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Sample records for significantly higher verbal

  1. Habilidades de praxia verbal e não-verbal em indivíduos gagos Verbal and non-verbal praxic abilities in stutterers

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    Natália Casagrande Brabo

    2009-12-01

    "Protocolo de Avaliação da Apraxia Verbal e Não-verbal" (Martins and Ortiz, 2004. RESULTS: regarding the abilities of verbal praxis, there was a statistically significant difference of number of typical and atypical disfluencies showed by the two studied groups. Phrase repetition was the only type of typical disfluency which showed a statistically significant difference between the groups. Blocking, syllable repetition and prolonging were the atypical disfluencies which showed a statistically significant difference between the groups. Regarding the non-verbal praxic abilities, a statistically significant difference was not found between the groups in the performance of lip, tongue and jaw movements, isolated and in sequence. CONCLUSION: the adult stutterers showed a significantly higher number of typical and atypical disfluencies than non-stutterers (verbal praxis. Stutterers do not differ from non-stutterers in their non-verbal praxic abilities. This finding contradicts those who believe that early stuttering affects non-verbal praxis.

  2. Incongruence between Verbal and Non-Verbal Information Enhances the Late Positive Potential.

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    Morioka, Shu; Osumi, Michihiro; Shiotani, Mayu; Nobusako, Satoshi; Maeoka, Hiroshi; Okada, Yohei; Hiyamizu, Makoto; Matsuo, Atsushi

    2016-01-01

    Smooth social communication consists of both verbal and non-verbal information. However, when presented with incongruence between verbal information and nonverbal information, the relationship between an individual judging trustworthiness in those who present the verbal-nonverbal incongruence and the brain activities observed during judgment for trustworthiness are not clear. In the present study, we attempted to identify the impact of incongruencies between verbal information and facial expression on the value of trustworthiness and brain activity using event-related potentials (ERP). Combinations of verbal information [positive/negative] and facial expressions [smile/angry] expressions were presented randomly on a computer screen to 17 healthy volunteers. The value of trustworthiness of the presented facial expression was evaluated by the amount of donation offered by the observer to the person depicted on the computer screen. In addition, the time required to judge the value of trustworthiness was recorded for each trial. Using electroencephalography, ERP were obtained by averaging the wave patterns recorded while the participants judged the value of trustworthiness. The amount of donation offered was significantly lower when the verbal information and facial expression were incongruent, particularly for [negative × smile]. The amplitude of the early posterior negativity (EPN) at the temporal lobe showed no significant difference between all conditions. However, the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) at the parietal electrodes for the incongruent condition [negative × smile] was higher than that for the congruent condition [positive × smile]. These results suggest that the LPP amplitude observed from the parietal cortex is involved in the processing of incongruence between verbal information and facial expression.

  3. A puzzle form of a non-verbal intelligence test gives significantly higher performance measures in children with severe intellectual disability.

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    Bello, Katrina D; Goharpey, Nahal; Crewther, Sheila G; Crewther, David P

    2008-08-01

    Assessment of 'potential intellectual ability' of children with severe intellectual disability (ID) is limited, as current tests designed for normal children do not maintain their interest. Thus a manual puzzle version of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) was devised to appeal to the attentional and sensory preferences and language limitations of children with ID. It was hypothesized that performance on the book and manual puzzle forms would not differ for typically developing children but that children with ID would perform better on the puzzle form. The first study assessed the validity of this puzzle form of the RCPM for 76 typically developing children in a test-retest crossover design, with a 3 week interval between tests. A second study tested performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in a sample of 164 children with ID. In the first study, no significant difference was found between performance on the puzzle and book forms in typically developing children, irrespective of the order of completion. The second study demonstrated a significantly higher performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in the ID population. Similar performance on book and puzzle forms of the RCPM by typically developing children suggests that both forms measure the same construct. These findings suggest that the puzzle form does not require greater cognitive ability but demands sensory-motor attention and limits distraction in children with severe ID. Thus, we suggest the puzzle form of the RCPM is a more reliable measure of the non-verbal mentation of children with severe ID than the book form.

  4. Verbal Aggressiveness Among Physicians and Trainees.

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    Lazarus, Jenny Lynn; Hosseini, Motahar; Kamangar, Farin; Levien, David H; Rowland, Pamela A; Kowdley, Gopal C; Cunningham, Steven C

    2016-01-01

    To better understand verbal aggressiveness among physicians and trainees, including specialty-specific differences. The Infante Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (IVAS) was administered as part of a survey to 48 medical students, 24 residents, and 257 attending physicians. The 72 trainees received the IVAS and demographic questions, whereas the attending physicians received additional questions regarding type of practice, career satisfaction, litigation, and personality type. The IVAS scores showed high reliability (Cronbach α = 0.83). Among all trainees, 56% were female with mean age 28 years, whereas among attending physicians, 63% were male with mean age 50 years. Average scores of trainees were higher than attending physicians with corresponding averages of 1.88 and 1.68, respectively. Among trainees, higher IVAS scores were significantly associated with male sex, non-US birthplace, choice of surgery, and a history of bullying. Among attending physicians, higher IVAS scores were significantly associated with male sex, younger age, self-reported low-quality of patient-physician relationships, and low enjoyment talking to patients. General surgery and general internal medicine physicians were significantly associated with higher IVAS scores than other specialties. General practitioners (surgeons and medical physicians) had higher IVAS scores than the specialists in their corresponding fields. No significant correlation was found between IVAS scores and threats of legal action against attending physicians, or most personality traits. Additional findings regarding bullying in medical school, physician-patient interactions, and having a method to deal with inappropriate behavior at work were observed. Individuals choosing general specialties display more aggressive verbal communication styles, general surgeons displaying the highest. The IVAS scoring system may identify subgroups of physicians with overly aggressive (problematic) communication skills and may provide a

  5. Interpersonal Interactions in Instrumental Lessons: Teacher/Student Verbal and Non-Verbal Behaviours

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    Zhukov, Katie

    2013-01-01

    This study examined verbal and non-verbal teacher/student interpersonal interactions in higher education instrumental music lessons. Twenty-four lessons were videotaped and teacher/student behaviours were analysed using a researcher-designed instrument. The findings indicate predominance of student and teacher joke among the verbal behaviours with…

  6. Toward a Definition of Verbal Reasoning in Higher Education. Research Report. ETS RR-09-33

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    Burton, Nancy W.; Welsh, Cynthia; Kostin, Irene; VanEssen, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    This paper briefly summarizes the literatures of reading and reasoning in the last quarter century, focusing mainly on the disciplines of cognitive science, cognitive developmental psychology, linguistics, and educational psychology. These literatures were synthesized to create a framework for defining verbal reasoning in higher education. Eight…

  7. Evaluating verbal and non-verbal communication skills, in an ethnogeriatric OSCE.

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    Collins, Lauren G; Schrimmer, Anne; Diamond, James; Burke, Janice

    2011-05-01

    Communication during medical interviews plays a large role in patient adherence, satisfaction with care, and health outcomes. Both verbal and non-verbal communication (NVC) skills are central to the development of rapport between patients and healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of non-verbal and verbal communication skills on evaluations by standardized patients during an ethnogeriatric Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Interviews from 19 medical students, residents, and fellows in an ethnogeriatric OSCE were analyzed. Each interview was videotaped and evaluated on a 14 item verbal and an 8 item non-verbal communication checklist. The relationship between verbal and non-verbal communication skills on interview evaluations by standardized patients were examined using correlational analyses. Maintaining adequate facial expression (FE), using affirmative gestures (AG), and limiting both unpurposive movements (UM) and hand gestures (HG) had a significant positive effect on perception of interview quality during this OSCE. Non-verbal communication skills played a role in perception of overall interview quality as well as perception of culturally competent communication. Incorporating formative and summative evaluation of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills may be a critical component of curricular innovations in ethnogeriatrics, such as the OSCE. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Knee extension isometric torque production differences based on verbal motivation given to introverted and extroverted female children.

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    McWhorter, J Wesley; Landers, Merrill; Young, Daniel; Puentedura, E Louie; Hickman, Robbin A; Brooksby, Candi; Liveratti, Marc; Taylor, Lisa

    2011-08-01

    To date, little research has been conducted to test the efficacy of different forms of motivation based on a female child's personality type. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of female children to perform a maximal knee extension isometric torque test with varying forms of motivation, based on the child's personality type (introvert vs. extrovert). The subjects were asked to perform a maximal isometric knee extension test under three different conditions: 1) with no verbal motivation, 2) with verbal motivation from the evaluator only, and 3) with verbal motivation from a group of their peers and the evaluator combined. A 2×3 mixed ANOVA was significant for an interaction (F 2,62=17.530; pintroverted group showed that scores without verbal motivation were significantly higher than with verbal motivation from the evaluator or the evaluator plus the peers. The extroverted group revealed that scores with verbal motivation from the evaluator or the evaluator plus the peers were significantly higher than without verbal motivation. Results suggest that verbal motivation has a varying effect on isometric knee extension torque production in female children with different personality types. Extroverted girls perform better with motivation, whereas introverted girls perform better without motivation from others.

  9. Normal-range verbal-declarative memory in schizophrenia.

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    Heinrichs, R Walter; Parlar, Melissa; Pinnock, Farena

    2017-10-01

    Cognitive impairment is prevalent and related to functional outcome in schizophrenia, but a significant minority of the patient population overlaps with healthy controls on many performance measures, including declarative-verbal-memory tasks. In this study, we assessed the validity, clinical, and functional implications of normal-range (NR), verbal-declarative memory in schizophrenia. Performance normality was defined using normative data for 8 basic California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II; Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 2000) recall and recognition trials. Schizophrenia patients (n = 155) and healthy control participants (n = 74) were assessed for performance normality, defined as scores within 1 SD of the normative mean on all 8 trials, and assigned to normal- and below-NR memory groups. NR schizophrenia patients (n = 26) and control participants (n = 51) did not differ in general verbal ability, on a reading-based estimate of premorbid ability, across all 8 CVLT-II-score comparisons or in terms of intrusion and false-positive errors and auditory working memory. NR memory patients did not differ from memory-impaired patients (n = 129) in symptom severity, and both patient groups were significantly and similarly disabled in terms of functional status in the community. These results confirm a subpopulation of schizophrenia patients with normal, verbal-declarative-memory performance and no evidence of decline from higher premorbid ability levels. However, NR patients did not experience less severe psychopathology, nor did they show advantage in community adjustment relative to impaired patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Neurophysiological Modulations of Non-Verbal and Verbal Dual-Tasks Interference during Word Planning.

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    Raphaël Fargier

    Full Text Available Running a concurrent task while speaking clearly interferes with speech planning, but whether verbal vs. non-verbal tasks interfere with the same processes is virtually unknown. We investigated the neural dynamics of dual-task interference on word production using event-related potentials (ERPs with either tones or syllables as concurrent stimuli. Participants produced words from pictures in three conditions: without distractors, while passively listening to distractors and during a distractor detection task. Production latencies increased for tasks with higher attentional demand and were longer for syllables relative to tones. ERP analyses revealed common modulations by dual-task for verbal and non-verbal stimuli around 240 ms, likely corresponding to lexical selection. Modulations starting around 350 ms prior to vocal onset were only observed when verbal stimuli were involved. These later modulations, likely reflecting interference with phonological-phonetic encoding, were observed only when overlap between tasks was maximal and the same underlying neural circuits were engaged (cross-talk.

  11. Neurophysiological Modulations of Non-Verbal and Verbal Dual-Tasks Interference during Word Planning.

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    Fargier, Raphaël; Laganaro, Marina

    2016-01-01

    Running a concurrent task while speaking clearly interferes with speech planning, but whether verbal vs. non-verbal tasks interfere with the same processes is virtually unknown. We investigated the neural dynamics of dual-task interference on word production using event-related potentials (ERPs) with either tones or syllables as concurrent stimuli. Participants produced words from pictures in three conditions: without distractors, while passively listening to distractors and during a distractor detection task. Production latencies increased for tasks with higher attentional demand and were longer for syllables relative to tones. ERP analyses revealed common modulations by dual-task for verbal and non-verbal stimuli around 240 ms, likely corresponding to lexical selection. Modulations starting around 350 ms prior to vocal onset were only observed when verbal stimuli were involved. These later modulations, likely reflecting interference with phonological-phonetic encoding, were observed only when overlap between tasks was maximal and the same underlying neural circuits were engaged (cross-talk).

  12. Mindwaves: Story of How a Girl Constructs Higher Order, Verbal Linguistic Intelligence in a Multiple Intelligences Classroom.

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    Fluellen, Jerry

    Howard Gardner and Jerome Bruner have given much to teachers who want to know how the minds of children grow. This story of a girl's construction of higher order, verbal linguistic intelligence is also theirs. Ideas they created have been cloned to fit a big city, public school classroom of African American 4th graders, each with a set of multiple…

  13. Word knowledge and production of original verbal responses in deaf children.

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    Johnson, R A

    1975-08-01

    Verbal originality scores were obtained from Onomatopoeia and Images, Form 1B, given t0 182 deaf Ss aged 10 to 19 yr. Ss who had been taught the onomatopoetic words scored higher than Ss who had not been taught the words. There was a main effect for age, with older Ss having significantly higher means than younger Ss. No significant interactions occurred.

  14. Non-verbal Communication in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Video Audit Using Non-verbal Immediacy Scale (NIS-O).

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    Nimbalkar, Somashekhar Marutirao; Raval, Himalaya; Bansal, Satvik Chaitanya; Pandya, Utkarsh; Pathak, Ajay

    2018-05-03

    Effective communication with parents is a very important skill for pediatricians especially in a neonatal setup. The authors analyzed non-verbal communication of medical caregivers during counseling sessions. Recorded videos of counseling sessions from the months of March-April 2016 were audited. Counseling episodes were scored using Non-verbal Immediacy Scale Observer Report (NIS-O). A total of 150 videos of counseling sessions were audited. The mean (SD) total score on (NIS-O) was 78.96(7.07). Female counseled sessions had significantly higher proportion of low scores (p communication skills in a neonatal unit. This study lays down a template on which other Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can carry out gap defining audits.

  15. Assessing the aging effect on auditory-verbal memory by Persian version of dichotic auditory verbal memory test

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    Zahra Shahidipour

    2014-01-01

    Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, significant reduction in auditory memory was seen in aged group and the Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test, like many other auditory verbal memory tests, showed the aging effects on auditory verbal memory performance.

  16. Dissociation of neural correlates of verbal and non-verbal visual working memory with different delays

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    Endestad Tor

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, posterior parietal cortex, and regions in the occipital cortex have been identified as neural sites for visual working memory (WM. The exact involvement of the DLPFC in verbal and non-verbal working memory processes, and how these processes depend on the time-span for retention, remains disputed. Methods We used functional MRI to explore the neural correlates of the delayed discrimination of Gabor stimuli differing in orientation. Twelve subjects were instructed to code the relative orientation either verbally or non-verbally with memory delays of short (2 s or long (8 s duration. Results Blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD 3-Tesla fMRI revealed significantly more activity for the short verbal condition compared to the short non-verbal condition in bilateral superior temporal gyrus, insula and supramarginal gyrus. Activity in the long verbal condition was greater than in the long non-verbal condition in left language-associated areas (STG and bilateral posterior parietal areas, including precuneus. Interestingly, right DLPFC and bilateral superior frontal gyrus was more active in the non-verbal long delay condition than in the long verbal condition. Conclusion The results point to a dissociation between the cortical sites involved in verbal and non-verbal WM for long and short delays. Right DLPFC seems to be engaged in non-verbal WM tasks especially for long delays. Furthermore, the results indicate that even slightly different memory maintenance intervals engage largely differing networks and that this novel finding may explain differing results in previous verbal/non-verbal WM studies.

  17. Verbal and non-verbal behaviour and patient perception of communication in primary care: an observational study.

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    Little, Paul; White, Peter; Kelly, Joanne; Everitt, Hazel; Gashi, Shkelzen; Bikker, Annemieke; Mercer, Stewart

    2015-06-01

    Few studies have assessed the importance of a broad range of verbal and non-verbal consultation behaviours. To explore the relationship of observer ratings of behaviours of videotaped consultations with patients' perceptions. Observational study in general practices close to Southampton, Southern England. Verbal and non-verbal behaviour was rated by independent observers blind to outcome. Patients competed the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS; primary outcome) and questionnaires addressing other communication domains. In total, 275/360 consultations from 25 GPs had useable videotapes. Higher MISS scores were associated with slight forward lean (an 0.02 increase for each degree of lean, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.002 to 0.03), the number of gestures (0.08, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.15), 'back-channelling' (for example, saying 'mmm') (0.11, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.2), and social talk (0.29, 95% CI = 0.4 to 0.54). Starting the consultation with professional coolness ('aloof') was helpful and optimism unhelpful. Finishing with non-verbal 'cut-offs' (for example, looking away), being professionally cool ('aloof'), or patronising, ('infantilising') resulted in poorer ratings. Physical contact was also important, but not traditional verbal communication. These exploratory results require confirmation, but suggest that patients may be responding to several non-verbal behaviours and non-specific verbal behaviours, such as social talk and back-channelling, more than traditional verbal behaviours. A changing consultation dynamic may also help, from professional 'coolness' at the beginning of the consultation to becoming warmer and avoiding non-verbal cut-offs at the end. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

  18. Physical growth and non-verbal intelligence: Associations in Zambia

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    Hein, Sascha; Reich, Jodi; Thuma, Philip E.; Grigorenko, Elena L.

    2014-01-01

    Objectives To investigate normative developmental BMI trajectories and associations of physical growth indicators (ie, height, weight, head circumference [HC], body mass index [BMI]) with non-verbal intelligence in an understudied population of children from Sub-Saharan Africa. Study design A sample of 3981 students (50.8% male), grades 3 to 7, with a mean age of 12.75 years was recruited from 34 rural Zambian schools. Children with low scores on vision and hearing screenings were excluded. Height, weight and HC were measured, and non-verbal intelligence was assessed using UNIT-symbolic memory and KABC-II-triangles. Results Results showed that students in higher grades have a higher BMI over and above the effect of age. Girls showed a marginally higher BMI, although that for both boys and girls was approximately 1 SD below the international CDC and WHO norms. Controlling for the effect of age, non-verbal intelligence showed small but significant positive relationships with HC (r = .17) and BMI (r = .11). HC and BMI accounted for 1.9% of the variance in non-verbal intelligence, over and above the contribution of grade and sex. Conclusions BMI-for-age growth curves of Zambian children follow observed worldwide developmental trajectories. The positive relationships between BMI and intelligence underscore the importance of providing adequate nutritional and physical growth opportunities for children worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Directions for future studies are discussed with regard to maximizing the cognitive potential of all rural African children. PMID:25217196

  19. Verbal and visuospatial working memory as predictors of children's reading ability.

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    Pham, Andy V; Hasson, Ramzi M

    2014-08-01

    Children with reading difficulties often demonstrate weaknesses in working memory (WM). This research study explored the relation between two WM systems (verbal and visuospatial WM) and reading ability in a sample of school-aged children with a wide range of reading skills. Children (N = 157), ages 9-12, were administered measures of short-term memory, verbal WM, visuospatial WM, and reading measures (e.g., reading fluency and comprehension). Although results indicated that verbal WM was a stronger predictor in reading fluency and comprehension, visuospatial WM also significantly predicted reading skills, but provided more unique variance in reading comprehension than reading fluency. These findings suggest that visuospatial WM may play a significant role in higher level reading processes, particularly in reading comprehension, than previously thought. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Verbal intelligence in bilinguals when measured in L1 and L2.

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    Ardila, Alfredo; Lopez-Recio, Alexandra; Sakowitz, Ariel; Sanchez, Estefania; Sarmiento, Stephanie

    2018-04-04

    This study was aimed at studying the Verbal IQ in two groups of Spanish/English bilinguals: simultaneous and early sequential bilinguals. 48 Spanish/English bilinguals born in the U.S. or Latin American countries but moving to United States before the age of 10 were selected. The verbal subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (English and Spanish) - Third Edition (WAIS-III) was administered. Overall, performance was significantly better in English for both groups of bilinguals. Verbal IQ difference when tested in Spanish and English was about one standard deviation higher in English for simultaneous bilinguals, and about half standard deviation for early sequential bilinguals. In both groups, Verbal IQ in English was about 100; considering the level of education of our sample (bachelor degree, on average), it can be assumed that Verbal IQ in English was lower than expected, suggesting that bilinguals may be penalized even when evaluated in the dominant language.

  1. Motor system contributions to verbal and non-verbal working memory

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    Diana A Liao

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Working memory (WM involves the ability to maintain and manipulate information held in mind. Neuroimaging studies have shown that secondary motor areas activate during WM for verbal content (e.g., words or letters, in the absence of primary motor area activation. This activation pattern may reflect an inner speech mechanism supporting online phonological rehearsal. Here, we examined the causal relationship between motor system activity and WM processing by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS to manipulate motor system activity during WM rehearsal. We tested WM performance for verbalizable (words and pseudowords and non-verbalizable (Chinese characters visual information. We predicted that disruption of motor circuits would specifically affect WM processing of verbalizable information. We found that TMS targeting motor cortex slowed response times on verbal WM trials with high (pseudoword vs. low (real word phonological load. However, non-verbal WM trials were also significantly slowed with motor TMS. WM performance was unaffected by sham stimulation or TMS over visual cortex. Self-reported use of motor strategy predicted the degree of motor stimulation disruption on WM performance. These results provide evidence of the motor system’s contributions to verbal and non-verbal WM processing. We speculate that the motor system supports WM by creating motor traces consistent with the type of information being rehearsed during maintenance.

  2. Comparative study of verbal originality in deaf and hearing children.

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    Johnson, R A; Khatena, J

    1975-04-01

    Verbal originality scores were obtained from Onomatopoeia and Images, Form 1B, given to 181 deaf and 236 hearing Ss aged 10 to 19 yr. The hearing Ss scored significantly higher than the deaf Ss. Significant main effects for age were found but not for sex. The only significant interaction was found for hearing status and age. Deaf Ss became more productive as age increased, while performance of hearing Ss relative to age fluctuated.

  3. Negative Symptoms and Avoidance of Social Interaction: A Study of Non-Verbal Behaviour.

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    Worswick, Elizabeth; Dimic, Sara; Wildgrube, Christiane; Priebe, Stefan

    2018-01-01

    Non-verbal behaviour is fundamental to social interaction. Patients with schizophrenia display an expressivity deficit of non-verbal behaviour, exhibiting behaviour that differs from both healthy subjects and patients with different psychiatric diagnoses. The present study aimed to explore the association between non-verbal behaviour and symptom domains, overcoming methodological shortcomings of previous studies. Standardised interviews with 63 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia were videotaped. Symptoms were assessed using the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Calgary Depression Scale. Independent raters later analysed the videos for non-verbal behaviour, using a modified version of the Ethological Coding System for Interviews (ECSI). Patients with a higher level of negative symptoms displayed significantly fewer prosocial (e.g., nodding and smiling), gesture, and displacement behaviours (e.g., fumbling), but significantly more flight behaviours (e.g., looking away, freezing). No gender differences were found, and these associations held true when adjusted for antipsychotic medication dosage. Negative symptoms are associated with both a lower level of actively engaging non-verbal behaviour and an increased active avoidance of social contact. Future research should aim to identify the mechanisms behind flight behaviour, with implications for the development of treatments to improve social functioning. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  4. Sex differences in the association between gray matter volume and verbal creativity.

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    Shi, Baoguo; Xu, Li; Chen, Qunlin; Qiu, Jiang

    2017-08-02

    The explanation for why significant sex differences are found in creativity has become an increasingly important topic. The current study applied a cognitive neuroscience perspective and voxel-based morphometry to investigate the sex differences for the association between verbal creativity and gray matter volume (GMV) in a large sample of healthy adults from the Chinese Mainland (163 men and 193 women). Furthermore, we sought to determine which brain regions are responsible for these differences. Our behavioral results showed a significant sex difference. Specifically, women scored higher than men on originality. The voxel-based morphometry results indicated that the relationship between originality and GMV differed between men and women in the left temporo-occipital junction. Higher originality scores in women were associated with more GMV. In contrast, higher originality scores in men were related to less GMV. These findings suggest the left temporo-occipital junction GMV plays a unique role in the sex differences in verbal creativity because women usually surpass men in semantic processing, which is the major function of the left temporal region.

  5. List-learning and verbal memory profiles in childhood epilepsy syndromes.

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    Schraegle, William A; Nussbaum, Nancy L; Stefanatos, Arianna K

    2016-09-01

    Findings of material-specific influences on memory performance in pediatric epilepsy are inconsistent and merit further investigation. This study compared 90 children (aged 6years to 16years) with childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE), and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) to determine whether they displayed distinct list-learning and verbal memory profiles on the California Verbal Learning Test - Children's Version (CVLT-C). Group comparison identified greater risk of memory impairment in children with TLE and FLE syndromes but not for those with CAE. While children with TLE performed worst overall on Short Delay Free Recall, groups with TLE and FLE performed similarly on Long Delay Free Recall. Contrast indices were then employed to explore these differences. Children with TLE demonstrated a significantly greater retroactive interference (RI) effect compared with groups with FLE and CAE. Conversely, children with FLE demonstrated a significantly worse learning efficiency index (LEI), which compares verbal memory following repetition with initial recall of the same list, than both children with TLE and CAE. These findings indicated shallow encoding related to attentional control for children with FLE and retrieval deficits in children with TLE. Finally, our combined sample showed significantly higher rates of extreme contrast indices (i.e., 1.5 SD difference) compared with the CVLT-C standardization sample. These results underscore the high prevalence of memory dysfunction in pediatric epilepsy and offer support for distinct patterns of verbal memory performance based on childhood epilepsy syndrome. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Oncologists' non-verbal behavior and analog patients' recall of information.

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    Hillen, Marij A; de Haes, Hanneke C J M; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W M; van Weert, Julia C M; Vermeulen, Daniëlle M; Smets, Ellen M A

    2016-06-01

    Background Information in oncological consultations is often excessive. Those patients who better recall information are more satisfied, less anxious and more adherent. Optimal recall may be enhanced by the oncologist's non-verbal communication. We tested the influence of three non-verbal behaviors, i.e. eye contact, body posture and smiling, on patients' recall of information and perceived friendliness of the oncologist. Moreover, the influence of patient characteristics on recall was examined, both directly or as a moderator of non-verbal communication. Material and methods Non-verbal communication of an oncologist was experimentally varied using video vignettes. In total 194 breast cancer patients/survivors and healthy women participated as 'analog patients', viewing a randomly selected video version while imagining themselves in the role of the patient. Directly after viewing, they evaluated the oncologist. From 24 to 48 hours later, participants' passive recall, i.e. recognition, and free recall of information provided by the oncologist were assessed. Results Participants' recognition was higher if the oncologist maintained more consistent eye contact (β = 0.17). More eye contact and smiling led to a perception of the oncologist as more friendly. Body posture and smiling did not significantly influence recall. Older age predicted significantly worse recognition (β = -0.28) and free recall (β = -0.34) of information. Conclusion Oncologists may be able to facilitate their patients' recall functioning through consistent eye contact. This seems particularly relevant for older patients, whose recall is significantly worse. These findings can be used in training, focused on how to maintain eye contact while managing computer tasks.

  7. Musical Mnemonics Enhance Verbal Memory in Typically Developing Children

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    David Knott

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of musical mnemonics vs. spoken word in training verbal memory in children. A randomized control trial of typically-developing 9–11 year old children was conducted using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT, a test measuring a participant's ability to recall a list of 15 words over multiple exposures. Members of the group who listened to words sung to them recalled an average of 20% more words after listening to and recalling an interference list than members of the control group who listened to the same words spoken. This difference persisted, though slightly smaller (17% when participants recalled words after a 15-min waiting period. Additionally, group participants who listened to words sung demonstrated a higher incidence of words recalled in correct serial order. Key findings were all statistically significant at the P < 0.05 level. Enhanced serial order recall points to the musical pitch/rhythm structure enhancing sequence memory as a potential mnemonic mechanism. No significant differences were found in serial position effects between groups. The findings suggest that musical mnemonic training may be more effective than rehearsal with spoken words in verbal memory learning tasks in 9–11 year olds.

  8. Autonomy of imagery and production of original verbal images.

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    Khatena, J

    1976-08-01

    90 college students (31 men and 59 women) were categorized as moderately autonomous, less autonomous (less highly controlled) and non-autonomous (high controlled) imagers according to the Gordon Test of Visual Imagery Control Moderately autonomous imagers produced significantly more original verbal images than less autonomous and non-autonomous imagers with less autonomous imagers scoring higher than non-autonomous imagers as measured by Onomatopoeia and Images. There were no significant sex main effects of interaction of autonomy of imagery level X sex.

  9. Differential patterns of prefrontal MEG activation during verbal & visual encoding and retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prendergast, Garreth; Limbrick-Oldfield, Eve; Ingamells, Ed; Gathercole, Susan; Baddeley, Alan; Green, Gary G R

    2013-01-01

    The spatiotemporal profile of activation of the prefrontal cortex in verbal and non-verbal recognition memory was examined using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Sixteen neurologically healthy right-handed participants were scanned whilst carrying out a modified version of the Doors and People Test of recognition memory. A pattern of significant prefrontal activity was found for non-verbal and verbal encoding and recognition. During the encoding, verbal stimuli activated an area in the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and non-verbal stimuli activated an area in the right. A region in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex also showed significant activation during the encoding of non-verbal stimuli. Both verbal and non-verbal stimuli significantly activated an area in the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the right anterior prefrontal cortex during successful recognition, however these areas showed temporally distinct activation dependent on material, with non-verbal showing activation earlier than verbal stimuli. Additionally, non-verbal material activated an area in the left anterior prefrontal cortex during recognition. These findings suggest a material-specific laterality in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during encoding for verbal and non-verbal but also support the HERA model for verbal material. The discovery of two process dependent areas during recognition that showed patterns of temporal activation dependent on material demonstrates the need for the application of more temporally sensitive techniques to the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in recognition memory.

  10. The mainstreaming of verbally aggressive online political behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cicchirillo, Vincent; Hmielowski, Jay; Hutchens, Myiah

    2015-05-01

    The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationship between verbal aggression and uncivil media attention on political flaming. More specifically, this paper examines whether the use of uncivil media programming is associated with the perceived acceptability and intention to engage in aggressive online discussions (i.e., online political flaming) and whether this relationship varies by verbal aggression. The results show that individuals less inclined to engage in aggressive communication tactics (i.e., low in verbal aggression) become more accepting of flaming and show greater intention to flame as their attention to uncivil media increases. By contrast, those with comparatively higher levels of verbal aggression show a decrease in acceptance and intention to flame as their attention to these same media increases.

  11. Differential patterns of prefrontal MEG activation during verbal & visual encoding and retrieval.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garreth Prendergast

    Full Text Available The spatiotemporal profile of activation of the prefrontal cortex in verbal and non-verbal recognition memory was examined using magnetoencephalography (MEG. Sixteen neurologically healthy right-handed participants were scanned whilst carrying out a modified version of the Doors and People Test of recognition memory. A pattern of significant prefrontal activity was found for non-verbal and verbal encoding and recognition. During the encoding, verbal stimuli activated an area in the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and non-verbal stimuli activated an area in the right. A region in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex also showed significant activation during the encoding of non-verbal stimuli. Both verbal and non-verbal stimuli significantly activated an area in the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the right anterior prefrontal cortex during successful recognition, however these areas showed temporally distinct activation dependent on material, with non-verbal showing activation earlier than verbal stimuli. Additionally, non-verbal material activated an area in the left anterior prefrontal cortex during recognition. These findings suggest a material-specific laterality in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during encoding for verbal and non-verbal but also support the HERA model for verbal material. The discovery of two process dependent areas during recognition that showed patterns of temporal activation dependent on material demonstrates the need for the application of more temporally sensitive techniques to the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in recognition memory.

  12. The Effect of Functional Hearing and Hearing Aid Usage on Verbal Reasoning in a Large Community-Dwelling Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keidser, Gitte; Rudner, Mary; Seeto, Mark; Hygge, Staffan; Rönnberg, Jerker

    2016-01-01

    Verbal reasoning performance is an indicator of the ability to think constructively in everyday life and relies on both crystallized and fluid intelligence. This study aimed to determine the effect of functional hearing on verbal reasoning when controlling for age, gender, and education. In addition, the study investigated whether hearing aid usage mitigated the effect and examined different routes from hearing to verbal reasoning. Cross-sectional data on 40- to 70-year-old community-dwelling participants from the UK Biobank resource were accessed. Data consisted of behavioral and subjective measures of functional hearing, assessments of numerical and linguistic verbal reasoning, measures of executive function, and demographic and lifestyle information. Data on 119,093 participants who had completed hearing and verbal reasoning tests were submitted to multiple regression analyses, and data on 61,688 of these participants, who had completed additional cognitive tests and provided relevant lifestyle information, were submitted to structural equation modeling. Poorer performance on the behavioral measure of functional hearing was significantly associated with poorer verbal reasoning in both the numerical and linguistic domains (p reasoning. Functional hearing significantly interacted with education (p reasoning among those with a higher level of formal education. Among those with poor hearing, hearing aid usage had a significant positive, but not necessarily causal, effect on both numerical and linguistic verbal reasoning (p reasoning and showed that controlling for executive function eliminated the effect. However, when computer usage was controlled for, the eliminating effect of executive function was weakened. Poor functional hearing was associated with poor verbal reasoning in a 40- to 70-year-old community-dwelling population after controlling for age, gender, and education. The effect of functional hearing on verbal reasoning was significantly reduced among

  13. Rehearsal significantly improves immediate and delayed recall on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hessen, Erik

    2011-10-01

    A repeated observation during memory assessment with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is that patients who spontaneously employ a memory rehearsal strategy by repeating the word list more than once achieve better scores than patients who only repeat the word list once. This observation led to concern about the ability of the standard test procedure of RAVLT and similar tests in eliciting the best possible recall scores. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that a rehearsal recall strategy of repeating the word list more than once would result in improved scores of recall on the RAVLT. We report on differences in outcome after standard administration and after experimental administration on Immediate and Delayed Recall measures from the RAVLT of 50 patients. The experimental administration resulted in significantly improved scores for all the variables employed. Additionally, it was found that patients who failed effort screening showed significantly poorer improvement on Delayed Recall compared with those who passed the effort screening. The general clear improvement both in raw scores and T-scores demonstrates that recall performance can be significantly influenced by the strategy of the patient or by small variations in instructions by the examiner.

  14. Interactive use of communication by verbal and non-verbal autistic children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amato, Cibelle Albuquerque de la Higuera; Fernandes, Fernanda Dreux Miranda

    2010-01-01

    Communication of autistic children. To assess the communication functionality of verbal and non-verbal children of the autistic spectrum and to identify possible associations amongst the groups. Subjects were 20 children of the autistic spectrum divided into two groups: V with 10 verbal children and NV with 10 non-verbal children with ages varying between 2y10m and 10y6m. All subjects were video recorded during 30 minutes of spontaneous interaction with their mothers. The samples were analyzed according to the functional communicative profile and comparisons within and between groups were conducted. Data referring to the occupation of communicative space suggest that there is an even balance between each child and his mother. The number of communicative acts per minute shows a clear difference between verbal and non-verbal children. Both verbal and non-verbal children use mostly the gestual communicative mean in their interactions. Data about the use of interpersonal communicative functions point out to the autistic children's great interactive impairment. The characterization of the functional communicative profile proposed in this study confirmed the autistic children's difficulties with interpersonal communication and that these difficulties do not depend on the preferred communicative mean.

  15. Cognitive correlates of verbal memory and verbal fluency in schizophrenia, and differential effects of various clinical symptoms between male and female patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brébion, Gildas; Villalta-Gil, Victoria; Autonell, Jaume; Cervilla, Jorge; Dolz, Montserrat; Foix, Alexandrina; Haro, Josep Maria; Usall, Judith; Vilaplana, Miriam; Ochoa, Susana

    2013-06-01

    Impairment of higher cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia might stem from perturbation of more basic functions, such as processing speed. Various clinical symptoms might affect cognitive efficiency as well. Notably, previous research has revealed the role of affective symptoms on memory performance in this population, and suggested sex-specific effects. We conducted a post-hoc analysis of an extensive neuropsychological study of 88 patients with schizophrenia. Regression analyses were conducted on verbal memory and verbal fluency data to investigate the contribution of semantic organisation and processing speed to performance. The role of negative and affective symptoms and of attention disorders in verbal memory and verbal fluency was investigated separately in male and female patients. Semantic clustering contributed to verbal recall, and a measure of reading speed contributed to verbal recall as well as to phonological and semantic fluency. Negative symptoms affected verbal recall and verbal fluency in the male patients, whereas attention disorders affected these abilities in the female patients. Furthermore, depression affected verbal recall in women, whereas anxiety affected it in men. These results confirm the association of processing speed with cognitive efficiency in patients with schizophrenia. They also confirm the previously observed sex-specific associations of depression and anxiety with memory performance in these patients, and suggest that negative symptoms and attention disorders likewise are related to cognitive efficiency differently in men and women. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Verbal behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Michael, Jack

    1984-01-01

    The recent history and current status of the area of verbal behavior are considered in terms of three major thematic lines: the operant conditioning of adult verbal behavior, learning to be an effective speaker and listener, and developments directly related to Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Other topics not directly related to the main themes are also considered: the work of Kurt Salzinger, ape-language research, and human operant research related to rule-governed behavior.

  17. Using neuroplasticity-based auditory training to improve verbal memory in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Melissa; Holland, Christine; Merzenich, Michael M; Vinogradov, Sophia

    2009-07-01

    Impaired verbal memory in schizophrenia is a key rate-limiting factor for functional outcome, does not respond to currently available medications, and shows only modest improvement after conventional behavioral remediation. The authors investigated an innovative approach to the remediation of verbal memory in schizophrenia, based on principles derived from the basic neuroscience of learning-induced neuroplasticity. The authors report interim findings in this ongoing study. Fifty-five clinically stable schizophrenia subjects were randomly assigned to either 50 hours of computerized auditory training or a control condition using computer games. Those receiving auditory training engaged in daily computerized exercises that placed implicit, increasing demands on auditory perception through progressively more difficult auditory-verbal working memory and verbal learning tasks. Relative to the control group, subjects who received active training showed significant gains in global cognition, verbal working memory, and verbal learning and memory. They also showed reliable and significant improvement in auditory psychophysical performance; this improvement was significantly correlated with gains in verbal working memory and global cognition. Intensive training in early auditory processes and auditory-verbal learning results in substantial gains in verbal cognitive processes relevant to psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia. These gains may be due to a training method that addresses the early perceptual impairments in the illness, that exploits intact mechanisms of repetitive practice in schizophrenia, and that uses an intensive, adaptive training approach.

  18. Exploring laterality and memory effects in the haptic discrimination of verbal and non-verbal shapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoycheva, Polina; Tiippana, Kaisa

    2018-03-14

    The brain's left hemisphere often displays advantages in processing verbal information, while the right hemisphere favours processing non-verbal information. In the haptic domain due to contra-lateral innervations, this functional lateralization is reflected in a hand advantage during certain functions. Findings regarding the hand-hemisphere advantage for haptic information remain contradictory, however. This study addressed these laterality effects and their interaction with memory retention times in the haptic modality. Participants performed haptic discrimination of letters, geometric shapes and nonsense shapes at memory retention times of 5, 15 and 30 s with the left and right hand separately, and we measured the discriminability index d'. The d' values were significantly higher for letters and geometric shapes than for nonsense shapes. This might result from dual coding (naming + spatial) or/and from a low stimulus complexity. There was no stimulus-specific laterality effect. However, we found a time-dependent laterality effect, which revealed that the performance of the left hand-right hemisphere was sustained up to 15 s, while the performance of the right-hand-left hemisphere decreased progressively throughout all retention times. This suggests that haptic memory traces are more robust to decay when they are processed by the left hand-right hemisphere.

  19. Verbal lie detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vrij, Aldert; Taylor, Paul J.; Picornell, Isabel; Oxburgh, Gavin; Myklebust, Trond; Grant, Tim; Milne, Rebecca

    2015-01-01

    In this chapter, we discuss verbal lie detection and will argue that speech content can be revealing about deception. Starting with a section discussing the, in our view, myth that non-verbal behaviour would be more revealing about deception than speech, we then provide an overview of verbal lie

  20. Compensation or inhibitory failure? Testing hypotheses of age-related right frontal lobe involvement in verbal memory ability using structural and diffusion MRI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Simon R.; Bastin, Mark E.; Ferguson, Karen J.; Allerhand, Mike; Royle, Natalie A.; Maniega, Susanna Muñoz; Starr, John M.; MacLullich, Alasdair M.J.; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Deary, Ian J.; MacPherson, Sarah E.

