SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Language”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 613 records · Page 34Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

Hemispheric language dominance studied with functional MR: preliminary study in healthy volunteers and patients with epilepsy.

PURPOSE: We used functional MR imaging to compare hemispheric language dominance in healthy volunteers and in patients with epilepsy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the functional MR images of 23 healthy volunteers and 16 patients with epilepsy obtained by using an echo-planar technique designed for whole-brain imaging. The activation paradigm used was a silent word generation task. Hemispheric language dominance was assessed as the percentage of activated pixels in the left hemisphere minus the percentage of activated pixels in the right hemisphere x 100. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in language lateralization between right-handed male and right-handed female volunteers. However, a statistically significant difference in language distribution was found between left- and right-handed female volunteers. The left-handed female volunteers showed a more bilateral hemispheric language lateralization. Language lateralization in right-handed male epilepsy patients with early age at seizure onset and seizure locus in the left temporal lobe was not significantly different from that of healthy right-handed male volunteers. Similarly, we found no difference in language lateralization between right-handed female volunteers and right-handed female epilepsy patients with late age at seizure onset and seizures in the left temporal lobe. CONCLUSION: Handedness has a significant influence on hemispheric language dominance in healthy volunteers. Sex has no influence on hemispheric language dominance, regardless of the task used to assess such dominance, nor does age at seizure onset influence language lateralization in patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy. Therefore, hemispheric language dominance can be assessed and compared effectively with functional MR imaging.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Language differentiation in early bilingual development.

It has been claimed that children simultaneously acquiring two languages go through an initial stage when they are unable to differentiate between their two languages. Such claims have been based on the observation that at times virtually all bilingual children mix elements (e.g. lexical, morphological) from their two languages in the same utterance. That most, if not all, children acquiring two languages simultaneously mix linguistic elements in this way is widely documented. Although such code-mixing is not well understood or explained, there are a number of explanations unrelated to lack of language differentiation that may explain it. Moreover, while language differentiation is widely attested among bilingual children once functional categories emerge, usually during the third year, there is still some question as to how early in development differentiation is present. In this study, we examined language differentiation in five bilingual children prior to the emergence of functional categories (they ranged in age from 1;10 to 2;2 and in MLU from 1.23 to 2.08). They were observed with each parent separately and both together, on separate occasions. Our results indicate that while these children did code mix, they were clearly able to differentiate between their two languages. We also examine the possibility that the children's mixing is due to (a) their language dominance, and (b) their parents' rate of mixing. We could find no evidence that their mixing was due to parental input, but there was some evidence that language dominance played a role.

Canada↗

PubMed2002

A critical period for right hemisphere recruitment in American Sign Language processing.

Signed languages such as American Sign Language (ASL) are natural languages that are formally similar to spoken languages, and thus present an opportunity to examine the effects of language structure and modality on the neural organization for language. Native learners of spoken languages show predominantly left-lateralized patterns of neural activation for language processing, whereas native learners of ASL show extensive right hemisphere (RH) and LH activation. We demonstrate that the RH angular gyrus is active during ASL processing only in native signers (hearing, ASL-English bilinguals) but not in those who acquired ASL after puberty (hearing, native English speakers). This is the first demonstration of a 'sensitive' or 'critical' period for language in an RH structure. This has implications for language acquisition and for understanding age-related changes in neuroplasticity more generally.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

Nonverbal intelligence and English language ability in deaf children.

The relationship between nonverbal intelligence and English language ability in a sample of 25 deaf children between the ages of 6-10 was examined. Intelligence measure included the Performance Scale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (Wechsler, 1974) and the Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude (Hiskey, 1966). Language measures were the Test of Language Development (Newcomer & Hammill, 1977) and the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (Reynell, 1977). Average correlations of .45 were obtained between nonverbal IQ and the language measures. The average multiple correlation between the individual subtests from the intelligence scales and language scores was .68. Subtests which require visual memory consistently entered the multiple regression equations as the best predictors of language performance. Language performance was attenuated in this sample and did not correlate with chronological age. The finding of significant correlations between nonverbal IQ and English language, in spite of the attenuated language performance, suggests that nonverbal intelligence and visual memory skills, in particular, may be important in understanding the success of some hearing-impaired children in acquiring English and the failure of others.

