Biomedical subjects

Ing-Mari Tallberg

Publications and source records attributed to Ing-Mari Tallberg.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Reading words with irregular decoding rules: a test of premorbid cognitive function?

The present study investigated the relation between level of general cognitive function and the oral reading of irregular words in Swedish. Swedish is an orthographically regular language, so many irregular words are loan words from other languages. A test comprising such words (irregularly spelled words (ISW)) was designed, and tested on a sample of 48 healthy Swedish adults, stratified according to age, gender, and level of education. The results confirmed that the ability to read words that do not follow the regular rules for decoding in Swedish was positively related to general cognitive level. ISW in combination with demographic variables gave a good estimate of general cognitive function and a better estimate than demographic variables alone. Exposure to written and spoken vocabulary during the lifespan may be indexed by ISW performance, for factor analysis suggested that this may constitute a discrete factor contributing to cognitive function.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Semantic range and relevance of emotive utterances in patients with frontotemporal degeneration.

Patterns of aberrant language due to lateralized frontal brain lesions have been described. The present study investigated the consequences of lateralized lesion for aspects of semantic range and relevance in speech of patients with frontotemporal degeneration. Demented patients with predominantly left (n=10) and right (n=4) brain degeneration as well as 5 healthy controls participated. Significant differences were found concerning semantic range and relevance in descriptions of emotionally loaded pictures within the demented group and between the demented group and the controls. The demented individuals' speech was less varied and relevant in contrast to the healthy individuals. The speech of the left hemispheric group was more relevant but also more stereotypic and unspecified than that of the right hemispheric group. The results are discussed in terms of impaired semantic retrieval and in relation to lateralization of lesion.

Affect↗