    2015-01-01

    Functional neuroimaging studies report increased right prefrontal cortex (PFC) involvement during verbal memory tasks amongst low-scoring older individuals, compared to younger controls and their higher-scoring contemporaries. Some propose that this reflects inefficient use of neural resources through failure of the left PFC to inhibit non-task-related right PFC activity, via the anterior corpus callosum (CC). For others, it indicates partial compensation – that is, the right PFC cannot completely supplement the failing neural network, but contributes positively to performance. We propose that combining structural and diffusion brain MRI can be used to test predictions from these theories which have arisen from fMRI studies. We test these hypotheses in immediate and delayed verbal memory ability amongst 90 healthy older adults of mean age 73 years. Right hippocampus and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) volumes, and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the splenium made unique contributions to verbal memory ability in the whole group. There was no significant effect of anterior callosal white matter integrity on performance. Rather, segmented linear regression indicated that right DLPFC volume was a significantly stronger positive predictor of verbal memory for lower-scorers than higher-scorers, supporting a compensatory explanation for the differential involvement of the right frontal lobe in verbal memory tasks in older age. PMID:25241394

  1. The Contribution of Verbal Working Memory to Deaf Children’s Oral and Written Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arfé, Barbara; Rossi, Cristina; Sicoli, Silvia

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the contribution of verbal working memory to the oral and written story production of deaf children. Participants were 29 severely to profoundly deaf children aged 8–13 years and 29 hearing controls, matched for grade level. The children narrated a picture story orally and in writing and performed a reading comprehension test, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition forward digit span task, and a reading span task. Oral and written stories were analyzed at the microstructural (i.e., clause) and macrostructural (discourse) levels. Hearing children’s stories scored higher than deaf children’s at both levels. Verbal working memory skills contributed to deaf children’s oral and written production over and above age and reading comprehension skills. Verbal rehearsal skills (forward digit span) contributed significantly to deaf children’s ability to organize oral and written stories at the microstructural level; they also accounted for unique variance at the macrostructural level in writing. Written story production appeared to involve greater verbal working memory resources than oral story production. PMID:25802319

  2. Do auditory verbal hallucinations have always aclinical significance?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jolanta Rabe-Jabłońska

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the prevalence of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs across the life span in various clinical and nonclinical groups in childhood, adolescence, and adult populations. Data on the occurrence of this phenomenon in the general population vary and usually are in the range of 5–28%. The prevalence of non-clinical AVHs is similar in childhood, ado‑ lescence and adulthood. It seems possible that the mechanisms which cause AVHs in non-clinical populations are different from those which are behind AVHs presentations in psychotic illness. In this paper the characteristics of differentiating clini‑ cal forms of hallucinations from the non-clinical ones are discussed. These are: the location of sensations, their content, inhibition control disorders, metacognitive disorders, emotional dysregulation, stress level, and their influence on functioning dis‑ orders. Considered as  etiological factors are abnormal activities of  some areas of  the brain and abnormal pruning. The triggering factors of both types of perception disorders are traumatic events and psychoactive substances use. Long-term studies have shown that the factors which lead to the transformation of non-clinical hallucinations into their clinical forms are: genetic predisposition, schizotypy, at-risk mental state, and stress. The future research needs to focus on the comparison of underlying factors and mechanisms that lead to the onset of AVHs in both patients and non-clinical populations.

  3. Word-length effect in verbal short-term memory in individuals with Down's syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanno, K; Ikeda, Y

    2002-11-01

    Many studies have indicated that individuals with Down's syndrome (DS) show a specific deficit in short-term memory for verbal information. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the length of words on verbal short-term memory in individuals with DS. Twenty-eight children with DS and 10 control participants matched for memory span were tested on verbal serial recall and speech rate, which are thought to involve rehearsal and output speed. Although a significant word-length effect was observed in both groups for the recall of a larger number of items with a shorter spoken duration than for those with a longer spoken duration, the number of correct recalls in the group with DS was reduced compared to the control subjects. The results demonstrating poor short-term memory in children with DS were irrelevant to speech rate. In addition, the proportion of repetition-gained errors in serial recall was higher in children with DS than in control subjects. The present findings suggest that poor access to long-term lexical knowledge, rather than overt articulation speed, constrains verbal short-term memory functions in individuals with DS.

  4. Lexical Access in Persian Normal Speakers: Picture Naming, Verbal Fluency and Spontaneous Speech

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Sadat Ghoreishi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Lexical access is the process by which the basic conceptual, syntactical and morpho-phonological information of words are activated. Most studies of lexical access have focused on picture naming. There is hardly any previous research on other parameters of lexical access such as verbal fluency and analysis of connected speech in Persian normal participants. This study investigates the lexical access performance in normal speakers in different issues such as age, sex and education. Methods: The performance of 120 adult Persian speakers in three tasks including picture naming, verbal fluency and connected speech, was examined using "Persian Lexical Access Assessment Package”. The performance of participants between two gender groups (male/female, three education groups (below 5 years, above 12 years, between 5 and 12 years and three age groups (18-35 years, 36-55 years, 56-75 years were compared. Results: According to findings, picture naming increased with increasing education and decreased with increasing age. The performance of participants in phonological and semantic verbal fluency showed improvement with age and education. No significant difference was seen between males and females in verbal fluency task. In the analysis of connected speech there were no significant differences between different age and education groups and just mean length of utterance in males was significantly higher than females. Discussion: The findings could be a primitive scale for comparison between normal subjects and patients in lexical access tasks, furthermore it could be a horizon for planning of treatment goals in patients with word finding problem according to age, gender and education.

  5. Learning style, judgements of learning, and learning of verbal and visual information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoll, Abby R; Otani, Hajime; Skeel, Reid L; Van Horn, K Roger

    2017-08-01

    The concept of learning style is immensely popular despite the lack of evidence showing that learning style influences performance. This study tested the hypothesis that the popularity of learning style is maintained because it is associated with subjective aspects of learning, such as judgements of learning (JOLs). Preference for verbal and visual information was assessed using the revised Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire (VVQ). Then, participants studied a list of word pairs and a list of picture pairs, making JOLs (immediate, delayed, and global) while studying each list. Learning was tested by cued recall. The results showed that higher VVQ verbalizer scores were associated with higher immediate JOLs for words, and higher VVQ visualizer scores were associated with higher immediate JOLs for pictures. There was no association between VVQ scores and recall or JOL accuracy. As predicted, learning style was associated with subjective aspects of learning but not objective aspects of learning. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  6. Visuo-spatial abilities are key for young children's verbal number skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornu, Véronique; Schiltz, Christine; Martin, Romain; Hornung, Caroline

    2018-02-01

    Children's development of verbal number skills (i.e., counting abilities and knowledge of the number names) presents a milestone in mathematical development. Different factors such as visuo-spatial and verbal abilities have been discussed as contributing to the development of these foundational skills. To understand the cognitive nature of verbal number skills in young children, the current study assessed the relation of preschoolers' verbal and visuo-spatial abilities to their verbal number skills. In total, 141 children aged 5 or 6 years participated in the current study. Verbal number skills were regressed on vocabulary, phonological awareness and visuo-spatial abilities, and verbal and visuo-spatial working memory in a structural equation model. Only visuo-spatial abilities emerged as a significant predictor of verbal number skills in the estimated model. Our results suggest that visuo-spatial abilities contribute to a larger extent to children's verbal number skills than verbal abilities. From a theoretical point of view, these results suggest a visuo-spatial, rather than a verbal, grounding of verbal number skills. These results are potentially informative for the conception of early mathematics assessments and interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Compensation or inhibitory failure? Testing hypotheses of age-related right frontal lobe involvement in verbal memory ability using structural and diffusion MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Simon R; Bastin, Mark E; Ferguson, Karen J; Allerhand, Mike; Royle, Natalie A; Maniega, Susanna Muñoz; Starr, John M; MacLullich, Alasdair M J; Wardlaw, Joanna M; Deary, Ian J; MacPherson, Sarah E

    2015-02-01

    Functional neuroimaging studies report increased right prefrontal cortex (PFC) involvement during verbal memory tasks amongst low-scoring older individuals, compared to younger controls and their higher-scoring contemporaries. Some propose that this reflects inefficient use of neural resources through failure of the left PFC to inhibit non-task-related right PFC activity, via the anterior corpus callosum (CC). For others, it indicates partial compensation - that is, the right PFC cannot completely supplement the failing neural network, but contributes positively to performance. We propose that combining structural and diffusion brain MRI can be used to test predictions from these theories which have arisen from fMRI studies. We test these hypotheses in immediate and delayed verbal memory ability amongst 90 healthy older adults of mean age 73 years. Right hippocampus and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) volumes, and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the splenium made unique contributions to verbal memory ability in the whole group. There was no significant effect of anterior callosal white matter integrity on performance. Rather, segmented linear regression indicated that right DLPFC volume was a significantly stronger positive predictor of verbal memory for lower-scorers than higher-scorers, supporting a compensatory explanation for the differential involvement of the right frontal lobe in verbal memory tasks in older age. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The role of interaction of verbal and non-verbal means of communication in different types of discourse

    OpenAIRE

    Orlova M. А.

    2010-01-01

    Communication relies on verbal and non-verbal interaction. To be most effective, group members need to improve verbal and non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication fulfills functions within groups that are sometimes difficult to communicate verbally. But interpreting non-verbal messages requires a great deal of skill because multiple meanings abound in these messages.

  9. Verbal and visual divergent thinking in aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmiero, Massimiliano; Nori, Raffaella; Piccardi, Laura

    2017-04-01

    According to the peak and decline model divergent thinking declines at a specific age (in or after middle age). However, if divergent thinking declines steadily in aging still has to be clarified. In order to explore the age-related changes in verbal and visual divergent thinking, in the present study a sample of 159 participants was divided in five age groups: young adults (18-35 years), middle-aged adults (36-55), young old (56-74), old (75-85) and the oldest-old (86-98). Two divergent thinking tasks were administered: the alternative uses for cardboard boxes, aimed at assessing verbal ideational fluency, flexibility and originality; the completion drawing task, aimed at assessing visual ideational fluency, flexibility and originality. Results showed that after peaking in the young adult group (20-35 years) all components of verbal and visual divergent thinking stabilized in the middle-aged adult group (36-55 years) and then started declining in the young old group (56-75). Interestingly, all components were found to be preserved after declining. Yet, verbal and visual divergent thinking were found at the same extent across age groups, with the exception of visual ideational fluency, that was higher in the young old group, the old group and the oldest-old group than verbal ideational fluency. These results support the idea that divergent thinking does not decline steadily in the elderly. Given that older people can preserve to some extent verbal and visual divergent thinking, these findings have important implications for active aging, that is, divergent thinking might be fostered in aging in order to prevent the cognitive decline.

  10. Short-term verbal memory and psychophysiological response to emotion-related words in children who stutter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stokić Miodrag

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Emotions play a significant role in fluency disorders. In this research we wanted to examine immediate and delayed verbal recall for auditory presented words that carry information about different emotional state (emotion-related words and emotionally neutral words in children who stutter (N=35 and their peers (N=35. Using only word semantics, we wanted to eliminate emotional verbal expression of words as a factor that can influence memory abilities. In addition, we also wanted to examine skin conductance measure as an indicator of autonomic nervous system arousal during short-term memory task for emotion-related and emotionally neutral words. Parental questionnaire (Stuttering Intensity in Children Who Stutter in Positive and Negative Emotion-Related Everyday Situations was given to parents of children who stutter in order to collect data regarding stuttering severity in emotionally arousing situations in everyday life. Differences between the experimental and the control group in global memory capacity are highest in immediate recall (p=0,01 with the tendency for lowering statistical significance with prolongation of retention interval. According to the questionnaire results, children who stutter show a higher degree of stuttering in situations with positive emotional valence (p< 0.00. Skin conductance measurements showed higher autonomic nervous system arousal during perception and free recall of positive emotion-related words in children who stutter when compared to negative and emotionally neutral words. The results indicate higher emotional arousal to positive emotions in children who stutter (p=0.02, leading to either less fluent speech or suppression of verbal short-term memory capacity.

  11. Fluência verbal e variáveis sociodemográficas no processo de envelhecimento: um estudo epidemiológico Verbal fluency and sociodemographic variables in the aging process: an epidemiological study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thaís Bento Lima da Silva

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available A fluência verbal é um marcador das funções executivas, envolvendo a capacidade de busca e recuperação de dados, habilidades de organização, autorregulação e memória operacional. Objetivou-se identificar a existência de diferenças em fluência verbal (número de animais, categorias, grupos e alternância de categorias entre sexo, faixas etárias, faixas de escolaridade e renda. Trezentos e oitenta e três idosos (60 anos ou mais participaram de estudo epidemiológico de corte transversal. Foram aplicadas questões sociodemográficas e o teste de fluência verbal categoria animais. As variáveis do teste de fluência verbal foram influenciadas por sexo, idade e escolaridade, com melhor desempenho a favor dos homens, dos participantes mais jovens e mais escolarizados. Os resultados confirmam que o desempenho em fluência verbal deve ser interpretado à luz das informações sociodemográficas.Verbal fluency is a marker of executive functions which involves the ability of searching and retrieving information, organizational skills, self-regulation and working memory. The objective of this paper was to identify differences in verbal fluency (number of animals, categories, clusters and category switching associated with gender, age, education and income. Three hundred eighty three elderly (60 or older participated in an epidemiological cross-sectional study. Participants answered sociodemographic questions and completed the verbal fluency animal category test. Verbal fluency variables were influenced by gender, age, and education. Higher performance was reported for men and participants with lower age and higher education. Results confirm that performance in verbal fluency must be interpreted in the light of sociodemographic information.

  12. Verbal Reports as Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ericsson, K. Anders; Simon, Herbert A.

    1980-01-01

    Accounting for verbal reports requires explication of the mechanisms by which the reports are generated and influenced by experimental factors. We discuss different cognitive processes underlying verbalization and present a model of how subjects, when asked to think aloud, verbalize information from their short-term memory. (Author/GDC)

  13. Music lessons are associated with increased verbal memory in individuals with Williams syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunning, Brittany A; Martens, Marilee A; Jungers, Melissa K

    2014-11-16

    Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder characterized by intellectual delay and an affinity for music. It has been previously shown that familiar music can enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS who have had music training. There is also evidence that unfamiliar, or novel, music may also improve cognitive recall. This study was designed to examine if a novel melody could also enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS, and to more fully characterize music training in this population. We presented spoken or sung sentences that described an animal and its group name to 44 individuals with WS, and then tested their immediate and delayed memory using both recall and multiple choice formats. Those with formal music training (average duration of training 4½ years) scored significantly higher on both the spoken and sung recall items, as well as on the spoken multiple choice items, than those with no music training. Music therapy, music enjoyment, age, and Verbal IQ did not impact performance on the memory tasks. These findings provide further evidence that formal music lessons may impact the neurological pathways associated with verbal memory in individuals with WS, consistent with findings in typically developing individuals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The Effects of Verbal and Non-Verbal Features on the Reception of DRTV Commercials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smiljana Komar

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Analyses of consumer response are important for successful advertising as they help advertisers to find new, original and successful ways of persuasion. Successful advertisements have to boost the product’s benefits but they also have to appeal to consumers’ emotions. In TV advertisements, this is done by means of verbal and non-verbal strategies. The paper presents the results of an empirical investigation whose purpose was to examine the viewers’ emotional responses to a DRTV commercial induced by different verbal and non-verbal features, the amount of credibility and persuasiveness of the commercial and its general acceptability. Our findings indicate that (1 an overload of the same verbal and non-verbal information decreases persuasion; and (2 highly marked prosodic delivery is either exaggerated or funny, while the speaker is perceived as annoying.

  15. Cognitive Predictors of Verbal Memory in a Mixed Clinical Pediatric Sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shelley C. Heaton

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Verbal memory problems, along with other cognitive difficulties, are common in children diagnosed with neurological and/or psychological disorders. Historically, these “memory problems” have been poorly characterized and often present with a heterogeneous pattern of performance across memory processes, even within a specific diagnostic group. The current study examined archival neuropsychological data from a large mixed clinical pediatric sample in order to understand whether functioning in other cognitive areas (i.e., verbal knowledge, attention, working memory, executive functioning may explain some of the performance variability seen across verbal memory tasks of the Children’s Memory Scale (CMS. Multivariate analyses revealed that among the cognitive functions examined, only verbal knowledge explained a significant amount of variance in overall verbal memory performance. Further univariate analyses examining the component processes of verbal memory indicated that verbal knowledge is specifically related to encoding, but not the retention or retrieval stages. Future research is needed to replicate these findings in other clinical samples, to examine whether verbal knowledge predicts performance on other verbal memory tasks and to explore whether these findings also hold true for visual memory tasks. Successful replication of the current study findings would indicate that interventions targeting verbal encoding deficits should include efforts to improve verbal knowledge.

  16. Erroneous verbalizations and risk taking at video lotteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caron, Anne; Ladouceur, Robert

    2003-05-01

    This study examined the effect of erroneous perceptions verbalized by a game accomplice on participants' gambling. The sample consisted of 22 men and 10 women, aged 18 and older, who did not show excessive gambling problems, but who had played video lotteries at least once during the last 6 months. The participants were randomly assigned into one of three groups, where they gambled in the presence of an accomplice who verbalized three types of perceptions: (1) the accomplice emitted erroneous thoughts about gambling, (2) the accomplice verbalized adequate thoughts about gambling, or (3) the accomplice did not speak. Results showed that players exposed to an accomplice's erroneous verbalizations took significantly more risks than players in the other two groups. Erroneous perceptions appear to be easily transmissible and have impacts on gambling behaviour. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

  17. Music increases frontal EEG coherence during verbal learning.

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    Peterson, David A; Thaut, Michael H

    2007-02-02

    Anecdotal and some empirical evidence suggests that music can enhance learning and memory. However, the mechanisms by which music modulates the neural activity associated with learning and memory remain largely unexplored. We evaluated coherent frontal oscillations in the electroencephalogram (EEG) while subjects were engaged in a modified version of Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). Subjects heard either a spoken version of the AVLT or the conventional AVLT word list sung. Learning-related changes in coherence (LRCC) were measured by comparing the EEG during word encoding on correctly recalled trials to the immediately preceding trial on which the same word was not recalled. There were no significant changes in coherence associated with conventional verbal learning. However, musical verbal learning was associated with increased coherence within and between left and right frontal areas in theta, alpha, and gamma frequency bands. It is unlikely that the different patterns of LRCC reflect general performance differences; the groups exhibited similar learning performance. The results suggest that verbal learning with a musical template strengthens coherent oscillations in frontal cortical networks involved in verbal encoding.

  18. Studies of Verbal Problem Solving. 1. Two Performance-Aiding Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    1977-09-01

    REFERENCES Craik , F.I.M., E. Lockhart , R.S. Levels of processing : A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1972...the overworked "depth of processing " of Craik and Lockhart (1972), which they defined as the deployment of a flexible processor over any of several...restrict their studies to simple narrative forms; (2) its potential as a rich source of information about higher level cognitive processes , and (3

  19. Substitution of California Verbal Learning Test, second edition for Verbal Paired Associates on the Wechsler Memory Scale, fourth edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Justin B; Axelrod, Bradley N; Rapport, Lisa J; Hanks, Robin A; Bashem, Jesse R; Schutte, Christian

    2012-01-01

    Two common measures used to evaluate verbal learning and memory are the Verbal Paired Associates (VPA) subtest from the Wechsler Memory Scales (WMS) and the second edition of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II). For the fourth edition of the WMS, scores from the CVLT-II can be substituted for VPA; the present study sought to examine the validity of the substitution. For each substitution, paired-samples t tests were conducted between original VPA scaled scores and scaled scores obtained from the CVLT-II substitution to evaluate comparability. Similar comparisons were made at the index score level. At the index score level, substitution resulted in significantly lower scores for the AMI (p = .03; r = .13) but not for the IMI (p = .29) or DMI (p = .09). For the subtest scores, substituted scaled scores for VPA were not significantly different from original scores for the immediate recall condition (p = .20) but were significantly lower at delayed recall (p = .01). These findings offer partial support for the substitution. For both the immediate and delayed conditions, the substitution produced generally lower subtest scores compared to original VPA subtest scores.

  20. Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication and Coordination in Mission Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinkhuyzen, Erik; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    In this talk I will present some video-materials gathered in Mission Control during simulations. The focus of the presentation will be on verbal and non-verbal communication between the officers in the front and backroom, especially the practices that have evolved around a peculiar communications technology called voice loops.

  1. Verbal-spatial and visuospatial coding of power-space interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Qiang; Zhu, Lei

    2018-05-10

    A power-space interaction, which denotes the phenomenon that people responded faster to powerful words when they are placed higher in a visual field and faster to powerless words when they are placed lower in a visual field, has been repeatedly found. The dominant explanation of this power-space interaction is that it results from a tight correspondence between the representation of power and visual space (i.e., a visuospatial coding account). In the present study, we demonstrated that the interaction between power and space could be also based on a verbal-spatial coding in absence of any vertical spatial information. Additionally, the verbal-spatial coding was dominant in driving the power-space interaction when verbal space was contrasted with the visual space. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Parents who hit and scream: interactive effects of verbal and severe physical aggression on clinic-referred adolescents' adjustment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LeRoy, Michelle; Mahoney, Annette; Boxer, Paul; Gullan, Rebecca Lakin; Fang, Qijuan

    2014-05-01

    The goals of this study were first, to delineate the co-occurrence of parental severe physical aggression and verbal aggression toward clinic-referred adolescents, and second, to examine the interactive effects of parental severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. This research involved 239 referrals of 11- to 18-year-old youth and their dual-parent families to a non-profit, private community mental health center in a semi-rural Midwest community. Multiple informants (i.e., adolescents and mothers) were used to assess parental aggression and adolescent behavior problems. More than half of clinic-referred adolescents (51%) experienced severe physical aggression and/or high verbal aggression from one or both parents. A pattern of interactive effects of mother-to-adolescent severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent behavior problems emerged, indicating that when severe physical aggression was present, mother-to-adolescent verbal aggression was positively associated with greater adolescent behavior problems whereas when severe physical aggression was not present, the links between verbal aggression and behavior problems was no longer significant. No interactive effects were found for father-to-adolescent severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent adjustment; however, higher father-to-adolescent verbal aggression was consistently linked to behavior problems above and beyond the influence of severe physical aggression. The results of this study should promote the practice of routinely assessing clinic-referred adolescents and their parents about their experiences of verbal aggression in addition to severe physical aggression and other forms of abuse. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Verbal working memory deficits predict levels of auditory hallucination in first-episode psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gisselgård, Jens; Anda, Liss Gøril; Brønnick, Kolbjørn; Langeveld, Johannes; Ten Velden Hegelstad, Wenche; Joa, Inge; Johannessen, Jan Olav; Larsen, Tor Ketil

    2014-03-01

    Auditory verbal hallucinations are a characteristic symptom in schizophrenia. Recent causal models of auditory verbal hallucinations propose that cognitive mechanisms involving verbal working memory are involved in the genesis of auditory verbal hallucinations. Thus, in the present study, we investigate the hypothesis that verbal working memory is a specific factor behind auditory verbal hallucinations. In the present study, we investigated the association between verbal working memory manipulation (Backward Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing) and auditory verbal hallucinations in a population study (N=52) of first episode psychosis. The degree of auditory verbal hallucination as reported in the P3-subscale of the PANSS interview was included as dependent variable using sequential multiple regression, while controlling for age, psychosis symptom severity, executive cognitive functions and simple auditory working memory span. Multiple sequential regression analyses revealed verbal working memory manipulation to be the only significant predictor of verbal hallucination severity. Consistent with cognitive data from auditory verbal hallucinations in healthy individuals, the present results suggest a specific association between auditory verbal hallucinations, and cognitive processes involving the manipulation of phonological representations during a verbal working memory task. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Impaired verbal memory in Parkinson disease: relationship to prefrontal dysfunction and somatosensory discrimination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weniger Dorothea

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective To study the neurocognitive profile and its relationship to prefrontal dysfunction in non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD with deficient haptic perception. Methods Twelve right-handed patients with PD and 12 healthy control subjects underwent thorough neuropsychological testing including Rey complex figure, Rey auditory verbal and figural learning test, figural and verbal fluency, and Stroop test. Test scores reflecting significant differences between patients and healthy subjects were correlated with the individual expression coefficients of one principal component, obtained in a principal component analysis of an oxygen-15-labeled water PET study exploring somatosensory discrimination that differentiated between the two groups and involved prefrontal cortices. Results We found significantly decreased total scores for the verbal learning trials and verbal delayed free recall in PD patients compared with normal volunteers. Further analysis of these parameters using Spearman's ranking correlation showed a significantly negative correlation of deficient verbal recall with expression coefficients of the principal component whose image showed a subcortical-cortical network, including right dorsolateral-prefrontal cortex, in PD patients. Conclusion PD patients with disrupted right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex function and associated diminished somatosensory discrimination are impaired also in verbal memory functions. A negative correlation between delayed verbal free recall and PET activation in a network including the prefrontal cortices suggests that verbal cues and accordingly declarative memory processes may be operative in PD during activities that demand sustained attention such as somatosensory discrimination. Verbal cues may be compensatory in nature and help to non-specifically enhance focused attention in the presence of a functionally disrupted prefrontal cortex.

  5. Effect of background music on auditory-verbal memory performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sona Matloubi

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: Music exists in all cultures; many scientists are seeking to understand how music effects cognitive development such as comprehension, memory, and reading skills. More recently, a considerable number of neuroscience studies on music have been developed. This study aimed to investigate the effects of null and positive background music in comparison with silence on auditory-verbal memory performance.Methods: Forty young adults (male and female with normal hearing, aged between 18 and 26, participated in this comparative-analysis study. An auditory and speech evaluation was conducted in order to investigate the effects of background music on working memory. Subsequently, the Rey auditory-verbal learning test was performed for three conditions: silence, positive, and null music.Results: The mean score of the Rey auditory-verbal learning test in silence condition was higher than the positive music condition (p=0.003 and the null music condition (p=0.01. The tests results did not reveal any gender differences.Conclusion: It seems that the presence of competitive music (positive and null music and the orientation of auditory attention have negative effects on the performance of verbal working memory. It is possibly owing to the intervention of music with verbal information processing in the brain.

  6. Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation modulates verbal working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boehringer, Andreas; Macher, Katja; Dukart, Juergen; Villringer, Arno; Pleger, Burkhard

    2013-07-01

    Neuroimaging studies show cerebellar activations in a wide range of cognitive tasks and patients with cerebellar lesions often present cognitive deficits suggesting a cerebellar role in higher-order cognition. We used cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), known to inhibit neuronal excitability, over the cerebellum to investigate if cathodal tDCS impairs verbal working memory, an important higher-order cognitive faculty. We tested verbal working memory as measured by forward and backward digit spans in 40 healthy young participants before and after applying cathodal tDCS (2 mA, stimulation duration 25 min) to the right cerebellum using a randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, cross-over design. In addition, we tested the effect of cerebellar tDCS on word reading, finger tapping and a visually cued sensorimotor task. In line with lower digit spans in patients with cerebellar lesions, cerebellar tDCS reduced forward digit spans and blocked the practice dependent increase in backward digit spans. No effects of tDCS on word reading, finger tapping or the visually cued sensorimotor task were found. Our results support the view that the cerebellum contributes to verbal working memory as measured by forward and backward digit spans. Moreover, the induction of reversible "virtual cerebellar lesions" in healthy individuals by means of tDCS may improve our understanding of the mechanistic basis of verbal working memory deficits in patients with cerebellar lesions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Fronto-parietal and fronto-temporal theta phase synchronization for visual and auditory-verbal working memory.

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    Kawasaki, Masahiro; Kitajo, Keiichi; Yamaguchi, Yoko

    2014-01-01

    In humans, theta phase (4-8 Hz) synchronization observed on electroencephalography (EEG) plays an important role in the manipulation of mental representations during working memory (WM) tasks; fronto-temporal synchronization is involved in auditory-verbal WM tasks and fronto-parietal synchronization is involved in visual WM tasks. However, whether or not theta phase synchronization is able to select the to-be-manipulated modalities is uncertain. To address the issue, we recorded EEG data from subjects who were performing auditory-verbal and visual WM tasks; we compared the theta synchronizations when subjects performed either auditory-verbal or visual manipulations in separate WM tasks, or performed both two manipulations in the same WM task. The auditory-verbal WM task required subjects to calculate numbers presented by an auditory-verbal stimulus, whereas the visual WM task required subjects to move a spatial location in a mental representation in response to a visual stimulus. The dual WM task required subjects to manipulate auditory-verbal, visual, or both auditory-verbal and visual representations while maintaining auditory-verbal and visual representations. Our time-frequency EEG analyses revealed significant fronto-temporal theta phase synchronization during auditory-verbal manipulation in both auditory-verbal and auditory-verbal/visual WM tasks, but not during visual manipulation tasks. Similarly, we observed significant fronto-parietal theta phase synchronization during visual manipulation tasks, but not during auditory-verbal manipulation tasks. Moreover, we observed significant synchronization in both the fronto-temporal and fronto-parietal theta signals during simultaneous auditory-verbal/visual manipulations. These findings suggest that theta synchronization seems to flexibly connect the brain areas that manipulate WM.

  8. Fronto-parietal and fronto-temporal theta phase synchronization for visual and auditory-verbal working memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masahiro eKawasaki

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In humans, theta phase (4–8 Hz synchronization observed on electroencephalography (EEG plays an important role in the manipulation of mental representations during working memory (WM tasks; fronto-temporal synchronization is involved in auditory-verbal WM tasks and fronto-parietal synchronization is involved in visual WM tasks. However, whether or not theta phase synchronization is able to select the to-be-manipulated modalities is uncertain. To address the issue, we recorded EEG data from subjects who were performing auditory-verbal and visual WM tasks; we compared the theta synchronizations when subjects performed either auditory-verbal or visual manipulations in separate WM tasks, or performed both two manipulations in the same WM task. The auditory-verbal WM task required subjects to calculate numbers presented by an auditory-verbal stimulus, whereas the visual WM task required subjects to move a spatial location in a mental representation in response to a visual stimulus. The dual WM task required subjects to manipulate auditory-verbal, visual, or both auditory-verbal and visual representations while maintaining auditory-verbal and visual representations. Our time-frequency EEG analyses revealed significant fronto-temporal theta phase synchronization during auditory-verbal manipulation in both auditory-verbal and auditory-verbal/visual WM tasks, but not during visual manipulation tasks. Similarly, we observed significant fronto-parietal theta phase synchronization during visual manipulation tasks, but not during auditory-verbal manipulation tasks. Moreover, we observed significant synchronization in both the fronto-temporal and fronto-parietal theta signals during simultaneous auditory-verbal/visual manipulations. These findings suggest that theta synchronization seems to flexibly connect the brain areas that manipulate WM.

  9. Severity and Co-occurrence of Oral and Verbal Apraxias in Left Brain Damaged Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fariba Yadegari

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Oral and verbal apraxias represent motor programming deficits of nonverbal and verbal movements respectively. Studying their properties may shed light on speech motor control processes. This study was focused on identifying cases with oral or verbal apraxia, their co–occurrences and severities. Materials & Methods: In this non-experimental study, 55 left adult subjects with left brain lesion including 22 women and 33 men with age range of 23 to 84 years, were examined and videotaped using oral apraxia and verbal apraxia tasks. Three speech and language pathologists independently scored apraxia severities. Data were analyzed by independent t test, Pearson, Phi and Contingency coefficients using SPSS 12. Results: Mean score of oral and verbal apraxias in patients with and without oral and verbal apraxias were significantly different (P<0.001. Forty- two patients had simultaneous oral and verbal apraxias, with significant correlation between their oral and verbal apraxia scores (r=0.75, P<0.001. Six patients showed no oral or verbal apraxia and 7 had just one type of apraxia. Comparison of co-occurrence of two disorders (Phi=0.59 and different oral and verbal intensities (C=0.68 were relatively high (P<0.001. Conclusion: The present research revealed co-occurrence of oral and verbal apraxias to a great extent. It appears that speech motor control is influenced by a more general verbal and nonverbal motor control.

  10. On Verbal Competence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongxin Dai

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper explored a new concept, verbal competence, to present a challenge to Chomsky’s linguistic competence and Hymes’ communicative competence. It is generally acknowledged that Chomsky concerned himself only with the syntactic/grammatical structures, and viewed the speaker’s generation and transformation of syntactic structures as the production of language. Hymes challenged Chomsky’s conception of linguistic competence and argued for an ethnographic or sociolinguistic concept, communicative competence, but his concept is too broad to be adequately grasped and followed in such fields as linguistics and second language acquisition. Communicative competence can include abilities to communicate with nonverbal behaviors, e.g. gestures, postures or even silence. The concept of verbal competence concerns itself with the mental and psychological processes of verbal production in communication. These processes originate from the speaker’s personal experience, in a certain situation of human communication, and with the sudden appearance of the intentional notion, shape up as the meaning images and end up in the verbal expression.

  11. Visual and verbal learning deficits in Veterans with alcohol and substance use disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Morris D; Vissicchio, Nicholas A; Weinstein, Andrea J

    2016-02-01

    This study examined visual and verbal learning in the early phase of recovery for 48 Veterans with alcohol use (AUD) and substance use disorders (SUD, primarily cocaine and opiate abusers). Previous studies have demonstrated visual and verbal learning deficits in AUD, however little is known about the differences between AUD and SUD on these domains. Since the DSM-5 specifically identifies problems with learning in AUD and not in SUD, and problems with visual and verbal learning have been more prevalent in the literature for AUD than SUD, we predicted that people with AUD would be more impaired on measures of visual and verbal learning than people with SUD. Participants were enrolled in a comprehensive rehabilitation program and were assessed within the first 5 weeks of abstinence. Verbal learning was measured using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) and visual learning was assessed using the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT). Results indicated significantly greater decline in verbal learning on the HVLT across the three learning trials for AUD participants but not for SUD participants (F=4.653, df=48, p=0.036). Visual learning was less impaired than verbal learning across learning trials for both diagnostic groups (F=0.197, df=48, p=0.674); there was no significant difference between groups on visual learning (F=0.401, df=14, p=0.538). Older Veterans in the early phase of recovery from AUD may have difficulty learning new verbal information. Deficits in verbal learning may reduce the effectiveness of verbally-based interventions such as psycho-education. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  12. Boosting Vocabulary Learning by Verbal Cueing During Sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiner, Thomas; Rasch, Björn

    2015-11-01

    Reactivating memories during sleep by re-exposure to associated memory cues (e.g., odors or sounds) improves memory consolidation. Here, we tested for the first time whether verbal cueing during sleep can improve vocabulary learning. We cued prior learned Dutch words either during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NonREM) or during active or passive waking. Re-exposure to Dutch words during sleep improved later memory for the German translation of the cued words when compared with uncued words. Recall of uncued words was similar to an additional group receiving no verbal cues during sleep. Furthermore, verbal cueing failed to improve memory during active and passive waking. High-density electroencephalographic recordings revealed that successful verbal cueing during NonREM sleep is associated with a pronounced frontal negativity in event-related potentials, a higher frequency of frontal slow waves as well as a cueing-related increase in right frontal and left parietal oscillatory theta power. Our results indicate that verbal cues presented during NonREM sleep reactivate associated memories, and facilitate later recall of foreign vocabulary without impairing ongoing consolidation processes. Likewise, our oscillatory analysis suggests that both sleep-specific slow waves as well as theta oscillations (typically associated with successful memory encoding during wakefulness) might be involved in strengthening memories by cueing during sleep. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Elevated stress is associated with prefrontal cortex dysfunction during a verbal memory task in women with HIV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubin, Leah H; Wu, Minjie; Sundermann, Erin E; Meyer, Vanessa J; Smith, Rachael; Weber, Kathleen M; Cohen, Mardge H; Little, Deborah M; Maki, Pauline M

    2016-12-01

    HIV-infected women may be particularly vulnerable to verbal learning and memory deficits. One factor contributing to these deficits is high perceived stress, which is associated with prefrontal cortical (PFC) atrophy and memory outcomes sensitive to PFC function, including retrieval and semantic clustering. We examined the association between stress and PFC activation during a verbal memory task in 36 HIV-infected women from the Chicago Consortium of the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) to better understand the role of the PFC in this stress-related impairment. Participants completed standardized measures of verbal learning and memory and stress (perceived stress scale-10). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess brain function while participants completed encoding and recognition phases of a verbal memory task. HIV-infected women with higher stress (scores in top tertile) performed worse on all verbal memory outcomes including strategic encoding (p stress (scores in lower two tertiles). Patterns of brain activation during recognition (but not encoding) differed between women with higher vs. lower stress. During recognition, women with higher stress demonstrated greater deactivation in medial PFC and posterior cingulate cortex compared to women with lower stress (p stress might alter the function of the medial PFC in HIV-infected women resulting in less efficient strategic retrieval and deficits in verbal memory.

  14. The similar effects of verbal and non-verbal intervening tasks on word recall in an elderly population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, B R; Sullivan, S K; Morra, L F; Williams, J R; Donovick, P J

    2014-01-01

    Vulnerability to retroactive interference has been shown to increase with cognitive aging. Consistent with the findings of memory and aging literature, the authors of the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) suggest that a non-verbal task be administered during the test's delay interval to minimize the effects of retroactive interference on delayed recall. The goal of the present study was to determine the extent to which retroactive interference caused by non-verbal and verbal intervening tasks affects recall of verbal information in non-demented, older adults. The effects of retroactive interference on recall of words during Long-Delay recall on the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) were evaluated. Participants included 85 adults age 60 and older. During a 20-minute delay interval on the CVLT-II, participants received either a verbal (WAIS-III Vocabulary or Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB) or non-verbal (Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices or WAIS-III Block Design) intervening task. Similarly to previous research with young adults (Williams & Donovick, 2008), older adults recalled the same number of words across all groups, regardless of the type of intervening task. These findings suggest that the administration of verbal intervening tasks during the CVLT-II do not elicit more retroactive interference than non-verbal intervening tasks, and thus verbal tasks need not be avoided during the delay interval of the CVLT-II.

  15. Low-SES children's eyewitness memory: the effects of verbal labels and vocabulary skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chae, Yoojin; Kulkofsky, Sarah; Debaran, Francisco; Wang, Qi; Hart, Sybil L

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the effects of the verbal labels procedure and vocabulary skills on low-socioeconomic status (SES) preschool children's eyewitness memory. Children (N = 176) aged 3-5 years witnessed a conflict event and were then questioned about it in either a standard or a verbal labels interview. Findings revealed that children with higher rather than lower vocabulary skills produced more complete and accurate memories. Children who were given the verbal labels interview recalled more information, which included both correct and incorrect details. Overall, the verbal labels procedure did not improve children's performance on direct questions, but children with low vocabulary skills answered direct questions more accurately if they were given the verbal labels interview than when they were not. Implications of the findings for memory performance of low-SES children are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Differential learning and memory performance in OEF/OIF veterans for verbal and visual material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sozda, Christopher N; Muir, James J; Springer, Utaka S; Partovi, Diana; Cole, Michael A

    2014-05-01

    Memory complaints are particularly salient among veterans who experience combat-related mild traumatic brain injuries and/or trauma exposure, and represent a primary barrier to successful societal reintegration and everyday functioning. Anecdotally within clinical practice, verbal learning and memory performance frequently appears differentially reduced versus visual learning and memory scores. We sought to empirically investigate the robustness of a verbal versus visual learning and memory discrepancy and to explore potential mechanisms for a verbal/visual performance split. Participants consisted of 103 veterans with reported history of mild traumatic brain injuries returning home from U.S. military Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom referred for outpatient neuropsychological evaluation. Findings indicate that visual learning and memory abilities were largely intact while verbal learning and memory performance was significantly reduced in comparison, residing at approximately 1.1 SD below the mean for verbal learning and approximately 1.4 SD below the mean for verbal memory. This difference was not observed in verbal versus visual fluency performance, nor was it associated with estimated premorbid verbal abilities or traumatic brain injury history. In our sample, symptoms of depression, but not posttraumatic stress disorder, were significantly associated with reduced composite verbal learning and memory performance. Verbal learning and memory performance may benefit from targeted treatment of depressive symptomatology. Also, because visual learning and memory functions may remain intact, these might be emphasized when applying neurocognitive rehabilitation interventions to compensate for observed verbal learning and memory difficulties.

  17. Network structure underlying resolution of conflicting non-verbal and verbal social information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Takamitsu; Yahata, Noriaki; Kawakubo, Yuki; Inoue, Hideyuki; Takano, Yosuke; Iwashiro, Norichika; Natsubori, Tatsunobu; Takao, Hidemasa; Sasaki, Hiroki; Gonoi, Wataru; Murakami, Mizuho; Katsura, Masaki; Kunimatsu, Akira; Abe, Osamu; Kasai, Kiyoto; Yamasue, Hidenori

    2014-06-01

    Social judgments often require resolution of incongruity in communication contents. Although previous studies revealed that such conflict resolution recruits brain regions including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pIFG), functional relationships and networks among these regions remain unclear. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated the functional dissociation and networks by measuring human brain activity during resolving incongruity between verbal and non-verbal emotional contents. First, we found that the conflict resolutions biased by the non-verbal contents activated the posterior dorsal mPFC (post-dmPFC), bilateral anterior insula (AI) and right dorsal pIFG, whereas the resolutions biased by the verbal contents activated the bilateral ventral pIFG. In contrast, the anterior dmPFC (ant-dmPFC), bilateral superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus were commonly involved in both of the resolutions. Second, we found that the post-dmPFC and right ventral pIFG were hub regions in networks underlying the non-verbal- and verbal-content-biased resolutions, respectively. Finally, we revealed that these resolution-type-specific networks were bridged by the ant-dmPFC, which was recruited for the conflict resolutions earlier than the two hub regions. These findings suggest that, in social conflict resolutions, the ant-dmPFC selectively recruits one of the resolution-type-specific networks through its interaction with resolution-type-specific hub regions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. The impact of culture and education on non-verbal neuropsychological measurements: a critical review.