Child↗

PubMed2004

Win-stay, lose-shift in language learning from peers.

Traditional language learning theory explores an idealized interaction between a teacher and a learner. The teacher provides sentences from a language, while the learner has to infer the underlying grammar. Here, we study a new approach by considering a population of individuals that learn from each other. There is no designated teacher. We are inspired by the observation that children grow up to speak the language of their peers, not of their parents. Our goal is to characterize learning strategies that generate "linguistic coherence," which means that most individuals use the same language. We model the resulting learning dynamics as a random walk of a population on a graph. Each vertex represents a candidate language. We find that a simple strategy using a certain aspiration level with the principle of win-stay, lose-shift does extremely well: stay with your current language, if at least three others use that language; otherwise, shift to an adjacent language on the graph. This strategy guarantees linguistic coherence on all nearly regular graphs, in the relevant limit where the number of candidate languages is much greater than the population size. Moreover, for many graphs, it is sufficient to have an aspiration level demanding only two other individuals to use the same language.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Language skills in 5-8-year-old children with 22q11 deletion syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Language impairment and delayed language onset have been described, although not investigated in detail, in children with 22q11 deletion syndrome. AIMS: To investigate different areas of language: the ability to retell a narrative, phonology, syntax and receptive vocabulary in a group of 5-8-year-old children with 22q11 deletion syndrome regardless of whether or not they had a history of speech and language difficulties. Gender differences were also investigated. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Nineteen consecutively referred children with 22q11 deletion syndrome, ten girls and nine boys, between the ages of 5 and 8 years, participated in the study. The mean full-scale IQ of the group was 78. Six children had an autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or a combination of these. Three different language tests were used: (1) the Bus Story - a test of narrative speech and language; (2) an articulation test including all Swedish phonemes in different positions; and (3) the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R). OUTCOMES & RESULTS: All but two children had an information score in the retelling task of 1 SD below the population mean. A negative correlation between age and the information score implied that the older the children, the more severe the problems. One child had an average sentence length within the normal limits and five children had subordinate clauses within normal limits. A median of 4% of the utterances included grammatical errors. About 50% of the children had a complete consonant inventory. The phonological process analysis implied delayed rather than deviant development. The group had a moderately low score for receptive vocabulary. CONCLUSIONS: Language difficulties in all investigated areas of language were found. It is suggested that speech-language impairment is a common feature of 22q11 deletion syndrome. An implication of these results is that follow-ups of language skills are important not only for pre-school children, but also for school age children and adolescents with 22q11 deletion syndrome.

Child↗

PubMed1998

Is speech arrest during wada testing a valid method for determining hemispheric representation of language?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The intracarotid amobarbital procedure, or Wada test, is the method of choice to determine hemispheric representation of language, and is routinely used in the presurgical evaluation for intractable epilepsy. Some investigators perform comprehensive language assessments, but others base language lateralization solely on speech arrest. This study sought to determine whether speech arrest alone during Wada testing provides valid data regarding language lateralization. METHODS: The subjects (previously reported) were 21 patients evaluated for intractable epilepsy, who underwent language lateralization by Wada testing and functional MRI (FMRI). For each patient, language representation was determined by calculating: (1) a Wada laterality index based exclusively on speech arrest; (2) a Wada laterality index based on comprehensive language assessment; and (3) an FMRI laterality quotient. Correlation coefficients and categorical classifications were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no significant correlation between the Wada laterality quotient derived from duration of speech arrest and either the comprehensive Wada language laterality score (r =.35, p =.12) or FMRI language laterality score (r =.32, p =.16). Categorical classification as left, right or bilateral language also showed marked discordance between speech arrest and the other two methods. CONCLUSION: Duration of speech arrest during Wada testing is not a valid measure of language dominance.

Amobarbital↗

PubMed2002

Dissociation of working memory processing associated with native and second languages: PET investigation.

