Biomedical subjects

D M Kirchner

Publications and source records attributed to D M Kirchner.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1989

Memory scanning speed in language-disordered children.

Twelve students from classrooms for children with severe language disorders and 12 age-matched controls were evaluated for short-term memory scanning speed using the Sternberg task. Sets of two, three, and four digits were presented via earphones as memory sets, followed by single-probe digits. Reaction time was measured for a verbal response of "yes" or "no" indicating whether the probe was a member of the initial set. Average per-item scanning speed for the normal children was 66 ms, which was significantly different from the 253-ms average scanning speed of the language-disordered group. Many similarities were noted in the performance of the two groups on the memory scanning task. No differences were found in estimates of encoding and response speed, in percentage of errors or in serial or numerical position effects across groups. Results indicate that children with developmental language disorders may demonstrate reduced processing speed or memory retrieval time, which could contribute to linguistic deficits.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

A clinical appraisal of the pragmatic aspects of language.

A descriptive taxonomy, the pragmatic protocol, was developed for this study. The protocol consists of 30 pragmatic parameters of language. The purpose of the study was to test the utility of the tool to evaluate a range of pragmatic aspects of language in a sample of conversational speech from subjects in six groups. Among the disordered subjects, four distinct profiles emerged that separated the diagnostic groups. Individual differences in the way pragmatic deficits were distributed within a diagnostic category were also identified. The authors stress that the assessment of pragmatics should encompass a range of parameters that includes aspects of linguistic structure as well as those aspects of communication that have to do with principles governing language use. We offer our data as an early look at the way in which pragmatic deficits stratify across disordered populations.

Aged↗

PubMed1985

Verbal rehearsal and memory in language-disordered children.

Twelve language-disordered (mean age 10:7) and 12 normal children (mean age 10:10) received a series of free-recall lists composed of pictorial items. They were instructed to rehearse aloud after each item. From the rehearsal periods and recalls 12 variables were calculated. They represented retention of item and order information, semantic organization, effects of primacy and recency in input order, repetition, and intrusion errors. These variables were submitted to factor and discriminant analyses and linear regression; the intrusion errors were also classified. The analyses suggest that rehearsal and recall reflect three components: capacity for item and order information, semantic organization, and susceptibility to non-list intrusion. The predominant differences between groups were in capacity and intrusions. The memory deficits of the language-disordered subjects are described as diminished verbal capacity, a description that has implications for the relationship between language and memory and the specific nature of the disorder.

Adolescent↗