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    Rosselli, Mónica; Ardila, Alfredo

    2003-08-01

    Clinical neuropsychology has frequently considered visuospatial and non-verbal tests to be culturally and educationally fair or at least fairer than verbal tests. This paper reviews the cross-cultural differences in performance on visuoperceptual and visuoconstructional ability tasks and analyzes the impact of education and culture on non-verbal neuropsychological measurements. This paper compares: (1) non-verbal test performance among groups with different educational levels, and the same cultural background (inter-education intra-culture comparison); (2) the test performance among groups with the same educational level and different cultural backgrounds (intra-education inter-culture comparisons). Several studies have demonstrated a strong association between educational level and performance on common non-verbal neuropsychological tests. When neuropsychological test performance in different cultural groups is compared, significant differences are evident. Performance on non-verbal tests such as copying figures, drawing maps or listening to tones can be significantly influenced by the individual's culture. Arguments against the use of some current neuropsychological non-verbal instruments, procedures, and norms in the assessment of diverse educational and cultural groups are discussed and possible solutions to this problem are presented.

  19. Consonant Differentiation Mediates the Discrepancy between Non-verbal and Verbal Abilities in Children with ASD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Key, A. P.; Yoder, P. J.; Stone, W. L.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate verbal communication disorders reflected in lower verbal than non-verbal abilities. The present study examined the extent to which this discrepancy is associated with atypical speech sound differentiation. Methods: Differences in the amplitude of auditory event-related…

  20. Can verbal working memory training improve reading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banales, Erin; Kohnen, Saskia; McArthur, Genevieve

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the current study was to determine whether poor verbal working memory is associated with poor word reading accuracy because the former causes the latter, or the latter causes the former. To this end, we tested whether (a) verbal working memory training improves poor verbal working memory or poor word reading accuracy, and whether (b) reading training improves poor reading accuracy or verbal working memory in a case series of four children with poor word reading accuracy and verbal working memory. Each child completed 8 weeks of verbal working memory training and 8 weeks of reading training. Verbal working memory training improved verbal working memory in two of the four children, but did not improve their reading accuracy. Similarly, reading training improved word reading accuracy in all children, but did not improve their verbal working memory. These results suggest that the causal links between verbal working memory and reading accuracy may not be as direct as has been assumed.

  1. Verbal memory decline from hippocampal depth electrodes in temporal lobe surgery for epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ljung, Hanna; Nordlund, Arto; Strandberg, Maria; Bengzon, Johan; Källén, Kristina

    2017-12-01

    To explore whether patients with refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy risk aggravated verbal memory loss from intracranial electroencephalography (EEG) recording with longitudinal hippocampal electrodes in the language-dominant hemisphere. A long-term neuropsychological follow-up (mean 61.5 months, range 22-111 months) was performed in 40 patients after ictal registration with left hippocampal depth electrodes (study group, n = 16) or no invasive EEG, only extracranial registration (reference group, n = 24). The groups were equal with respect to education, age at seizure onset, epilepsy duration, and prevalence of pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE; 75%) versus seizure freedom (25%). Retrospective neuropsychological data from preoperative surgical workup (T1) and prospective follow-up neuropsychological data (T2) were compared. A ≥1 SD intrapatient decline was considered as clinically relevant deterioration of verbal memory. Significant decline in verbal memory was seen in 56% of the patients in the study group compared to 21% in the reference group. At T1, there were no statistical between-group differences in memory performance. At T2, between-group comparison showed significantly greater verbal memory decline for the study group (Claeson Dahl Learning and Retention Test, Verbal Learning: p = 0.05; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Total Learning: p = 0.04; Claeson Dahl Learning and Retention Test, Verbal Retention: p = 0.04). An odds ratio (OR) of 7.1 (90% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-37.7) for verbal memory decline was seen if right temporal lobe resection (R TLR) had been performed between T1 and T2. The difference between groups remained unchanged when patients who had undergone R TLR were excluded from the analysis, with a remaining aggravated significant decline in verbal memory performance for the study group compared to the reference group. Our results suggest a risk of verbal memory deterioration after the use of depth electrodes along

  2. Verbal memory after temporal lobe epilepsy surgery in children: Do only mesial structures matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Nicole; Benifla, Mony; Rutka, James; Smith, Mary Lou

    2017-02-01

    Previous findings have been mixed regarding verbal memory outcome after left temporal lobectomy in children, and there are few studies comparing verbal memory change after lateral versus mesial temporal lobe resections. We compared verbal memory outcome associated with sparing or including the mesial structures in children who underwent left or right temporal lobe resection. We also investigated predictors of postsurgical verbal memory change. We retrospectively assessed verbal memory change approximately 1 year after unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy surgery using a list learning task. Participants included 23 children who underwent temporal lobe surgery with sparing of the mesial structures (13 left), and 40 children who had a temporal lobectomy that included resection of mesial structures (22 left). Children who underwent resection from the left lateral and mesial temporal lobe were the only group to show decline in verbal memory. Furthermore, when we considered language representation in the left temporal resection group, patients with left language representation and spared mesial structures showed essentially no change in verbal memory from preoperative to follow-up, whereas those with left language representation and excised mesial structures showed a decline. Postoperative seizure status had no effect on verbal memory change in children after left temporal lobe surgery. Finally, we found that patients with intact preoperative verbal memory experienced a significant decline compared to those with below average preoperative verbal memory. Our findings provide evidence of significant risk factors for verbal memory decline in children, specific to left mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Children who undergo left temporal lobe surgery that includes mesial structures may be most vulnerable for verbal memory decline, especially when language representation is localized to the left hemisphere and when preoperative verbal memory is intact. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. The association of perceived stress and verbal memory is greater in HIV-infected versus HIV-uninfected women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubin, Leah H; Cook, Judith A; Weber, Kathleen M; Cohen, Mardge H; Martin, Eileen; Valcour, Victor; Milam, Joel; Anastos, Kathryn; Young, Mary A; Alden, Christine; Gustafson, Deborah R; Maki, Pauline M

    2015-08-01

    In contrast to findings from cohorts comprised primarily of HIV-infected men, verbal memory deficits are the largest cognitive deficit found in HIV-infected women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), and this deficit is not explained by depressive symptoms or substance abuse. HIV-infected women may be at greater risk for verbal memory deficits due to a higher prevalence of cognitive risk factors such as high psychosocial stress and lower socioeconomic status. Here, we investigate the association between perceived stress using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and verbal memory performance using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) in 1009 HIV-infected and 496 at-risk HIV-uninfected WIHS participants. Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery which yielded seven cognitive domain scores, including a primary outcome of verbal memory. HIV infection was not associated with a higher prevalence of high perceived stress (i.e., PSS-10 score in the top tertile) but was associated with worse performance on verbal learning (p memory (p stress was associated with poorer performance in those cognitive domains (p's stress interaction was found only for the verbal memory domain (p = 0.02); among HIV-infected women only, high stress was associated with lower performance (p's memory measure in particular. These findings suggest that high levels of perceived stress contribute to the deficits in verbal memory observed in WIHS women.

  4. An executable model of the interaction between verbal and non-verbal communication.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.

    2000-01-01

    In this paper an executable generic process model is proposed for combined verbal and non-verbal communication processes and their interaction. The model has been formalised by three-levelled partial temporal models, covering both the material and mental processes and their relations. The generic

  5. An Executable Model of the Interaction between Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.; Dignum, F.; Greaves, M.

    2000-01-01

    In this paper an executable generic process model is proposed for combined verbal and non-verbal communication processes and their interaction. The model has been formalised by three-levelled partial temporal models, covering both the material and mental processes and their relations. The generic

  6. Heart rate variability during acute psychosocial stress: A randomized cross-over trial of verbal and non-verbal laboratory stressors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brugnera, Agostino; Zarbo, Cristina; Tarvainen, Mika P; Marchettini, Paolo; Adorni, Roberta; Compare, Angelo

    2018-05-01

    Acute psychosocial stress is typically investigated in laboratory settings using protocols with distinctive characteristics. For example, some tasks involve the action of speaking, which seems to alter Heart Rate Variability (HRV) through acute changes in respiration patterns. However, it is still unknown which task induces the strongest subjective and autonomic stress response. The present cross-over randomized trial sought to investigate the differences in perceived stress and in linear and non-linear analyses of HRV between three different verbal (Speech and Stroop) and non-verbal (Montreal Imaging Stress Task; MIST) stress tasks, in a sample of 60 healthy adults (51.7% females; mean age = 25.6 ± 3.83 years). Analyses were run controlling for respiration rates. Participants reported similar levels of perceived stress across the three tasks. However, MIST induced a stronger cardiovascular response than Speech and Stroop tasks, even after controlling for respiration rates. Finally, women reported higher levels of perceived stress and lower HRV both at rest and in response to acute psychosocial stressors, compared to men. Taken together, our results suggest the presence of gender-related differences during psychophysiological experiments on stress. They also suggest that verbal activity masked the vagal withdrawal through altered respiration patterns imposed by speaking. Therefore, our findings support the use of highly-standardized math task, such as MIST, as a valid and reliable alternative to verbal protocols during laboratory studies on stress. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Symptoms of ADHD in children with high-functioning autism are related to impaired verbal working memory and verbal delayed recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Per Normann; Hovik, Kjell Tore; Skogli, Erik Winther; Egeland, Jens; Oie, Merete

    2013-01-01

    Symptoms similar to those found in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often occur in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The objective of the current study was to compare verbal working memory, acquisition and delayed recall in children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) to children with ADHD and typically developing children (TDC). Thirty-eight children with HFA, 79 with ADHD and 50 TDC (age 8-17) were assessed with a letter/number sequencing task and a verbal list-learning task. To investigate the possible influence of attention problems in children with HFA, we divided the HFA group into children with (HFA+) or without (HFA-) "attention problems" according to the Child Behaviour Checklist 6-18. The children with HFA+ displayed significant impairment compared to TDC on all three neurocognitive measures, while the children with HFA- were significantly impaired compared to TDC only on the working memory and acquisition measures. In addition, the HFA+ group scored significantly below the HFA- group and the ADHD group on the verbal working memory and delayed recall measures. The results support the proposition that children with HFA+, HFA-, and ADHD differ not only on a clinical level but also on a neurocognitive level which may have implications for treatment.

  8. Symptoms of ADHD in children with high-functioning autism are related to impaired verbal working memory and verbal delayed recall.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Per Normann Andersen

    Full Text Available Symptoms similar to those found in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD often occur in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD. The objective of the current study was to compare verbal working memory, acquisition and delayed recall in children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA to children with ADHD and typically developing children (TDC. Thirty-eight children with HFA, 79 with ADHD and 50 TDC (age 8-17 were assessed with a letter/number sequencing task and a verbal list-learning task. To investigate the possible influence of attention problems in children with HFA, we divided the HFA group into children with (HFA+ or without (HFA- "attention problems" according to the Child Behaviour Checklist 6-18. The children with HFA+ displayed significant impairment compared to TDC on all three neurocognitive measures, while the children with HFA- were significantly impaired compared to TDC only on the working memory and acquisition measures. In addition, the HFA+ group scored significantly below the HFA- group and the ADHD group on the verbal working memory and delayed recall measures. The results support the proposition that children with HFA+, HFA-, and ADHD differ not only on a clinical level but also on a neurocognitive level which may have implications for treatment.

  9. The heterogeneity of verbal short-term memory impairment in aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majerus, Steve; Attout, Lucie; Artielle, Marie-Amélie; Van der Kaa, Marie-Anne

    2015-10-01

    Verbal short-term memory (STM) impairment represents a frequent and long-lasting deficit in aphasia, and it will prevent patients from recovering fully functional language abilities. The aim of this study was to obtain a more precise understanding of the nature of verbal STM impairment in aphasia, by determining whether verbal STM impairment is merely a consequence of underlying language impairment, as suggested by linguistic accounts of verbal STM, or whether verbal STM impairment reflects an additional, specific deficit. We investigated this question by contrasting item-based STM measures, supposed to depend strongly upon language activation, and order-based STM measures, supposed to reflect the operation of specific, serial order maintenance mechanisms, in a sample of patients with single-word processing deficits at the phonological and/or lexical level. A group-level analysis showed robust impairment for both item and serial order STM aspects in the aphasic group relative to an age-matched control group. An analysis of individual profiles revealed an important heterogeneity of verbal STM profiles, with patients presenting either selective item STM deficits, selective order STM deficits, generalized item and serial order STM deficits or no significant STM impairment. Item but not serial order STM impairment correlated with the severity of phonological impairment. These results disconfirm a strong version of the linguistic account of verbal STM impairment in aphasia, by showing variable impairment to both item and serial order processing aspects of verbal STM. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. [Non-verbal communication in Alzheimer's disease].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiaratura, Loris Tamara

    2008-09-01

    This review underlines the importance of non-verbal communication in Alzheimer's disease. A social psychological perspective of communication is privileged. Non-verbal behaviors such as looks, head nods, hand gestures, body posture or facial expression provide a lot of information about interpersonal attitudes, behavioral intentions, and emotional experiences. Therefore they play an important role in the regulation of interaction between individuals. Non-verbal communication is effective in Alzheimer's disease even in the late stages. Patients still produce non-verbal signals and are responsive to others. Nevertheless, few studies have been devoted to the social factors influencing the non-verbal exchange. Misidentification and misinterpretation of behaviors may have negative consequences for the patients. Thus, improving the comprehension of and the response to non-verbal behavior would increase first the quality of the interaction, then the physical and psychological well-being of patients and that of caregivers. The role of non-verbal behavior in social interactions should be approached from an integrative and functional point of view.

  11. The Bursts and Lulls of Multimodal Interaction: Temporal Distributions of Behavior Reveal Differences Between Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abney, Drew H; Dale, Rick; Louwerse, Max M; Kello, Christopher T

    2018-04-06

    Recent studies of naturalistic face-to-face communication have demonstrated coordination patterns such as the temporal matching of verbal and non-verbal behavior, which provides evidence for the proposal that verbal and non-verbal communicative control derives from one system. In this study, we argue that the observed relationship between verbal and non-verbal behaviors depends on the level of analysis. In a reanalysis of a corpus of naturalistic multimodal communication (Louwerse, Dale, Bard, & Jeuniaux, ), we focus on measuring the temporal patterns of specific communicative behaviors in terms of their burstiness. We examined burstiness estimates across different roles of the speaker and different communicative modalities. We observed more burstiness for verbal versus non-verbal channels, and for more versus less informative language subchannels. Using this new method for analyzing temporal patterns in communicative behaviors, we show that there is a complex relationship between verbal and non-verbal channels. We propose a "temporal heterogeneity" hypothesis to explain how the language system adapts to the demands of dialog. Copyright © 2018 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  12. Assessment of Nonverbal and Verbal Apraxia in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

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    Monia Presotto

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To assess the presence of nonverbal and verbal apraxia in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD and analyze the correlation between these conditions and patient age, education, duration of disease, and PD stage, as well as evaluate the correlation between the two types of apraxia and the frequency and types of verbal apraxic errors made by patients in the sample. Method. This was an observational prevalence study. The sample comprised 45 patients with PD seen at the Movement Disorders Clinic of the Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Patients were evaluated using the Speech Apraxia Assessment Protocol and PD stages were classified according to the Hoehn and Yahr scale. Results. The rate of nonverbal apraxia and verbal apraxia in the present sample was 24.4%. Verbal apraxia was significantly correlated with education (p≤0.05. The most frequent types of verbal apraxic errors were omissions (70.8%. The analysis of manner and place of articulation showed that most errors occurred during the production of trill (57.7% and dentoalveolar (92% phonemes, consecutively. Conclusion. Patients with PD presented nonverbal and verbal apraxia and made several verbal apraxic errors. Verbal apraxia was correlated with education levels.

  13. The effects of hand gestures on verbal recall as a function of high- and low-verbal-skill levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frick-Horbury, Donna

    2002-04-01

    The author examined the effects of cueing for verbal recall with the accompanying self-generated hand gestures as a function of verbal skill. There were 36 participants, half with low SAT verbal scores and half with high SAT verbal scores. Half of the participants of each verbal-skill level were cued for recall with their own gestures, and the remaining half was given a free-recall test. Cueing with self-generated gestures aided the low-verbal-skill participants so that their retrieval rate equaled that of the high-verbal-skill participants and their loss of recall over a 2-week period was minimal. This effect was stable for both concrete and abstract words. The findings support the hypothesis that gestures serve as an auxiliary code for memory retrieval.

  14. Verbal learning changes in older adults across 18 months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimprich, Daniel; Rast, Philippe

    2009-07-01

    The major aim of this study was to investigate individual changes in verbal learning across a period of 18 months. Individual differences in verbal learning have largely been neglected in the last years and, even more so, individual differences in change in verbal learning. The sample for this study comes from the Zurich Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging (ZULU; Zimprich et al., 2008a) and comprised 336 older adults in the age range of 65-80 years at first measurement occasion. In order to address change in verbal learning we used a latent change model of structured latent growth curves to account for the non-linearity of the verbal learning data. The individual learning trajectories were captured by a hyperbolic function which yielded three psychologically distinct parameters: initial performance, learning rate, and asymptotic performance. We found that average performance increased with respect to initial performance, but not in learning rate or in asymptotic performance. Further, variances and covariances remained stable across both measurement occasions, indicating that the amount of individual differences in the three parameters remained stable, as did the relationships among them. Moreover, older adults differed reliably in their amount of change in initial performance and asymptotic performance. Eventually, changes in asymptotic performance and learning rate were strongly negatively correlated. It thus appears as if change in verbal learning in old age is a constrained process: an increase in total learning capacity implies that it takes longer to learn. Together, these results point to the significance of individual differences in change of verbal learning in the elderly.

  15. Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer A. Foley

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS for Parkinson’s disease (PD. The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method. In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results. As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion. Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS.

  16. Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foltynie, Tom; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hyam, Jonathan A.; Limousin, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    Objective. Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD). The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method. In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results. As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion. Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS. PMID:28408788

  17. Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Jennifer A; Foltynie, Tom; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hyam, Jonathan A; Limousin, Patricia; Cipolotti, Lisa

    2017-01-01

    Objective . Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD). The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method . In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results . As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion . Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS.

  18. Auditory-Motor Mapping Training in a More Verbal Child with Autism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen V. Chenausky

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available We tested the effect of Auditory-Motor Mapping Training (AMMT, a novel, intonation-based treatment for spoken language originally developed for minimally verbal (MV children with autism, on a more-verbal child with autism. We compared this child’s performance after 25 therapy sessions with that of: (1 a child matched on age, autism severity, and expressive language level who received 25 sessions of a non-intonation-based control treatment Speech Repetition Therapy (SRT; and (2 a matched pair of MV children (one of whom received AMMT; the other, SRT. We found a significant Time × Treatment effect in favor of AMMT for number of Syllables Correct and Consonants Correct per stimulus for both pairs of children, as well as a significant Time × Treatment effect in favor of AMMT for number of Vowels Correct per stimulus for the more-verbal pair. Magnitudes of the difference in post-treatment performance between AMMT and SRT, adjusted for Baseline differences, were: (a larger for the more-verbal pair than for the MV pair; and (b associated with very large effect sizes (Cohen’s d > 1.3 in the more-verbal pair. Results hold promise for the efficacy of AMMT for improving spoken language production in more-verbal children with autism as well as their MV peers and suggest hypotheses about brain function that are testable in both correlational and causal behavioral-imaging studies.

  19. Are nurses verbally abused? A cross-sectional study of nurses at a university hospital, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Shamlan, Nouf A; Jayaseeli, Nithya; Al-Shawi, Moneera M; Al-Joudi, Abdullah S

    2017-01-01

    Workplace violence against health-care workers is a significant problem worldwide. Nurses are at a higher risk of exposure to violence. Studies available in Saudi Arabia are few. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of verbal abuse of nurses at King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU) in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and to identify consequences and the demographic and work-related characteristics associated with it. This cross-sectional study of 391 nurses by total sample was conducted between November and December 2015, using a modified self-administered questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. Data was entered, and analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0. The descriptive statistics were reported using frequency and percentages for all categorical variables. Chi-squared tests or Fisher's Exact test, as appropriate, were performed to test the associations of verbal abuse with the demographic and work-related characteristics of the participants. Variables with p violence in their workplace were more vulnerable to workplace verbal abuse. Workplace verbal abuse is a significant challenge in KFHU. For decision makers, it is rather disturbing that a lot of cases go unreported even though procedures for reporting exist. Implementation of an efficient transparent reporting system that provides follow-up investigations is mandatory. In addition, all victims should be helped with counseling and support.

  20. Auditory Verbal Cues Alter the Perceived Flavor of Beverages and Ease of Swallowing: A Psychometric and Electrophysiological Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aya Nakamura

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the possible effects of auditory verbal cues on flavor perception and swallow physiology for younger and elder participants. Apple juice, aojiru (grass juice, and water were ingested with or without auditory verbal cues. Flavor perception and ease of swallowing were measured using a visual analog scale and swallow physiology by surface electromyography and cervical auscultation. The auditory verbal cues had significant positive effects on flavor and ease of swallowing as well as on swallow physiology. The taste score and the ease of swallowing score significantly increased when the participant’s anticipation was primed by accurate auditory verbal cues. There was no significant effect of auditory verbal cues on distaste score. Regardless of age, the maximum suprahyoid muscle activity significantly decreased when a beverage was ingested without auditory verbal cues. The interval between the onset of swallowing sounds and the peak timing point of the infrahyoid muscle activity significantly shortened when the anticipation induced by the cue was contradicted in the elderly participant group. These results suggest that auditory verbal cues can improve the perceived flavor of beverages and swallow physiology.

  1. BIBLIOGRAPHY ON VERBAL LEARNING.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Graduate School of Education.

    THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY LISTS MATERIAL ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF VERBAL LEARNING. APPROXIMATELY 50 UNANNOTATED REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED TO DOCUMENTS DATING FROM 1960 TO 1965. JOURNALS, BOOKS, AND REPORT MATERIALS ARE LISTED. SUBJECT AREAS INCLUDED ARE CONDITIONING, VERBAL BEHAVIOR, PROBLEM SOLVING, SEMANTIC SATIATION, STIMULUS DURATION, AND VERBAL…

  2. Verbal Fluency and Verbal Short-Term Memory in Adults with Down Syndrome and Unspecified Intellectual Disability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stavroussi, Panayiota; Andreou, Georgia; Karagiannopoulou, Dimitra

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine verbal fluency and verbal short-term memory in 12 adults with Down syndrome (DS) and 12 adults with Intellectual Disability (ID) of unspecified origin, matched for receptive vocabulary and chronological age. Participants' performance was assessed on two conditions of a verbal fluency test, namely, semantic…

  3. Event-governed and verbally-governed behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas, E A

    1988-01-01

    A NUMBER OF STATEMENTS PRESCRIBE BEHAVIOR: apothegms, maxims, proverbs, instructions, and so on. These differing guides to conduct present varieties of the dictionary definition of "rules." The term "rules" thus defines a category of language usage. Such a term, and its derivative, "rule-governed," does not address a controlling relation in the analysis of verbal behavior. The prevailing confounding of a category of language with a category of verbal behavior appears related to a lack of understanding as to what distinguishes verbal behavior from other behavior. Verbal behavior is a behavior-behavior relation in which events are contacted through the mediation of another organism's behavior specifically shaped for such mediation by a verbal community. It contrasts with behavior that contacts events directly, and shaped directly by the features of those events. Thus we may distinguish between two large classes of behavior by whether it is behavior controlled by events, or behavior controlled verbally. However, the functional controls operative with both classes of behavior do not differ.

  4. Explicit verbal memory impairments associated with brain functional deficits and morphological alterations in patients with generalized anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Chung-Man; Yang, Jong-Chul; Jeong, Gwang-Woo

    2015-11-01

    Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with brain function and morphological alterations. This study investigated explicit verbal memory impairment in patients with GAD in terms of brain functional deficits in combination with morphologic changes. Seventeen patients with GAD and 17 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and education level underwent high-resolution T1-weighted MRI and fMR imaging at 3 T during explicit verbal memory tasks with emotionally neutral and anxiety-inducing words. In response to the neutral words, the patients showed significantly lower activities in the regions of the hippocampus (Hip), middle cingulate gyrus (MCG), putamen (Pu) and head of the caudate nucleus (HCd) compared with healthy controls. In response to the anxiety-inducing words, the patients showed significantly higher activities in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and precentral gyrus. However, they showed lower activities in the Hip, MCG, Pu and HCd. In addition, patients with GAD showed a significant reduction in gray matter volumes, especially in the regions of the Hip, midbrain, thalamus, insula and superior temporal gyrus, compared with healthy controls. This study examined a small sample sizes in each of the groups, and there was no consideration of a medication effect on brain activity and volume changes. This study provides evidence for the association between brain functional deficits and morphometric alterations in an explicit verbal memory task for patients with GAD. This finding is helpful for understanding explicit verbal memory impairment in connection with GAD symptoms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Randomised controlled trial of a brief intervention targeting predominantly non-verbal communication in general practice consultations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Paul; White, Peter; Kelly, Joanne; Everitt, Hazel; Mercer, Stewart

    2015-06-01

    The impact of changing non-verbal consultation behaviours is unknown. To assess brief physician training on improving predominantly non-verbal communication. Cluster randomised parallel group trial among adults aged ≥16 years attending general practices close to the study coordinating centres in Southampton. Sixteen GPs were randomised to no training, or training consisting of a brief presentation of behaviours identified from a prior study (acronym KEPe Warm: demonstrating Knowledge of the patient; Encouraging [back-channelling by saying 'hmm', for example]; Physically engaging [touch, gestures, slight lean]; Warm-up: cool/professional initially, warming up, avoiding distancing or non-verbal cut-offs at the end of the consultation); and encouragement to reflect on videos of their consultation. Outcomes were the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS) mean item score (1-7) and patients' perceptions of other domains of communication. Intervention participants scored higher MISS overall (0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.06 to 0.41), with the largest changes in the distress-relief and perceived relationship subscales. Significant improvement occurred in perceived communication/partnership (0.29, 95% CI = 0.09 to 0.49) and health promotion (0.26, 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.46). Non-significant improvements occurred in perceptions of a personal relationship, a positive approach, and understanding the effects of the illness on life. Brief training of GPs in predominantly non-verbal communication in the consultation and reflection on consultation videotapes improves patients' perceptions of satisfaction, distress, a partnership approach, and health promotion. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

  6. Verbal abuse from nurse colleagues and work environment of early career registered nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budin, Wendy C; Brewer, Carol S; Chao, Ying-Yu; Kovner, Christine

    2013-09-01

    This study examined relationships between verbal abuse from nurse colleagues and demographic characteristics, work attributes, and work attitudes of early career registered nurses (RNs). Data are from the fourth wave of a national panel survey of early career RNs begun in 2006. The final analytic sample included 1,407 RNs. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample, analysis of variance to compare means, and chi square to compare categorical variables. RNs reporting higher levels of verbal abuse from nurse colleagues were more likely to be unmarried, work in a hospital setting, or work in a non-magnet hospital. They also had lower job satisfaction, and less organizational commitment, autonomy, and intent to stay. Lastly, they perceived their work environments unfavorably. Data support the hypothesis that early career RNs are vulnerable to the effects of verbal abuse from nurse colleagues. Although more verbal abuse is seen in environments with unfavorable working conditions, and RNs working in such environments tend to have less favorable work attitudes, one cannot assume causality. It is unclear if poor working conditions create an environment where verbal abuse is tolerated or if verbal abuse creates an unfavorable work environment. There is a need to develop and test evidence-based interventions to deal with the problems inherent with verbal abuse from nurse colleagues. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  7. Verbal or Visual Memory Score and Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Alzheimer Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoshi Hayashi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Among many cognitive function deficits, memory impairment is an initial and cardinal symptom in Alzheimer disease (AD. In most cases, verbal and visual memory scores correlate highly, but in some cases the deficit of verbal or visual memory is very different from that of the other memory. In this study, we examined the neural substrates of verbal and visual memory in patients with AD. Methods: One hundred eighty-eight consecutive patients with AD were recruited from outpatient units. Verbal and visual memory scores were evaluated using the Wechsler Memory Scale – revised. The patients underwent brain SPECT with 99mTc-ethylcysteinate dimer. Results: After removing the effects of age, sex, education, and Mini-Mental State Examination scores, correlation analysis showed a significant correlation of verbal memory scores to regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF in the bilateral cingulate gyrus and left precuneus. Similarly, a significant correlation of visual memory scores to rCBF was found in the right precuneus and right cingulate gyrus. Conclusion: The posterior medial cortices (PMC are very important areas in episodic memory among patients with mild AD. Verbal memory is more closely related to the both sides of the PMC, while visual memory is more closely related to the right PMC.

  8. Verbal or Visual Memory Score and Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Alzheimer Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayashi, Satoshi; Terada, Seishi; Oshima, Etsuko; Sato, Shuhei; Kurisu, Kairi; Takenoshita, Shintaro; Yokota, Osamu; Yamada, Norihito

    2018-01-01

    Among many cognitive function deficits, memory impairment is an initial and cardinal symptom in Alzheimer disease (AD). In most cases, verbal and visual memory scores correlate highly, but in some cases the deficit of verbal or visual memory is very different from that of the other memory. In this study, we examined the neural substrates of verbal and visual memory in patients with AD. One hundred eighty-eight consecutive patients with AD were recruited from outpatient units. Verbal and visual memory scores were evaluated using the Wechsler Memory Scale - revised. The patients underwent brain SPECT with 99m Tc-ethylcysteinate dimer. After removing the effects of age, sex, education, and Mini-Mental State Examination scores, correlation analysis showed a significant correlation of verbal memory scores to regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the bilateral cingulate gyrus and left precuneus. Similarly, a significant correlation of visual memory scores to rCBF was found in the right precuneus and right cingulate gyrus. The posterior medial cortices (PMC) are very important areas in episodic memory among patients with mild AD. Verbal memory is more closely related to the both sides of the PMC, while visual memory is more closely related to the right PMC.

  9. A Review of Verbal and Non-Verbal Human-Robot Interactive Communication

    OpenAIRE

    Mavridis, Nikolaos

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, an overview of human-robot interactive communication is presented, covering verbal as well as non-verbal aspects of human-robot interaction. Following a historical introduction, and motivation towards fluid human-robot communication, ten desiderata are proposed, which provide an organizational axis both of recent as well as of future research on human-robot communication. Then, the ten desiderata are examined in detail, culminating to a unifying discussion, and a forward-lookin...

  10. School Bullying Among US Adolescents: Physical, Verbal, Relational and Cyber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jing; Iannotti, Ronald J.; Nansel, Tonja R.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose Four forms of school bullying behaviors among US adolescents and their association with socio-demographic characteristics, parental support and friends were examined. Methods Data were obtained from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) 2005 Survey, a nationally-representative sample of grades 6 to 10 (N = 7182). The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used to measure physical, verbal and relational forms of bullying. Two items were added using the same format to measure cyber bullying. For each form, four categories were created: bully, victim, bully-victim, and not involved. Multinomial logistic regressions were applied, with socio-demographic variables, parental support and number of friends as predictors. Results Prevalence rates of having bullied others or having been bullied at school for at least once in the last 2 months were 20.8% physically, 53.6% verbally, 51.4% socially or 13.6% electronically. Boys were more involved in physical or verbal bullying, while girls were more involved in relational bullying. Boys were more likely to be cyber bullies, while girls were more likely to be cyber victims. African-American adolescents were involved in more bullying (physical, verbal or cyber) but less victimization (verbal or relational). Higher parental support was associated with less involvement across all forms and classifications of bullying. Having more friends was associated with more bullying and less victimization for physical, verbal and relational forms, but was not associated with cyber bullying. Conclusions Parental support may protect adolescents from all four forms of bullying. Friends associate differentially with traditional and cyber bullying. Results indicate that cyber bullying has a distinct nature from traditional bullying. PMID:19766941

  11. Syntactic Dependencies and Verbal Inflection: Complementisers and Verbal Forms in Standard Arabic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feras Saeed

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the syntactic dependency between complementisers and verbal forms in Standard Arabic and provides a new analysis of this dependency. The imperfective verb in this language surfaces with three different forms, where each form is indicated by a different suffixal marker attached to the end of the verb as (-u, (-a, or (-Ø. The occurrence of each suffixal marker on the verb corresponds to the co-occurrence of a particular type of Comp-elements in the C/T domain. I argue that these morphological markers on the three verbal forms are the manifestation of an Agree relation between an interpretable unvalued finiteness feature [Fin] on C and an uninterpretable but valued instance of the same feature on v, assuming feature transfer and feature sharing between C/T and v (Pesetsky & Torrego 2007; Chomsky 2008. I also argue that the different verbal forms in Standard Arabic are dictated by the co-occurrence of three types of Comp-elements: i C-elements; ii T-elements which ultimately move to C; and iii imperative/negative elements. Keywords: feature transfer/sharing, verbal forms, complementisers, finiteness, syntactic dependency, Standard Arabic

  12. Symbiotic Relations of Verbal and Non-Verbal Components of Creolized Text on the Example of Stephen King’s Books Covers Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Anna S. Kobysheva; Viktoria A. Nakaeva

    2017-01-01

    The article examines the symbiotic relationships between non-verbal and verbal components of the creolized text. The research focuses on the analysis of the correlation between verbal and visual elements of horror book covers based on three types of correlations between verbal and non-verbal text constituents, i.e. recurrent, additive and emphatic.

  13. Lexical preferences in Dutch verbal cluster ordering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bloem, J.; Bellamy, K.; Karvovskaya, E.; Kohlberger, M.; Saad, G.

    2016-01-01

    This study discusses lexical preferences as a factor affecting the word order variation in Dutch verbal clusters. There are two grammatical word orders for Dutch two-verb clusters, with no clear meaning difference. Using the method of collostructional analysis, I find significant associations

  14. Symbiotic Relations of Verbal and Non-Verbal Components of Creolized Text on the Example of Stephen King’s Books Covers Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna S. Kobysheva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the symbiotic relationships between non-verbal and verbal components of the creolized text. The research focuses on the analysis of the correlation between verbal and visual elements of horror book covers based on three types of correlations between verbal and non-verbal text constituents, i.e. recurrent, additive and emphatic.

  15. Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Yim-Chi; Cheung, Mei-Chun; Chan, Agnes S

    2003-07-01

    The hypothesis that music training can improve verbal memory was tested in children. The results showed that children with music training demonstrated better verbal but not visual memory than did their counterparts without such training. When these children were followed up after a year, those who had begun or continued music training demonstrated significant verbal memory improvement. Students who discontinued the training did not show any improvement. Contrary to the differences in verbal memory between the groups, their changes in visual memory were not significantly different. Consistent with previous findings for adults (A. S. Chan, Y. Ho, & M. Cheung, 1998), the results suggest that music training systematically affects memory processing in accordance with possible neuroanatomical modifications in the left temporal lobe.

  16. Toward a digitally mediated, transgenerational negotiation of verbal and non-verbal concepts in daycare

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chimirri, Niklas Alexander

    an adult researcher’s research problem and her/his conceptual knowledge of the child-adult-digital media interaction are able to do justice to what the children actually intend to communicate about their experiences and actions, both verbally and non-verbally, by and large remains little explored...

  17. Neuroarchitecture of verbal and tonal working memory in nonmusicians and musicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulze, Katrin; Zysset, Stefan; Mueller, Karsten; Friederici, Angela D; Koelsch, Stefan

    2011-05-01

    Working memory (WM) for auditory information has been thought of as a unitary system, but whether WM for verbal and tonal information relies on the same or different functional neuroarchitectures has remained unknown. This fMRI study examines verbal and tonal WM in both nonmusicians (who are trained in speech, but not in music) and highly trained musicians (who are trained in both domains). The data show that core structures of WM are involved in both tonal and verbal WM (Broca's area, premotor cortex, pre-SMA/SMA, left insular cortex, inferior parietal lobe), although with significantly different structural weightings, in both nonmusicians and musicians. Additionally, musicians activated specific subcomponents only during verbal (right insular cortex) or only during tonal WM (right globus pallidus, right caudate nucleus, and left cerebellum). These results reveal the existence of two WM systems in musicians: A phonological loop supporting rehearsal of phonological information, and a tonal loop supporting rehearsal of tonal information. Differences between groups for tonal WM, and between verbal and tonal WM within musicians, were mainly related to structures involved in controlling, programming and planning of actions, thus presumably reflecting differences in action-related sensorimotor coding of verbal and tonal information. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Brain connectivity during verbal working memory in children and adolescents

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    G.E. van den Bosch (Gerbrich); H.E. Marroun (Hanan); M. Schmidt (Marcus); D. Tibboel (Dick); D.S. Manoach (Dara); V.D. Calhoun (Vince); T.J.H. White (Tonya)

    2014-01-01

    textabstractWorking memory (WkM) is a fundamental cognitive process that serves as a building block for higher order cognitive functions. While studies have shown that children and adolescents utilize similar brain regions during verbal WkM, there have been few studies that evaluate the

  19. Verbal memory retrieval engages visual cortex in musicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Z; Zhang, J X; Yang, Z; Dong, G; Wu, J; Chan, A S; Weng, X

    2010-06-16

    As one major line of research on brain plasticity, many imaging studies have been conducted to identify the functional and structural reorganization associated with musical expertise. Based on previous behavioral research, the present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural correlates of superior verbal memory performance in musicians. Participants with and without musical training performed a verbal memory task to first encode a list of words auditorily delivered and then silently recall as many words as possible. They performed in separate blocks a control task involving pure tone pitch judgment. Post-scan recognition test showed better memory performance in musicians than non-musicians. During memory retrieval, the musicians showed significantly greater activations in bilateral though left-lateralized visual cortex relative to the pitch judgment baseline. In comparison, no such visual cortical activations were found in the non-musicians. No group differences were observed during the encoding stage. The results echo a previous report of visual cortical activation during verbal memory retrieval in the absence of any visual sensory stimulation in the blind population, who are also known to possess superior verbal memory. It is suggested that the visual cortex can be recruited to serve as extra memory resources and contributes to the superior verbal memory in special situations. While in the blind population, such cross-modal functional reorganization may be induced by sensory deprivation; in the musicians it may be induced by the long-term and demanding nature of musical training to use as much available neural resources as possible. 2010 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. NEGOSIASI PENERJEMAHAN VERBAL - VISUAL DESAIN GRAFIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moeljadi Pranata

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Design is commonly regarded as an act of individual creation to which both verbalization and logical analysis are only peripherally relevant. This article reviews a research study about talking design by Tomes et al (1998 which involving graphic designers and their clients. The conclusion is that talking design -- verbal and visual -- is the design itself. Comments from a design-major student give more light to the research s outputs. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Desain umumnya dipandang sebagai karya ekspresi diri. Analisis logis dan penerjemahan verbal hanya dianggap relevan di permukaan saja. Artikel ini mereview kajian riset Tomes dkk. (1998 mengenai bahasan desain yang melibatkan tim desainer grafis dan kliennya. Simpulannya%2C bahasan desain ¾ verbal dan visual ¾ adalah desain itu sendiri. Artikel ini dilengkapi tanggapan mahasiswa desain terhadap hasil riset tersebut. graphic design%2C design process%2C verbal/visual communication

  1. The Role of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in a Two-Person, Cooperative Manipulation Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarangi P. Parikh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Motivated by the differences between human and robot teams, we investigated the role of verbal communication between human teammates as they work together to move a large object to a series of target locations. Only one member of the group was told the target sequence by the experimenters, while the second teammate had no target knowledge. The two experimental conditions we compared were haptic-verbal (teammates are allowed to talk and haptic only (no talking allowed. The team’s trajectory was recorded and evaluated. In addition, participants completed a NASA TLX-style postexperimental survey which gauges workload along 6 different dimensions. In our initial experiment we found no significant difference in performance when verbal communication was added. In a follow-up experiment, using a different manipulation task, we did find that the addition of verbal communication significantly improved performance and reduced the perceived workload. In both experiments, for the haptic-only condition, we found that a remarkable number of groups independently improvised common haptic communication protocols (CHIPs. We speculate that such protocols can be substituted for verbal communication and that the performance difference between verbal and nonverbal communication may be related to how easy it is to distinguish the CHIPs from motions required for task completion.