Verbal working memory plays a significant role in language comprehension and problem-solving. The prefrontal cortex has been suggested as a critical area in working memory. Given that domain-specific dissociations of working memory may exist within the prefrontal cortex, it is possible that there may also be further functional divisions within the verbal working memory processing. While differences in the areas of the brain engaged in native and second languages have been demonstrated, little is known about the dissociation of verbal working memory associated with native and second languages. We have used H2(15)O positron emission tomography in 14 normal subjects in order to identify the neural correlates selectively involved in working memory of native (Korean) and second (English) languages. All subjects were highly proficient in the native language but poorly proficient in the second language. Cognitive tasks were a two-back task for three kinds of visually presented objects: simple pictures, English words, and Korean words. The anterior portion of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left superior temporal gyrus were activated in working memory for the native language, whereas the posterior portion of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left inferior temporal gyrus were activated in working memory for the second language. The results suggest that the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left temporal lobe may be organized into two discrete, language-related functional systems. Internal phonological processing seems to play a predominant role in working memory processing for the native language with a high proficiency, whereas visual higher order control does so for the second language with a low proficiency.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Concordancing: use of language-based research in medical communication.

BACKGROUND: The available literature on medical communication reports almost exclusively on observational, qualitative studies. We aimed to apply a novel approach to the analysis of doctor-patient consultation by means of computer concordancing. This methodology, established in linguistic research but rarely applied to professional language, allows both the quantitative and qualitative study of language. METHODS: We analysed the language of 40 doctors and their patients during 373 complete primary-care consultations. We examined the use of jargon by doctors, the language of power and absence of power, and ways in which language was used to diminish the potential threat of the presenting disorder. FINDINGS: There was no evidence that the doctors used medical jargon. Some doctors used language associated with social power, and some patients used language associated with absence of power. There was substantial evidence that the doctors used language to express emotions (eg, anxiety), to diminish threats (eg, words such as "little"), and to reassure patients. INTERPRETATION: Concordancing is a valuable resource to study the consultation. The finding that doctors do not use jargon suggests that they are aware of the need to avoid it, but it does not follow that they are easily understood by patients. The use of some elements of the language of power may imply that consultations may be less democratic than is appropriate. The language of emotion and diminution is a major part of the primary-care doctor's repertoire and denotes a therapeutic use of language.

Dominance-Subordination↗

PubMed2001

Functional MRI of language processing: dependence on input modality and temporal lobe epilepsy.

PURPOSE: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using two language-comprehension tasks was evaluated to determine its ability to lateralize language processing and identify regions that must be spared in surgery. METHODS: Two parallel cognitive language tasks, one using auditory input and the other visual input, were tested in a group of control subjects and in temporal lobe epilepsy patients who were candidates for surgical intervention. The patient studies provide an opportunity to compare functional MRI language localization with that obtained using Wada testing and electrocorticography. All of the patients in this study underwent all three procedures and a battery of neuropsychological testing. Such studies provide an opportunity not only to validate the fMRI findings but also, by comparing the patient results with those obtained in control subjects, to provide insight into the impact of a pathology such as epilepsy on cortical organization or functional patterns of activation. RESULTS: The results reveal both modality-dependent and modality-independent language-processing patterns for visual versus auditory task presentation. The visual language task activated distinct sites in Broca's area, BA (Brodmann area) 44 that were not activated in the auditory language task. The auditory language task strongly activated contralateral right BA22-21 area (homologous to Wernicke's area on the left). Language lateralization scores were significantly stronger for visual than for auditory task presentation. The conjunction of activation from the two different input modalities (modality-independent areas) likely highlights regions that perform more abstract computations (e.g., syntactic or pragmatic processing) in language processing. Modality-specific areas (e.g., right Wernicke, left fusiform gyrus, Broca BA44, supramarginal gyrus), appear to cope with the computations relevant to making contact with these more abstract dimensions. Patients showed recruitment of contralateral homologous language areas (p < 0.005) that was significantly above that found in a normal control group. Extra- and intraoperative cortical stimulations were concordant with the fMRI data in eight of 10 cases. The fMRI lateralization scores were also consistent with the Wada testing in 8/10 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The fMRI results demonstrate that the epileptic brain may be a progressive model for cortical plasticity.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

An Investigation of Language Impairment in Autism: Implications for Genetic Subgroups.

