatical semantics.

The grammatical semantic abilities of 18 Alzheimer patients were investigated using picture description tasks and compared to those of a group of institutionalized, nonneurologically impaired control subjects matched for age, sex, and educational level. During picture description, Alzheimer patients showed that they were able to provide as much information about the target picture as control subjects, but were less concise in their verbal representation of the information. The lack of conciseness was reflected in the DAT patients requiring more time and more syllables to communicate a similar quantity of information than the control subjects. The appropriateness of using a picture description task which involves a perceptual step-by-step account of unrelated events to assess sentential semantics and the conveying of information at a conceptual level is discussed.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1989

Respiratory function in Parkinson's subjects exhibiting a perceptible speech deficit: a kinematic and spirometric analysis.

The respiratory abilities of a group of 19 speech-disordered subjects with idiopathic Parkinson's disease were assessed using both spirometric and kinematic techniques and compared to those of a group of 19 nonneurologically impaired controls matched for age and sex. Results of the spirometric assessment showed that only a minority of the Parkinson's subjects had lung volumes and capacities outside normal limits. Consequently in the majority of cases, the speech disorder could not be related to any abnormality in lung function determined spirometrically. Chest wall dynamics during both conversation and reading were essentially normal in all cases. Approximately half of the Parkinson's subjects, however, exhibited irregularities in their chest wall movements while performing vowel prolongation and syllable repetition tasks. The same irregularities were not present in the chest wall movements exhibited by the control subjects, suggesting that their presence was in some way related to the Parkinson's disease. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of Parkinson's disease on neuromuscular function.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Linguistic status subsequent to childhood immersion injury.

The linguistic abilities of two groups of children who had been involved in immersion incidents are reported--one group at 12 months after the immersion incident (n = 25), and the second group at five years after the immersion incident (n = 9). The performances of the two experimental groups on standardized language tests were compared with the performances of appropriate control groups that were matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status. The speech and language skills of the 12-months post-immersion group and the matched control group were assessed by means of the sequenced inventory of communication development. Subjects who were assessed 12 months after the immersion injury scored significantly lower results than did control subjects on receptive and expressive language ages that were calculated as percentages of the chronological age. No differences in language scores were evident between the subjects who were at five years after the immersion incident and their control subjects as assessed by the test of language development--primary. The language abilities of the victims of an immersion incident were correlated with their neurological status at presentation to hospital. The results suggest a need to monitor the linguistic development of all children who present initially in a coma after an immersion incident. The need for a longitudinal study of the linguistic abilities of these children is indicated.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1987

Aphasia following right thalamic hemorrhage in a dextral.

A 74-year-old, right-handed woman with a right thalamic hemorrhage and aphasia is described. Sequential neurologic examinations and aphasia testing were carried out during a 1-year period and the results are reported. The patient exhibited a language deficit resembling a transcortical aphasia in the acute stage. Reduced spontaneous speech, fading voice volume, fluent verbal output with paraphasia, anomia, and a mild comprehension difficulty were present. Repetition was good. At 1 year postonset, the primary language problem exhibited by the patient was in object naming, all other components of the original language deficit having shown good recovery. This is the first reported case of right thalamic involvement in speech/language in the absence of personal and familial sinistrality.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Language disorders in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

The language profile of a group of 18 Alzheimer patients is documented and their performance on a standard aphasia test battery compared to a group of institutionalized, nonneurologically impaired control subjects matched for age, sex, and educational level. The Alzheimer patients scored significantly lower than the controls in the areas of verbal expression, auditory comprehension, repetition, reading, and writing. Articulation abilities were the same in each group. A language deficit was evident in all Alzheimer patients. The language disorder exhibited resembled a transcortical sensory aphasia. Syntax and phonology remained relatively intact but semantic abilities were impaired. The results support the inclusion of a language deficit as a diagnostic criterion of Alzheimer's disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Acute computerized tomographic scans: their value in the localization of lesions and as prognostic indicators in aphasia.

Twenty three patients with past or present evidence of aphasia following either stroke (n = 19) or head trauma (n = 4) were given the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination in order to classify their aphasia type and determine their language deficit at least three months postonset of their neurological disorder. The location and extent of brain lesions identified from computerized tomographic (C.T.) scans taken in the acute stage and, wherever possible, in the chronic stage (n = 7) were correlated with the type of aphasia. Lesions associated with global, Wernicke's, Broca's, conduction, and anomic aphasia are described and discussed in relation to the findings of previously reported clinico-C.T. scan correlation studies. The value of the acute stage C.T. scan as a predictor of long-term language deficits is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

alpha-Glucosidase activity in the reproductive tract of the ewe.

alpha-Glucosidase activity has been estimated in the tissues and rinsings of the reproductive tract of the ewe. There were peaks of activity in the oviducal mucosa at pH 4.0 and 5.7. In the endometrium, caruncles and cervical mucosa and pH optimum occurred from pH 4.0 to pH 5.7. A sharp peak in the activity in the vaginal mucosa occurred at pH 5.7. The only tissue in which changes in enzyme activity were consistently related to one endocrinological state of the ewe was the cervical mucosa. Cervical alpha-glucosidase activity was greater at oestrus than during the rest of the oestrous cycle, declined during early pregnancy, and increased in ovariectomized ewes following the injection of oestradiol-17 beta.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term speech and language disorders subsequent to closed head injury in children.

The speech and language functioning of a group of 20 children (aged 8-16) who had sustained a closed head injury at least 12 months previously were assessed with the purpose of developing a comprehensive profile of the type and severity of the long-term speech/language disorders exhibited by this group. The subjects were administered a battery of speech/language assessments including an articulation/phonological assessment; oromotor assessment; overall language test and specific language skills assessments. Performance of the head-injured group was compared to that of a group of non-neurologically impaired accident victims matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status. Overall language performance scores of the head-injured group were found to be significantly lower than achieved by the control group.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Aphemia associated with bilateral striato-capsular lesions subsequent to cerebral anoxia.

A case is presented of a 13-year-old right-handed male who exhibited bilateral striato-capsular lesions following an episode of cerebral anoxia and a range of clinical features typical of aphemia. The findings of a neurological assessment, neuroradiological assessment and battery of speech/language tests are described and their implications for current theories regarding the role of the basal ganglia in speech/language function discussed. The patient initially demonstrated an isolated loss of the ability to articulate words without the loss of the ability to write or comprehend spoken language. His initial mutism later resolved into a dysarthria with features similar to those seen in hypokinetic dysarthria. It was concluded that striato-capsular lesions in childhood are capable of producing temporary language disturbances and in some cases a persistent dysarthria.

Adolescent↗