  2. The effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on children's fear-related responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Kathryn J; Lisk, Stephen C; Mikita, Nina; Mitchell, Sophie; Huijding, Jorg; Rinck, Mike; Field, Andy P

    2015-09-01

    This study examined the effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on fear-related cognitive and behavioural responses about novel animals. One hundred and sixty children (7-11 years) were randomly allocated to receive: a) positive verbal information about one novel animal and threat information about a second novel animal (verbal information condition); b) approach-avoidance training in which they repeatedly pushed away (avoid) or pulled closer (approach) pictures of the animals (approach-avoidance training), c) a combined condition in which verbal information was given prior to approach-avoidance training (verbal information + approach-avoidance training) and d) a combined condition in which approach-avoidance training was given prior to verbal information (approach-avoidance training + verbal information). Threat and positive information significantly increased and decreased fear beliefs and avoidance behaviour respectively. Approach-avoidance training was successful in training the desired behavioural responses but had limited effects on fear-related responses. Verbal information and both combined conditions resulted in significantly larger effects than approach-avoidance training. We found no evidence for an additive effect of these pathways. This study used a non-clinical sample and focused on novel animals rather than animals about which children already had experience or established fears. The study also compared positive information/approach with threat information/avoid training, limiting specific conclusions regarding the independent effects of these conditions. The present study finds little evidence in support of a possible causal role for behavioural response training in the aetiology of childhood fear. However, the provision of verbal information appears to be an important pathway involved in the aetiology of childhood fear. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Verbal memory functioning in recurrent depression during partial remission and remission-Brief report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Åsa eHammar

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to investigate verbal memory performance in a group of patients with remitted and partial remitted major depressive disorder. Thirty-one patients and 31 healthy matched controls were included in the study. Results from the California Verbal Learning Test show intact verbal memory performance in the patient group regarding learning, recall and recognition. However, patients had significantly poorer performance compared to healthy controls in immediate recall of the first trial in the verbal memory test. In conclusion, the patient group showed intact memory performance, when material is presented more than once. These findings indicate that memory performance in MDD patients with partial remission and remission benefit from repetition of material.

  4. Social and emotional adjustment of adolescents extremely talented in verbal or mathematical reasoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brody, L E; Benbow, C P

    1986-02-01

    Perceptions of self-esteem, locus of control, popularity, depression (or unhappiness), and discipline problems as indices of social and emotional adjustment were investigated in highly verbally or mathematically talented adolescents. Compared to a group of students who are much less gifted, the highly gifted students perceive themselves as less popular, but no differences were found in self-esteem, depression, or the incidence of discipline problems. The gifted students reported greater internal locus of control. Comparisons between the highly mathematically talented students and the highly verbally talented students suggested that the students in the latter group perceive themselves as less popular. Within both the gifted and comparison groups, there were also slight indications that higher verbal ability may be related to some social and emotional problems.

  5. Neuropsychological factors related to returning to work in patients with higher brain dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kai, Akiko; Hashimoto, Manabu; Okazaki, Tetsuya; Hachisuka, Kenji

    2008-12-01

    We conducted neuropsychological tests of patients with higher brain dysfunction to examine the characteristics of barriers to employment. We tested 92 patients with higher brain dysfunction (average age of 36.3 +/- 13.8 years old, ranging between 16 and 63 years old, with an average post-injury period of 35.6 +/- 67.8 months) who were hospitalized at the university hospital between February 2002 and June 2007 for further neuropsychological evaluation, conducting the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R), the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS). The outcomes after discharge were classified between competitive employment, sheltered employment and non-employment, and the three groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance and the Scheffe test. The WAIS-R subtests were mutually compared based on the standard values of significant differences described in the WAIS-R manual. Verbal performance and full scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of WAIS-R were 87.7 +/- 15.6 (mean +/- standard deviation), 78.5 +/- 18.1 and 81.0 +/- 17.2, respectively, and verbal memory, visual memory, general memory, attention/concentration and delayed recall were 74.6 +/- 20.0, 76.6 +/- 21.4, 72.0 +/- 20.4, 89.0 +/- 16.5 and 65.2 +/- 20.8, respectively. The competitive employment group showed significantly higher scores in performance IQ and full IQ on the WAIS-R and verbal memory, visual memory, general memory and delayed recall on the WMS-R and RBMT than the non-employment group. The sheltered employment group showed a significantly higher score in delayed recall than the non-employment group. No difference was observed in the FAB or BADS between the three groups. In the subtests of the WAIS-R, the score for Digit Symbol-Coding was significantly lower than almost all the other subtests. For patients with higher brain dysfunction, IQ (full

  6. Inpatient verbal aggression: content, targets and patient characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, D; Bowers, L

    2013-04-01

    Verbally aggressive behaviour on psychiatric wards is more common than physical violence and can have distressing consequences for the staff and patients who are subjected to it. Previous research has tended to examine incidents of verbal aggression in little detail, instead combining different types of aggressive behaviour into a single measure. This study recruited 522 adult psychiatric inpatients from 84 acute wards. Data were collected from nursing and medical records for the first 2 weeks of admission. Incidents of verbal aggression were categorized and associations with patient characteristics examined. There were 1398 incidents of verbal aggression in total, reported for half the sample. Types of verbal aggression were, in order of prevalence: abusive language, shouting, threats, expressions of anger and racist comments. There were also a large number of entries in the notes which did not specify the form of verbal aggression. Staff members were the most frequent target of aggression. A history of violence and previous drug use were consistently associated with verbal aggression. However, there were also some notable differences in patient variables associated with specific types of verbal aggression. Future studies should consider using multidimensional measures of verbal aggression. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing.

  7. Verbal Modeling Behavior in Mother-Child Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longhurst, Thomas M.; And Others

    1974-01-01

    Discusses an alternate method of examining the verbal interaction of mothers and their children in dyadic communication. The behavior of both mothers and children differed significantly according to the ages of the children involved. Acta Symbolica, 807 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38105. Subscription Rates: annually, $12.00 individuals,…

  8. Visualizing the Verbal and Verbalizing the Visual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braden, Roberts A.

    This paper explores relationships of visual images to verbal elements, beginning with a discussion of visible language as represented by words printed on the page. The visual flexibility inherent in typography is discussed in terms of the appearance of the letters and the denotative and connotative meanings represented by type, typographical…

  9. The effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on children's fear-related responses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Kathryn J.; Lisk, Stephen C.; Mikita, Nina; Mitchell, Sophie; Huijding, Jorg; Rinck, Mike; Field, Andy P.

    2015-01-01

    Background and objectives This study examined the effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on fear-related cognitive and behavioural responses about novel animals. Methods One hundred and sixty children (7–11 years) were randomly allocated to receive: a) positive verbal information about one novel animal and threat information about a second novel animal (verbal information condition); b) approach-avoidance training in which they repeatedly pushed away (avoid) or pulled closer (approach) pictures of the animals (approach-avoidance training), c) a combined condition in which verbal information was given prior to approach-avoidance training (verbal information + approach-avoidance training) and d) a combined condition in which approach-avoidance training was given prior to verbal information (approach-avoidance training + verbal information). Results Threat and positive information significantly increased and decreased fear beliefs and avoidance behaviour respectively. Approach-avoidance training was successful in training the desired behavioural responses but had limited effects on fear-related responses. Verbal information and both combined conditions resulted in significantly larger effects than approach-avoidance training. We found no evidence for an additive effect of these pathways. Limitations This study used a non-clinical sample and focused on novel animals rather than animals about which children already had experience or established fears. The study also compared positive information/approach with threat information/avoid training, limiting specific conclusions regarding the independent effects of these conditions. Conclusions The present study finds little evidence in support of a possible causal role for behavioural response training in the aetiology of childhood fear. However, the provision of verbal information appears to be an important pathway involved in the aetiology of childhood fear. PMID:25698069

  10. The strengths and weaknesses in verbal short-term memory and visual working memory in children with hearing impairment and additional language learning difficulties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, Suzi; Goldbart, Juliet; Stansfield, Jois

    2014-07-01

    To compare verbal short-term memory and visual working memory abilities of six children with congenital hearing-impairment identified as having significant language learning difficulties with normative data from typically hearing children using standardized memory assessments. Six children with hearing loss aged 8-15 years were assessed on measures of verbal short-term memory (Non-word and word recall) and visual working memory annually over a two year period. All children had cognitive abilities within normal limits and used spoken language as the primary mode of communication. The language assessment scores at the beginning of the study revealed that all six participants exhibited delays of two years or more on standardized assessments of receptive and expressive vocabulary and spoken language. The children with hearing-impairment scores were significantly higher on the non-word recall task than the "real" word recall task. They also exhibited significantly higher scores on visual working memory than those of the age-matched sample from the standardized memory assessment. Each of the six participants in this study displayed the same pattern of strengths and weaknesses in verbal short-term memory and visual working memory despite their very different chronological ages. The children's poor ability to recall single syllable words in relation to non-words is a clinical indicator of their difficulties in verbal short-term memory. However, the children with hearing-impairment do not display generalized processing difficulties and indeed demonstrate strengths in visual working memory. The poor ability to recall words, in combination with difficulties with early word learning may be indicators of children with hearing-impairment who will struggle to develop spoken language equal to that of their normally hearing peers. This early identification has the potential to allow for target specific intervention that may remediate their difficulties. Copyright © 2014. Published

  11. Verbal fluency in bilingual Spanish/English Alzheimer's disease patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvatierra, Judy; Rosselli, Monica; Acevedo, Amarilis; Duara, Ranjan

    2007-01-01

    Studies have demonstrated that in verbal fluency tests, monolinguals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show greater difficulties retrieving words based on semantic rather than phonemic rules. The present study aimed to determine whether this difficulty was reproduced in both languages of Spanish/English bilinguals with mild to moderate AD whose primary language was Spanish. Performance on semantic and phonemic verbal fluency of 11 bilingual AD patients was compared to the performance of 11 cognitively normal, elderly bilingual individuals matched for gender, age, level of education, and degree of bilingualism. Cognitively normal subjects retrieved significantly more items under the semantic condition compared to the phonemic, whereas the performance of AD patients was similar under both conditions, suggesting greater decline in semantic verbal fluency tests. This pattern was produced in both languages, implying a related semantic decline in both languages. Results from this study should be considered preliminary because of the small sample size.

  12. Development and psychometric validation of the verbal affective memory test

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Christian Gaden; Hjordt, Liv V; Stenbæk, Dea S

    2015-01-01

    . Furthermore, larger seasonal decreases in positive recall significantly predicted larger increases in depressive symptoms. Retest reliability was satisfactory, rs ≥ .77. In conclusion, VAMT-24 is more thoroughly developed and validated than existing verbal affective memory tests and showed satisfactory...... psychometric properties. VAMT-24 seems especially sensitive to measuring positive verbal recall bias, perhaps due to the application of common, non-taboo words. Based on the psychometric and clinical results, we recommend VAMT-24 for international translations and studies of affective memory.......We here present the development and validation of the Verbal Affective Memory Test-24 (VAMT-24). First, we ensured face validity by selecting 24 words reliably perceived as positive, negative or neutral, respectively, according to healthy Danish adults' valence ratings of 210 common and non...

  13. The brain correlates of the effects of monetary and verbal rewards on intrinsic motivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albrecht, Konstanze; Abeler, Johannes; Weber, Bernd; Falk, Armin

    2014-01-01

    Apart from everyday duties, such as doing the laundry or cleaning the house, there are tasks we do for pleasure and enjoyment. We do such tasks, like solving crossword puzzles or reading novels, without any external pressure or force; instead, we are intrinsically motivated: we do the tasks because we enjoy doing them. Previous studies suggest that external rewards, i.e., rewards from the outside, affect the intrinsic motivation to engage in a task: while performance-based monetary rewards are perceived as controlling and induce a business-contract framing, verbal rewards praising one's competence can enhance the perceived self-determination. Accordingly, the former have been shown to decrease intrinsic motivation, whereas the latter have been shown to increase intrinsic motivation. The present study investigated the neural processes underlying the effects of monetary and verbal rewards on intrinsic motivation in a group of 64 subjects applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that, when participants received positive performance feedback, activation in the anterior striatum and midbrain was affected by the nature of the reward; compared to a non-rewarded control group, activation was higher while monetary rewards were administered. However, we did not find a decrease in activation after reward withdrawal. In contrast, we found an increase in activation for verbal rewards: after verbal rewards had been withdrawn, participants showed a higher activation in the aforementioned brain areas when they received success compared to failure feedback. We further found that, while participants worked on the task, activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex was enhanced after the verbal rewards were administered and withdrawn.

  14. Dichotic assessment of verbal memory function: development and validation of the Persian version of Dichotic Verbal Memory Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghamollaei, Maryam; Jafari, Zahra; Tahaei, Aliakbar; Toufan, Reyhane; Keyhani, Mohammadreza; Rahimzade, Shadi; Esmaeili, Mahdieh

    2013-09-01

    The Dichotic Verbal Memory Test (DVMT) is useful in detecting verbal memory deficits and differences in memory function between the brain hemispheres. The purpose of this study was to prepare the Persian version of DVMT, to obtain its results in 18- to 25-yr-old Iranian individuals, and to examine the ear, gender, and serial position effect. The Persian version of DVMT consisted of 18 10-word lists. After preparing the 18 lists, content validity was assessed by a panel of eight experts and the equivalency of the lists was evaluated. Then the words were recorded on CD in a dichotic mode such that 10 words were presented to one ear, with the same words reversed simultaneously presented to the other ear. Thereafter, it was performed on a sample of young, normal, Iranian individuals. Thirty normal individuals (no history of neurological, ontological, or psychological diseases) with ages ranging from 18 to 25 yr were examined for evaluating the equivalency of the lists, and 110 subjects within the same age range participated in the final stage of the study to obtain the normative data on the developed test. There was no significant difference between the mean scores of the 18 developed lists (p > 0.05). The mean content validity index (CVI) score was .96. A significant difference was found between the mean score of the two ears (p < 0.05) and between female and male participants (p < 0.05). The Persian version of DVMT has good content validity and can be used for verbal memory assessment in Iranian young adults. American Academy of Audiology.

  15. Effects of Emotional Intelligence on the Impression of Irony Created by the Mismatch between Verbal and Nonverbal Cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Heike; Kreifelts, Benjamin; Nizielski, Sophia; Schütz, Astrid; Wildgruber, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Emotional information is conveyed through verbal and nonverbal signals, with nonverbal cues often being considered the decisive factor in the judgment of others' emotional states. The aim of the present study was to examine how verbal and nonverbal cues are integrated by perceivers. More specifically, we tested whether the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information was perceived as an expression of irony. Moreover, we investigated the effects of emotional intelligence on the impression of irony. The findings revealed that the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information created the impression of irony. Furthermore, participants higher in emotional intelligence were faster at rating such stimuli as ironic expressions.

  16. Effects of Emotional Intelligence on the Impression of Irony Created by the Mismatch between Verbal and Nonverbal Cues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Heike; Kreifelts, Benjamin; Nizielski, Sophia; Schütz, Astrid; Wildgruber, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Emotional information is conveyed through verbal and nonverbal signals, with nonverbal cues often being considered the decisive factor in the judgment of others’ emotional states. The aim of the present study was to examine how verbal and nonverbal cues are integrated by perceivers. More specifically, we tested whether the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information was perceived as an expression of irony. Moreover, we investigated the effects of emotional intelligence on the impression of irony. The findings revealed that the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information created the impression of irony. Furthermore, participants higher in emotional intelligence were faster at rating such stimuli as ironic expressions. PMID:27716831

  17. Assessing the aging effect on auditory-verbal memory by Persian version of dichotic auditory verbal memory test

    OpenAIRE

    Zahra Shahidipour; Ahmad Geshani; Zahra Jafari; Shohreh Jalaie; Elham Khosravifard

    2014-01-01

    Background and Aim: Memory is one of the aspects of cognitive function which is widely affected among aged people. Since aging has different effects on different memorial systems and little studies have investigated auditory-verbal memory function in older adults using dichotic listening techniques, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the auditory-verbal memory function among old people using Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test. Methods: The Persian version of dic...

  18. Attitudes and beliefs as verbal behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Guerin, Bernard

    1994-01-01

    Attitudes and beliefs are analyzed as verbal behavior. It is argued that shaping by a verbal community is an essential part of the formation and maintenance of both attitudes and beliefs, and it is suggested that verbal communities mediate the important shift in control from events in the environment (attitudes and beliefs as tacts) to control by other words (attitudes and beliefs as intraverbals). It appears that both attitudes and beliefs are constantly being socially negotiated through aut...

  19. Verbal Ability and Teacher Effectiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrew, Michael D.; Cobb, Casey D.; Giampietro, Peter J.

    2005-01-01

    Critics of traditional teacher education programs have suggested that verbal ability along with subject knowledge is sufficient for measuring good teaching. A small group of research studies is called upon to support this contention. This article reviews these studies, analyzes the role of verbal ability in teaching, and presents research…

  20. Linguistic Phenomena in Men and Women - TOT, FOK, Verbal Fluency

    OpenAIRE

    Ewa Szepietowska; Barbara Gawda; Agnieszka Gawda

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study is to describe the differences between women and men in the phenomena of feeling of knowing/know (FOK), tip of the tongue (TOT), and verbal fluency. Two studies are presented. The first included a group of 60 participants and focused on the analysis of FOK and TOT in men and women. The second study described the performance of 302 participants in verbal fluency tasks. Both studies showed that sex is not a significant predictor of linguistic abilities. Rather, the main fa...

  1. Verbal Knowledge, Working Memory, and Processing Speed as Predictors of Verbal Learning in Older Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rast, Philippe

    2011-01-01

    The present study aimed at modeling individual differences in a verbal learning task by means of a latent structured growth curve approach based on an exponential function that yielded 3 parameters: initial recall, learning rate, and asymptotic performance. Three cognitive variables--speed of information processing, verbal knowledge, working…

  2. Virtual Chironomia: A Multimodal Study of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in a Virtual World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhulsdonck, Gustav

    2010-01-01

    This mixed methods study examined the various aspects of multimodal use of non-verbal communication in virtual worlds during dyadic negotiations. Quantitative analysis uncovered a treatment effect whereby people with more rhetorical certainty used more neutral non-verbal communication; whereas people that were rhetorically less certain used more…

  3. Dichotic auditory-verbal memory in adults with cerebro-vascular accident

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    Samaneh Yekta

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: Cerebrovascular accident is a neurological disorder involves central nervous system. Studies have shown that it affects the outputs of behavioral auditory tests such as dichotic auditory verbal memory test. The purpose of this study was to compare this memory test results between patients with cerebrovascular accident and normal subjects.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 patients with cerebrovascular accident aged 50-70 years and 20 controls matched for age and gender in Emam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Dichotic auditory verbal memory test was performed on each subject.Results: The mean score in the two groups was significantly different (p<0.0001. The results indicated that the right-ear score was significantly greater than the left-ear score in normal subjects (p<0.0001 and in patients with right hemisphere lesion (p<0.0001. The right-ear and left-ear scores were not significantly different in patients with left hemisphere lesion (p=0.0860.Conclusion: Among other methods, Dichotic auditory verbal memory test is a beneficial test in assessing the central auditory nervous system of patients with cerebrovascular accident. It seems that it is sensitive to the damages occur following temporal lobe strokes.

  4. The Moderating Role of Parental Warmth on the Relation Between Verbal Punishment and Child Problem Behaviors for Same-sex and Cross-sex Parent-Child Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anonas, Maria Roberta L.; Alampay, Liane Peña

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates the relation between parental verbal punishment and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in Filipino children, and the moderating role of parental warmth in this relation, for same-sex (mothers-girls; fathers-boys) and cross-sex parent-child groups (mothers-boys; fathers-girls). Measures used were the Rohner Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Control Scale (PARQ/Control), the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBC), and a discipline measure (DI) constructed for the study. Participants were 117 mothers and 98 fathers of 61 boys and 59 girls who responded to a discipline interview, the Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Control scale (PARQ/Control) and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist via oral interviews. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses (with Bonferroni-corrected alpha levels) revealed that maternal frequency of verbal punishment was positively related to internalizing and externalizing outcomes in boys and girls whereas paternal frequency of verbal punishment was positively related to girls’ externalizing behavior. Significant interactions between verbal punishment and maternal warmth in mother-girl groups were also found for both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. While higher maternal warmth ameliorated the impact of low verbal punishment on girls’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors, it exacerbated the effect of high verbal punishment on negative outcomes. PMID:26752797

  5. Verbal learning in the context of background music: no influence of vocals and instrumentals on verbal learning.

    OpenAIRE

    Jancke L; Brugger E; Brummer M; Scherrer S; Alahmadi N

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Whether listening to background music enhances verbal learning performance is still a matter of dispute. In this study we investigated the influence of vocal and instrumental background music on verbal learning. METHODS: 226 subjects were randomly assigned to one of five groups (one control group and 4 experimental groups). All participants were exposed to a verbal learning task. One group served as control group while the 4 further groups served as experimental groups. The con...

  6. Reduced verbal fluency for proper names in nondemented patients with Parkinson's disease: a quantitative and qualitative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine, Eric M; Delis, Dean C; Paul, Brianna M; Filoteo, J Vincent

    2011-02-01

    There has been an increasing interest within neuropsychology in comparing verbal fluency for different grammatical classes (e.g., verb generation vs. noun generation) in neurological populations, including Parkinson's disease (PD). However, to our knowledge, few studies have compared verbal fluency for common nouns and proper names in PD. Common nouns and proper names differ in terms of their semantic characteristics, as categories of common nouns are organized hierarchically based on semantics, while categories of proper nouns lack a well-defined semantic organization. In addition, there is accumulating evidence that the retrieval of these distinct grammatical classes are subserved by somewhat distinct neural systems. Given that verbal fluency deficits are among the first impairments to emerge in PD, and that such deficits are predictors of future cognitive decline, it is important to examine all aspects of verbal fluency in this population. For the current study, we compared the performance of a group of 32 nondemented PD patients with 32 healthy participants (HP) on verbal fluency tasks for common nouns (animals) and proper names (boys' first names). A significant interaction between verbal fluency task and diagnostic status emerged, as the PD group performed significantly worse on only the proper name fluency task. This finding may reflect the absence of well-defined semantic organization that structures the verbal search for first names, thus placing a greater onus on strategic or "executive" verbal retrieval processes.

  7. Verbal learning in the context of background music: no influence of vocals and instrumentals on verbal learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jäncke, Lutz; Brügger, Eliane; Brummer, Moritz; Scherrer, Stephanie; Alahmadi, Nsreen

    2014-03-26

    Whether listening to background music enhances verbal learning performance is still a matter of dispute. In this study we investigated the influence of vocal and instrumental background music on verbal learning. 226 subjects were randomly assigned to one of five groups (one control group and 4 experimental groups). All participants were exposed to a verbal learning task. One group served as control group while the 4 further groups served as experimental groups. The control group learned without background music while the 4 experimental groups were exposed to vocal or instrumental musical pieces during learning with different subjective intensity and valence. Thus, we employed 4 music listening conditions (vocal music with high intensity: VOC_HIGH, vocal music with low intensity: VOC_LOW, instrumental music with high intensity: INST_HIGH, instrumental music with low intensity: INST_LOW) and one control condition (CONT) during which the subjects learned the word lists. Since it turned out that the high and low intensity groups did not differ in terms of the rated intensity during the main experiment these groups were lumped together. Thus, we worked with 3 groups: one control group and two groups, which were exposed to background music (vocal and instrumental) during verbal learning. As dependent variable, the number of learned words was used. Here we measured immediate recall during five learning sessions (recall 1 - recall 5) and delayed recall for 15 minutes (recall 6) and 14 days (recall 7) after the last learning session. Verbal learning improved during the first 5 recall sessions without any strong difference between the control and experimental groups. Also the delayed recalls were similar for the three groups. There was only a trend for attenuated verbal learning for the group passively listened to vocals. This learning attenuation diminished during the following learning sessions. The exposure to vocal or instrumental background music during encoding did not

  8. Linguistic analysis of verbal and non-verbal communication in the operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Alison; Butt, David; Ellis-Clarke, Jodie; Cartmill, John

    2010-12-01

    Surgery can be a triumph of co-operation, the procedure evolving as a result of joint action between multiple participants. The communication that mediates the joint action of surgery is conveyed by verbal but particularly by non-verbal signals. Competing priorities superimposed by surgical learning must also be negotiated within this context and this paper draws on techniques of systemic functional linguistics to observe and analyse the flow of information during such a phase of surgery. © 2010 The Authors. ANZ Journal of Surgery © 2010 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  9. Understanding Instructor Nonverbal Immediacy, Verbal Immediacy, and Student Motivation at a Small Liberal Arts University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furlich, Stephen A.

    2016-01-01

    Instructor communication behaviors and student motivation to learn relationships were studied at a small liberal arts university. Specifically, relationships between instructor nonverbal immediacy, verbal immediacy behaviors and student motivation to learn were measured. Only instructor verbal immediacy behaviors had a significant linear…

  10. EEG correlates of verbal and nonverbal working memory

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    Danker Jared

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Distinct cognitive processes support verbal and nonverbal working memory, with verbal memory depending specifically on the subvocal rehearsal of items. Methods We recorded scalp EEG while subjects performed a Sternberg task. In each trial, subjects judged whether a probe item was one of the three items in a study list. Lists were composed of stimuli from one of five pools whose items either were verbally rehearsable (letters, words, pictures of common objects or resistant to verbal rehearsal (sinusoidal grating patterns, single dot locations. Results We found oscillatory correlates unique to verbal stimuli in the θ (4–8 Hz, α (9–12 Hz, β (14–28 Hz, and γ (30–50 Hz frequency bands. Verbal stimuli generally elicited greater power than did nonverbal stimuli. Enhanced verbal power was found bilaterally in the θ band, over frontal and occipital areas in the α and β bands, and centrally in the γ band. When we looked specifically for cases where oscillatory power in the time interval between item presentations was greater than oscillatory power during item presentation, we found enhanced β activity in the frontal and occipital regions. Conclusion These results implicate stimulus-induced oscillatory activity in verbal working memory and β activity in the process of subvocal rehearsal.

  11. THE BRAIN CORRELATES OF THE EFFECTS OF MONETARY AND VERBAL REWARDS ON INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

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    Konstanze eAlbrecht

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Apart from everyday duties, such as doing the laundry or cleaning the house, there are tasks we do for pleasure and enjoyment. We do such tasks, like solving crossword puzzles or reading novels, without any external pressure or force; instead, we are intrinsically motivated: We do the tasks because we enjoy doing them. Previous studies suggest that external rewards, i.e., rewards from the outside, affect the intrinsic motivation to engage in a task: While performance-based monetary rewards are perceived as controlling and induce a business-contract framing, verbal rewards praising one’s competence can enhance the perceived self-determination. Accordingly, the former have been shown to decrease intrinsic motivation, whereas the latter have been shown to increase intrinsic motivation. The present study investigated the neural processes underlying the effects of monetary and verbal rewards on intrinsic motivation in a group of 64 subjects applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. We found that, when participants received positive performance feedback, activation in the anterior striatum and midbrain was affected by the nature of the reward; compared to a non-rewarded control group, activation was higher while monetary rewards were administered. However, we did not find a decrease in activation after reward withdrawal. In contrast, we found an increase in activation for verbal rewards: After verbal rewards had been withdrawn, participants showed a higher activation in the aforementioned brain areas when they received success compared to failure feedback. We further found that, while participants worked on the task, activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex was enhanced after the verbal rewards were administered and withdrawn.

  12. Stage effects of negative emotion on spatial and verbal working memory

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    Chan Raymond CK

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The effects of negative emotion on different processing periods in spatial and verbal working memory (WM and the possible brain mechanism of the interaction between negative emotion and WM were explored using a high-time resolution event-related potential (ERP technique and time-locked delayed matching-to-sample task (DMST. Results Early P3b and late P3b were reduced in the negative emotion condition for both the spatial and verbal tasks at encoding. At retention, the sustained negative slow wave (NSW showed a significant interaction between emotional state and task type. Spatial trials in the negative emotion condition elicited a more negative deflection than they did in the neutral emotion condition. However, no such effect was observed for the verbal tasks. At retrieval, early P3b and late P3b were markedly more attenuated in the negative emotion condition than in the neutral emotion condition for both the spatial and verbal tasks. Conclusions The results indicate that the differential effects of negative emotion on spatial and verbal WM mainly take place during information maintenance processing, which implies that there is a systematic association between specific affects (e.g., negative emotion and certain cognitive processes (e.g., spatial retention.

  13. Communication skills of heads of departments: verbal, listening, and feedback skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamidi, Yadollah; Barati, Majid

    2011-11-04

    Managers' communication skills are one of the most important topics in educational sector of universities of medical sciences and may have considerable effect on faculty members and employees. This study was per-formed to determine the level of communication skills (verbal, listening, feed-back) of the heads of department of faculties and its relation with some demo-graphic variables. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2009 to January 2010. We enrolled all of the heads of departments (N=60) in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, western Iran. The participants received a self-administered 24-item questionnaire in Likert format (six general items and 18 items related to communication skills). Data were analyzed with SPSS software using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. The average scores of verbal, listening and feedback communication were 22.5, 16.1 and 21.1, respectively. Accordingly, 78.3% of participants in verbal communication, 16.7% in listening communication and 73.3% in feedback communication had high status. There were significant differences between the average score of listening skills and age (P=0.013) as well as gender (P=0.042). In addition, there was a significant statistical difference between verbal skills and gender (P=0.021). The overall communication skills of more than half of the heads of departments were moderate. This needs designing some programs for improving department managers' communication skills.

  14. Comparative Analysis of Verbal and Non-Verbal Mental Activity Components Regarding the Young People with Different Intellectual Levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. M. Revenko

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper maintains that for developing the educational pro- grams and technologies adequate to the different stages of students’ growth and maturity, there is a need for exploring the natural determinants of intel- lectual development as well as the students’ individual qualities affecting the cognition process. The authors investigate the differences of the intellect manifestations with the reference to the gender principle, and analyze the correlations be- tween verbal and non-verbal components in boys and girls’ mental activity depending on their general intellect potential. The research, carried out in Si- berian State Automobile Road Academy and focused on the first year stu- dents, demonstrates the absence of gender differences in students’ general in- tellect levels; though, there are some other conformities: the male students of different intellectual levels show the same correlation coefficient of verbal and non-verbal intellect while the female ones have the same correlation only at the high intellect level. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the need for the integral ap- proach to raising students’ mental abilities considering the close interrelation between the verbal and non-verbal component development. The teaching materials should stimulate different mental qualities by differentiating the educational process to develop students’ individual abilities. 

  15. Positive work environments of early-career registered nurses and the correlation with physician verbal abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, Carol S; Kovner, Christine T; Obeidat, Rana F; Budin, Wendy C

    2013-01-01

    Verbal abuse in the workplace is experienced by registered nurses (RNs) worldwide; physicians are one of the main sources of verbal abuse. To examine the relationship between levels of physician verbal abuse of early-career RNs and demographics, work attributes, and perceived work environment. Fourth wave of a mailed national panel survey of early career RNs begun in 2006. RNs' perception of verbal abuse by physicians was significantly associated with poor workgroup cohesion, lower supervisory and mentor support, greater quantitative workload, organizational constraints, and nurse-colleague verbal abuse, as well as RNs' lower job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to stay. RNs working in unfavorable work environments experience more physician abuse and have less favorable work attitudes. Causality is unclear: do poor working conditions create an environment in which physicians are more likely to be abusive, or does verbal abuse by physicians create an unfavorable work environment? Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. A combination of physical activity and computerized brain training improves verbal memory and increases cerebral glucose metabolism in the elderly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, T; Verdile, G; Sohrabi, H; Campbell, A; Putland, E; Cheetham, C; Dhaliwal, S; Weinborn, M; Maruff, P; Darby, D; Martins, R N

    2014-12-02

    Physical exercise interventions and cognitive training programs have individually been reported to improve cognition in the healthy elderly population; however, the clinical significance of using a combined approach is currently lacking. This study evaluated whether physical activity (PA), computerized cognitive training and/or a combination of both could improve cognition. In this nonrandomized study, 224 healthy community-dwelling older adults (60-85 years) were assigned to 16 weeks home-based PA (n=64), computerized cognitive stimulation (n=62), a combination of both (combined, n=51) or a control group (n=47). Cognition was assessed using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test and the CogState computerized battery at baseline, 8 and 16 weeks post intervention. Physical fitness assessments were performed at all time points. A subset (total n=45) of participants underwent [(18)F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scans at 16 weeks (post-intervention). One hundred and ninety-one participants completed the study and the data of 172 participants were included in the final analysis. Compared with the control group, the combined group showed improved verbal episodic memory and significantly higher brain glucose metabolism in the left sensorimotor cortex after controlling for age, sex, premorbid IQ, apolipoprotein E (APOE) status and history of head injury. The higher cerebral glucose metabolism in this brain region was positively associated with improved verbal memory seen in the combined group only. Our study provides evidence that a specific combination of physical and mental exercises for 16 weeks can improve cognition and increase cerebral glucose metabolism in cognitively intact healthy older adults.

  17. Collecting verbal autopsies: improving and streamlining data collection processes using electronic tablets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flaxman, Abraham D; Stewart, Andrea; Joseph, Jonathan C; Alam, Nurul; Alam, Sayed Saidul; Chowdhury, Hafizur; Mooney, Meghan D; Rampatige, Rasika; Remolador, Hazel; Sanvictores, Diozele; Serina, Peter T; Streatfield, Peter Kim; Tallo, Veronica; Murray, Christopher J L; Hernandez, Bernardo; Lopez, Alan D; Riley, Ian Douglas

    2018-02-01

    There is increasing interest in using verbal autopsy to produce nationally representative population-level estimates of causes of death. However, the burden of processing a large quantity of surveys collected with paper and pencil has been a barrier to scaling up verbal autopsy surveillance. Direct electronic data capture has been used in other large-scale surveys and can be used in verbal autopsy as well, to reduce time and cost of going from collected data to actionable information. We collected verbal autopsy interviews using paper and pencil and using electronic tablets at two sites, and measured the cost and time required to process the surveys for analysis. From these cost and time data, we extrapolated costs associated with conducting large-scale surveillance with verbal autopsy. We found that the median time between data collection and data entry for surveys collected on paper and pencil was approximately 3 months. For surveys collected on electronic tablets, this was less than 2 days. For small-scale surveys, we found that the upfront costs of purchasing electronic tablets was the primary cost and resulted in a higher total cost. For large-scale surveys, the costs associated with data entry exceeded the cost of the tablets, so electronic data capture provides both a quicker and cheaper method of data collection. As countries increase verbal autopsy surveillance, it is important to consider the best way to design sustainable systems for data collection. Electronic data capture has the potential to greatly reduce the time and costs associated with data collection. For long-term, large-scale surveillance required by national vital statistical systems, electronic data capture reduces costs and allows data to be available sooner.

  18. Diferença entre span verbal e visual nos gêneros: estudo piloto Difference between verbal and visual span in genders: pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Cristina Pedrassa Sagrilo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: avaliar a memória de trabalho analisando a capacidade de retenção de estímulos auditivos (span verbal e visuais (span visual e estabelecer a relação com o gênero (masculino e feminino. MÉTODO: participaram deste estudo 20 crianças entre seis anos e cinco meses e sete anos, sendo 10 sujeitos do sexo masculino e 10 sujeitos do sexo feminino. Todos os sujeitos foram submetidos às provas de avaliação do span verbal e visual em ordem direta e inversa. RESULTADOS: apenas na prova de palavras dissílabas com fonologia semelhante e semântica diferente do span verbal, houve variância significante entre os gêneros. As crianças do sexo feminino apresentaram melhor desempenho em relação ao outro gênero, bem como maior capacidade de retenção de palavras dissílabas com fonologia e semântica diferentes. No span visual (ordem direta e inversa as crianças do sexo masculino obtiveram melhor desempenho, apesar de não ter diferenças significantes. Em relação à idade não houve diferença de retenção de estímulos. CONCLUSÃO: as crianças do sexo feminino, neste estudo, apresentaram tendência à melhor desempenho do span verbal e as crianças do sexo masculino tendência a melhor desempenho no span visual. No entanto, o estudo é limitado devido ao reduzido número de participantes na amostra.PURPOSE: to evaluate the working memory analyzing the retention ability of auditory stimuli (verbal span and visual stimuli (visual span, and to establish its relation to gender (male and female. METHOD: 20 subjects - 10 female children and 10 male children - from six and five months to seven years old took part in this study. All subjects were submitted to evaluation tests for both verbal and visual spans in direct and inverse orders. RESULTS: there was a significant variance between genders only in the test involving disyllabic words with phonology similar to and semantics different from verbal span. Female children showed a better

  19. Verbal Memory Decline following DBS for Parkinson's Disease: Structural Volumetric MRI Relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geevarghese, Ruben; Lumsden, Daniel E; Costello, Angela; Hulse, Natasha; Ayis, Salma; Samuel, Michael; Ashkan, Keyoumars

    2016-01-01

    Parkinson's disease is a chronic degenerative movement disorder. The mainstay of treatment is medical. In certain patients Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) may be offered. However, DBS has been associated with post-operative neuropsychology changes, especially in verbal memory. Firstly, to determine if pre-surgical thalamic and hippocampal volumes were related to verbal memory changes following DBS. Secondly, to determine if clinical factors such as age, duration of symptoms or motor severity (UPDRS Part III score) were related to verbal memory changes. A consecutive group of 40 patients undergoing bilateral Subthalamic Nucleus (STN)-DBS for PD were selected. Brain MRI data was acquired, pre-processed and structural volumetric data was extracted using FSL. Verbal memory test scores for pre- and post-STN-DBS surgery were recorded. Linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between score change and structural volumetric data. A significant relationship was demonstrated between change in List Learning test score and thalamic (left, p = 0.02) and hippocampal (left, p = 0.02 and right p = 0.03) volumes. Duration of symptoms was also associated with List Learning score change (p = 0.02 to 0.03). Verbal memory score changes appear to have a relationship to pre-surgical MRI structural volumetric data. The findings of this study provide a basis for further research into the use of pre-surgical MRI to counsel PD patients regarding post-surgical verbal memory changes.

  20. Planning Abilities in Bilingual and Monolingual Children: Role of Verbal Mediation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gangopadhyay, Ishanti; McDonald, Margarethe; Ellis Weismer, Susan; Kaushanskaya, Margarita

    2018-01-01

    We examined the role of verbal mediation in planning performance of English–Spanish-speaking bilingual children and monolingual English-speaking children, between the ages of 9 and 12 years. To measure planning, children were administered the Tower of London (ToL) task. In a dual-task paradigm, children completed ToL problems under three conditions: with no secondary task (baseline), with articulatory suppression, and with non-verbal motor suppression. Analyses revealed generally shorter planning times for bilinguals than monolinguals but both groups performed similarly on number of moves and execution times. Additionally, bilingual children were more efficient at planning throughout the duration of the task while monolingual children showed significant gains with more practice. Children’s planning times under articulatory suppression were significantly shorter than under motor suppression as well as the baseline condition, and there was no difference in planning times between monolingual and bilingual children during articulatory suppression. These results demonstrate that bilingualism influences performance on a complex EF measure like planning, and that these effects are not related to verbal mediation. PMID:29593620

  1. Planning Abilities in Bilingual and Monolingual Children: Role of Verbal Mediation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gangopadhyay, Ishanti; McDonald, Margarethe; Ellis Weismer, Susan; Kaushanskaya, Margarita

    2018-01-01

    We examined the role of verbal mediation in planning performance of English-Spanish-speaking bilingual children and monolingual English-speaking children, between the ages of 9 and 12 years. To measure planning, children were administered the Tower of London (ToL) task. In a dual-task paradigm, children completed ToL problems under three conditions: with no secondary task (baseline), with articulatory suppression, and with non-verbal motor suppression. Analyses revealed generally shorter planning times for bilinguals than monolinguals but both groups performed similarly on number of moves and execution times. Additionally, bilingual children were more efficient at planning throughout the duration of the task while monolingual children showed significant gains with more practice. Children's planning times under articulatory suppression were significantly shorter than under motor suppression as well as the baseline condition, and there was no difference in planning times between monolingual and bilingual children during articulatory suppression. These results demonstrate that bilingualism influences performance on a complex EF measure like planning, and that these effects are not related to verbal mediation.

  2. Incidental and intentional learning of verbal episodic material differentially modifies functional brain networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Therese Kuhnert

    Full Text Available Learning- and memory-related processes are thought to result from dynamic interactions in large-scale brain networks that include lateral and mesial structures of the temporal lobes. We investigate the impact of incidental and intentional learning of verbal episodic material on functional brain networks that we derive from scalp-EEG recorded continuously from 33 subjects during a neuropsychological test schedule. Analyzing the networks' global statistical properties we observe that intentional but not incidental learning leads to a significantly increased clustering coefficient, and the average shortest path length remains unaffected. Moreover, network modifications correlate with subsequent recall performance: the more pronounced the modifications of the clustering coefficient, the higher the recall performance. Our findings provide novel insights into the relationship between topological aspects of functional brain networks and higher cognitive functions.