Autism involves primary impairments in both language and communication, yet in recent years the main focus of research has been on the communicative deficits that define the population. The study reported in this paper investigated language functioning in a group of 89 children diagnosed with autism using the ADI-R, and meeting DSM-IV criteria. The children, who were between 4- and 14- years-old were administered a battery of standardized language tests tapping phonological, lexical, and higher-order language abilities. The main findings were that among the children with autism there was significant heterogeneity in their language skills, although across all the children, articulation skills were spared. Different subgroups of children with autism were identified on the basis on their performance on the language measures. Some children with autism have normal language skills; for other children, their language skills are significantly below age expectations. The profile of performance across the standardized measures for the language-impaired children with autism was similar to the profile that defines the disorder specific language impairment (or SLI). The implications of this language impaired subgroup in autism for understanding the genetics and definition of both autism and SLI are discussed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1997

Patterns of language dominance in focal left and right hemisphere epilepsies: relation to MRI findings, EEG, sex, and age at onset of epilepsy.

The present study evaluates results of language testing during intracarotid amobarbital procedures in 167 patients with either left (LHE, n = 81) or right hemisphere epilepsies (RHE, n = 86). In both groups there was a high rate of deviance from complete left hemisphere dominance of 24 and 31%, respectively. Whilst complete right hemisphere or incomplete left hemisphere language dominance were the prominent atypical patterns in LHE, RHE was associated with either bilateral dominance or incomplete left dominance. In LHE, atypical language dominance was frequently associated with an extratemporal localization of lesions or epileptic foci. The age at onset of epilepsy and the degree of right hemisphere language dominance correlated significantly in LHE but not in RHE. Finally, atypical dominance in LHE but not in RHE was associated with poorer language and nonlanguage functions, the latter being negatively correlated with the degree of right hemisphere language dominance. Conclusions are: (1) The data contradict the assumption of equipotentiality and favor the supposition of a predetermined left hemisphere superiority in language processing. (2) Atypical language dominance in LHE can largely be explained in terms of a plasticity dependent language shift as a consequence of early left hemisphere epilepsies and lesions. (3) Atypical dominance patterns in RHE appear to reflect the prevalence of genetically determined variants and the possibility of a language transfer from the right to the left hemisphere.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed2005

Quality of life of children with language delays.

We investigated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with language problems and controls. Data on language development (Language Screening Instrument 3-years-olds, Van Wiechen items) and HRQOL by means of the TNO-AZL Pre-school children Quality of Life-questionnaire (TAPQOL) were collected at age 3 in a population-based cohort by parental questionnaire (n = 8877, response 78%; mean age 39.1 months (SD 2.0), 4347 were girls). Cronbach's alpha (internal consistency) ranged between 0.63 and 0.85. Dependent on the definition of language problem, 131 to 316 children appeared to be language impaired. Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses (ROC-curves) to assess the discriminative ability of six TAPQOL scales revealed that the Communication scale and Social Functioning scale discriminated best between children with language problems and children without these problems. Language-impaired children had significantly lower scores on the Communication scale and Social Functioning scale as compared to children without language problems (p < 0.01). The findings indicate that language problems at age three can have an impact on children's social life. These results provide additional evidence for the importance of monitoring the language development and its consequences during childhood.

Child↗

PubMed1986

Handedness and sex of children with developmental language disorders.

The handedness and sex of 4- and 5-year-old children with developmental language disorders were studied through a comparison of language disordered children and a normal control group and through a comparison of six linguistically homogeneous subgroups of language disordered children. Differences between the handedness of a generalized language disordered group and a normal control group were not found, possibly due to the multiple etiologies of developmental language disorders. Children with severe language disorders, however, were non-right-handed more often than children with mild language disorders. Furthermore, certain types of linguistic deficits were associated with non-right-handedness, whereas age and cognitive abilities were not. Males were more often language disordered than females; however, sex ratios did not significantly differ among the subgroups, possibly due to the small number of language disordered females in this study. Implications for cerebral laterality in developmental language disorders are discussed.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2002

Infant discrimination of rapid auditory cues predicts later language impairment.

