Language disorders

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the application of pragmatic aspects of communication in the area of research into language disorders. This has led to the development of a range of different methods of screening to investigate the subjects’ abilities to understand and produce different types of communicative acts in order to assess the presence and extent of pragmatic language disorders (PLDs) in children and young adults. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), the disorders exhibiting pragmatic language difficulties are autism, Asper- ger syndrome, semantic pragmatic communication disability, non- verbal learning disability, hyperlexia, fragile X syndrome, Rhett syn- drome, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, auditory processing disorder, schizoid personality disorder, social emotional processing disorder, epilepsy, trauma, head injuries and strokes.

Discussion of an overlap between specific language impairment (SLI) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is on going. The most intriguing overlap between both phenotypes is the similarity in the observed language deficits described in SLI and a subgroup of ASD with co-occurring linguistic impairment, ASD-LI. Examining whether a similar neuroanatomical substrate underlies this phenotypical linguistic overlap, we studied the white matter microstructural properties of the superior longitudinal fascicle (SLF) of 19 ...

The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adults with childhood diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) was evaluated. Fifty-two patients with a childhood diagnosis of SLI were asked to fill out the 15D-HRQoL questionnaire. The patients were selected from a hospital setting from psychological examination reports showing a below-average verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ) and a normal performance intelligence quotient (PIQ). The 15D was completed adequately by 33 patients (response rate 63.5%). The results were compared with those of age- and gender-matched controls. The total 15D score of the study group was lower than that of population controls, but the difference was not statistically significant. The study group performed significantly worse on the dimensions of speech, usual activities, mental function and distress. Gender or PIQ in childhood was not correlated with the 15D scores or dimension scores in adulthood. Childhood VIQ was associated with the dimensions of m...

To define the profile of age-related differences in cognition in healthy middle-aged adults in order to identify the most sensitive measures of early cognitive decline. To study whether these differences precede cognitive decline in the elderly. 141 cognitively normal participants (101 middle-aged adults with age 40-50±2; and 40 elderly individuals with age 65±2) were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological protocol covering processing speed, attention, executive functions, verbal and visual episodic memory, procedural memory, visuoconstructive, visuoperceptive and visuospatial functions, and language. Age-related differences were detected before the age of 50 in cognitive reaction time, executive control, initial learning in verbal episodic memory, complex visuoconstructive and visuospatial functions, and lexical access. These differences preceded more extensive cognitive decline present at the age of 65. Our findings suggest subtle executive dysfunction befo...

Restricted semantic fields and resultant stimulus overselectivity are often thought to be typical of low-functioning autism, as is a strong visual processing preference. However, these conclusions may in part be an artifact of testing methodology. A 12-year-old, low-functioning and nonverbal autistic boy was tested on an auditory word-to-picture selection task. The picture foils were chosen to have visual features, semantic features, both, or neither in common with the correct answer. Errors were made more often to semantically than to visually related items, and he showed generalization to items that had not been explicitly trained. This is taken as evidence that his semantic fields are broader than otherwise apparent, and that he was capable of expanding his semantic representations independently of specific training.

The objective of this article is to create awareness amongst speech-language pathologists and audiologists in South Africa regarding the difference between the sound systems of Germanic languages and the sound systems of South African Bantu languages. A brief overview of the sound systems of two Bantu languages, namely isiZulu and Setswana, is provided. These two languages are representative of the Nguni language group and the Sotho group respectively.Consideration is given to the notion of language-specific symptoms of speech, language and hearing disorders in addition to universal symptoms. The possible impact of speech production, language and hearing disorders on the ability to produce and perceive speech in these languages, and the challenges that this holds for research and clinical practice, are pointed out.

To define the profile of age-related differences in cognition in healthy middle-aged adults in order to identify the most sensitive measures of early cognitive decline. To study whether these differences precede cognitive decline in the elderly. 141 cognitively normal participants (101 middle-aged adults with age 40-50±2; and 40 elderly individuals with age 65±2) were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological protocol covering processing speed, attention, executive functions, verbal and visual episodic memory, procedural memory, visuoconstructive, visuoperceptive and visuospatial functions, and language. Age-related differences were detected before the age of 50 in cognitive reaction time, executive control, initial learning in verbal episodic memory, complex visuoconstructive and visuospatial functions, and lexical access. These differences preceded more extensive cognitive decline present at the age of 65. Our findings suggest subtle executive dysfunction befo...

We induced tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states in elderly participants with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). We found that they experienced TOTs but, unlike control subjects, were unable to provide any information about the target word for which they were searching. The related words produced by the AD participants were almost all semantically related to the target, with very few phonological relatives. (Adults normally produce more phonological relatives than semantic.) We examine the relationship between the target and non-target words produced in terms of their syntactic category, frequency, and imageability. The results are discussed with regard to their implications for speech production models. We interpret the results in terms of a two-stage interactive account where the retrieval deficit in dementia lies between the semantic and lexical levels.

In order to better understand the neuropsychological underpinnings of the relative strength in word identification in individuals with Down syndrome, the performance of children and adolescents with Down syndrome (N=29) was compared to the performance of a nonverbal-IQ matched group of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities of mixed etiologies (N=20) on measures letter/word identification and cognitive-linguistic functioning. Though no between-group differences were observed for letter/word identification or visual processing performance, individuals with Down syndrome showed significantly poorer verbal short-term memory and receptive vocabulary skills. In terms of neuropsychological correlates of letter/word identification, significant linear associations were observed between letter/word identification (K-ABC reading/decoding) and verbal short-term memory (K-ABC number recall), as well as receptive vocabulary (PPVT-III) and visual processing (MVPT-R) in both grou...

A retrospective chart review of clinical symptoms was done for 20 consecutive patients in whom postmortem examination had revealed senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in a distribution consistent with Alzheimer's disease. All patients had met clinical diagnostic criteria for probable Alzheimer's disease. On initial examination, 1 to 14 years beyond putative onset of the dementia, all patients displayed at least some memory impairment. In 16 patients, disturbances of attention or recent memory were among the most salient features. In two patients, language disturbances, and in two others, visuospatial deficits, were more prominent than difficulties with memory and attention. On initial examination, 17 of the 20 patients displayed word-finding difficulties, characteristically in the context of a fluent, anomic aphasia. All of the 12 reexamined patients demonstrated progressive, although variable, deterioration. In general, the initial salient deficit remained salient during much of the disease course. Language comprehension was spared in the earlier stages but eventually deteriorated. Severe deficits emerged in all major cognitive domains as the disease reached the terminal stages. Nonfluent aphasias (eg, Broca's aphasia) were not observed even in the advanced stages of the disease.

Background:Semantic errors result from the disruption of access either to semantics or to lexical representations. One way to determine the origins of these errors is to evaluate comprehension of words that elicit semantic errors in naming. We hypothesized that in acute stroke there are different brain regions where dysfunction results in semantic errors in both naming and comprehension versus those with semantic errors in oral naming alone.Methods:A consecutive series of 196 patients with acute left hemispheric stroke who met inclusion criteria were evaluated with oral naming and spoken word/picture verification tasks and magnetic resonance imaging within 48 hours of stroke onset. We evaluated the relationship between tissue dysfunction in 10 pre-specified Brodmann's areas (BA) and the production of coordinate semantic errors resulting from (1) semantic deficits or (2) lexical access deficits.Results:Semantic errors arising from semantic deficits were most associated with tissue dysfunction/infarct of left BA 22. Semantic errors resulting from lexical access deficits were associated with hypoperfusion/infarct of left BA 37.Conclusion:Our study shows that semantic errors arising from damage to distinct cognitive processes reflect dysfunction of different brain regions.