  3. Phenomenology of non-verbal communication as a representation of sports activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liubov Karpets

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The priority of language professional activity in sports is such non-verbal communication as body language. Purpose: to delete the main aspects of non-verbal communication as a representation of sports activities. Material & Methods: in the study participated members of sports teams, individual athletes, in particular, for such sports: basketball, handball, volleyball, football, hockey, bodybuilding. Results: in the process of research it was revealed that in sports activities such nonverbal communication as gestures, facial expressions, physique, etc., are lapped, and, as a consequence, the position "everything is language" (Lyotard is embodied. Conclusions: non-verbal communication is one of the most significant forms of communication in sports. Additional means of communication through the "language" of the body help the athletes to realize themselves and self-determination.

  4. Preverbal and verbal counting and computation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallistel, C R; Gelman, R

    1992-08-01

    We describe the preverbal system of counting and arithmetic reasoning revealed by experiments on numerical representations in animals. In this system, numerosities are represented by magnitudes, which are rapidly but inaccurately generated by the Meck and Church (1983) preverbal counting mechanism. We suggest the following. (1) The preverbal counting mechanism is the source of the implicit principles that guide the acquisition of verbal counting. (2) The preverbal system of arithmetic computation provides the framework for the assimilation of the verbal system. (3) Learning to count involves, in part, learning a mapping from the preverbal numerical magnitudes to the verbal and written number symbols and the inverse mappings from these symbols to the preverbal magnitudes. (4) Subitizing is the use of the preverbal counting process and the mapping from the resulting magnitudes to number words in order to generate rapidly the number words for small numerosities. (5) The retrieval of the number facts, which plays a central role in verbal computation, is mediated via the inverse mappings from verbal and written numbers to the preverbal magnitudes and the use of these magnitudes to find the appropriate cells in tabular arrangements of the answers. (6) This model of the fact retrieval process accounts for the salient features of the reaction time differences and error patterns revealed by experiments on mental arithmetic. (7) The application of verbal and written computational algorithms goes on in parallel with, and is to some extent guided by, preverbal computations, both in the child and in the adult.

  5. Auditory verbal learning in drug-free Ecstasy polydrug users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, H. C.; Toplis, A. S.; Turner, J. J. D.; Parrott, A. C.

    2001-12-01

    Drug-free Ecstasy polydrug users have shown impairment on tasks of verbal working memory and memory span. Current research aims to investigate how these deficits may affect the learning of verbal material by administration of the Auditory Verbal Learning Task (AVLT) (Rey, 1964). The task provides a learning curve by assessing immediate memory span over multiple trials. Learning strategies are further analysed by tendencies to confabulate as well as demonstrate either proactive or retroactive interference elicited by a novel 'distractor' list. Three groups completed the task: two groups of 14 Ecstasy users (short- and long-term) and one group of 14 polydrug controls. Compared with controls both Ecstasy groups recalled significantly fewer words and made more confabulation errors on the initial three recall trials as well as a delayed recall trial. Long-term users demonstrated increased confabulation on the initial trials and the novel 'distractor7' trial, compared with short-term users. Only following repeated presentations were both short- and long-term users shown to perform at control levels. As such, deficits in verbal learning may be more related to storage and/or retrieval problems than problems associated with capacity per se. No interference errors were demonstrated by either of the Ecstasy groups. However, a high level of intrusion errors may indicate selective working memory problems associated with longer-term use of the drug. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Visuospatial and Verbal Short-Term Memory Correlates of Vocabulary Ability in Preschool Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokes, Stephanie F; Klee, Thomas; Kornisch, Myriam; Furlong, Lisa

    2017-08-16

    Recent studies indicate that school-age children's patterns of performance on measures of verbal and visuospatial short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) differ across types of neurodevelopmental disorders. Because these disorders are often characterized by early language delay, administering STM and WM tests to toddlers could improve prediction of neurodevelopmental outcomes. Toddler-appropriate verbal, but not visuospatial, STM and WM tasks are available. A toddler-appropriate visuospatial STM test is introduced. Tests of verbal STM, visuospatial STM, expressive vocabulary, and receptive vocabulary were administered to 92 English-speaking children aged 2-5 years. Mean test scores did not differ for boys and girls. Visuospatial and verbal STM scores were not significantly correlated when age was partialed out. Age, visuospatial STM scores, and verbal STM scores accounted for unique variance in expressive (51%, 3%, and 4%, respectively) and receptive vocabulary scores (53%, 5%, and 2%, respectively) in multiple regression analyses. Replication studies, a fuller test battery comprising visuospatial and verbal STM and WM tests, and a general intelligence test are required before exploring the usefulness of these STM tests for predicting longitudinal outcomes. The lack of an association between the STM tests suggests that the instruments have face validity and test independent STM skills.

  7. Verbal Skills in Children with ADHD. Short Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andreou, G.; Agapitou, P.; Karapetsas, A.

    2005-01-01

    The present study examined whether ADHD children exhibit low verbal IQ (VIQ) and distinguishable test profile on the Verbal comprehension (VC) and Freedom from distractibility (FFD) factors, and whether gender influences their verbal abilities. At the Laboratory of Neuropsychology of the Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly,…

  8. Competitive Intelligence: Significance in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Susan E.

    2010-01-01

    Historically noncompetitive, the higher education sector is now having to adjust dramatically to new and increasing demands on numerous levels. To remain successfully operational within the higher educational market universities today must consider all relevant forces which can impact present and future planning. Those institutions that were…

  9. Citation Analysis of Skinner's "Verbal Behavior:" 1984-2004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dymond, S.; O'Hora, D.; Whelan, R.; O'Donovan, A.

    2006-01-01

    The present study undertook an updated citation analysis of Skinner's (1957) "Verbal Behavior". All articles that cited "Verbal Behavior" between 1984 and 2004 were recorded and content analyzed into one of five categories; four empirical and one nonempirical. Of the empirical categories, studies that employed a verbal operant from Skinner's…

  10. Impact of low alcohol verbal descriptors on perceived strength: An experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasiljevic, Milica; Couturier, Dominique-Laurent; Marteau, Theresa M

    2018-02-01

    Low alcohol labels are a set of labels that carry descriptors such as 'low' or 'lighter' to denote alcohol content in beverages. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers in lower strength alcohol products. However, there is a lack of evidence on how the general population perceives verbal descriptors of strength. The present research examines consumers' perceptions of strength (% ABV) and appeal of alcohol products using low or high alcohol verbal descriptors. A within-subjects experimental study in which participants rated the strength and appeal of 18 terms denoting low (nine terms), high (eight terms) and regular (one term) strengths for either (1) wine or (2) beer according to drinking preference. Thousand six hundred adults (796 wine and 804 beer drinkers) sampled from a nationally representative UK panel. Low, Lower, Light, Lighter, and Reduced formed a cluster and were rated as denoting lower strength products than Regular, but higher strength than the cluster with intensifiers consisting of Extra Low, Super Low, Extra Light, and Super Light. Similar clustering in perceived strength was observed amongst the high verbal descriptors. Regular was the most appealing strength descriptor, with the low and high verbal descriptors using intensifiers rated least appealing. The perceived strength and appeal of alcohol products diminished the more the verbal descriptors implied a deviation from Regular. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of policy implications for lower strength alcohol labelling and associated public health outcomes. Statement of contribution What is already known about this subject? Current UK and EU legislation limits the number of low strength verbal descriptors and the associated alcohol by volume (ABV) to 1.2% ABV and lower. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers to extend the range of lower strength alcohol products above the current cap of 1.2% ABV set out in national legislation. There

  11. Improving construction site safety through leader-based verbal safety communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kines, Pete; Andersen, Lars P S; Spangenberg, Soren; Mikkelsen, Kim L; Dyreborg, Johnny; Zohar, Dov

    2010-10-01

    The construction industry is one of the most injury-prone industries, in which production is usually prioritized over safety in daily on-site communication. Workers have an informal and oral culture of risk, in which safety is rarely openly expressed. This paper tests the effect of increasing leader-based on-site verbal safety communication on the level of safety and safety climate at construction sites. A pre-post intervention-control design with five construction work gangs is carried out. Foremen in two intervention groups are coached and given bi-weekly feedback about their daily verbal safety communications with their workers. Foremen-worker verbal safety exchanges (experience sampling method, n=1,693 interviews), construction site safety level (correct vs. incorrect, n=22,077 single observations), and safety climate (seven dimensions, n=105 questionnaires) are measured over a period of up to 42 weeks. Baseline measurements in the two intervention and three control groups reveal that foremen speak with their workers several times a day. Workers perceive safety as part of their verbal communication with their foremen in only 6-16% of exchanges, and the levels of safety at the sites range from 70-87% (correct observations). Measurements from baseline to follow-up in the two intervention groups reveal that safety communication between foremen and workers increases significantly in one of the groups (factor 7.1 increase), and a significant yet smaller increase is found when the two intervention groups are combined (factor 4.6). Significant increases in the level of safety are seen in both intervention groups (7% and 12% increases, respectively), particularly in regards to 'access ways' and 'railings and coverings' (39% and 84% increases, respectively). Increases in safety climate are seen in only one of the intervention groups with respect to their 'attention to safety.' No significant trend changes are seen in the three control groups on any of the three measures

  12. Verbal Working Memory Is Related to the Acquisition of Cross-Linguistic Phonological Regularities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosma, Evelyn; Heeringa, Wilbert; Hoekstra, Eric; Versloot, Arjen; Blom, Elma

    2017-01-01

    Closely related languages share cross-linguistic phonological regularities, such as Frisian -âld [ͻ:t] and Dutch -oud [ʱut], as in the cognate pairs kâld [kͻ:t] - koud [kʱut] 'cold' and wâld [wͻ:t] - woud [wʱut] 'forest'. Within Bybee's (1995, 2001, 2008, 2010) network model, these regularities are, just like grammatical rules within a language, generalizations that emerge from schemas of phonologically and semantically related words. Previous research has shown that verbal working memory is related to the acquisition of grammar, but not vocabulary. This suggests that verbal working memory supports the acquisition of linguistic regularities. In order to test this hypothesis we investigated whether verbal working memory is also related to the acquisition of cross-linguistic phonological regularities. For three consecutive years, 5- to 8-year-old Frisian-Dutch bilingual children ( n = 120) were tested annually on verbal working memory and a Frisian receptive vocabulary task that comprised four cognate categories: (1) identical cognates, (2) non-identical cognates that either do or (3) do not exhibit a phonological regularity between Frisian and Dutch, and (4) non-cognates. The results showed that verbal working memory had a significantly stronger effect on cognate category (2) than on the other three cognate categories. This suggests that verbal working memory is related to the acquisition of cross-linguistic phonological regularities. More generally, it confirms the hypothesis that verbal working memory plays a role in the acquisition of linguistic regularities.

  13. Age-related influences of prior sleep on brain activation during verbal encoding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle B Jonelis

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Disrupted sleep is more common in older adults (OA than younger adults (YA, often co-morbid with other conditions. How these sleep disturbances affect cognitive performance is an area of active study. We examined whether brain activation during verbal encoding correlates with sleep quantity and quality the night before testing in a group of healthy OA and YA. Twenty-seven OA (ages 59-82 and twenty-seven YA (ages 19-36 underwent one night of standard polysomnography. Twelve hours post-awakening, subjects performed a verbal encoding task while undergoing functional MRI. Analyses examined the group (OA vs. YA by prior sleep quantity (Total Sleep Time (TST or quality (Sleep Efficiency (SE interaction on cerebral activation, controlling for performance. Longer TST promoted higher levels of activation in the bilateral anterior parahippocampi in OA and lower activation levels in the left anterior parahippocampus in YA. Greater SE promoted higher activation levels in the left posterior parahippocampus and right inferior frontal gyrus in YA, but not in OA. The roles of these brain regions in verbal encoding suggest, in OA, longer sleep duration may facilitate functional compensation during cognitive challenges. By contrast, in YA, shorter sleep duration may necessitate functional compensation to maintain cognitive performance, similar to what is seen following acute sleep deprivation. Additionally, in YA, better sleep quality may improve semantic retrieval processes, thereby aiding encoding.

  14. Brain serotonin 4 receptor binding is inversely associated with verbal memory recall

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stenbæk, Dea S; Fisher, Patrick M; Ozenne, Brice

    2017-01-01

    the association between cerebral 5-HT 4R binding and affective verbal memory recall. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy volunteers were scanned with the 5-HT 4R radioligand [11C]SB207145 and positron emission tomography, and were tested with the Verbal Affective Memory Test-24. The association between 5-HT 4R binding...... and affective verbal memory was evaluated using a linear latent variable structural equation model. RESULTS: We observed a significant inverse association across all regions between 5-HT 4R binding and affective verbal memory performances for positive (p = 5.5 × 10-4) and neutral (p = .004) word recall......BACKGROUND: We have previously identified an inverse relationship between cerebral serotonin 4 receptor (5-HT 4R) binding and nonaffective episodic memory in healthy individuals. Here, we investigate in a novel sample if the association is related to affective components of memory, by examining...

  15. The effects of unilateral and bilateral ECT on verbal and visual spatial memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, B

    1978-01-01

    Investigated the effects of unilateral left (UL), unilateral right (UR), and bilateral (B) ECT on the performance of right-handed male patients on the Wechsler Memory Scale and two tests of the Williams battery, which provided eight independent measures of verbal memory and two of visual-spatial memory. Patients were tested three times: (1) within 1 week prior to ECT; (2) within 30 minutes after the sixth ECT; (3) 10 days after the sixty ECT. Double blind procedures were maintained carefully. Results showed a significant loss on second testing followed by a significant improvement 10 days later for all ECT groups compared with matched controls. There was some tendency for the UR group to show the least impairment on verbal measures and the UL group to show the least impairment on visual-spatial memory test of the WMS, but most of the differences between UL and UR groups and between each of these and the B group were not significant. The most sensitive test in differentiating among the ECT groups was the brief Verbal Learning subtest of the Williams battery.

  16. Videotutoring, Non-Verbal Communication and Initial Teacher Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichol, Jon; Watson, Kate

    2000-01-01

    Describes the use of video tutoring for distance education within the context of a post-graduate teacher training course at the University of Exeter. Analysis of the tapes used a protocol based on non-verbal communication research, and findings suggest that the interaction of participants was significantly different from face-to-face…

  17. Factors Influencing Verbal Intelligence and Spoken Language in Children with Phenylketonuria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soleymani, Zahra; Keramati, Nasrin; Rohani, Farzaneh; Jalaei, Shohre

    2015-05-01

    To determine verbal intelligence and spoken language of children with phenylketonuria and to study the effect of age at diagnosis and phenylalanine plasma level on these abilities. Cross-sectional. Children with phenylketonuria were recruited from pediatric hospitals in 2012. Normal control subjects were recruited from kindergartens in Tehran. 30 phenylketonuria and 42 control subjects aged 4-6.5 years. Skills were compared between 3 phenylketonuria groups categorized by age at diagnosis/treatment, and between the phenylketonuria and control groups. Scores on Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence for verbal and total intelligence, and Test of Language Development-Primary, third edition for spoken language, listening, speaking, semantics, syntax, and organization. The performance of control subjects was significantly better than that of early-treated subjects for all composite quotients from Test of Language Development and verbal intelligence (Pphenylketonuria subjects.

  18. Barriers to repeated assessment of verbal learning and memory: a comparison of international shopping list task and rey auditory verbal learning test on build-up of proactive interference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahimi-Golkhandan, S; Maruff, P; Darby, D; Wilson, P

    2012-11-01

    Proactive interference (PI) that remains unidentified can confound the assessment of verbal learning, particularly when its effects vary from one population to another. The International Shopping List Task (ISLT) is a new measure that provides multiple forms that can be equated for linguistic factors across cultural groups. The aim of this study was to examine the build-up of PI on two measures of verbal learning-a traditional test of list learning (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, RAVLT) and the ISLT. The sample consisted of 61 healthy adults aged 18-40. Each test had three parallel forms, each recalled three times. Results showed that repeated administration of the ISLT did not result in significant PI effects, unlike the RAVLT. Although these PI effects, observed during short retest intervals, may not be as robust under normal clinical administrations of the tests, the results suggest that the choice of the verbal learning test should be guided by the knowledge of PI effects and the susceptibility of particular patient groups to this effect.

  19. Relationship between boys' normative beliefs about aggression and their physical, verbal, and indirect aggressive behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Si Huan; Ang, Rebecca P

    2009-01-01

    This study examined the contribution of general normative beliefs about aggression and specific normative beliefs about retaliatory aggression in predicting physical, verbal, and indirect aggressive behaviors. Two hundred and forty-nine Grade 4 and Grade 5 boys completed the Normative Beliefs about Aggression Scale (NOBAGS) and provided self-reports on the frequency of their physical, verbal, and indirect aggressive behaviors. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that general normative beliefs about aggression contributed significantly in predicting all three types of aggressive behaviors. When general normative beliefs about aggression were controlled for, specific normative beliefs about retaliatory aggression against males but not specific normative beliefs about retaliatory aggression against females, contributed significantly to predict physical, verbal, and indirect aggressive behaviors. Implications for intervention programs are discussed.

  20. The N-Word: Reducing Verbal Pollution in Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Ericka J.

    2008-01-01

    In this article, the author focuses on the crisis of verbal pollution in our society. "Verbal pollution" refers to the use of words and comments that the majority agrees are offensive, are damaging, and may lead to the deterioration of social institutions. Verbal pollution encompasses hate speech, such as the derogatory words used by…

  1. Reducing Information's Speed Improves Verbal Cognition and Behavior in Autism: A 2-Cases Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tardif, Carole; Latzko, Laura; Arciszewski, Thomas; Gepner, Bruno

    2017-06-01

    According to the temporal theory of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), audiovisual changes in environment, particularly those linked to facial and verbal language, are often too fast to be faced, perceived, and/or interpreted online by many children with ASD, which could help explain their facial, verbal, and/or socioemotional interaction impairments. Our goal here was to test for the first time the impact of slowed-down audiovisual information on verbal cognition and behavior in 2 boys with ASD and verbal delay. Using 15 experimental sessions during 4 months, both boys were presented with various stimuli (eg, pictures, words, sentences, cartoons) and were then asked questions or given instructions regarding stimuli. The audiovisual stimuli and instructions/questions were presented on a computer's screen and were always displayed twice: at real-time speed (RTS) and at slowed-down speed (SDS) using the software Logiral. We scored the boys' verbal cognition performance (ie, ability to understand questions/instructions and answer them verbally/nonverbally) and their behavioral reactions (ie, attention, verbal/nonverbal communication, social reciprocity), and analyzed the effects of speed and order of the stimuli presentation on these factors. According to the results, both participants exhibited significant improvements in verbal cognition performance with SDS presentation compared with RTS presentation, and they scored better with RTS presentation when having SDS presentation before rather than after RTS presentation. Behavioral reactions were also improved in SDS conditions compared with RTS conditions. This initial evidence of a positive impact of slowed-down audiovisual information on verbal cognition should be tested in a large cohort of children with ASD and associated speech/language impairments. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  2. Organizational Learning Strategies and Verbal Memory Deficits in Bipolar Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitzburg, George C; Cuesta-Diaz, Armando; Ospina, Luz H; Russo, Manuela; Shanahan, Megan; Perez-Rodriguez, Mercedes; Larsen, Emmett; Mulaimovic, Sandra; Burdick, Katherine E

    2017-04-01

    Verbal memory (VM) impairment is prominent in bipolar disorder (BD) and is linked to functional outcomes. However, the intricacies of VM impairment have not yet been studied in a large sample of BD patients. Moreover, some have proposed VM deficits that may be mediated by organizational strategies, such as semantic or serial clustering. Thus, the exact nature of VM break-down in BD patients is not well understood, limiting remediation efforts. We investigated the intricacies of VM deficits in BD patients versus healthy controls (HCs) and examined whether verbal learning differences were mediated by use of clustering strategies. The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) was administered to 113 affectively stable BD patients and 106 HCs. We compared diagnostic groups on all CVLT indices and investigated whether group differences in verbal learning were mediated by clustering strategies. Although BD patients showed significantly poorer attention, learning, and memory, these indices were only mildly impaired. However, BD patients evidenced poorer use of effective learning strategies and lower recall consistency, with these indices falling in the moderately impaired range. Moreover, relative reliance on semantic clustering fully mediated the relationship between diagnostic category and verbal learning, while reliance on serial clustering partially mediated this relationship. VM deficits in affectively stable bipolar patients were widespread but were generally mildly impaired. However, patients displayed inadequate use of organizational strategies with clear separation from HCs on semantic and serial clustering. Remediation efforts may benefit from education about mnemonic devices or "chunking" techniques to attenuate VM deficits in BD. (JINS, 2017, 23, 358-366).

  3. Young children's coding and storage of visual and verbal material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perlmutter, M; Myers, N A

    1975-03-01

    36 preschool children (mean age 4.2 years) were each tested on 3 recognition memory lists differing in test mode (visual only, verbal only, combined visual-verbal). For one-third of the children, original list presentation was visual only, for another third, presentation was verbal only, and the final third received combined visual-verbal presentation. The subjects generally performed at a high level of correct responding. Verbal-only presentation resulted in less correct recognition than did either visual-only or combined visual-verbal presentation. However, because performances under both visual-only and combined visual-verbal presentation were statistically comparable, and a high level of spontaneous labeling was observed when items were presented only visually, a dual-processing conceptualization of memory in 4-year-olds was suggested.

  4. Internal/external locus of control, self-esteem, and parental verbal interaction of at-risk black male adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enger, J M; Howerton, D L; Cobbs, C R

    1994-06-01

    We investigated the relationship between three factors--internal/external locus of control, self-esteem, and parental verbal interaction--for at-risk Black male adolescents in the United States. Forty-two male students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 who had been identified by their teachers as being at risk completed the Locus of Control Scale for Children (Nowicki & Strickland, 1973), the Self-Esteem Inventory (Coopersmith, 1967), and the Verbal Interaction Questionnaire (Blake, 1991). A moderate positive relationship found between self-esteem and parental verbal interaction was consistent with a previous finding for White high school students. A moderate negative relationship found between locus of control and self-esteem differed from a previous finding of no significant relationship for Black elementary children. A weak, yet significant, negative relationship was found between locus of control and parental verbal interaction.

  5. School bullying among adolescents in the United States: physical, verbal, relational, and cyber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jing; Iannotti, Ronald J; Nansel, Tonja R

    2009-10-01

    Four forms of school bullying behaviors among US adolescents and their association with sociodemographic characteristics, parental support, and friends were examined. Data were obtained from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) 2005 Survey, a nationally representative sample of grades 6-10 (N = 7,182). The revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used to measure physical, verbal, and relational forms of bullying. Two items were added using the same format to measure cyber bullying. For each form, four categories were created: bully, victim, bully-victim, and not involved. Multinomial logistic regressions were applied, with sociodemographic variables, parental support, and number of friends as predictors. Prevalence rates of having bullied others or having been bullied at school for at least once in the last 2 months were 20.8% physically, 53.6% verbally, 51.4% socially, or 13.6% electronically. Boys were more involved in physical or verbal bullying, whereas girls were more involved in relational bullying. Boys were more likely to be cyber bullies, whereas girls were more likely to be cyber victims. African-American adolescents were involved in more bullying (physical, verbal, or cyber) but less victimization (verbal or relational). Higher parental support was associated with less involvement across all forms and classifications of bullying. Having more friends was associated with more bullying and less victimization for physical, verbal, and relational forms but was not associated with cyber bullying. Parental support may protect adolescents from all four forms of bullying. Friends associate differentially with traditional and cyber bullying. Results indicate that cyber bullying is a distinct nature from that of traditional bullying.

  6. Semantic organizational strategy predicts verbal memory and remission rate of geriatric depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morimoto, Sarah Shizuko; Gunning, Faith M; Kanellopoulos, Dora; Murphy, Christopher F; Klimstra, Sibel A; Kelly, Robert E; Alexopoulos, George S

    2012-05-01

    This study tests the hypothesis that the use of semantic organizational strategy during the free-recall phase of a verbal memory task predicts remission of geriatric depression. Sixty-five older patients with major depression participated in a 12-week escitalopram treatment trial. Neuropsychological performance was assessed at baseline after a 2-week drug washout period. The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised was used to assess verbal learning and memory. Remission was defined as a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score of ≤ 7 for 2 consecutive weeks and no longer meeting the DSM-IV-TR criteria for major depression. The association between the number of clusters used at the final learning trial (trial 3) and remission was examined using Cox's proportional hazards survival analysis. The relationship between the number of clusters utilized in the final learning trial and the number of words recalled after a 25-min delay was examined in a regression with age and education as covariates. Higher number of clusters utilized predicted remission rates (hazard ratio, 1.26 (95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.54); χ(2)  = 4.23, df = 3, p = 0.04). There was a positive relationship between the total number of clusters used by the end of the third learning trial and the total number of words recalled at the delayed recall trial (F(3,58) = 7.93; p < 0.001). Effective semantic strategy use at baseline on a verbal list learning task by older depressed patients was associated with higher rates of remission with antidepressant treatment. This result provides support for previous findings indicating that measures of executive functioning at baseline are useful in predicting antidepressant response. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. The Multiple Control of Verbal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, Jack; Palmer, David C.; Sundberg, Mark L.

    2011-01-01

    Amid the novel terms and original analyses in Skinner's "Verbal Behavior", the importance of his discussion of multiple control is easily missed, but multiple control of verbal responses is the rule rather than the exception. In this paper we summarize and illustrate Skinner's analysis of multiple control and introduce the terms "convergent…

  8. Performance on verbal and low-verbal false belief tasks: evidence from children with Williams syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Herwegen, Jo; Dimitriou, Dagmara; Rundblad, Gabriella

    2013-01-01

    Previous studies that have investigated the relationship between performance on theory of mind (ToM) tasks and verbal abilities in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) have reported contradictory findings with some showing that language abilities aid performance on ToM tasks while others have found that participants with WS fail these tasks because of their verbal demands. The current study investigated this relationship again comparing performance on a classical change-location task to two newly developed low-verbal tasks, one change-location task and one unexpected content task. Thirty children with WS (aged 5-17;01 years) and 30 typically developing (TD) children (aged between 2;10 years and 9;09 years), who were matched for vocabulary comprehension scores were included in the study. Although performance in the WS group was significantly poorer compared to the TD group on all three tasks, performance was not predicted by their receptive vocabulary or grammatical ability scores. In addition, ToM abilities in both groups depended on the cognitive demands of the task at hand. This finding shows that performance on ToM tasks in WS is not necessarily hindered by their delayed language abilities but rather by the task administered. This could potentially affect the diagnosis of developmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, and comparison of ToM abilities across developmental disorders. Readers of this article should be able to (1) describe the current state of theory of mind research in Williams syndrome, (2) identify which cognitive abilities might explain performance on theory of mind tasks in both typically developing children and in children with Williams syndrome, and (3) interpret the importance of task demands when assessing children's theory of mind abilities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Auditory verbal hallucinations and cognitive functioning in healthy individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daalman, Kirstin; van Zandvoort, Martine; Bootsman, Florian; Boks, Marco; Kahn, René; Sommer, Iris

    2011-11-01

    Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a characteristic symptom in schizophrenia, and also occur in the general, non-clinical population. In schizophrenia patients, several specific cognitive deficits, such as in speech processing, working memory, source memory, attention, inhibition, episodic memory and self-monitoring have been associated with auditory verbal hallucinations. Such associations are interesting, as they may identify specific cognitive traits that constitute a predisposition for AVH. However, it is difficult to disentangle a specific relation with AVH in patients with schizophrenia, as so many other factors can affect the performance on cognitive tests. Examining the cognitive profile of healthy individuals experiencing AVH may reveal a more direct association between AVH and aberrant cognitive functioning in a specific domain. For the current study, performance in executive functioning, memory (both short- and long-term), processing speed, spatial ability, lexical access, abstract reasoning, language and intelligence performance was compared between 101 healthy individuals with AVH and 101 healthy controls, matched for gender, age, handedness and education. Although performance of both groups was within the normal range, not clinically impaired, significant differences between the groups were found in the verbal domain as well as in executive functioning. Performance on all other cognitive domains was similar in both groups. The predisposition to experience AVH is associated with lower performance in executive functioning and aberrant language performance. This association might be related to difficulties in the inhibition of irrelevant verbal information. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Parents' use of physical and verbal punishment: cross-sectional study in underprivileged neighborhoods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Vagner Dos; Silva, Paulo Henrique Dourado da; Gandolfi, Lenora

    2017-09-25

    To estimate the past-year prevalence of parental use of verbal and physical discipline in an urban sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two underprivileged neighborhoods with nearly 80,000 inhabitants. Complex sampling was used. The households were selected by applying two-stage probabilistic sampling with stratification. A total of 401 households (sample error=0.1) were selected by maximizing the variance (p=0.5). The cluster sampling indicated 33 census units (sample error=0.05). The Brazilian Portuguese version of the WorldSAFE Core Questionnaire was used to assess parental use of moderate verbal discipline, harsh verbal discipline, moderate physical discipline, and harsh physical discipline. This questionnaire asks how often mothers (respondent) and/or their husband or partner use specific disciplinary tactics. The mean age of children and adolescents was 9 years (SD: 4.5). The prevalence of harsh verbal discipline was approximately 37% (28.3% [95% CI: 23.4-33.3%] for more than three times). The prevalence of harsh physical discipline was approximately 30% (21.8% [CI: 18.2-25.4%] for more than three times). Boys had higher odds of receiving harsh physical discipline [OR: 1.56, p<0.05]. Children and adolescents with learning problems and developmental delays had higher odds of being exposed to harsh discipline than their peers without these problems. Children and adolescents with chronic health conditions (e.g., asthma) had lower odds of receiving harsh physical discipline (OR: 0.4; p<0.05). Parental abuse was embedded within CA rearing practices in these two underprivileged neighborhoods. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  11. Verbal Working Memory Is Related to the Acquisition of Cross-Linguistic Phonological Regularities

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    Evelyn Bosma

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Closely related languages share cross-linguistic phonological regularities, such as Frisian -âld [ͻ:t] and Dutch -oud [ʱut], as in the cognate pairs kâld [kͻ:t] – koud [kʱut] ‘cold’ and wâld [wͻ:t] – woud [wʱut] ‘forest’. Within Bybee’s (1995, 2001, 2008, 2010 network model, these regularities are, just like grammatical rules within a language, generalizations that emerge from schemas of phonologically and semantically related words. Previous research has shown that verbal working memory is related to the acquisition of grammar, but not vocabulary. This suggests that verbal working memory supports the acquisition of linguistic regularities. In order to test this hypothesis we investigated whether verbal working memory is also related to the acquisition of cross-linguistic phonological regularities. For three consecutive years, 5- to 8-year-old Frisian-Dutch bilingual children (n = 120 were tested annually on verbal working memory and a Frisian receptive vocabulary task that comprised four cognate categories: (1 identical cognates, (2 non-identical cognates that either do or (3 do not exhibit a phonological regularity between Frisian and Dutch, and (4 non-cognates. The results showed that verbal working memory had a significantly stronger effect on cognate category (2 than on the other three cognate categories. This suggests that verbal working memory is related to the acquisition of cross-linguistic phonological regularities. More generally, it confirms the hypothesis that verbal working memory plays a role in the acquisition of linguistic regularities.

  12. Is semantic verbal fluency impairment explained by executive function deficits in schizophrenia?

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    Arthur A. Berberian

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To investigate if verbal fluency impairment in schizophrenia reflects executive function deficits or results from degraded semantic store or inefficient search and retrieval strategies. Method: Two groups were compared: 141 individuals with schizophrenia and 119 healthy age and education-matched controls. Both groups performed semantic and phonetic verbal fluency tasks. Performance was evaluated using three scores, based on 1 number of words generated; 2 number of clustered/related words; and 3 switching score. A fourth performance score based on the number of clusters was also measured. Results: SZ individuals produced fewer words than controls. After controlling for the total number of words produced, a difference was observed between the groups in the number of cluster-related words generated in the semantic task. In both groups, the number of words generated in the semantic task was higher than that generated in the phonemic task, although a significant group vs. fluency type interaction showed that subjects with schizophrenia had disproportionate semantic fluency impairment. Working memory was positively associated with increased production of words within clusters and inversely correlated with switching. Conclusion: Semantic fluency impairment may be attributed to an inability (resulting from reduced cognitive control to distinguish target signal from competing noise and to maintain cues for production of memory probes.

  13. Individual Differences in Verbal and Non-Verbal Affective Responses to Smells: Influence of Odor Label Across Cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferdenzi, Camille; Joussain, Pauline; Digard, Bérengère; Luneau, Lucie; Djordjevic, Jelena; Bensafi, Moustafa

    2017-01-01

    Olfactory perception is highly variable from one person to another, as a function of individual and contextual factors. Here, we investigated the influence of 2 important factors of variation: culture and semantic information. More specifically, we tested whether cultural-specific knowledge and presence versus absence of odor names modulate odor perception, by measuring these effects in 2 populations differing in cultural background but not in language. Participants from France and Quebec, Canada, smelled 4 culture-specific and 2 non-specific odorants in 2 conditions: first without label, then with label. Their ratings of pleasantness, familiarity, edibility, and intensity were collected as well as their psychophysiological and olfactomotor responses. The results revealed significant effects of culture and semantic information, both at the verbal and non-verbal level. They also provided evidence that availability of semantic information reduced cultural differences. Semantic information had a unifying action on olfactory perception that overrode the influence of cultural background. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Verbal overshadowing of visual memories: some things are better left unsaid.

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    Schooler, J W; Engstler-Schooler, T Y

    1990-01-01

    It is widely believed that verbal processing generally improves memory performance. However, in a series of six experiments, verbalizing the appearance of previously seen visual stimuli impaired subsequent recognition performance. In Experiment 1, subjects viewed a videotape including a salient individual. Later, some subjects described the individual's face. Subjects who verbalized the face performed less well on a subsequent recognition test than control subjects who did not engage in memory verbalization. The results of Experiment 2 replicated those of Experiment 1 and further clarified the effect of memory verbalization by demonstrating that visualization does not impair face recognition. In Experiments 3 and 4 we explored the hypothesis that memory verbalization impairs memory for stimuli that are difficult to put into words. In Experiment 3 memory impairment followed the verbalization of a different visual stimulus: color. In Experiment 4 marginal memory improvement followed the verbalization of a verbal stimulus: a brief spoken statement. In Experiments 5 and 6 the source of verbally induced memory impairment was explored. The results of Experiment 5 suggested that the impairment does not reflect a temporary verbal set, but rather indicates relatively long-lasting memory interference. Finally, Experiment 6 demonstrated that limiting subjects' time to make recognition decisions alleviates the impairment, suggesting that memory verbalization overshadows but does not eradicate the original visual memory. This collection of results is consistent with a recording interference hypothesis: verbalizing a visual memory may produce a verbally biased memory representation that can interfere with the application of the original visual memory.

  15. Involvement of the cerebellar cortex and nuclei in verbal and visuospatial working memory: a 7 T fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thürling, M; Hautzel, H; Küper, M; Stefanescu, M R; Maderwald, S; Ladd, M E; Timmann, D

    2012-09-01

    The first aim of the present study was to extend previous findings of similar cerebellar cortical areas being involved in verbal and spatial n-back working memory to the level of the cerebellar nuclei. The second aim was to investigate whether different areas of the cerebellar cortex and nuclei contribute to different working memory tasks (n-back vs. Sternberg tasks). Young and healthy subjects participated in two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using a 7 T MR scanner with its increased signal-to-noise ratio. One group of subjects (n=21) performed an abstract and a verbal version of an n-back task contrasting a 2-back and 0-back condition. Another group of subjects (n=23) performed an abstract and a verbal version of a Sternberg task contrasting a high load and a low load condition. A block design was used. For image processing of the dentate nuclei, a recently developed region of interest (ROI) driven normalization method of the dentate nuclei was applied (Diedrichsen et al., 2011). Whereas activated areas of the cerebellar cortex and dentate nuclei were not significantly different comparing the abstract and verbal versions of the n-back task, activation in the abstract and verbal Sternberg tasks was significantly different. In both n-back tasks activation was most prominent at the border of lobules VI and Crus I, within lobule VII, and within the more caudal parts of the dentate nucleus bilaterally. In Sternberg tasks the most prominent activations were found in lobule VI extending into Crus I on the right. In the verbal Sternberg task activation was significantly larger within right lobule VI compared to the abstract Sternberg task and compared to the verbal n-back task. Activations of rostral parts of the dentate were most prominent in the verbal Sternberg task, whereas activation of caudal parts predominated in the abstract Sternberg task. On the one hand, the lack of difference between abstract and verbal n-back tasks and the lack of

  16. Assertiveness levels of nursing students who experience verbal violence during practical training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unal, Sati; Hisar, Filiz; Görgülü, Ulkü

    2012-08-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate students' verbal violence experiences, the effect of assertiveness on being subjected to violence, the behaviour of students after the violence and the experience of psychological distress during practical training. The study sample consisted of 274 students attending a school of nursing. A questionnaire form and the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) were used for data collection. Percentages, means and the independent samples t-test were used for the evaluation of data. During practical training, the students suffered verbal violence from teachers, department nurses and doctors. The students had higher mean scores of RAS for most types of violence committed by the teachers and being reprimanded by the nurses and 69.3% had not responded to the violence. Students with a high level of assertiveness are subjected to violence more frequently. Being subjected to verbal violence and feeling psychological distress during practical training are a major problem among nursing students. Students should be supported in terms of assertiveness and dealing with violence effectively.

  17. Reflections on "Verbal Behavior" at 60

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlinger, Henry D., Jr.

    2017-01-01

    In the present essay, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the publication of B. F. Skinner's "Verbal Behavior", I stand by and defend the judgment I expressed in my article "The Long Goodbye: Why B. F. Skinner's 'Verbal Behavior' Is Alive and Well on the 50th Anniversary of Its Publication" (2008c)--that Skinner's…

  18. Ensenanzas en un gimnasio: an investigation of modeling and verbal rehearsal on the motor performance of Hispanic limited English proficient children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meaney, K S; Edwards, R

    1996-03-01

    This study investigated the effects of modeling and verbal rehearsal on the motor performance of English-speaking and limited English proficient (LEP) children. Children (N = 64) in 4th-grade classes were randomly assigned to conditions in a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 (Gender x Primary Language x Model Type x Rehearsal) factorial design. Boys and girls whose primary language was English or Spanish were assigned to either a verbal model or no-model condition as well as to a verbal rehearsal or no-rehearsal condition of the motor skills required to be performed. Analysis of variance revealed a significant Model Type x Primary Language interaction as well as a significant Rehearsal x Primary Language interaction. Follow-up analyses revealed that English-speaking children provided with a verbal rehearsal strategy recalled significantly more skills than English-speaking children in the no-rehearsal condition; for LEP children, there were no differences due to rehearsal. Moreover, LEP children presented with a verbal model recalled significantly more skills than LEP children in the no-model condition; for English-speaking children, there were no differences attributed to model type. These results indicate that effective modeling conditions that are provided with verbal cues in English are related to children's primary language.

  19. Verbal and non-verbal semantic impairment: From fluent primary progressive aphasia to semantic dementia

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    Mirna Lie Hosogi Senaha

    Full Text Available Abstract Selective disturbances of semantic memory have attracted the interest of many investigators and the question of the existence of single or multiple semantic systems remains a very controversial theme in the literature. Objectives: To discuss the question of multiple semantic systems based on a longitudinal study of a patient who presented semantic dementia from fluent primary progressive aphasia. Methods: A 66 year-old woman with selective impairment of semantic memory was examined on two occasions, undergoing neuropsychological and language evaluations, the results of which were compared to those of three paired control individuals. Results: In the first evaluation, physical examination was normal and the score on the Mini-Mental State Examination was 26. Language evaluation revealed fluent speech, anomia, disturbance in word comprehension, preservation of the syntactic and phonological aspects of the language, besides surface dyslexia and dysgraphia. Autobiographical and episodic memories were relatively preserved. In semantic memory tests, the following dissociation was found: disturbance of verbal semantic memory with preservation of non-verbal semantic memory. Magnetic resonance of the brain revealed marked atrophy of the left anterior temporal lobe. After 14 months, the difficulties in verbal semantic memory had become more severe and the semantic disturbance, limited initially to the linguistic sphere, had worsened to involve non-verbal domains. Conclusions: Given the dissociation found in the first examination, we believe there is sufficient clinical evidence to refute the existence of a unitary semantic system.