The etiology and mechanisms of specific language impairment (SLI) in children are unknown. Differences in basic auditory processing abilities have been suggested to underlie their language deficits. Studies suggest that the neuropathology, such as atypical patterns of cerebral lateralization and cortical cellular anomalies, implicated in such impairments likely occur early in life. Such anomalies may play a part in the rapid processing deficits seen in this disorder. However, prospective, longitudinal studies in infant populations that are critical to examining these hypotheses have not been done. In the study described, performance on brief, rapidly-presented, successive auditory processing and perceptual-cognitive tasks were assessed in two groups of infants: normal control infants with no family history of language disorders and infants from families with a positive family history for language impairment. Initial assessments were obtained when infants were 6-9 months of age (M=7.5 months) and the sample was then followed through age 36 months. At the first visit, infants' processing of rapid auditory cues as well as global processing speed and memory were assessed. Significant differences in mean thresholds were seen in infants born into families with a history of SLI as compared with controls. Examination of relations between infant processing abilities and emerging language through 24 months-of-age revealed that threshold for rapid auditory processing at 7.5 months was the single best predictor of language outcome. At age 3, rapid auditory processing threshold and being male, together predicted 39-41% of the variance in language outcome. Thus, early deficits in rapid auditory processing abilities both precede and predict subsequent language delays. These findings support an essential role for basic nonlinguistic, central auditory processes, particularly rapid spectrotemporal processing, in early language development. Further, these findings provide a temporal diagnostic window during which future language impairments may be addressed.

Apgar Score↗

PubMed2002

Linguistic ability and early language exposure.

For more than 100 years, the scientific and educational communities have thought that age is critical to the outcome of language learning, but whether the onset and type of language experienced during early life affects the ability to learn language is unknown. Here we show that deaf and hearing individuals exposed to language in infancy perform comparably well in learning a new language later in life, whereas deaf individuals with little language experience in early life perform poorly, regardless of whether the early language was signed or spoken and whether the later language was spoken or signed. These findings show that language-learning ability is determined by the onset of language experience during early brain development, independent of the specific form of the experience.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed1997

Brain morphology in children with specific language impairment.

The planum temporale and pars triangularis have been found to be larger in the left hemisphere than the right in individuals with normal language skills. Brain morphology studies of individuals with developmental language disorders report reversed asymmetry or symmetry of the planum, although the bulk of this research has been completed on adults with dyslexia. Pars triangularis has not been studied in the developmental language impaired population. In this study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used for quantitative comparisons of the planum temporale (Wernicke's area) and pars triangularis (Broca's area) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with normal language skills. The subjects were 11 children with SLI and 19 age- and sex-matched controls between 5.6 and 13.0 years old. Each subject received a neurolinguistic battery of tests and a high resolution volumetric MRI scan. Major results were that (a) pars triangularis was significantly smaller in the left hemisphere of children with SLI, and (b) children with SLI were more likely to have rightward asymmetry of language structures. Furthermore, anomalous morphology in these language areas correlated with depressed language ability. These findings support the hypothesis that language impairment is a consequence of an underlying neurobiological defect in areas of the brain known to subserve language.

Brain↗

PubMed2003

Intentional communicative behaviours of Turkish-speaking children with normal and delayed language development.

BACKGROUND: Language profiles may predict whether children with slower language development will catch up to their peers by overcoming this transient phenomenon or will be at risk for persistent language disorders. The research of the last decade has focused on this topic. Some researchers have emphasized the significance of developing communicative intentions, which provide a potential predictor of later language competence. In Turkey, children with slower language development may not be diagnosed partly because of the lack of sufficient standardized assessment/evaluation tools, educational and therapeutic media, and qualified speech-language therapists. In devising appropriate evaluation instruments, it is necessary to examine cross-linguistic variation in early language acquisition. The purpose of this study therefore is to observe, describe and assess early communicative behaviours of 15-36 months old Turkish-speaking children by using a functional communicative approach. METHODS: The research was designed within a qualitative-descriptive paradigm, involving qualitative data collection, observation and data analysis procedures. A total of 16 children, eight typically developing and eight language delayed, served as subjects. The classification system used in this study for coding children's communicative intentions was mostly based upon a system used by Dore (1977). Each variable was referred to as one of three intentional categories: regulating behaviours (request for object, request for action and protest), social interaction (direct attention, greeting and acknowledgement) and joint attention (comment/statement, asking for information and responding). A non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test was carried out to verify the descriptive measures in comparing the delayed and normal group performance. RESULTS: As expected, the mode of expressing communicative intentions varied as a function of age for both groups. Children with normal language development were observed to express intentions within the category of joint attention more frequently whereas the children with delayed language expressed intentions related to the variables of regulating behaviours and social interaction.

Age Factors↗