  20. COMUNICAÇÃO VERBAL E NÃO-VERBAL DE MÃE CEGA DURANTE A HIGIENE CORPORAL DA CRIANÇA

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    Luana Duarte Wanderley

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available La mujer ciega debe recibir orientaciones sobre el cuidado con el bebé. El objetivo fue analizar la comunicación verbal y no verbal de la madre ciega con movilidad limitada con niño y enfermera durante la higiene corporal. Estudio exploratorio, descriptivo, tipo estudio de caso, con análisis cuantitativo realizado en 2009. La comunicación madre/hijo y madre/enfermera fue filmada y analizada por seis jueces. Hubo predominancia de la madre como destinataria con la enfermera y uso de la función emotiva en las verbalizaciones con el niño en la comunicación verbal. Ya en la comunicación no verbal, prevaleció la distancia íntima entre madre/hijo y la personal entre madre/enfermera. La madre demostró miedo al bañar al niño. Se concluye que las distancias establecidas facilitaron la interacción de la madre con el bebé y de ésta con la profesional. Independiente de las dificultades motora y visual, la madre no sufrió daños verbales en el establecimiento de su proceso comunicativo.

  1. Verbal Memory Impairment in Patients with Subsyndromal Bipolar Disorder

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    Tomiki Sumiyoshi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundsSeveral domains of cognitive function, including learning memory and executive function, are impaired in mood disorders. Also, the relationship between disturbances of these two cognitive domains has been suggested. In line with the recent initiative to establish a standard measure of cognitive decline in bipolar disorder, the present study was conducted to (1 test the criterion-related validity and test–retest reliability of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II Japanese version, and (2 determine if type of word learning tasks (i.e., with or without a category structure affects severity of verbal memory deficits in patients with subsyndromal bipolar disorder.MethodsThirty-six patients with bipolar disorder with mild symptoms and 42 healthy volunteers participated in the study. We first compared effect sizes for memory deficits in patients among the CVLT-II, Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS, and Hopkins Verbal Memory Tests-Revised (HVLT-R. We next evaluated the correlations between scores of the CVLT-II vs. those of the BACS and HVLT-R. Bipolar patients were re-assessed with the same (standard or alternate forms of the CVLT-II and HVLT-R 1 month later.ResultsScores on the CVLT-II 1–5 Free Recall and Long-delay Free Recall, as well as the HVLT-R Immediate Recall, but not the BACS List Learning were significantly lower for patients compared to control subjects. The effect sizes for cognitive decline due to the illness were comparable when measured by the CVLT-II and HVLT-R, ranging from 0.5 to 0.6. CVLT-II scores were significantly correlated with those of the HVLT-R and BACS. Test–retest reliability of the CVLT-II was acceptable, and no significant practice effect was observed when the alternate form was used. There was no consistent relationship between mood symptoms and performance on the CVLT-II.ConclusionThese results suggest the CVLT-II Japanese version is able to discriminate between bipolar

  2. Verbal Memory Impairment in Patients with Subsyndromal Bipolar Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumiyoshi, Tomiki; Toyomaki, Atsuhito; Kawano, Naoko; Kitajima, Tomoko; Kusumi, Ichiro; Ozaki, Norio; Iwata, Nakao; Sueyoshi, Kazuki; Nakagome, Kazuyuki

    2017-01-01

    Several domains of cognitive function, including learning memory and executive function, are impaired in mood disorders. Also, the relationship between disturbances of these two cognitive domains has been suggested. In line with the recent initiative to establish a standard measure of cognitive decline in bipolar disorder, the present study was conducted to (1) test the criterion-related validity and test-retest reliability of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT)-II Japanese version, and (2) determine if type of word learning tasks (i.e., with or without a category structure) affects severity of verbal memory deficits in patients with subsyndromal bipolar disorder. Thirty-six patients with bipolar disorder with mild symptoms and 42 healthy volunteers participated in the study. We first compared effect sizes for memory deficits in patients among the CVLT-II, Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), and Hopkins Verbal Memory Tests-Revised (HVLT-R). We next evaluated the correlations between scores of the CVLT-II vs. those of the BACS and HVLT-R. Bipolar patients were re-assessed with the same (standard) or alternate forms of the CVLT-II and HVLT-R 1 month later. Scores on the CVLT-II 1-5 Free Recall and Long-delay Free Recall, as well as the HVLT-R Immediate Recall, but not the BACS List Learning were significantly lower for patients compared to control subjects. The effect sizes for cognitive decline due to the illness were comparable when measured by the CVLT-II and HVLT-R, ranging from 0.5 to 0.6. CVLT-II scores were significantly correlated with those of the HVLT-R and BACS. Test-retest reliability of the CVLT-II was acceptable, and no significant practice effect was observed when the alternate form was used. There was no consistent relationship between mood symptoms and performance on the CVLT-II. These results suggest the CVLT-II Japanese version is able to discriminate between bipolar disorder patients and healthy controls with good

  3. Argumentation, confrontation et violence verbale fulgurante Argumentative Processes, Confrontation and Acute Verbal Abuse

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    Claudine Moïse

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Si nous avons défini la violence verbale fulgurante comme une montée en tension caractérisée par des actes menaçants directs (provocation, menace, insultes… et la violence polémique comme un discours à visée argumentative mobilisant des procédés discursifs indirects (implicites, ironie…, on ne peut considérer ces deux types de discours comme hermétiques. À travers des scènes de violences verbales quotidiennes dans l’espace public et institutionnel (contrôles, convocations, verbalisations…, constituées pour un DVD pédagogique, il s’agit de montrer comment dans des interactions caractérisées par la violence fulgurante, certains procédés argumentatifs particuliers et que nous décrirons, sont utilisés, avec force efficacité, à des fins de déstabilisation et de prise de pouvoir sur l’autre. Our research has defined severe verbal abuse as built up tension characterized by directly threatening acts (such as provocation, threats, insults, and polemical violence as argumentative discourse which mobilizes indirect discursive devices, such as implicit discourse relations and irony. Yet, neither type of discourse can be considered to be impervious to mutual influence. Based on the content of an educational DVD featuring acted out scenes of daily verbal abuse taking place in public and institutional spaces (i.e., checks, summons, fines, we will show how specific argumentative devices, which we will describe, are very efficiently used within interactions that are characterised by severe abuse, with the aim of destabilizing and taking control over somebody.

  4. Consumers' physiological and verbal responses towards product packages: Could these responses anticipate product choices?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vila-López, Natalia; Küster-Boluda, Inés

    2018-03-03

    Today, it is a priority to predict what consumers will choose at the point of sale where there are more and more competing brands. But what kind of consumers' information can be used for that purpose? This paper compares the power of physiological responses (unconscious responses) and self-report/verbal responses (conscious responses) towards product packages, as a means of predicting product choices. To this end, six different packaging designs were created by combining three different colors (blue, red and black) and two different messages (simple and reinforced). Eighty-three young consumers were exposed to each of the six designs. In one phase of our investigation, unconscious electrodermal activity (EDA) for each participant and each packaging type was recorded. In another phase, conscious verbal opinions for each packaging type were collected in a questionnaire. Our results show that the blue packaging with a reinforced message was most often selected. For this packaging consumers' electrodermal values (unconscious responses) were lower, and verbal opinions (conscious responses) were higher. Thus, both data sets could be used to anticipate product choice. However, for the other five packages, only unconscious responses were related to product choices. In contrast, higher opinions in a questionnaire did not correspond to selection of packages. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. Condom use: exploring verbal and non-verbal communication strategies among Latino and African American men and women.

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    Zukoski, Ann P; Harvey, S Marie; Branch, Meredith

    2009-08-01

    A growing body of literature provides evidence of a link between communication with sexual partners and safer sexual practices, including condom use. More research is needed that explores the dynamics of condom communication including gender differences in initiation, and types of communication strategies. The overall objective of this study was to explore condom use and the dynamics surrounding condom communication in two distinct community-based samples of African American and Latino heterosexual couples at increased risk for HIV. Based on 122 in-depth interviews, 80% of women and 74% of men reported ever using a condom with their primary partner. Of those who reported ever using a condom with their current partner, the majority indicated that condom use was initiated jointly by men and women. In addition, about one-third of the participants reported that the female partner took the lead and let her male partner know she wanted to use a condom. A sixth of the sample reported that men initiated use. Although over half of the respondents used bilateral verbal strategies (reminding, asking and persuading) to initiate condom use, one-fourth used unilateral verbal strategies (commanding and threatening to withhold sex). A smaller number reported using non-verbal strategies involving condoms themselves (e.g. putting a condom on or getting condoms). The results suggest that interventions designed to improve condom use may need to include both members of a sexual dyad and focus on improving verbal and non-verbal communication skills of individuals and couples.

  6. Belief attribution despite verbal interference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forgeot d'Arc, Baudouin; Ramus, Franck

    2011-05-01

    False-belief (FB) tasks have been widely used to study the ability of individuals to represent the content of their conspecifics' mental states (theory of mind). However, the cognitive processes involved are still poorly understood, and it remains particularly debated whether language and inner speech are necessary for the attribution of beliefs to other agents. We present a completely nonverbal paradigm consisting of silent animated cartoons in five closely related conditions, systematically teasing apart different aspects of scene analysis and allowing the assessment of the attribution of beliefs, goals, and physical causation. In order to test the role of language in belief attribution, we used verbal shadowing as a dual task to inhibit inner speech. Data on 58 healthy adults indicate that verbal interference decreases overall performance, but has no specific effect on belief attribution. Participants remained able to attribute beliefs despite heavy concurrent demands on their verbal abilities. Our results are most consistent with the hypothesis that belief attribution is independent from inner speech.

  7. Verbal Abuse among Students in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand

    OpenAIRE

    Ayuwat, Tiwawan

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate verbal abuse of the students in Ubon Ratchathani Province. The results indicated that the verbal abuse of the students consisted of three aspects: words, intonation, and contents. Based on an overview, verbal abuse behavior was at a low level with the mean at 0.90. When the three aspects were investigated, words were at the highest level with a mean of 1.05, followed with intonation and contents with the mean at 0.96 and 0.78, respectively. Verbal abuse of the ...

  8. Children and adolescents previously treated with glucocorticoids display lower verbal intellectual abilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Sara Krøis; Vestergaard, Martin; Madsen, Kathrine Skak

    2015-01-01

    and the Child Behaviour Check List. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the groups in pattern recognition memory, perceptual organisation index or behavioural problems, but patients had a significantly lower verbal comprehension index and this difference was present in both disease groups...

  9. Similar verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia and healthy aging. Implications for understanding of neural mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, Henry; Bilker, Warren B

    2015-03-30

    Memory is impaired in schizophrenia patients but it is not clear whether this is specific to the illness and whether different types of memory (verbal and nonverbal) or memories in different cognitive domains (executive, object recognition) are similarly affected. To study relationships between memory impairments and schizophrenia we compared memory functions in 77 schizophrenia patients, 58 elderly healthy individuals and 41 young healthy individuals. Tests included verbal associative and logical memory and memory in executive and object recognition domains. We compared relationships of memory functions to each other and to other cognitive functions including psychomotor speed and verbal and spatial working memory. Compared to the young healthy group, schizophrenia patients and elderly healthy individuals showed similar severe impairment in logical memory and in the ability to learn new associations (NAL), and similar but less severe impairment in spatial working memory and executive and object memory. Verbal working memory was significantly more impaired in schizophrenia patients than in the healthy elderly. Verbal episodic memory impairment in schizophrenia may share common mechanisms with similar impairment in healthy aging. Impairment in verbal working memory in contrast may reflect mechanisms specific to schizophrenia. Study of verbal explicit memory impairment tapped by the NAL index may advance understanding of abnormal hippocampus dependent mechanisms common to schizophrenia and aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. MODELO DE COMUNICACIÓN NO VERBAL EN DEPORTE Y BALLET NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION MODELS IN SPORTS AND BALLET

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    Gloria Vallejo

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Este estudio analiza el modelo de comunicación que se genera en los entrenadores de fútbol y de gimnasia artística a nivel profesional, y en los instructores de ballet en modalidad folklórica, tomando como referente el lenguaje corporal dinámico propio de la comunicación especializada de deportistas y bailarines, en la que se evidencia lenguaje no verbal. Este último se estudió tanto en prácticas psicomotrices como sociomotrices, para identificar y caracterizar relaciones entre diferentes conceptos y su correspondiente representación gestual. Los resultados indican que el lenguaje no verbal de los entrenadores e instructores toma ocasionalmente el lugar del lenguaje verbal, cuando este último resulta insuficiente o inapropiado para describir una acción motriz de gran precisión, debido a las condiciones de distancia o de interferencias acústicas. En los instructores de ballet se encontró una forma generalizada de dirigir los ensayos utilizando conteos rítmicos con las palmas o los pies. De igual forma, se destacan los componentes paralingüísticos de los diversos actos de habla, especialmente, en lo que se refiere a entonación, duración e intensidad.This study analyzes the communication model generated among professional soccer trainers, artistic gymnastics trainers, and folkloric ballet instructors, on the basis of the dynamic body language typical of specialized communication among sportspeople and dancers, which includes a high percentage of non-verbal language. Non-verbal language was observed in both psychomotor and sociomotor practices in order to identify and characterize relations between different concepts and their corresponding gestural representation. This made it possible to generate a communication model that takes into account the non-verbal aspects of specialized communicative contexts. The results indicate that the non-verbal language of trainers and instructors occasionally replaces verbal language when the

  11. Verbal Problem-Solving Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Atypical Language Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alderson-Day, Ben

    2018-01-01

    Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) adopt less efficient strategies than typically developing (TD) peers on the Twenty Questions Task (TQT), a measure of verbal problem-solving skills. Although problems with the TQT are typically associated with executive dysfunction, they have also been reported in children who are deaf, suggesting a role for atypical language development. To test the contribution of language history to ASD problem solving, TQT performance was compared in children with high-functioning autism (HFA), children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and TD children. The HFA group used significantly less efficient strategies than both AS and TD children. No group differences were evident on tests of question understanding, planning or verbal fluency. Potential explanations for differences in verbal problem-solving skill are discussed with reference to the development of inner speech and use of visual strategies in ASD. PMID:25346354

  12. Measuring Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Aphasia: Reliability, Validity, and Sensitivity to Change of the Scenario Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Meulen, Ineke; van de Sandt-Koenderman, W. Mieke E.; Duivenvoorden, Hugo J.; Ribbers, Gerard M.

    2010-01-01

    Background: This study explores the psychometric qualities of the Scenario Test, a new test to assess daily-life communication in severe aphasia. The test is innovative in that it: (1) examines the effectiveness of verbal and non-verbal communication; and (2) assesses patients' communication in an interactive setting, with a supportive…

  13. Predictors of nurses' experience of verbal abuse by nurse colleagues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Ronald; Krainovich-Miller, Barbara; Budin, Wendy; Djukic, Maja

    Between 45% and 94% of registered nurses (RNs) experience verbal abuse, which is associated with physical and psychological harm. Although several studies examined predictors of RNs' verbal abuse, none examined predictors of RNs' experiences of verbal abuse by RN colleagues. To examine individual, workplace, dispositional, contextual, and interpersonal predictors of RNs' reported experiences of verbal abuse from RN colleagues. In this secondary analysis, a cross-sectional design with multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the effect of 23 predictors on verbal abuse by RN colleagues in a sample of 1,208 early career RNs. Selected variables in the empirical intragroup conflict model explained 23.8% of variance in RNs' experiences of verbal abuse by RN colleagues. A number of previously unstudied factors were identified that organizational leaders can monitor and develop or modify policies to prevent early career RNs' experiences of verbal abuse by RN colleagues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Verbal abuse and mobbing in pre-hospital care services in Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo, Varinia Rodríguez; Klijn, Tatiana Paravic

    2018-01-08

    to determine the perception of verbal abuse and mobbing and the associated factors of paramedic technicians (nursing assistants) and professionals (nurses, midwives, kinesiologists) in the pre-hospital care areas of three regions in the south of Chile. descriptive and correlational study was performed within the professional community and a two-stage sample of the paramedic technician population in three regions. The questionnaire "workplace violence in the health sector" (spanish version) was applied after signing the informed consent. 51.4% of professionals and 46.6% of paramedic technicians consider they have been verbally abused during last year. 17.6% of paramedic technicians and 13.5% of professionals perceived mobbing. A low percentage of these events are reported. In only one case of mobbing, the aggressor was legally penalized. No significant differences were found between the job categories and the studied regions. A high percentage of participants in each group perceived verbal abuse and non-minor percentage perceived mobbing, but most of these events are not reported.

  15. The nature of the verbal self-monitor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ganushchak, Aleksandra (Lesya) Yurievna

    2008-01-01

    This thesis investigated the correlates of verbal self-monitoring in healthy adults. The central questions addressed in the thesis are: Does verbal monitoring work in a similar way as action monitoring? If the Error-Related Negativity (ERN) is associated with error processing in action monitoring,

  16. Hippocampal Functioning and Verbal Associative Memory in Adolescents with Congenital Hypothyroidism

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    Sarah Marie Wheeler

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Thyroid hormone (TH is essential for normal development of the hippocampus, which is critical for memory and particularly for learning and recalling associations between visual and verbal stimuli. Adolescents with congenital hypothyroidism (CH, who lack TH in late gestation and early life, demonstrate weak verbal recall abilities, reduced hippocampal volumes, and abnormal hippocampal functioning for visually associated material. However, it is not known if their hippocampus functions abnormally when remembering verbal associations. Our objective was to assess hippocampal functioning in CH using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. Fourteen adolescents with CH and 14 typically developing controls (TDC were studied. Participants studied pairs of words and then, during fMRI acquisition, made two types of recognition decisions: in one they judged whether the pairs were the same as when seen originally and in the other, whether individual words were seen before regardless of pairing. Hippocampal activation was greater for pairs than items in both groups, but this difference was only significant in TDC. When we directly compared the groups, the right anterior hippocampus was the primary region in which the TDC and CH groups differed for this pair memory effect. Results signify that adolescents with CH show abnormal hippocampal functioning during verbal memory processing.

  17. Phonemic verbal fluency and severity of anxiety disorders in young children

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    Rudineia Toazza

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Previous studies have implicated impaired verbal fluency as being associated with anxiety disorders in adolescents. Objectives: To replicate and extend previously reported evidence by investigating whether performance in phonemic verbal fluency tasks is related to severity of anxiety symptoms in young children with anxiety disorders. We also aim to investigate whether putative associations are independent from co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD symptoms. Methods: Sixty children (6-12 years old with primary diagnoses of anxiety disorders participated in this study. Severity of symptoms was measured using clinician-based, parent-rated and self-rated validated scales. Verbal fluency was assessed using a simple task that measures the number of words evoked in 1-minute with the letter F, from which we quantified the number of isolated words, number of clusters (groups of similar words and number of switches (transitions between clusters and/or between isolated words. Results: There was a significant association between the number of clusters and anxiety scores. Further analysis revealed associations were independent from co-occurring ADHD symptoms. Conclusion: We replicate and extend previous findings showing that verbal fluency is consistently associated with severity in anxiety disorders in children. Further studies should explore the potential effect of cognitive training on symptoms of anxiety disorders.

  18. Evidence of a modality-dependent role of the cerebellum in working memory? An fMRI study comparing verbal and abstract n-back tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hautzel, Hubertus; Mottaghy, Felix M; Specht, Karsten; Müller, Hans-Wilhelm; Krause, Bernd J

    2009-10-01

    In working memory (WM), functional imaging studies demonstrate cerebellar involvement indicating a cognitive role of the cerebellum. These cognitive contributions were predominantly interpreted as part of the phonological loop within the Baddeley model of WM. However, those underlying investigations were performed in the context of visual verbal WM which could pose a bias when interpreting the results. The aim of this fMRI study was to address the question of whether the cerebellum supports additional aspects of WM in the context of higher cognitive functions. Furthermore, laterality effects were investigated to further disentangle the cerebellar role in the context of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad. A direct comparison of verbal and abstract visual WM was performed in 17 young volunteers by applying a 2-back paradigm and extracting the % change in BOLD signal from the fMRI data. To minimize potential verbal strategies, Attneave and Arnoult shapes of non-nameable objects were chosen for the abstract condition. The analyses revealed no significant differences in verbal vs. abstract WM. Moreover, no laterality effects were demonstrated in both verbal and abstract WM. These results provide further evidence of a broader cognitive involvement of the cerebellum in WM that is not only confined to the phonological loop but also supports central executive subfunctions. The fact that no lateralization effects are found might be attributed to the characteristics of the n-back paradigm which emphasizes central executive subfunctions over the subsidiary slave systems.

  19. Membangun Koneksi Matematis Siswa dalam Pemecahan Masalah Verbal

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    Nurfaidah Tasni

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available [Bahasa]: Penelitian ini mendeskripsikan proses membangun koneksi matematis dalam pemecahan masalah verbal atau soal cerita. Pada proses penyelesaian masalah verbal, diidentifikasi beberapa jenis koneksi yang dibangun siswa. Jenis soal dikembangkan berdasarkan karakteristik koneksi matematis menurut NCTM, yaitu koneksi antar topik matematika, koneksi dengan disiplin ilmu lain, dan koneksi dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui hasil kerja siswa dan wawancara semi terstruktur terhadap 2 orang subjek yang dipilih dengan tehnik purposive sampling. Penelitian ini mengunkap ada tujuh jenis koneksi yang dibangun oleh siswa pada saat menyelesaikan masalah verbal, yaitu: koneksi pemahaman, koneksi jika maka, koneksi representasi yang setara, koneksi hirarki, koneksi perbandingan melalui bentuk umum, koneksi prosedur, dan koneksi justifikasi dan representasi. Kata kunci:   Koneksi Matematis; Pemecahan Masalah; Soal Verbal [English]: The current research aims to describe the process of developing mathematical connection in solving verbal or word mathematics problems. In solving problems, the mathematical connections developed by the subjects are identified. The mathematics problems refer to the characteristics of mathematical connections by NCTM, i.e. connections within mathematics topics, connection with other fileds, and connections with daily life. Data collection is conducted through students’ work and semi-structure interview with two subjects. The subjects are selected through purposive sampling. This research reveals seven kinds of mathematical connections developed by the subjects in solving verbal mathematics problems, i.e. connection in understanding, if then connection, equal representation connection, hierarchy connection, proportion connection through general form, procedure connection, and justification and representation connection.    Keywords: Mathematical Connection; Problem Solving; Verbal Problems

  20. Verbal aptitude and the use of grammar information in Serbian language

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    Lalović Dejan

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The research presented in this paper was an attempt to find differences in the use of grammatical information carried by the function words in Serbian. The aim was to determine the level of word processing at which grammatical information shows its differential effects in groups of subjects who themselves differ in verbal ability. For this purpose, the psycholinguistic tasks applied were grammatically primed reading aloud and grammatically primed grammatical classification with an appropriate control of extra-linguistic factors that may have affected aforementioned tasks. Verbal aptitude was assessed in a psychometric manner, and the subjects were divided into "high verbal" and "low verbal" groups. Taking into account statistical control of extra-linguistic factors, the results indicate that groups of high verbal and low verbal subjects cannot be differentiated based on reading aloud performance. The high verbal subjects, however, were more efficient in grammatical classification than low verbal subjects. The results also indicated that the presence of grammatical information embedded in function words-primes had a stronger effect on word processing in low verbal group. Such pattern of results testify to the advantage of high verbal subjects in lexical and post lexical processing, while no differences were established in the word recognition processes. The implications of these findings were considered in terms of test construction for the assessment of verbal ability in Serbian language. .

  1. Diagnostic causal reasoning with verbal information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meder, Björn; Mayrhofer, Ralf

    2017-08-01

    In diagnostic causal reasoning, the goal is to infer the probability of causes from one or multiple observed effects. Typically, studies investigating such tasks provide subjects with precise quantitative information regarding the strength of the relations between causes and effects or sample data from which the relevant quantities can be learned. By contrast, we sought to examine people's inferences when causal information is communicated through qualitative, rather vague verbal expressions (e.g., "X occasionally causes A"). We conducted three experiments using a sequential diagnostic inference task, where multiple pieces of evidence were obtained one after the other. Quantitative predictions of different probabilistic models were derived using the numerical equivalents of the verbal terms, taken from an unrelated study with different subjects. We present a novel Bayesian model that allows for incorporating the temporal weighting of information in sequential diagnostic reasoning, which can be used to model both primacy and recency effects. On the basis of 19,848 judgments from 292 subjects, we found a remarkably close correspondence between the diagnostic inferences made by subjects who received only verbal information and those of a matched control group to whom information was presented numerically. Whether information was conveyed through verbal terms or numerical estimates, diagnostic judgments closely resembled the posterior probabilities entailed by the causes' prior probabilities and the effects' likelihoods. We observed interindividual differences regarding the temporal weighting of evidence in sequential diagnostic reasoning. Our work provides pathways for investigating judgment and decision making with verbal information within a computational modeling framework. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Effects of proactive interference on non-verbal working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyr, Marilyn; Nee, Derek E; Nelson, Eric; Senger, Thea; Jonides, John; Malapani, Chara

    2017-02-01

    Working memory (WM) is a cognitive system responsible for actively maintaining and processing relevant information and is central to successful cognition. A process critical to WM is the resolution of proactive interference (PI), which involves suppressing memory intrusions from prior memories that are no longer relevant. Most studies that have examined resistance to PI in a process-pure fashion used verbal material. By contrast, studies using non-verbal material are scarce, and it remains unclear whether the effect of PI is domain-general or whether it applies solely to the verbal domain. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of PI in visual WM using both objects with high and low nameability. Using a Directed-Forgetting paradigm, we varied discriminability between WM items on two dimensions, one verbal (high-nameability vs. low-nameability objects) and one perceptual (colored vs. gray objects). As in previous studies using verbal material, effects of PI were found with object stimuli, even after controlling for verbal labels being used (i.e., low-nameability condition). We also found that the addition of distinctive features (color, verbal label) increased performance in rejecting intrusion probes, most likely through an increase in discriminability between content-context bindings in WM.

  3. A qualitative study on non-verbal sensitivity in nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Zenobia C Y

    2013-07-01

    To explore nursing students' perception of the meanings and roles of non-verbal communication and sensitivity. It also attempts to understand how different factors influence their non-verbal communication style. The importance of non-verbal communication in the health arena lies in the need for good communication for efficient healthcare delivery. Understanding nursing students' non-verbal communication with patients and the influential factors is essential to prepare them for field work in the future. Qualitative approach based on 16 in-depth interviews. Sixteen nursing students from the Master of Nursing and the Year 3 Bachelor of Nursing program were interviewed. Major points in the recorded interviews were marked down for content analysis. Three main themes were developed: (1) understanding students' non-verbal communication, which shows how nursing students value and experience non-verbal communication in the nursing context; (2) factors that influence the expression of non-verbal cues, which reveals the effect of patients' demographic background (gender, age, social status and educational level) and participants' characteristics (character, age, voice and appearance); and (3) metaphors of non-verbal communication, which is further divided into four subthemes: providing assistance, individualisation, dropping hints and promoting interaction. Learning about students' non-verbal communication experiences in the clinical setting allowed us to understand their use of non-verbal communication and sensitivity, as well as to understand areas that may need further improvement. The experiences and perceptions revealed by the nursing students could provoke nurses to reconsider the effects of the different factors suggested in this study. The results might also help students and nurses to learn and ponder their missing gap, leading them to rethink, train and pay more attention to their non-verbal communication style and sensitivity. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Relating Inter-Individual Differences in Verbal Creative Thinking to Cerebral Structures: An Optimal Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Feifei; Zhang, Qinglin; Qiu, Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Creativity can be defined the capacity of an individual to produce something original and useful. An important measurable component of creativity is divergent thinking. Despite existing studies on creativity-related cerebral structural basis, no study has used a large sample to investigate the relationship between individual verbal creativity and regional gray matter volumes (GMVs) and white matter volumes (WMVs). In the present work, optimal voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to identify the structure that correlates verbal creativity (measured by the verbal form of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) across the brain in young healthy subjects. Verbal creativity was found to be significantly positively correlated with regional GMV in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which is believed to be responsible for language production and comprehension, new semantic representation, and memory retrieval, and in the right IFG, which may involve inhibitory control and attention switching. A relationship between verbal creativity and regional WMV in the left and right IFG was also observed. Overall, a highly verbal creative individual with superior verbal skills may demonstrate a greater computational efficiency in the brain areas involved in high-level cognitive processes including language production, semantic representation and cognitive control. PMID:24223921

  5. Relating inter-individual differences in verbal creative thinking to cerebral structures: an optimal voxel-based morphometry study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feifei Zhu

    Full Text Available Creativity can be defined the capacity of an individual to produce something original and useful. An important measurable component of creativity is divergent thinking. Despite existing studies on creativity-related cerebral structural basis, no study has used a large sample to investigate the relationship between individual verbal creativity and regional gray matter volumes (GMVs and white matter volumes (WMVs. In the present work, optimal voxel-based morphometry (VBM was employed to identify the structure that correlates verbal creativity (measured by the verbal form of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking across the brain in young healthy subjects. Verbal creativity was found to be significantly positively correlated with regional GMV in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, which is believed to be responsible for language production and comprehension, new semantic representation, and memory retrieval, and in the right IFG, which may involve inhibitory control and attention switching. A relationship between verbal creativity and regional WMV in the left and right IFG was also observed. Overall, a highly verbal creative individual with superior verbal skills may demonstrate a greater computational efficiency in the brain areas involved in high-level cognitive processes including language production, semantic representation and cognitive control.

  6. Verbal episodic memory in young hypothyroid patients

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    Vatsal Priyadarshi Pandey

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Hypothyroidism affects cognitive functions especially memory. However, most of the previous studies have generally evaluated older hypothyroid patients and sample size of these studies varied in terms of age range. Aims: To see whether hypothyroidism affects memory in young patients. Settings and Design: The sample consisted of 11 hypothyroid patients with an age of 18–49 and 8 healthy controls matched on age and education. Subjects and Methods: Verbal episodic memory was assessed using Hindi adaptation of Rey-Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Statistical Analysis Used: An independent t-test was used to see the difference between mean performance of the patient group and healthy control on memory measures. Results: Results indicated nonsignificant difference between verbal episodic memory of patient group and healthy controls. Conclusions: On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that hypothyroidism may not affect younger patients in terms of episodic verbal memory the same way as it does in the older patients.

  7. "He says, she says": a comparison of fathers' and mothers' verbal behavior during child cold pressor pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Erin C; Chambers, Christine T; McGrath, Patrick J

    2011-11-01

    Mothers' behavior has a powerful impact on child pain. Maternal attending talk (talk focused on child pain) is associated with increased child pain whereas maternal non-attending talk (talk not focused on child pain) is associated with decreased child pain. The present study compared mothers' and fathers' verbal behavior during child pain. Forty healthy 8- to 12-year-old children completed the cold pressor task (CPT)-once with their mothers present and once with their fathers present in a counterbalanced order. Parent verbalizations were coded as Attending Talk or Non-Attending Talk. Results indicated that child symptom complaints were positively correlated with parent Attending Talk and negatively correlated with parent Non-Attending Talk. Furthermore, child pain tolerance was negatively correlated with parent Attending Talk and positively correlated with parent Non-Attending Talk. Mothers and fathers did not use different proportions of Attending or Non-Attending Talk. Exploratory analyses of parent verbalization subcodes indicated that mothers used more nonsymptom-focused verbalizations whereas fathers used more criticism (a low-frequency occurence). The findings indicate that for both mothers and fathers, verbal attention is associated with higher child pain and verbal non-attention is associated with lower child pain. The results also suggest that mothers' and fathers' verbal behavior during child pain generally does not differ. To date, studies of the effects of parental behavior on child pain have focused almost exclusively on mothers. The present study compared mothers' and fathers' verbal behavior during child pain. The results can be used to inform clinical recommendations for mothers and fathers to help their children cope with pain. Copyright © 2011 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Vividness of Visual Imagery and Incidental Recall of Verbal Cues, When Phenomenological Availability Reflects Long-Term Memory Accessibility

    OpenAIRE

    D’Angiulli, Amedeo; Runge, Matthew; Faulkner, Andrew; Zakizadeh, Jila; Chan, Aldrich; Morcos, Selvana

    2013-01-01

    The relationship between vivid visual mental images and unexpected recall (incidental recall) was replicated, refined and extended. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to generate mental images from imagery-evoking verbal-cues (controlled on several verbal properties) and then, on a trial-by-trial basis, rate the vividness of their images; thirty minutes later, participants were surprised with a task requiring free recall of the cues. Higher vividness ratings predicted better incidental ...

  9. Relationships between hand laterality and verbal and spatial skills in 436 healthy adults balanced for handedness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellet, E; Jobard, G; Zago, L; Crivello, F; Petit, L; Joliot, M; Mazoyer, B; Tzourio-Mazoyer, N

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between manual laterality and cognitive skills remains highly controversial. Some studies have reported that strongly lateralised participants had higher cognitive performance in verbal and visuo-spatial domains compared to non-lateralised participants; however, others found the opposite. Moreover, some have suggested that familial sinistrality and sex might interact with individual laterality factors to alter cognitive skills. The present study addressed these issues in 237 right-handed and 199 left-handed individuals. Performance tests covered various aspects of verbal and spatial cognition. A principal component analysis yielded two verbal and one spatial factor scores. Participant laterality assessments included handedness, manual preference strength, asymmetry of motor performance, and familial sinistrality. Age, sex, education level, and brain volume were also considered. No effect of handedness was found, but the mean factor scores in verbal and spatial domains increased with right asymmetry in motor performance. Performance was reduced in participants with a familial history of left-handedness combined with a non-maximal preference strength in the dominant hand. These results elucidated some discrepancies among previous findings in laterality factors and cognitive skills. Laterality factors had small effects compared to the adverse effects of age for spatial cognition and verbal memory, the positive effects of education for all three domains, and the effect of sex for spatial cognition.

  10. Category verbal fluency performance may be impaired in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

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    Márcio Luiz Figueredo Balthazar

    Full Text Available Abstract To study category verbal fluency (VF for animals in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI, mild Alzheimer disease (AD and normal controls. Method: Fifteen mild AD, 15 aMCI, and 15 normal control subjects were included. Diagnosis of AD was based on DSM-IV and NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, while aMCI was based on the criteria of the International Working Group on Mild Cognitive Impairment, using CDR 0.5 for aMCI and CDR 1 for mild AD. All subjects underwent testing of category VF for animals, lexical semantic function (Boston Naming-BNT, CAMCOG Similarities item, WAIS-R forward and backward digit span, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning (RAVLT, Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE, and other task relevant functions such as visual perception, attention, and mood state (with Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia. Data analysis used ANOVA and a post-hoc Tukey test for intergroup comparisons, and Pearson's coefficient for correlations of memory and FV tests with other task relevant functions (statistical significance level was p<0.05. Results: aMCI patients had lower performance than controls on category VF for animals and on the backward digit span subtest of WAIS-R but higher scores compared with mild AD patients. Mild AD patients scored significantly worse than aMCI and controls across all tests. Conclusion: aMCI patients may have poor performance in some non-memory tests, specifically category VF for animals in our study, where this could be attributable to the influence of working memory.

  11. Efficiency at rest: magnetoencephalographic resting-state connectivity and individual differences in verbal working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    del Río, David; Cuesta, Pablo; Bajo, Ricardo; García-Pacios, Javier; López-Higes, Ramón; del-Pozo, Francisco; Maestú, Fernando

    2012-11-01

    Inter-individual differences in cognitive performance are based on an efficient use of task-related brain resources. However, little is known yet on how these differences might be reflected on resting-state brain networks. Here we used Magnetoencephalography resting-state recordings to assess the relationship between a behavioral measurement of verbal working memory and functional connectivity as measured through Mutual Information. We studied theta (4-8 Hz), low alpha (8-10 Hz), high alpha (10-13 Hz), low beta (13-18 Hz) and high beta (18-30 Hz) frequency bands. A higher verbal working memory capacity was associated with a lower mutual information in the low alpha band, prominently among right-anterior and left-lateral sensors. The results suggest that an efficient brain organization in the domain of verbal working memory might be related to a lower resting-state functional connectivity across large-scale brain networks possibly involving right prefrontal and left perisylvian areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. The language of uncertainty in genetic risk communication: framing and verbal versus numerical information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welkenhuysen, M; Evers-Kiebooms, G; d'Ydewalle, G

    2001-05-01

    Within a group of 300 medical students, two characteristics of risk communication in the context of a decision regarding prenatal diagnosis for cystic fibrosis are manipulated: verbal versus numerical probabilities and the negative versus positive framing of the problem (having a child with versus without cystic fibrosis). Independently of the manipulations, most students were in favor of prenatal diagnosis. The effect of framing was only significant in the conditions with verbal information: negative framing produced a stronger choice in favor of prenatal diagnosis than positive framing. The framing effect in the verbal conditions and its absence in the numerical conditions are explained by the dominance of the problem-occurrence orientation in health matters as well as a recoding process which is more likely to occur in the numerical (the probability "1-P" switches to its counterpart "P") than in the verbal conditions. The implications for the practice of genetic counseling are discussed.

  13. Measures of digit span and verbal rehearsal speed in deaf children after more than 10 years of cochlear implantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pisoni, David B; Kronenberger, William G; Roman, Adrienne S; Geers, Ann E

    2011-02-01

    Conventional assessments of outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) have focused primarily on endpoint or product measures of speech and language. Little attention has been devoted to understanding the basic underlying core neurocognitive factors involved in the development and processing of speech and language. In this study, we examined the development of factors related to the quality of phonological information in immediate verbal memory, including immediate memory capacity and verbal rehearsal speed, in a sample of deaf children after >10 yrs of CI use and assessed the correlations between these two process measures and a set of speech and language outcomes. Of an initial sample of 180 prelingually deaf children with CIs assessed at ages 8 to 9 yrs after 3 to 7 yrs of CI use, 112 returned for testing again in adolescence after 10 more years of CI experience. In addition to completing a battery of conventional speech and language outcome measures, subjects were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III Digit Span subtest to measure immediate verbal memory capacity. Sentence durations obtained from the McGarr speech intelligibility test were used as a measure of verbal rehearsal speed. Relative to norms for normal-hearing children, Digit Span scores were well below average for children with CIs at both elementary and high school ages. Improvement was observed over the 8-yr period in the mean longest digit span forward score but not in the mean longest digit span backward score. Longest digit span forward scores at ages 8 to 9 yrs were significantly correlated with all speech and language outcomes in adolescence, but backward digit spans correlated significantly only with measures of higher-order language functioning over that time period. While verbal rehearsal speed increased for almost all subjects between elementary grades and high school, it was still slower than the rehearsal speed obtained from a control group of normal

  14. Comparing verbal aspect in Slavic and Gothic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Genis, R.; van der Liet, H.; Norde, M.

    2012-01-01

    Much has been written and said about Gothic verbal aspect, especially since the publications of Streitberg (1891 a.f.). Opinions have varied and according to some authors there is no such thing as verbal aspect in Gothic. Others maintain there is and both camps have defended their positions

  15. Establishing Vocal Verbalizations in Mute Mongoloid Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buddenhagen, Ronald G.

    Behavior modification as an attack upon the problem of mutism in mongoloid children establishes the basis of the text. Case histories of four children in a state institution present the specific strategy of speech therapy using verbal conditioning. Imitation and attending behavior, verbal chaining, phonetic theory, social reinforcement,…

  16. Verbal problem-solving difficulties in autism spectrum disorders and atypical language development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alderson-Day, Ben

    2014-12-01

    Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) adopt less efficient strategies than typically developing (TD) peers on the Twenty Questions Task (TQT), a measure of verbal problem-solving skills. Although problems with the TQT are typically associated with executive dysfunction, they have also been reported in children who are deaf, suggesting a role for atypical language development. To test the contribution of language history to ASD problem solving, TQT performance was compared in children with high-functioning autism (HFA), children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and TD children. The HFA group used significantly less efficient strategies than both AS and TD children. No group differences were evident on tests of question understanding, planning or verbal fluency. Potential explanations for differences in verbal problem-solving skill are discussed with reference to the development of inner speech and use of visual strategies in ASD. © 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Recent Research on Emergent Verbal Behavior: Clinical Applications and Future Directions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grow, Laura L.; Kodak, Tiffany

    2010-01-01

    Previous research on the acquisition of verbal behavior in children with developmental disabilities has focused on teaching four primary verbal operants: (1) "mand"; (2) "tact"; (3) "echoic"; and (4) "intraverbal". In Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior, he stated that each verbal operant is maintained by unique antecedent and consequence…

  18. The present status of the study on the validity of concurrent verbalization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Megumi; Takahashi, Hideaki.

    1993-09-01

    We reviewed study on the validity of the method of verbal reports. The method of verbal reports gives us detailed information about human cognitive process as compared with observing a sequence of actions, while it is subjected to criticism for the validity as data. Ericsson and Simon proposed a model of verbalization and investigated conditions to keep verbal reports valid. Although a lot of studies quote their model as a base of adopting the method of verbal reports, verification the validity of verbal reports is incomplete because effects of verbalization is not clear. We pointed out that it is necessary to take into consideration kinds of task strategies, effects of trial repetition, effects of task difficulty to examine precisely effects of verbalization. (author)

  19. Working memory still needs verbal rehearsal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucidi, Annalisa; Langerock, Naomi; Hoareau, Violette; Lemaire, Benoît; Camos, Valérie; Barrouillet, Pierre

    2016-02-01

    The causal role of verbal rehearsal in working memory has recently been called into question. For example, the SOB-CS (Serial Order in a Box-Complex Span) model assumes that there is no maintenance process for the strengthening of items in working memory, but instead a process of removal of distractors that are involuntarily encoded and create interference with memory items. In the present study, we tested the idea that verbal working memory performance can be accounted for without assuming a causal role of the verbal rehearsal process. We demonstrate in two experiments using a complex span task and a Brown-Peterson paradigm that increasing the number of repetitions of the same distractor (the syllable ba that was read aloud at each of its occurrences on screen) has a detrimental effect on the concurrent maintenance of consonants whereas the maintenance of spatial locations remains unaffected. A detailed analysis of the tasks demonstrates that accounting for this effect within the SOB-CS model requires a series of unwarranted assumptions leading to undesirable further predictions contradicted by available experimental evidence. We argue that the hypothesis of a maintenance mechanism based on verbal rehearsal that is impeded by concurrent articulation still provides the simplest and most compelling account of our results.

  20. Action verbal fluency in Parkinson’s patients

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    Inês Tello Rodrigues

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We compared the performance of 31 non-demented Parkinson´s disease (PD patients to 61 healthy controls in an action verbal fluency task. Semantic and phonemic fluencies, cognitive impairment and behavioural dysfunction were also assessed. The mean disease duration of PD was 9.8 years (standard deviation (SD = 6.13. There were no age (U = 899.5, p = 0.616, gender(chi-square = 0.00, p = 1.00 or literacy (U = 956, p = 0.96 differences between the two groups. A significant difference was observed between the two groups in the action verbal fluency task (U = 406.5, p < 0.01 that was not found in the other fluency tasks. The education level was the only biographical variable that influenced the action (verb fluency outcomes, irrespective of disease duration. Our findings suggest a correlation between the disease mechanisms in PD and a specific verb deficit, support the validity of the action (verb fluency as an executive function measure and suggest that this task provides unique information not captured with traditional executive function tasks.

  1. Childhood traumatic events and types of auditory verbal hallucinations in first-episode schizophrenia patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misiak, Błażej; Moustafa, Ahmed A; Kiejna, Andrzej; Frydecka, Dorota

    2016-04-01

    Evidence is accumulating that childhood trauma might be associated with higher severity of positive symptoms in patients with psychosis and higher incidence of psychotic experiences in non-clinical populations. However, it remains unknown whether the history of childhood trauma might be associated with particular types of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). We assessed childhood trauma using the Early Trauma Inventory Self-Report - Short Form (ETISR-SF) in 94 first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients. Lifetime psychopathology was evaluated using the Operational Criteria for Psychotic Illness (OPCRIT) checklist, while symptoms on the day of assessment were examined using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Based on ETISR-SF, patients were divided into those with and without the history of childhood trauma: FES(+) and FES(-) patients. FES(+) patients had significantly higher total number of AVH types and Schneiderian first-rank AVH as well as significantly higher PANSS P3 item score (hallucinatory behavior) in comparison with FES(-) patients. They experienced significantly more frequently third person AVH and abusive/accusatory/persecutory voices. These differences remained significant after controlling for education, PANSS depression factor score and chlorpromazine equivalent. Linear regression analysis revealed that the total number of AVH types was predicted by sexual abuse score after controlling for above mentioned confounders. This effect was significant only in females. Our results indicate that the history of childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse, is associated with higher number AVH in females but not in males. Third person AVH and abusive/accusatory/persecutory voices, representing Schneiderian first-rank symptoms, might be particularly related to childhood traumatic events. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Are Smart People Less Racist? Verbal Ability, Anti-Black Prejudice, and the Principle-Policy Paradox

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wodtke, Geoffrey T.

    2016-01-01

    It is commonly hypothesized that higher cognitive abilities promote racial tolerance and a greater commitment to racial equality, but an alternative theoretical framework contends that higher cognitive abilities merely enable members of a dominant racial group to articulate a more refined legitimizing ideology for racial inequality. According to this perspective, ideological refinement occurs in response to shifting patterns of racial conflict and is characterized by rejection of overt prejudice, superficial support for racial equality in principle, and opposition to policies that challenge the dominant group's status. This study estimates the impact of verbal ability on a comprehensive set of racial attitudes, including anti-black prejudice, views about black-white equality in principle, and racial policy support. It also investigates cohort differences in the effects of verbal ability on these attitudes. Results suggest that high-ability whites are less likely than low-ability whites to report prejudicial attitudes and more likely to support racial equality in principle. Despite these liberalizing effects, high-ability whites are no more likely to support a variety of remedial policies for racial inequality. Results also suggest that the ostensibly liberalizing effects of verbal ability on anti-black prejudice and views about racial equality in principle emerged slowly over time, consistent with ideological refinement theory. PMID:27134315

  3. Are Smart People Less Racist? Verbal Ability, Anti-Black Prejudice, and the Principle-Policy Paradox.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wodtke, Geoffrey T

    2016-01-08

    It is commonly hypothesized that higher cognitive abilities promote racial tolerance and a greater commitment to racial equality, but an alternative theoretical framework contends that higher cognitive abilities merely enable members of a dominant racial group to articulate a more refined legitimizing ideology for racial inequality. According to this perspective, ideological refinement occurs in response to shifting patterns of racial conflict and is characterized by rejection of overt prejudice, superficial support for racial equality in principle, and opposition to policies that challenge the dominant group's status. This study estimates the impact of verbal ability on a comprehensive set of racial attitudes, including anti-black prejudice, views about black-white equality in principle, and racial policy support. It also investigates cohort differences in the effects of verbal ability on these attitudes. Results suggest that high-ability whites are less likely than low-ability whites to report prejudicial attitudes and more likely to support racial equality in principle. Despite these liberalizing effects, high-ability whites are no more likely to support a variety of remedial policies for racial inequality. Results also suggest that the ostensibly liberalizing effects of verbal ability on anti-black prejudice and views about racial equality in principle emerged slowly over time, consistent with ideological refinement theory.

  4. Verbal declarative memory impairments in specific language impairment are related to working memory deficits

    OpenAIRE

    Lum, Jarrad A.G.; Ullman, Michael T.; Conti-Ramsden, Gina

    2015-01-01

    This study examined verbal declarative memory functioning in SLI and its relationship to working memory. Encoding, recall, and recognition of verbal information was examined in children with SLI who had below average working memory (SLILow WM), children with SLI who had average working memory (SLIAvg. WM) and, a group of non-language impaired children with average working memory (TDAvg. WM). The SLILow WM group was significantly worse than both the SLIAvg. WM and TDAvg. WM groups at encoding ...

  5. When customers exhibit verbal aggression, employees pay cognitive costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rafaeli, Anat; Erez, Amir; Ravid, Shy; Derfler-Rozin, Rellie; Treister, Dorit Efrat; Scheyer, Ravit

    2012-09-01

    In 4 experimental studies, we show that customer verbal aggression impaired the cognitive performance of the targets of this aggression. In Study 1, customers' verbal aggression reduced recall of customers' requests. Study 2 extended these findings by showing that customer verbal aggression impaired recognition memory and working memory among employees of a cellular communication provider. In Study 3, the ability to take another's perspective attenuated the negative effects of customer verbal aggression on participants' cognitive performance. Study 4 linked customer verbal aggression to quality of task performance, showing a particularly negative influence of aggressive requests delivered by high-status customers. Together, these studies suggest that the effects of even minor aggression from customers can strongly affect the immediate cognitive performance of customer service employees and reduce their task performance. The implications for research on aggression and for the practice of customer service are discussed.

  6. Verbal behavior: The other reviews

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knapp, Terry J.

    1992-01-01

    The extensive attention devoted to Noam Chomsky's review of Verbal Behavior by B.F. Skinner has resulted in a neglect of more than a dozen other rewiews of the work. These are surveyed and found to be positive and congenial in tone, with many of the reviewers advancing his/her own analysis of speech and language. The dominant criticism of the book was its disregard of central or implicit processes and its lack of experimental data. An examination of the receptive history of Verbal Behavior offers a more balanced historical account than those which rely excessively on Chomsky's commentary PMID:22477049

  7. Verbal short-term memory in Down's syndrome: an articulatory loop deficit?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicari, S; Marotta, L; Carlesimo, G A

    2004-02-01

    Verbal short-term memory, as measured by digit or word span, is generally impaired in individuals with Down's syndrome (DS) compared to mental age-matched controls. Moving from the working memory model, the present authors investigated the hypothesis that impairment in some of the articulatory loop sub-components is at the base of the deficient maintenance and recall of phonological representations in individuals with DS. Two experiments were carried out in a group of adolescents with DS and in typically developing children matched for mental age. In the first experiment, the authors explored the reliance of these subjects on the subvocal rehearsal mechanism during a word-span task and the effects produced by varying the frequency of occurrence of the words on the extension of the word span. In the second experiment, they investigated the functioning of the phonological store component of the articulatory loop in more detail. A reduced verbal span in DS was confirmed. Neither individuals with DS nor controls engaged in spontaneous subvocal rehearsal. Moreover, the data provide little support for defective functioning of the phonological store in DS. No evidence was found suggesting that a dysfunction of the articulatory loop and lexical-semantic competence significantly contributed to verbal span reduction in subjects with DS. Alternative explanations of defective verbal short-term memory in DS, such as a central executive system impairment, must be considered.

  8. Dissociating verbal and nonverbal audiovisual object processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hocking, Julia; Price, Cathy J

    2009-02-01

    This fMRI study investigates how audiovisual integration differs for verbal stimuli that can be matched at a phonological level and nonverbal stimuli that can be matched at a semantic level. Subjects were presented simultaneously with one visual and one auditory stimulus and were instructed to decide whether these stimuli referred to the same object or not. Verbal stimuli were simultaneously presented spoken and written object names, and nonverbal stimuli were photographs of objects simultaneously presented with naturally occurring object sounds. Stimulus differences were controlled by including two further conditions that paired photographs of objects with spoken words and object sounds with written words. Verbal matching, relative to all other conditions, increased activation in a region of the left superior temporal sulcus that has previously been associated with phonological processing. Nonverbal matching, relative to all other conditions, increased activation in a right fusiform region that has previously been associated with structural and conceptual object processing. Thus, we demonstrate how brain activation for audiovisual integration depends on the verbal content of the stimuli, even when stimulus and task processing differences are controlled.

  9. Brain serotonin 4 receptor binding is inversely associated with verbal memory recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenbæk, Dea S; Fisher, Patrick M; Ozenne, Brice; Andersen, Emil; Hjordt, Liv V; McMahon, Brenda; Hasselbalch, Steen G; Frokjaer, Vibe G; Knudsen, Gitte M

    2017-04-01

    We have previously identified an inverse relationship between cerebral serotonin 4 receptor (5-HT 4 R) binding and nonaffective episodic memory in healthy individuals. Here, we investigate in a novel sample if the association is related to affective components of memory, by examining the association between cerebral 5-HT 4 R binding and affective verbal memory recall. Twenty-four healthy volunteers were scanned with the 5-HT 4 R radioligand [ 11 C]SB207145 and positron emission tomography, and were tested with the Verbal Affective Memory Test-24. The association between 5-HT 4 R binding and affective verbal memory was evaluated using a linear latent variable structural equation model. We observed a significant inverse association across all regions between 5-HT 4 R binding and affective verbal memory performances for positive ( p  = 5.5 × 10 -4 ) and neutral ( p  = .004) word recall, and an inverse but nonsignificant association for negative ( p  = .07) word recall. Differences in the associations with 5-HT 4 R binding between word categories (i.e., positive, negative, and neutral) did not reach statistical significance. Our findings replicate our previous observation of a negative association between 5-HT 4 R binding and memory performance in an independent cohort and provide novel evidence linking 5-HT 4 R binding, as a biomarker for synaptic 5-HT levels, to the mnestic processing of positive and neutral word stimuli in healthy humans.

  10. Prosody Predicts Contest Outcome in Non-Verbal Dialogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreiss, Amélie N; Chatelain, Philippe G; Roulin, Alexandre; Richner, Heinz

    2016-01-01

    Non-verbal communication has important implications for inter-individual relationships and negotiation success. However, to what extent humans can spontaneously use rhythm and prosody as a sole communication tool is largely unknown. We analysed human ability to resolve a conflict without verbal dialogs, independently of semantics. We invited pairs of subjects to communicate non-verbally using whistle sounds. Along with the production of more whistles, participants unwittingly used a subtle prosodic feature to compete over a resource (ice-cream scoops). Winners can be identified by their propensity to accentuate the first whistles blown when replying to their partner, compared to the following whistles. Naive listeners correctly identified this prosodic feature as a key determinant of which whistler won the interaction. These results suggest that in the absence of other communication channels, individuals spontaneously use a subtle variation of sound accentuation (prosody), instead of merely producing exuberant sounds, to impose themselves in a conflict of interest. We discuss the biological and cultural bases of this ability and their link with verbal communication. Our results highlight the human ability to use non-verbal communication in a negotiation process.

  11. Associations between olfactory identification and verbal memory in patients with schizophrenia, first-degree relatives, and non-psychiatric controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Compton, Michael T; McKenzie Mack, LaTasha; Esterberg, Michelle L; Bercu, Zachary; Kryda, Aimee D; Quintero, Luis; Weiss, Paul S; Walker, Elaine F

    2006-09-01

    Olfactory identification deficits and verbal memory impairments may represent trait markers for schizophrenia. The aims of this study were to: (1) assess olfactory identification in patients, first-degree relatives, and non-psychiatric controls, (2) determine differences in verbal memory functioning in these three groups, and (3) study correlations between olfactory identification and three specific verbal memory domains. A total of 106 participants-41 patients with schizophrenia or related disorders, 27 relatives, and 38 controls-were assessed with the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition. Linear mixed models, accounting for clustering within families and relevant covariates, were used to compare scores across groups and to examine associations between olfactory identification ability and the three verbal memory domains. A group effect was apparent for all four measures, and relatives scored midway between patients and controls on all three memory domains. UPSIT scores were significantly correlated with all three forms of verbal memory. Age, verbal working memory, and auditory recognition delayed memory were independently predictive of UPSIT scores. Impairments in olfactory identification and verbal memory appear to represent two correlated risk markers for schizophrenia, and frontal-temporal deficits likely account for both impairments.

  12. Non-verbal communication barriers when dealing with Saudi sellers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yosra Missaoui

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Communication has a major impact on how customers perceive sellers and their organizations. Especially, the non-verbal communication such as body language, appearance, facial expressions, gestures, proximity, posture, eye contact that can influence positively or negatively the first impression of customers and their experiences in stores. Salespeople in many countries, especially the developing ones, are just telling about their companies’ products because they are unaware of the real role of sellers and the importance of non-verbal communication. In Saudi Arabia, the seller profession has been exclusively for foreign labor until 2006. It is very recently that Saudi workforce enters to the retailing sector as sellers. The non-verbal communication of those sellers has never been evaluated from consumer’s point of view. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore the non-verbal communication barriers that customers are facing when dealing with Saudi sellers. After discussing the non-verbal communication skills that sellers must have in the light of the previous academic research and the depth interviews with seven focus groups of Saudi customers, this study found that the Saudi customers were not totally satisfied with the current non-verbal communication skills of Saudi sellers. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to develop the non-verbal communication skills of Saudi sellers by intensive trainings, to distinguish more the appearance of their sellers, especially the female ones, to focus on the time of intervention as well as the proximity to customers.

  13. Patients' perceptions of GP non-verbal communication: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcinowicz, Ludmila; Konstantynowicz, Jerzy; Godlewski, Cezary

    2010-02-01

    During doctor-patient interactions, many messages are transmitted without words, through non-verbal communication. To elucidate the types of non-verbal behaviours perceived by patients interacting with family GPs and to determine which cues are perceived most frequently. In-depth interviews with patients of family GPs. Nine family practices in different regions of Poland. At each practice site, interviews were performed with four patients who were scheduled consecutively to see their family doctor. Twenty-four of 36 studied patients spontaneously perceived non-verbal behaviours of the family GP during patient-doctor encounters. They reported a total of 48 non-verbal cues. The most frequent features were tone of voice, eye contact, and facial expressions. Less frequent were examination room characteristics, touch, interpersonal distance, GP clothing, gestures, and posture. Non-verbal communication is an important factor by which patients spontaneously describe and evaluate their interactions with a GP. Family GPs should be trained to better understand and monitor their own non-verbal behaviours towards patients.

  14. Alterations in Resting-State Activity Relate to Performance in a Verbal Recognition Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    López Zunini, Rocío A.; Thivierge, Jean-Philippe; Kousaie, Shanna; Sheppard, Christine; Taler, Vanessa

    2013-01-01

    In the brain, resting-state activity refers to non-random patterns of intrinsic activity occurring when participants are not actively engaged in a task. We monitored resting-state activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) both before and after a verbal recognition task. We show a strong positive correlation between accuracy in verbal recognition and pre-task resting-state alpha power at posterior sites. We further characterized this effect by examining resting-state post-task activity. We found marked alterations in resting-state alpha power when comparing pre- and post-task periods, with more pronounced alterations in participants that attained higher task accuracy. These findings support a dynamical view of cognitive processes where patterns of ongoing brain activity can facilitate –or interfere– with optimal task performance. PMID:23785436

  15. NEGOSIASI PENERJEMAHAN VERBAL - VISUAL DESAIN GRAFIS

    OpenAIRE

    Moeljadi Pranata

    2000-01-01

    Design is commonly regarded as an act of individual creation to which both verbalization and logical analysis are only peripherally relevant. This article reviews a research study about talking design by Tomes et al (1998) which involving graphic designers and their clients. The conclusion is that talking design -- verbal and visual -- is the design itself. Comments from a design-major student give more light to the research s outputs. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Desain umumnya dipandang s...

  16. How verbal memory loads consume attention

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Zhijian; Cowan, Nelson

    2009-01-01

    According to a traditional assumption about working memory, participants retain a series of verbal items for immediate recall using covert verbal rehearsal, without much need for attention. We reassessed this assumption by imposing a speeded, nonverbal choice reaction time (CRT) task following the presentation of each digit in a list to be recalled. When the memory load surpassed a few items, performance on the speeded CRT task became increasingly impaired. This CRT task impairment depended o...

  17. Individual differences in proactive interference in verbal and visuospatial working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lilienthal, Lindsey

    2017-09-01

    Proactive interference (PI) has been shown to affect working memory (WM) span as well as the predictive utility of WM span measures. However, most of the research on PI has been conducted using verbal memory items, and much less is known about the role of PI in the visuospatial domain. In order to further explore this issue, the present study used a within-subjects manipulation of PI that alternated clusters of trials with verbal and visuospatial to-be-remembered items. Although PI was shown to build and release across trials similarly in the two domains, important differences also were observed. The ability of verbal WM to predict performance on a measure of fluid intelligence was significantly affected by the amount of PI present, consistent with past research, but this proved not to be the case for visuospatial WM. Further, individuals' susceptibility to PI in one domain was relatively independent of their susceptibility in the other domain, suggesting that, contrary to some theories of executive function, individual differences in PI susceptibility may not be domain-general.

  18. Verbal and Visual Memory Impairments in Bipolar I and II Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Tae Hyon; Kim, Ji Sun; Chang, Jae Seung; Oh, Sung Hee; Her, Ju Young; Cho, Hyun Sang; Park, Tae Sung; Shin, Soon Young; Ha, Kyooseob

    2012-12-01

    To compare verbal and visual memory performances between patients with bipolar I disorder (BD I) and patients with bipolar II disorder (BD II) and to determine whether memory deficits were mediated by impaired organizational strategies. Performances on the Korean-California Verbal Learning Test (K-CVLT) and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) in 37 patients with BD I, 46 patients with BD II and 42 healthy subjects were compared. Mediating effects of impaired organization strategies on poor delayed recall was tested by comparing direct and mediated models using multiple regression analysis. Both patients groups recalled fewer words and figure components and showed lower Semantic Clustering compared to controls. Verbal memory impairment was partly mediated by difficulties in Semantic Clustering in both subtypes, whereas the mediating effect of Organization deficit on the visual memory impairment was present only in BD I. In all mediated models, group differences in delayed recall remained significant. Our findings suggest that memory impairment may be one of the fundamental cognitive deficits in bipolar disorders and that executive dysfunctions can exert an additional influence on memory impairments.

  19. Verbal makes it positive, spatial makes it negative: working memory biases judgments, attention, and moods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storbeck, Justin; Watson, Philip

    2014-12-01

    Prior research has suggested that emotion and working memory domains are integrated, such that positive affect enhances verbal working memory, whereas negative affect enhances spatial working memory (Gray, 2004; Storbeck, 2012). Simon (1967) postulated that one feature of emotion and cognition integration would be reciprocal connectedness (i.e., emotion influences cognition and cognition influences emotion). We explored whether affective judgments and attention to affective qualities are biased by the activation of verbal and spatial working memory mind-sets. For all experiments, participants completed a 2-back verbal or spatial working memory task followed by an endorsement task (Experiments 1 & 2), word-pair selection task (Exp. 3), or attentional dot-probe task (Exp. 4). Participants who had an activated verbal, compared with spatial, working memory mind-set were more likely to endorse pictures (Exp. 1) and words (Exp. 2) as being more positive and to select the more positive word pair out of a set of word pairs that went 'together best' (Exp. 3). Additionally, people who completed the verbal working memory task took longer to disengage from positive stimuli, whereas those who completed the spatial working memory task took longer to disengage from negative stimuli (Exp. 4). Interestingly, across the 4 experiments, we observed higher levels of self-reported negative affect for people who completed the spatial working memory task, which was consistent with their endorsement and attentional bias toward negative stimuli. Therefore, emotion and working memory may have a reciprocal connectedness allowing for bidirectional influence.

  20. Musical and verbal semantic memory: two distinct neural networks?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groussard, M; Viader, F; Hubert, V; Landeau, B; Abbas, A; Desgranges, B; Eustache, F; Platel, H

    2010-02-01

    Semantic memory has been investigated in numerous neuroimaging and clinical studies, most of which have used verbal or visual, but only very seldom, musical material. Clinical studies have suggested that there is a relative neural independence between verbal and musical semantic memory. In the present study, "musical semantic memory" is defined as memory for "well-known" melodies without any knowledge of the spatial or temporal circumstances of learning, while "verbal semantic memory" corresponds to general knowledge about concepts, again without any knowledge of the spatial or temporal circumstances of learning. Our aim was to compare the neural substrates of musical and verbal semantic memory by administering the same type of task in each modality. We used high-resolution PET H(2)O(15) to observe 11 young subjects performing two main tasks: (1) a musical semantic memory task, where the subjects heard the first part of familiar melodies and had to decide whether the second part they heard matched the first, and (2) a verbal semantic memory task with the same design, but where the material consisted of well-known expressions or proverbs. The musical semantic memory condition activated the superior temporal area and inferior and middle frontal areas in the left hemisphere and the inferior frontal area in the right hemisphere. The verbal semantic memory condition activated the middle temporal region in the left hemisphere and the cerebellum in the right hemisphere. We found that the verbal and musical semantic processes activated a common network extending throughout the left temporal neocortex. In addition, there was a material-dependent topographical preference within this network, with predominantly anterior activation during musical tasks and predominantly posterior activation during semantic verbal tasks. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. The effect of age-at-testing on verbal memory among children following severe traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silberg, Tamar; Ahonniska-Assa, Jaana; Levav, Miriam; Eliyahu, Roni; Peleg-Pilowsky, Tamar; Brezner, Amichai; Vakil, Eli

    2016-01-01

    Memory deficits are a common sequelae following childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI), which often have serious implications on age-related academic skills. The current study examined verbal memory performance using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) in a pediatric TBI sample. Verbal memory abilities as well as the effect of age at-testing on performance were examined. A sample of 67 children following severe TBI (age average = 12.3 ± 2.74) and 67 matched controls were evaluated using the RAVLT. Age effect at assessment was examined using two age groups: above and below 12 years of age during evaluation. Differences between groups were examined via the 9 RAVLT learning trials and the 7 composite scores conducted out of them. Children following TBI recalled significantly less words than controls on all RAVLT trials and had significantly lower scores on all composite scores. However, all of these scores fell within the low average range. Further analysis revealed significantly lower than average performance among the older children (above 12 years), while scores of the younger children following TBI fell within average limits. To conclude, verbal memory deficits among children following severe TBI demonstrate an age-at-testing effect with more prominent problems occurring above 12 years at the time of evaluation. Yet, age-appropriate performance among children below 12 years of age may not accurately describe memory abilities at younger ages following TBI. It is therefore recommended that clinicians address child's age at testing and avoid using a single test as an indicator of verbal memory functioning post TBI.

  2. Factors Influencing the Accuracy of Verbal Reports of Conversational Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benoit, William L.; Benoit, Pamela J.

    1989-01-01

    Investigates (1) whether subjects consult their memory or relevant implicit theories when making verbal reports, and (2) the effect of recognition criterion on verbal report performance. Finds that subjects occasionally employ implicit theories to develop their verbal reports, but that memory is much more important in determining the reports. (MM)

  3. Getting the Message Across; Non-Verbal Communication in the Classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, Jack

    This handbook presents selected theories, activities, and resources which can be utilized by educators in the area of non-verbal communication. Particular attention is given to the use of non-verbal communication in a cross-cultural context. Categories of non-verbal communication such as proxemics, haptics, kinesics, smiling, sound, clothing, and…

  4. Gender differences in verbal learning in older participants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hogervorst, E.; Rahardjo, T.B.; Brayne, C.; Henderson, W.; Jolles, J.

    2012-01-01

    Gender differences in cognitive function may diminish with age. We investigated gender and gender-by-age interactions in relation to verbal learning. Cross-sectional data were available from seven cohorts. Meta-analyses indicated that overall verbal learning favored women. Performance declined with

  5. Computerized training of non-verbal reasoning and working memory in children with intellectual disability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stina eSöderqvist

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Children with intellectual disabilities show deficits in both reasoning ability and working memory (WM that impact everyday functioning and academic achievement. In this study we investigated the feasibility of cognitive training for improving WM and non-verbal reasoning (NVR ability in children with intellectual disability. Participants were randomized to a 5-week adaptive training program (intervention group or non-adaptive version of the program (active control group. Cognitive assessments were conducted prior to and directly after training, and one year later to examine effects of the training. Improvements during training varied largely and amount of progress during training predicted transfer to WM and comprehension of instructions, with higher training progress being associated with greater transfer effects. The strongest predictors for training progress were found to be gender, co-morbidity and baseline capacity on verbal WM. In particular, females without an additional diagnosis and with higher baseline performance showed greater progress. No significant effects of training were observed at the one-year follow-up, suggesting that training should be more intense or repeated in order for effects to persist in children with intellectual disabilities. A major finding of this study is that cognitive training is feasible in children with intellectual disabilities and can help improve their cognitive capacities. However, a minimum cognitive capacity or training ability seems necessary for the training to be beneficial, with some individuals showing little improvement in performance. Future studies of cognitive training should take into consideration how inter-individual differences in training progress influence transfer effects and further investigate how baseline capacities predict training outcome.

  6. A comparison of positive vicarious learning and verbal information for reducing vicariously learned fear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Gemma; Wasely, David; Dunne, Güler; Askew, Chris

    2017-10-19

    Research with children has demonstrated that both positive vicarious learning (modelling) and positive verbal information can reduce children's acquired fear responses for a particular stimulus. However, this fear reduction appears to be more effective when the intervention pathway matches the initial fear learning pathway. That is, positive verbal information is a more effective intervention than positive modelling when fear is originally acquired via negative verbal information. Research has yet to explore whether fear reduction pathways are also important for fears acquired via vicarious learning. To test this, an experiment compared the effectiveness of positive verbal information and positive vicarious learning interventions for reducing vicariously acquired fears in children (7-9 years). Both vicarious and informational fear reduction interventions were found to be equally effective at reducing vicariously acquired fears, suggesting that acquisition and intervention pathways do not need to match for successful fear reduction. This has significant implications for parents and those working with children because it suggests that providing children with positive information or positive vicarious learning immediately after a negative modelling event may prevent more serious fears developing.

  7. Age-related decline in verbal learning is moderated by demographic factors, working memory capacity, and presence of amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantinidou, Fofi; Zaganas, Ioannis; Papastefanakis, Emmanouil; Kasselimis, Dimitrios; Nidos, Andreas; Simos, Panagiotis G

    2014-09-01

    Age-related memory changes are highly varied and heterogeneous. The study examined the rate of decline in verbal episodic memory as a function of education level, auditory attention span and verbal working memory capacity, and diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI). Data were available on a community sample of 653 adults aged 17-86 years and 70 patients with a-MCI recruited from eight broad geographic areas in Greece and Cyprus. Measures of auditory attention span and working memory capacity (digits forward and backward) and verbal episodic memory (Auditory Verbal Learning Test [AVLT]) were used. Moderated mediation regressions on data from the community sample did not reveal significant effects of education level on the rate of age-related decline in AVLT indices. The presence of a-MCI was a significant moderator of the direct effect of Age on both immediate and delayed episodic memory indices. The rate of age-related decline in verbal episodic memory is normally mediated by working memory capacity. Moreover, in persons who display poor episodic memory capacity (a-MCI group), age-related memory decline is expected to advance more rapidly for those who also display relatively poor verbal working memory capacity.

  8. Event-governed and verbally-governed behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Vargas, Ernest A.

    1988-01-01

    A number of statements prescribe behavior: apothegms, maxims, proverbs, instructions, and so on. These differing guides to conduct present varieties of the dictionary definition of “rules.” The term “rules” thus defines a category of language usage. Such a term, and its derivative, “rule-governed,” does not address a controlling relation in the analysis of verbal behavior. The prevailing confounding of a category of language with a category of verbal behavior appears related to a lack of unde...

  9. Hebb learning, verbal short-term memory, and the acquisition of phonological forms in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosse, Emma K; Jarrold, Christopher

    2008-04-01

    Recent work using the Hebb effect as a marker for implicit long-term acquisition of serial order has demonstrated a functional equivalence across verbal and visuospatial short-term memory. The current study extends this observation to a sample of five- to six-year-olds using verbal and spatial immediate serial recall and also correlates the magnitude of Hebb learning with explicit measures of word and nonword paired-associate learning. Comparable Hebb effects were observed in both domains, but only nonword learning was significantly related to the magnitude of Hebb learning. Nonword learning was also independently related to individuals' general level of verbal serial recall. This suggests that vocabulary acquisition depends on both a domain-specific short-term memory system and a domain-general process of learning through repetition.

  10. Toward a functional analysis of private verbal self-regulation.

    OpenAIRE

    Taylor, I; O'Reilly, M F

    1997-01-01

    We developed a methodology, derived from the theoretical literatures on rule-governed behavior and private events, to experimentally investigate the relationship between covert verbal self-regulation and nonverbal behavior. The methodology was designed to assess whether (a) nonverbal behavior was under the control of covert rules and (b) verbal reports of these rules were functionally equivalent to the covert rules that control non-verbal behavior. The research was conducted in the context of...

  11. Associations of students' self-reports of their teachers' verbal aggression, intrinsic motivation, and perceptions of reasons for discipline in Greek physical education classes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekiari, Alexandra; Kokaridas, Dimitrios; Sakellariou, Kimon

    2006-04-01

    In this study were examined associations among physical education teachers' verbal aggressiveness as perceived by students and students' intrinsic motivation and reasons for discipline. The sample consisted of 265 Greek adolescent students who completed four questionnaires, the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale, the Lesson Satisfaction Scale, the Reasons for Discipline Scale, and the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory during physical education classes. Analysis indicated significant positive correlations among students' perceptions of teachers' verbal aggressiveness with pressure/ tension, external reasons, introjected reasons, no reasons, and self-responsibility. Significant negative correlations were noted for students' perceptions of teachers' verbal aggression with lesson satisfaction, enjoyment/interest, competence, effort/importance, intrinsic reasons, and caring. Differences between the two sexes were observed in their perceptions of teachers' verbal aggressiveness, intrinsic motivation, and reasons for discipline. Findings and implications for teachers' type of communication were also discussed and suggestions for research made.

  12. Immediate and Long-Term Retention For Pictorial and Verbal Stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purdy, Jesse E.; Luepnitz, Roy R.

    1982-01-01

    Sixty-four subjects were presented pictures and later asked to draw them or provide one-word descriptions to test the hypothesis that decreased retention effectiveness occurs because images stored in long-term memory are accessible only through their verbal labels. Recall of pictures was significantly greater than recall of words. (Author/PN)

  13. An investigation of the use of co-verbal gestures in oral discourse among Chinese speakers with fluent versus non-fluent aphasia and healthy adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anthony Pak Hin Kong

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Co-verbal gestures can facilitate word production among persons with aphasia (PWA (Rose, Douglas, & Matyas, 2002 and play a communicative role for PWA to convey ideas (Sekine & Rose, 2013. Kong, Law, Kwan, Lai, and Lam (2015 recently reported a systematic approach to independently analyze gesture forms and functions in spontaneous oral discourse produced. When this annotation framework was used to compare speech-accompanying gestures used by PWA and unimpaired speakers, Kong, Law, Wat, and Lai (2013 found a significantly higher gesture-to-word ratio among PWAs. Speakers who were more severe in aphasia or produced a lower percentage of complete sentences or simple sentences in their narratives tended to use more gestures. Moreover, verbal-semantic processing impairment, but not the degree of hemiplegia, was found to affect PWAs’ employment of gestures. The current study aims to (1 investigate whether the frequency of gestural employment varied across speakers with non-fluent aphasia, fluent aphasia, and their controls, (2 examine how the distribution of gesture forms and functions differed across the three speaker groups, and (3 determine how well factors of complexity of linguistic output, aphasia severity, semantic processing integrity, and hemiplegia would predict the frequency of gesture use among PWAs. Method The participants included 23 Cantonese-speaking individuals with fluent aphasia, 21 with non-fluent aphasia, and 23 age- and education-matched controls. Three sets of language samples and video files were collected through the narrative tasks of recounting a personally important event, sequential description, and story-telling, using the Cantonese AphasiaBank protocol (Kong, Law, & Lee, 2009. While the language samples were linguistically quantified to reflect word- and sentential-level performance as well as discourse-level characteristics, the videos were annotated on the form and function of each gesture. All PWAs were

  14. Low verbal ability predicts later violence in adolescent boys with serious conduct problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manninen, Marko; Lindgren, Maija; Huttunen, Matti; Ebeling, Hanna; Moilanen, Irma; Kalska, Hely; Suvisaari, Jaana; Therman, Sebastian

    2013-10-01

    Delinquent adolescents are a known high-risk group for later criminality. Cognitive deficits correlate with adult criminality, and specific cognitive deficits might predict later criminality in the high-risk adolescents. This study aimed to explore the neuropsychological performance and predictors of adult criminal offending in adolescents with severe behavioural problems. Fifty-three adolescents (33 boys and 20 girls), aged 15-18 years, residing in a reform school due to serious conduct problems, were examined for neuropsychological profile and psychiatric symptoms. Results were compared with a same-age general population control sample, and used for predicting criminality 5 years after the baseline testing. The reform school adolescents' neuropsychological performance was weak on many tasks, and especially on the verbal domain. Five years after the baseline testing, half of the reform school adolescents had obtained a criminal record. Males were overrepresented in both any criminality (75% vs. 10%) and in violent crime (50% vs. 5%). When cognitive variables, psychiatric symptoms and background factors were used as predictors for later offending, low verbal intellectual ability turned out to be the most significant predictor of a criminal record and especially a record of violent crime. Neurocognitive deficits, especially in the verbal and attention domains, are common among delinquent adolescents. Among males, verbal deficits are the best predictors for later criminal offending and violence. Assessing verbal abilities among adolescent population with conduct problems might prove useful as a screening method for inclusion in specific therapies for aggression management.

  15. Structural Analysis of Correlated Factors: Lessons from the Verbal-Performance Dichotomy of the Wechsler Scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macmann, Gregg M.; Barnett, David W.

    1994-01-01

    Describes exploratory and confirmatory analyses of verbal-performance procedures to illustrate concepts and procedures for analysis of correlated factors. Argues that, based on convergent and discriminant validity criteria, factors should have higher correlations with variables that they purport to measure than with other variables. Discusses…

  16. Mathematics as verbal behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marr, M Jackson

    2015-04-01

    "Behavior which is effective only through the mediation of other persons has so many distinguishing dynamic and topographical properties that a special treatment is justified and indeed demanded" (Skinner, 1957, p. 2). Skinner's demand for a special treatment of verbal behavior can be extended within that field to domains such as music, poetry, drama, and the topic of this paper: mathematics. For centuries, mathematics has been of special concern to philosophers who have continually argued to the present day about what some deem its "special nature." Two interrelated principal questions have been: (1) Are the subjects of mathematical interest pre-existing in some transcendental realm and thus are "discovered" as one might discover a new planet; and (2) Why is mathematics so effective in the practices of science and engineering even though originally such mathematics was "pure" with applications neither contemplated or even desired? I argue that considering the actual practice of mathematics in its history and in the context of acquired verbal behavior one can address at least some of its apparent mysteries. To this end, I discuss some of the structural and functional features of mathematics including verbal operants, rule-and contingency-modulated behavior, relational frames, the shaping of abstraction, and the development of intuition. How is it possible to understand Nature by properly talking about it? Essentially, it is because nature taught us how to talk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Auditory verbal memory and psychosocial symptoms are related in children with idiopathic epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaffer, Yael; Ben Zeev, Bruria; Cohen, Roni; Shuper, Avinoam; Geva, Ronny

    2015-07-01

    Idiopathic epilepsies are considered to have relatively good prognoses and normal or near normal developmental outcomes. Nevertheless, accumulating studies demonstrate memory and psychosocial deficits in this population, and the prevalence, severity and relationships between these domains are still not well defined. We aimed to assess memory, psychosocial function, and the relationships between these two domains among children with idiopathic epilepsy syndromes using an extended neuropsychological battery and psychosocial questionnaires. Cognitive abilities, neuropsychological performance, and socioemotional behavior of 33 early adolescent children, diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy, ages 9-14years, were assessed and compared with 27 age- and education-matched healthy controls. Compared to controls, patients with stabilized idiopathic epilepsy exhibited higher risks for short-term memory deficits (auditory verbal and visual) (pmemory deficits (plong-term memory deficits (pmemory deficits was related to severity of psychosocial symptoms among the children with epilepsy but not in the healthy controls. Results suggest that deficient auditory verbal memory may be compromising psychosocial functioning in children with idiopathic epilepsy, possibly underscoring that cognitive variables, such as auditory verbal memory, should be assessed and treated in this population to prevent secondary symptoms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Influence of hearing age and understanding verbal instructions in children with cochlear implants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đoković Sanja

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Hearing age is defined as a period of using any amplification. Most researches indicate that hearing age influences the developmental rate of auditory and speech-language abilities in deaf children, especially when cochlear implantation was performed before the age of three. This research is aimed at analyzing the influence of hearing age on understanding verbal instructions in children with cochlear implants. The sample consists of 23 children with cochlear implants and 21 children with normal hearing, aged between 4 and 10. Hearing age of children with cochlear implants was between 2 and 7 years. Token Test with toys, adapted for children with hearing impairments, was used to analyze understanding verbal instructions. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing, aged between 4 and 7, on all subtests and the total score regardless of the hearing age (sub1 p<0.001, sub2 p<0.000, sub3 p<0.001, total score p<0.000. No statistically significant differences were determined on any of the subtests in children aged between 7.1 and 10, regardless of the hearing age. Comparative results analysis within the experimental group of children with different hearing age indicates that the difference in understanding verbal instructions between these two groups is not statistically significant.

  19. Automated Video Analysis of Non-verbal Communication in a Medical Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Yuval; Czerniak, Efrat; Karnieli-Miller, Orit; Mayo, Avraham E; Ziv, Amitai; Biegon, Anat; Citron, Atay; Alon, Uri

    2016-01-01

    Non-verbal communication plays a significant role in establishing good rapport between physicians and patients and may influence aspects of patient health outcomes. It is therefore important to analyze non-verbal communication in medical settings. Current approaches to measure non-verbal interactions in medicine employ coding by human raters. Such tools are labor intensive and hence limit the scale of possible studies. Here, we present an automated video analysis tool for non-verbal interactions in a medical setting. We test the tool using videos of subjects that interact with an actor portraying a doctor. The actor interviews the subjects performing one of two scripted scenarios of interviewing the subjects: in one scenario the actor showed minimal engagement with the subject. The second scenario included active listening by the doctor and attentiveness to the subject. We analyze the cross correlation in total kinetic energy of the two people in the dyad, and also characterize the frequency spectrum of their motion. We find large differences in interpersonal motion synchrony and entrainment between the two performance scenarios. The active listening scenario shows more synchrony and more symmetric followership than the other scenario. Moreover, the active listening scenario shows more high-frequency motion termed jitter that has been recently suggested to be a marker of followership. The present approach may be useful for analyzing physician-patient interactions in terms of synchrony and dominance in a range of medical settings.

  20. Birth order, family configuration, and verbal achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breland, H M

    1974-12-01

    Two samples of National Merit Scholarship participants test in 1962 and the entire population of almost 800,000 participants tested in 1965 were examined. Consistent effects in all 3 groups were observed with respect to both birth order and family size (1st born and those of smaller families scored higher). Control of both socioeconomic variables and maternal age, by analysis of variance as well as by analysis of covariance, failed to alter the relationships. Stepdown analyses suggested that the effects were due to a verbal component and that no differences were attributable to nonverbal factors. Mean test scores were computed for detailed sibship configurations based on birth order, family size, sibling spacing, and sibling sex.

  1. Post-traumatic stress is associated with verbal learning, memory, and psychomotor speed in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubin, Leah H; Pyra, Maria; Cook, Judith A; Weber, Kathleen M; Cohen, Mardge H; Martin, Eileen; Valcour, Victor; Milam, Joel; Anastos, Kathryn; Young, Mary A; Alden, Christine; Gustafson, Deborah R; Maki, Pauline M

    2016-04-01

    The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is higher among HIV-infected (HIV+) women compared with HIV-uninfected (HIV-) women, and deficits in episodic memory are a common feature of both PTSD and HIV infection. We investigated the association between a probable PTSD diagnosis using the PTSD Checklist-Civilian (PCL-C) version and verbal learning and memory using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test in 1004 HIV+ and 496 at-risk HIV- women. HIV infection was not associated with a probable PTSD diagnosis (17% HIV+, 16% HIV-; p = 0.49) but was associated with lower verbal learning (p memory scores (p memory (p < 0.01) and psychomotor speed (p < 0.001). The particular pattern of cognitive correlates of probable PTSD varied depending on exposure to sexual abuse and/or violence, with exposure to either being associated with a greater number of cognitive domains and a worse cognitive profile. A statistical interaction between HIV serostatus and PTSD was observed on the fine motor skills domain (p = 0.03). Among women with probable PTSD, HIV- women performed worse than HIV+ women on fine motor skills (p = 0.01), but among women without probable PTSD, there was no significant difference in performance between the groups (p = 0.59). These findings underscore the importance of considering mental health factors as correlates to cognitive deficits in women with HIV.

  2. Does verbal abuse leave deeper scars: a study of children and parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ney, P G

    1987-06-01

    This study investigating the effects of verbal abuse on children and their abused parents, tends to support the clinical impression that verbal abuse may have a greater impact for a longer period of time. Although there are very few pure forms of verbal abuse, there are some parents who use verbal abuse but would hit their children, neglect them, or involve them in sex. Verbal abuse may become an increasingly frequent form of controlling and disciplining children because of the increased awareness of physical abuse and because of the possible declining value of children. Verbal abuse may have a greater impact because the abused child has greater difficulty defending himself from the attack. Because children tend to identify with their parents, the verbal abuse by their parents becomes a way in which they then abuse themselves.

  3. A Meta-study of musicians' non-verbal interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karl Kristoffer; Marchetti, Emanuela

    2010-01-01

    interruptions. Hence, despite the fact that the skill to engage in a non-verbal interaction is described as tacit knowledge, it is fundamental for both musicians and teachers (Davidson and Good 2002). Typical observed non-verbal cues are for example: physical gestures, modulations of sound, steady eye contact...

  4. Verbal communication of semantic content in products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lenau, Torben Anker; Boelskifte, Per

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of the present research work is to explore how precise verbal communication can capture the semantic content of physical products. The paper presents an overview of the background and work done so far. Furthermore are ideas for future work discussed. The background includes the increa......The purpose of the present research work is to explore how precise verbal communication can capture the semantic content of physical products. The paper presents an overview of the background and work done so far. Furthermore are ideas for future work discussed. The background includes...... a number of the selected terms seem to have several interpretations causing ambiguous information. The work also suggests that more emphasis is needed in design education on training precise verbal communication concerning semantic contents in products....

  5. Can FDG PET predict verbal specific memory decline after surgery for left temporal lobe epilepsy when MRI is normal?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sagona, J.A.; Rowe, C.C.; Thomas, D.; Dickinson-Rowe, K.L.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: Temporal lobectomy gives excellent control of seizures in over 80% of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. The left temporal lobe, particularly the left hippocampus, is primarily responsible for verbal memory. In most patients, the hippocampus which lies in the medial temporal lobe is abnormal and can be removed without loss of memory function. However, removal of the left hippocampus when it appears normal on MRI, often causes a significant decline in verbal specific memory (VSM) function. This paper explores the significance of pre-operative FDG-PET asymmetry in temporal lobe metabolism in predicting the VSM outcome after left temporal lobectomy when MRI demonstrates a normal hippocampus. Fifteen patients between 1993 and 2000, underwent left temporal lobectomy including left hippocampal resection, Pre-operatively all patients underwent 1.5T MRI, FDG PET and neuropsychological assessment. Neuropsychological assessment was repeated post-operatively. The left hippocampus was normal on MRI in nine and demonstrated mild T2 signal change without atrophy in six. FDG PET demonstrated temporal lobe hypometabolism in 12 patients. Post-operatively, neuropsychological evaluation documented a decline in verbal specific memory function in six patients, three with normal MRI and three with mild T2 change. We found that all patients with normal FDG PET studies (n=3) demonstrated significant verbal memory deterioration post-operatively. Nine of twelve patients (75%) with left temporal lobe hypometabolism did not show new verbal memory deficits. FDG PET improves the risk stratification for verbal specific memory decline with left temporal lobectomy in patients with normal hippocampi on MRI. Copyright (2002) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

  6. Verbal and physical client aggression - A longitudinal analysis of professional caregivers' psychophysiological stress response and burnout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kind, Nina; Eckert, Anne; Steinlin, Célia; Fegert, Jörg M; Schmid, Marc

    2018-05-02

    We investigated the impact of verbal and physical client aggression on risk of developing high hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as an indicator of chronic stress exposure and burnout in a Swiss population of professional caregivers working in youth residential care. Participants (n = 121; 62.0% women) reported on client aggression and burnout symptoms and provided hair samples at four annual sampling points. HCC was determined in the first 1.5 cm hair segment. Sociodemographic variables, private stressors, burnout symptoms, and HCC were compared between participants reporting either 'no aggression', 'verbal' aggression, or 'verbal + physical' aggression. Cox proportional hazards regressions were calculated to compute hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between client aggression and risk of high HCC or burnout over the course of three years. Professional caregivers reporting 'verbal + physical' aggression had higher HCC, more cognitive burnout symptoms, and greater burden in interpersonal domains. Both 'verbal' and 'verbal + physical' aggression were positively associated with burnout risk (verbal: HR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.27-2.65; verbal + physical: HR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.56-3.84). 'Verbal + physical' aggression was positively associated with risk of high HCC (HR = 1.58; 95% CI = 1.07-2.36). This longitudinal analysis suggested that psychophysiological stress response is primarily associated with combined verbal and physical aggression. The emotional wearing-down associated with verbal aggression should however not be disregarded. Our exploratory findings could have implications for youth welfare policy, clinical child psychiatry, and future research. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. Neurofeedback-Based Enhancement of Single-Trial Auditory Evoked Potentials: Treatment of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieger, Kathryn; Rarra, Marie-Helene; Diaz Hernandez, Laura; Hubl, Daniela; Koenig, Thomas

    2018-03-01

    Auditory verbal hallucinations depend on a broad neurobiological network ranging from the auditory system to language as well as memory-related processes. As part of this, the auditory N100 event-related potential (ERP) component is attenuated in patients with schizophrenia, with stronger attenuation occurring during auditory verbal hallucinations. Changes in the N100 component assumingly reflect disturbed responsiveness of the auditory system toward external stimuli in schizophrenia. With this premise, we investigated the therapeutic utility of neurofeedback training to modulate the auditory-evoked N100 component in patients with schizophrenia and associated auditory verbal hallucinations. Ten patients completed electroencephalography neurofeedback training for modulation of N100 (treatment condition) or another unrelated component, P200 (control condition). On a behavioral level, only the control group showed a tendency for symptom improvement in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score in a pre-/postcomparison ( t (4) = 2.71, P = .054); however, no significant differences were found in specific hallucination related symptoms ( t (7) = -0.53, P = .62). There was no significant overall effect of neurofeedback training on ERP components in our paradigm; however, we were able to identify different learning patterns, and found a correlation between learning and improvement in auditory verbal hallucination symptoms across training sessions ( r = 0.664, n = 9, P = .05). This effect results, with cautious interpretation due to the small sample size, primarily from the treatment group ( r = 0.97, n = 4, P = .03). In particular, a within-session learning parameter showed utility for predicting symptom improvement with neurofeedback training. In conclusion, patients with schizophrenia and associated auditory verbal hallucinations who exhibit a learning pattern more characterized by within-session aptitude may benefit from electroencephalography neurofeedback

  8. Non-Verbal Communication in Children with Visual Impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallineni, Sharmila; Nutheti, Rishita; Thangadurai, Shanimole; Thangadurai, Puspha

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine: (a) whether children with visual and additional impairments show any non-verbal behaviors, and if so what were the common behaviors; (b) whether two rehabilitation professionals interpreted the non-verbal behaviors similarly; and (c) whether a speech pathologist and a rehabilitation professional interpreted…

  9. The impact of the teachers' non-verbal communication on success in teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambaeeroo, Fatemeh; Shokrpour, Nasrin

    2017-04-01

    Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers' non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers' use of non-verbal communication and also its impact on success in teaching. Considering the research method, i.e. a review article, we searched for all articles in this field using key words such as success in teaching, verbal communication and non-verbal communication. In this study, we did not encode the articles. The results of this revealed that there was a strong relationship among the quality, amount and the method of using non-verbal communication by teachers while teaching. Based on the findings of the studies reviewed, it was found that the more the teachers used verbal and non-verbal communication, the more efficacious their education and the students' academic progress were. Under non-verbal communication, some other patterns were used. For example, emotive, team work, supportive, imaginative, purposive, and balanced communication using speech, body, and pictures all have been effective in students' learning and academic success. The teachers' attention to the students' non-verbal reactions and arranging the syllabus considering the students' mood and readiness have been emphasized in the studies reviewed. It was concluded that if this skill is practiced by teachers, it will have a positive and profound effect on the students' mood. Non-verbal communication is highly reliable in the communication process, so if the recipient of a message is between two contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages, logic dictates that we push him toward the non-verbal message and ask him to pay more attention to non-verbal than verbal messages because non-verbal

  10. The Development of Verbal Relations in Analogical Reasonings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sternberg, Robert J.; Nigro, Georgia

    A six-process theory of analogical reasoning was tested by administering verbal analogy items to students in grades 3 through college. The items were classified according to five verbal relations: synonyms, antonyms, functional, linear ordering, and class membership. A new method of componential analysis that does not require precueing was used to…

  11. The Effects of Musical Training on Verbal Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, Michael S.; Moore, Katherine Sledge; Yip, Chun-Yu; Jonides, John; Rattray, Katie; Moher, Jeff

    2008-01-01

    A number of studies suggest a link between musical training and general cognitive abilities. Despite some positive results, there is disagreement about which abilities are improved. One line of research leads to the hypothesis that verbal abilities in general, and verbal memory in particular, are related to musical training. In the present…

  12. Comunicação verbal e não verbal de mãe cega e com limitação motora durante alimentação da criança Comunicación verbal y no verbal de madre ciega y con limitación motora durante la alimentación delniño Verbal and nonverbal communication of a blind mother with limited dexterity during infant feeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giselly Oseni Laurentino Barbosa

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Analisar a comunicação verbal e não verbal, de mãe cega e com limitação motora com o filho e enfermeira durante alimentação da criança. MÉTODOS: Estudo exploratório, descritivo, tipo estudo de caso, com abordagem quantitativa realizado no ano de 2009. As entrevistas foram gravadas, filmadas e analisadas por três avaliadores. RESULTADOS: Os resultados da comunicação verbal mostraram a predominância da mãe como destinatária e a utilização da função emotiva nas verbalizações com a criança, e a comunicação não verbal mostrou a prevalência da distância íntima entre mãe/filho, da pessoal entre mãe/enfermeira e da postura sentada. Houve pouco contato face a face e sobressaíram-se os contatos físicos com a criança. CONCLUSÃO: A mãe não sofreu prejuízos verbais no estabelecimento de seu processo comunicativo. A distância facilitou a interação mãe com o bebê e com a profissional.OBJETIVO: Analizar la comunicación verbal y no verbal, de madre ciega y con limitación motora con el hijo y la enfermera durante la alimentación del niño. MÉTODOS: Estudio exploratorio, descriptivo, tipo estudio de caso, con abordaje cuantitativo realizado en el año 2009. Las entrevistas fueron grabadas, filmadas y analizadas por tres evaluadores. RESULTADOS: Los resultados de la comunicación verbal mostraron el predominio de la madre como destinataria y la utilización de la función emotiva en las verbalizaciones con el niño, y la comunicación no verbal mostró la prevalencia de la distancia íntima entre madre/hijo, de la personal entre madre/enfermera y de la postura sentada. Hubo poco contacto cara a cara y sobresalieron los contactos físicos con el niño. CONCLUSIÓN: La madre no sufrió prejuicios verbales en el establecimiento de su proceso comunicativo. La distancia facilitó la interacción de la madre con el bebé y con la profesional.OBJECTIVE: To analyze the verbal and nonverbal communication, of the

  13. A Comparison of Measures for Assessing the Level and Nature of Intelligence in Verbal Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodner, Kimberly E; Williams, Diane L; Engelhardt, Christopher R; Minshew, Nancy J

    2014-11-01

    Previous work has suggested that the Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) are better suited for capturing the nature of intelligence for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than the Wechsler scales. The RPM measures 'fluid intelligence', an area for which it has been argued that persons with ASD have a relative strength. Given that measures of intelligence are used for establishing clinical diagnoses, for making educational decisions, and for group-matching in research studies, continued examination of this contention is warranted. In the current study, verbal children with ASD performed moderately better on the RPM than on the Wechsler scales; children without ASD received higher percentile scores on the Wechsler than on the RPM. Adults with and without ASD received higher percentile scores on the Wechsler than the RPM. Results suggest that the RPM and Wechsler scales measure different aspects of cognitive abilities in verbal individuals with ASD. For the verbal children and adults with ASD in the current study, the RPM and Wechsler scales have unique contributions that must be considered in context when establishing a baseline of cognitive function. The results of this investigation highlight the importance of thoughtfully selecting appropriate measures of intelligence consistent with clinical, educational, and research purposes, especially for verbal children and adults with ASD.

  14. Sex differences and autism: brain function during verbal fluency and mental rotation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix D C C Beacher

    Full Text Available Autism spectrum conditions (ASC affect more males than females. This suggests that the neurobiology of autism: 1 may overlap with mechanisms underlying typical sex-differentiation or 2 alternately reflect sex-specificity in how autism is expressed in males and females. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to test these alternate hypotheses. Fifteen men and fourteen women with Asperger syndrome (AS, and sixteen typically developing men and sixteen typically developing women underwent fMRI during performance of mental rotation and verbal fluency tasks. All groups performed the tasks equally well. On the verbal fluency task, despite equivalent task-performance, both males and females with AS showed enhanced activation of left occipitoparietal and inferior prefrontal activity compared to controls. During mental rotation, there was a significant diagnosis-by-sex interaction across occipital, temporal, parietal, middle frontal regions, with greater activation in AS males and typical females compared to AS females and typical males. These findings suggest a complex relationship between autism and sex that is differentially expressed in verbal and visuospatial domains.

  15. Sex differences and autism: brain function during verbal fluency and mental rotation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beacher, Felix D C C; Radulescu, Eugenia; Minati, Ludovico; Baron-Cohen, Simon; Lombardo, Michael V; Lai, Meng-Chuan; Walker, Anne; Howard, Dawn; Gray, Marcus A; Harrison, Neil A; Critchley, Hugo D

    2012-01-01

    Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) affect more males than females. This suggests that the neurobiology of autism: 1) may overlap with mechanisms underlying typical sex-differentiation or 2) alternately reflect sex-specificity in how autism is expressed in males and females. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test these alternate hypotheses. Fifteen men and fourteen women with Asperger syndrome (AS), and sixteen typically developing men and sixteen typically developing women underwent fMRI during performance of mental rotation and verbal fluency tasks. All groups performed the tasks equally well. On the verbal fluency task, despite equivalent task-performance, both males and females with AS showed enhanced activation of left occipitoparietal and inferior prefrontal activity compared to controls. During mental rotation, there was a significant diagnosis-by-sex interaction across occipital, temporal, parietal, middle frontal regions, with greater activation in AS males and typical females compared to AS females and typical males. These findings suggest a complex relationship between autism and sex that is differentially expressed in verbal and visuospatial domains.

  16. Repeated measurements of cerebral blood flow in the left superior temporal gyrus reveal tonic hyperactivity in patients with auditory verbal hallucinations: A possible trait marker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philipp eHoman

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: The left superior temporal gyrus (STG has been suggested to play a key role in auditory verbal hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Eleven medicated subjects with schizophrenia and medication-resistant auditory verbal hallucinations and 19 healthy controls underwent perfusion magnetic resonance imaging with arterial spin labeling. Three additional repeated measurements were conducted in the patients. Patients underwent a treatment with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS between the first 2 measurements. The main outcome measure was the pooled cerebral blood flow (CBF, which consisted of the regional CBF measurement in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG and the global CBF measurement in the whole brain.Results: Regional CBF in the left STG in patients was significantly higher compared to controls (p < 0.0001 and to the global CBF in patients (p < 0.004 at baseline. Regional CBF in the left STG remained significantly increased compared to the global CBF in patients across time (p < 0.0007, and it remained increased in patients after TMS compared to the baseline CBF in controls (p < 0.0001. After TMS, PANSS (p = 0.003 and PSYRATS (p = 0.01 scores decreased significantly in patients.Conclusions: This study demonstrated tonically increased regional CBF in the left STG in patients with schizophrenia and auditory hallucinations despite a decrease in symptoms after TMS. These findings were consistent with what has previously been termed a trait marker of auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia.

  17. Better verbal memory in women than men in MCI despite similar levels of hippocampal atrophy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundermann, Erin E; Biegon, Anat; Rubin, Leah H; Lipton, Richard B; Mowrey, Wenzhu; Landau, Susan; Maki, Pauline M

    2016-04-12

    To examine sex differences in the relationship between clinical symptoms related to Alzheimer disease (AD) (verbal memory deficits) and neurodegeneration (hippocampal volume/intracranial volume ratio [HpVR]) across AD stages. The sample included 379 healthy participants, 694 participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 235 participants with AD and dementia from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative who completed the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using linear regression to examine the interaction between sex and HpVR on RAVLT across and within diagnostic groups adjusting for age, education, and APOE ε4 status. Across groups, there were significant sex × HpVR interactions for immediate and delayed recall (p better RAVLT performance was independently associated with female sex (immediate, p = 0.04) and larger HpVR (delayed, p = 0.001). Women showed an advantage in verbal memory despite evidence of moderate hippocampal atrophy. This advantage may represent a sex-specific form of cognitive reserve delaying verbal memory decline until more advanced disease stages. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

  18. Workplace physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing experienced by nurses at a university hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aksakal, Fatma Nur Baran; Karaşahin, Emine Füsun; Dikmen, Asiye Uğraş; Avci, Emine; Ozkan, Seçil

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of and risk factors for physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing experienced by nurses in a university hospital. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Gazi University Medical Faculty Hospital. A questionnaire form recommended by the WHO and the International Labor Organization was administered through face-to-face interviews to determine the violence experienced in the past 12 months by nurses. The prevalence of physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing was 13.9%, 41.8%, and 17.1%, respectively. Working more than 40 h per week increased the risk of physical violence by 1.86 times. The majority of nurses who experienced verbal violence and mobbing were significantly more willing to change their work, their institution, and their profession if given the opportunity. Fewer than one-fourth of the victims indicated they reported any incident. We knew that the prevalence of physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing were high among nurses and that incidents were underreported, and the study corroborated this information. What this study adds to the topic is that long working hours increased the prevalence of physical violence and was defined as an important contributory factor.

  19. Efeitos de contingências de punição sobre os desempenhos verbal e não verbal

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    Elisa Tavares Sanabio

    Full Text Available O presente estudo investigou a influência de contingências de punição sobre os desempenhos verbal (resposta de relato e não verbal (resposta de escolha. Estudantes universitários foram expostos a uma tarefa de escolha de acordo com o modelo. Após a resposta de escolha, a pergunta "Você acertou?" era apresentada e o participante deveria emitir a resposta de relato, indicando uma dentre duas alternativas, "SIM" e "NÃO". No Experimento 1, o feedback "Incorreto. Você perdeu 1 ponto" foi programado para a resposta de relato e, no Experimento 2, o feedback foi contingente à resposta de escolha. No Experimento 1, o feedback exerceu funções punitivas sobre a resposta de relato e, na maioria das condições, não afetou a resposta de escolha. No Experimento 2, o feedback não exerceu controle sobre a resposta de escolha, embora tenha influenciado as respostas de relato. Esses resultados sugerem que os desempenhos verbal e não verbal são funcionalmente independentes. O presente estudo evidencia o caráter operante do relato e, ao identificar possíveis variáveis de controle desse comportamento, contribui para uma maior fidedignidade dos dados obtidos por meio de auto-relatos.

  20. On the applied implications of the "verbal overshadowing effect".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mickes, Laura; Wixted, John T

    2015-05-01

    Schooler and Engstler-Schooler (1990) found that participants who wrote out a description of the perpetrator's face after watching a simulated crime video were subsequently less likely to identify that perpetrator from a photo lineup compared to participants in a control condition (i.e., the correct ID rate was reduced). The first registered replication report in Perspectives on Psychological Science confirmed this verbal overshadowing effect (Alogna et al., 2014). Does this result indicate a reduced ability to recognize the person who was verbally described, or does it instead reflect more conservative responding? The answer depends on the still unknown likelihood of identifying an innocent suspect from a lineup (the false ID rate). Assuming the reduced correct ID rate does reflect memory impairment, should the legal system be advised to give less weight to a suspect identification if the witness previously provided a verbal description of the perpetrator? Intuitively, the answer is "yes," but without knowing the false ID rate, it is unclear if a suspect identification following a verbal description should be given less weight or more weight. This is true even if the correct and false ID rates show that verbal descriptions impair memory. In our view, psychologists should withhold giving advice to the legal system about the effect of verbal descriptions on suspect identifications until the issue is investigated by including lineups that contain an innocent suspect. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Effects of teacher expectations on the development of verbal creativity in childhood education / Efectos de las expectativas docentes sobre el desarrollo de la creatividad verbal en la educación infantil

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    Franco Justo, Clemente

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: In this study, we have assessed the effect that teachers’ positive expectations may have on their student’s verbal creativity. To this end, we have worked with an experimental teacher who holds high expectations of the creativity of students, and a control teacher, where this was not the case and whose positive, favourable expectations of pupils were not high. The statistical analyses carried out have showed a significant increase in the verbal creativity variables evaluated (fluency, flexibility and originality in the experimental group in comparison to the scores of the control group.Resumen:En este estudio se evaluó el efecto que una expectativa positiva y favorable por parte del docente podía tener sobre los niveles de creatividad verbal de sus estudiantes. Para ello se contó con la participación de un grupo experimental en el cual se trató de implantar una alta expectativa sobre los niveles de creatividad de sus alumnos, y un grupo control donde no se creó dicha expectativa positiva. Los análisis estadísticos realizados mostraron un incremento significativo en el grupo experimental en las diferentes variables de creatividad verbal evaluadas (fluidez, flexibilidad y originalidad, al comparar sus puntuaciones con las del grupo control.

  2. Nonspecific Verbal Cues Alleviate Forgetting by Young Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Kirstie; Hayne, Harlene

    2007-01-01

    Verbal reminders play a pervasive role in memory retrieval by human adults. In fact, relatively nonspecific verbal information (e.g. "Remember the last time we ate at that restaurant?") will often cue vivid recollections of a past event even when presented outside the original encoding context. Although research has shown that memory retrieval by…

  3. Interference with olfactory memory by visual and verbal tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annett, J M; Cook, N M; Leslie, J C

    1995-06-01

    It has been claimed that olfactory memory is distinct from memory in other modalities. This study investigated the effectiveness of visual and verbal tasks in interfering with olfactory memory and included methodological changes from other recent studies. Subjects were allocated to one of four experimental conditions involving interference tasks [no interference task; visual task; verbal task; visual-plus-verbal task] and presented 15 target odours. Either recognition of the odours or free recall of the odour names was tested on one occasion, either within 15 minutes of presentation or one week later. Recognition and recall performance both showed effects of interference of visual and verbal tasks but there was no effect for time of testing. While the results may be accommodated within a dual coding framework, further work is indicated to resolve theoretical issues relating to task complexity.

  4. Sex-Dependent Individual Differences and the Correlational Relationship Between Proprioceptive and Verbal Tests

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    Liutsko Liudmila

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between proprioceptive and verbal tests on personality in both sexes separately due to existing proprioceptive differences in fine motor behavior between men and women in our previous studies [1, 2, 3]. Material and methods. 114 middle-aged participants from Belarus completed verbal tests (personality: Eysenck's EPQ, Big Five in Hromov's Russian adaptation, and Rosenberg's Self-esteem together with Proprioceptive Diagnostics of Temperament and Character (by Tous. Complementary information, such as tests of time perception, was collected and used in correlative and ANOVA analyses with the use of SPSS v.19. Results. The relationship between proprioceptive variables in personality and individual differences, time perception and the results of verbal tests were determined for each sex subgroup and discussed. ANOVA results reflected the corresponding differences and similarities between men and women in the variables of each test. Time perception was found to be significantly correlated to all five dimensions of the Big Five Test in both sexes, and both had a significant relationship to the same variables of the DP-TC test. Conclusions. Time perception can be used as an indirect indicator of personality. Existing individual and personality differences should be taken into account in coaching and education to obtain more effective results.

  5. Los mediadores desde la perspectiva del lenguaje no verbal

    OpenAIRE

    López Viera, Laura

    2015-01-01

    [ES] Tal y como argumentó Mehrabian (1972) en sus investigaciones: En la contribución no verbal recae el 55% del peso del proceso comunicativo del ser humano, un 38% a la voz (entonación, latencia, ritmo...) y tan sólo un 7% pertenece al lenguaje verbal o articulado. Es por ello que antes de entrar a la sala de la mediación, es primordial dominar las técnicas del lenguaje no verbal y así comprender más y mejor a los mediados. 

  6. Disciplining young children: the role of verbal instructions and reasoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blum, N J; Williams, G E; Friman, P C; Christophersen, E R

    1995-08-01

    Pediatricians are often asked to advise parents who are having difficulty managing the oppositional behaviors of their toddlers and preschool-age children. A large number of articles provide advice to pediatricians and parents on effective disciplinary strategies. However, despite the fact that verbal explanations, reasoning, and instructions are commonly used by parents, few articles directly address the use of these strategies to affect children's behavior. In this paper, we review studies that explicitly investigate the ability of adults' verbal explanations or instructions to alter the behavior of young children. These studies suggest that under most circumstances, verbal explanations and instructions are not effective in changing young children's problem behaviors. We then discuss how theories in developmental and behavioral psychology help explain the limitations of using verbal reasoning and instructions to change young children's problem behaviors. Finally, we provide some recommendations for parents on the use of verbal explanations and instructions in disciplining young children.

  7. Descriptive study of the Socratic method: evidence for verbal shaping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calero-Elvira, Ana; Froján-Parga, María Xesús; Ruiz-Sancho, Elena María; Alpañés-Freitag, Manuel

    2013-12-01

    In this study we analyzed 65 fragments of session recordings in which a cognitive behavioral therapist employed the Socratic method with her patients. Specialized coding instruments were used to categorize the verbal behavior of the psychologist and the patients. First the fragments were classified as more or less successful depending on the overall degree of concordance between the patient's verbal behavior and the therapeutic objectives. Then the fragments were submitted to sequential analysis so as to discover regularities linking the patient's verbal behavior and the therapist's responses to it. Important differences between the more and the less successful fragments involved the therapist's approval or disapproval of verbalizations that approximated therapeutic goals. These approvals and disapprovals were associated with increases and decreases, respectively, in the patient's behavior. These results are consistent with the existence, in this particular case, of a process of shaping through which the therapist modifies the patient's verbal behavior in the overall direction of his or her chosen therapeutic objectives. © 2013.

  8. PROMOTING INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY LEARNING THROUGH VERBAL DRAMATIZATION OF WORDS

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    Looi-Chin Ch’ng

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite the fact that explicit teaching of vocabulary is often practised in English as a Second Language (ESL classrooms, it has been proven to be rather ineffective, largely because words are not taught in context. This has prompted the increasing use of incidental vocabulary learning approach, which emphasises on repeated readings as a source for vocabulary learning. By adopting this approach, this study aims to investigate students’ ability in learning vocabulary incidentally via verbal dramatization of written texts. In this case, readers’ theatre (RT is used as a way to allow learners to engage in active reading so as to promote vocabulary learning. A total of 160 diploma students participated in this case study and they were divided equally into two groups, namely classroom reading (CR and RT groups. A proficiency test was first conducted to determine their vocabulary levels. Based on the test results, a story was selected as the reading material in the two groups. The CR group read the story through a normal reading lesson in class while the RT group was required to verbally dramatize the text through readers’ theatre activity. Then, a post-test based on vocabulary levels was carried out and the results were compared. The findings revealed that incidental learning was more apparent in the RT group and their ability to learn words from the higher levels was noticeable through higher accuracy scores. Although not conclusive, this study has demonstrated the potential of using readers’ theatre as a form of incidental vocabulary learning activity in ESL settings.

  9. Physical-Verbal Aggression and Depression in Adolescents: The Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies / Agresión físico-verbal y depresión en adolescentes: el papel de las estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional

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    Lourdes Rey Peña

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study examined the relationships between the use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies, physical-verbal aggression and depression in a sample of 248 adolescents. Specific emotion regulation strategies such as acceptance, rumination and catastrophizing explained significant variancein depression in adolescents. With respect to physical-verbal aggression, our results showed that the use of self-blame and rumination only predicted levels of aggression in boys but not girls. Regarding gender differences, girls tend to ruminate and to report more catastrophic thoughts than boys. Our findings suggest a profile of cognitive emotion regulation strategies related to physical-verbal aggression and depressive symptoms which might be taken into account in future socio-emotional learning programs for adolescents.

  10. The impact of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching

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    FATEMEH BAMBAEEROO

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers’ use of non-verbal communication and also its impact on success in teaching. Methods: Considering the research method, i.e. a review article, we searched for all articles in this field using key words such as success in teaching, verbal communication and non-verbal communication. In this study, we did not encode the articles. Results: The results of this revealed that there was a strong relationship among the quality, amount and the method of using non-verbal communication by teachers while teaching. Based on the findings of the studies reviewed, it was found that the more the teachers used verbal and non-verbal communication, the more efficacious their education and the students’ academic progress were. Under non-verbal communication, some other patterns were used. For example, emotive, team work, supportive, imaginative, purposive, and balanced communication using speech, body, and pictures all have been effective in students’ learning and academic success. The teachers’ attention to the students’ non-verbal reactions and arranging the syllabus considering the students’ mood and readiness have been emphasized in the studies reviewed. Conclusion: It was concluded that if this skill is practiced by teachers, it will have a positive and profound effect on the students’ mood. Non-verbal communication is highly reliable in the communication process, so if the recipient of a message is between two contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages, logic dictates that we push him toward the non-verbal message

  11. The impact of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    BAMBAEEROO, FATEMEH; SHOKRPOUR, NASRIN

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers’ use of non-verbal communication and also its impact on success in teaching. Methods: Considering the research method, i.e. a review article, we searched for all articles in this field using key words such as success in teaching, verbal communication and non-verbal communication. In this study, we did not encode the articles. Results: The results of this revealed that there was a strong relationship among the quality, amount and the method of using non-verbal communication by teachers while teaching. Based on the findings of the studies reviewed, it was found that the more the teachers used verbal and non-verbal communication, the more efficacious their education and the students’ academic progress were. Under non-verbal communication, some other patterns were used. For example, emotive, team work, supportive, imaginative, purposive, and balanced communication using speech, body, and pictures all have been effective in students’ learning and academic success. The teachers’ attention to the students’ non-verbal reactions and arranging the syllabus considering the students’ mood and readiness have been emphasized in the studies reviewed. Conclusion: It was concluded that if this skill is practiced by teachers, it will have a positive and profound effect on the students’ mood. Non-verbal communication is highly reliable in the communication process, so if the recipient of a message is between two contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages, logic dictates that we push him toward the non-verbal message and ask him to pay

  12. Estudio de la comunicación verbal y no verbal y aplicación al discurso político

    OpenAIRE

    Ruano Flores, María de las Mercedes

    2014-01-01

    El trabajo está estructurado en dos apartados teóricos y un apartado práctico. El primer apartado teórico se centra en el estudio de la comunicación verbal y en el proceso de comunicación, y el segundo apartado se centra en la comunicación no verbal. En el apartado práctico encontramos la aplicación de los conocimientos al discurso político

  13. Language and verbal reasoning skills in adolescents with 10 or more years of cochlear implant experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geers, Ann E; Sedey, Allison L

    2011-02-01

    The purpose of this study is to identify factors predictive of successful English language outcomes in adolescents who received a cochlear implant (CI) between 2 and 5 yrs of age. All 112 participants had been part of a previous study examining English language outcomes at the age of 8 and 9 yrs with CIs. The participants were given a battery of language and verbal reasoning tests in their preferred communication mode along with measures of working memory (digit span) and verbal rehearsal speed (sentence repetition duration). The degree to which students' language performance was enhanced when sign was added to spoken language was estimated at both test sessions. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to document factors contributing to overall language outcomes. A substantial proportion of the adolescents obtained test scores within or above 1SD compared with hearing age-mates in the tests' normative samples: 71% on a verbal intelligence test, 68% on a measure of language content, 71% on receptive vocabulary, and 74% on expressive vocabulary. Improvement in verbal intelligence scores over an 8-yr interval exceeded expectation based on age-mates in the test's normative sample. Better English language outcomes were associated with shorter duration of deafness before cochlear implantation, higher nonverbal intelligence, higher family socioeconomic status, longer digit spans, and faster verbal rehearsal speed as measured by sentence repetition rate. Students whose current receptive vocabulary scores were not enhanced by the addition of signs also exhibited higher English language scores than those without sign enhancement; however, sign enhancement demonstrated in the elementary school years was not predictive of later high-school language skills. Results of this study support the provision of CIs to children at the youngest age possible. In addition, it highlights the substantial role that cognition plays in later language outcomes. Although the students' use

  14. Non-verbal communication in meetings of psychiatrists and patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavelle, M; Dimic, S; Wildgrube, C; McCabe, R; Priebe, S

    2015-03-01

    Recent evidence found that patients with schizophrenia display non-verbal behaviour designed to avoid social engagement during the opening moments of their meetings with psychiatrists. This study aimed to replicate, and build on, this finding, assessing the non-verbal behaviour of patients and psychiatrists during meetings, exploring changes over time and its association with patients' symptoms and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. 40-videotaped routine out-patient consultations, involving patients with schizophrenia, were analysed. Non-verbal behaviour of patients and psychiatrists was assessed during three fixed, 2-min intervals using a modified Ethological Coding System for Interviews. Symptoms, satisfaction with communication and the quality of the therapeutic relationship were also measured. Over time, patients' non-verbal behaviour remained stable, whilst psychiatrists' flight behaviour decreased. Patients formed two groups based on their non-verbal profiles, one group (n = 25) displaying pro-social behaviour, inviting interaction and a second (n = 15) displaying flight behaviour, avoiding interaction. Psychiatrists interacting with pro-social patients displayed more pro-social behaviours (P communication (P non-verbal behaviour during routine psychiatric consultations remains unchanged, and is linked to both their psychiatrist's non-verbal behaviour and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. © 2014 The Authors. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Contribution of organizational strategy to verbal learning and memory in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth, Robert M; Wishart, Heather A; Flashman, Laura A; Riordan, Henry J; Huey, Leighton; Saykin, Andrew J

    2004-01-01

    Statistical mediation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that poor use of a semantic organizational strategy contributes to verbal learning and memory deficits in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Comparison of 28 adults with ADHD and 34 healthy controls revealed lower performance by the ADHD group on tests of verbal learning and memory, sustained attention, and use of semantic organization during encoding. Mediation modeling indicated that state anxiety, but not semantic organization, significantly contributed to the prediction of both learning and delayed recall in the ADHD group. The pattern of findings suggests that decreased verbal learning and memory in adult ADHD is due in part to situational anxiety and not to poor use of organizational strategies during encoding. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

  16. Memory integration in amnesia: prior knowledge supports verbal short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Race, Elizabeth; Palombo, Daniela J; Cadden, Margaret; Burke, Keely; Verfaellie, Mieke

    2015-04-01

    Short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) have traditionally been considered cognitively distinct. However, it is known that STM can improve when to-be-remembered information appears in contexts that make contact with prior knowledge, suggesting a more interactive relationship between STM and LTM. The current study investigated whether the ability to leverage LTM in support of STM critically depends on the integrity of the hippocampus. Specifically, we investigated whether the hippocampus differentially supports between-domain versus within-domain STM-LTM integration given prior evidence that the representational domain of the elements being integrated in memory is a critical determinant of whether memory performance depends on the hippocampus. In Experiment 1, we investigated hippocampal contributions to within-domain STM-LTM integration by testing whether immediate verbal recall of words improves in MTL amnesic patients when words are presented in familiar verbal contexts (meaningful sentences) compared to unfamiliar verbal contexts (random word lists). Patients demonstrated a robust sentence superiority effect, whereby verbal STM performance improved in familiar compared to unfamiliar verbal contexts, and the magnitude of this effect did not differ from that in controls. In Experiment 2, we investigated hippocampal contributions to between-domain STM-LTM integration by testing whether immediate verbal recall of digits improves in MTL amnesic patients when digits are presented in a familiar visuospatial context (a typical keypad layout) compared to an unfamiliar visuospatial context (a random keypad layout). Immediate verbal recall improved in both patients and controls when digits were presented in the familiar compared to the unfamiliar keypad array, indicating a preserved ability to integrate activated verbal information with stored visuospatial knowledge. Together, these results demonstrate that immediate verbal recall in amnesia can benefit from two

  17. Skinner's verbal behavior, Chomsky's review, and mentalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stemmer, N

    1990-01-01

    Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957) is a comprehensive treatise that deals with most aspects of verbal behavior. However, its treatment of the learning of grammatical behavior has been challenged repeatedly (e.g., Chomsky, 1959). The present paper will attempt to show that the learning of grammar and syntax can be dealt with adequately within a behavior-analytic framework. There is no need to adopt mentalist (or cognitivist) positions or to add mentalist elements to behaviorist theories. PMID:2103585

  18. Five Years Old Preschool Children's Motor-Verbal Skills:A Follow-up into the First-grade

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    Azade Mirzaei

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available "n Objective : "n "nThe major objective of this study was to determine the means and 95% confidence interval of normal 6 years old children's motor-verbal skills. Based on the results of this study we could develop a measure to diagnose abnormal motor skills. In addition, in this follow-up study, we compared the first-graders' motor-verbal skills to their own skills one year earlier. "nMethod: In this follow-up study, the development of motor-verbal skills was studied in 220 normal readers in the first-grade after 1 year. We administered naming speed test and word and phrase repetition to assess motor-verbal skills. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistic and paired t-test. "nResults: The mean of the 6 years old first-graders' speed naming was 87 words per 100 second. In addition, means and standard deviations of word and phrase repetition were 8.41(2.92 and 6.51(1.73 respectively. In addition,, paired t-test showed a significant difference between naming speed, word and phrase repetition first-grade and 5 years old children score(naming speed: t=10.95, p<0.001, word repetition: t= 14.23, p<0.001, phrase repetition: t=12.11, p<0.001 . Conclusion:In general, 5 years old children's motor-verbal skills significantly improved after one year. Furthermore, the results of this study provide the norm for speech and language pathologists and other professionals. It is important to note that if 5 years old children's motor-verbal skills are under this norm, it will be anticipated that they are at the risk of literacy problem and dyslexia.

  19. Parts of Speech in Non-typical Function: (Asymmetrical Encoding of Non-verbal Predicates in Erzya

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    Rigina Turunen

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Erzya non-verbal conjugation refers to symmetric paradigms in which non-verbal predicates behave morphosyntactically in a similar way to verbal predicates. Notably, though, non-verbal conjugational paradigms are asymmetric, which is seen as an outcome of paradigmatic neutralisation in less frequent/less typical contexts. For non-verbal predicates it is not obligatory to display the same amount of behavioural potential as it is for verbal predicates, and the lexical class of non-verbal predicate operates in such a way that adjectival predicates are more likely to be conjugated than nominals. Further, besides symmetric paradigms and constructions, in Erzya there are non-verbal predicate constructions which display a more overt structural encoding than do verbal ones, namely, copula constructions. Complexity in the domain of non-verbal predication in Erzya decreases the symmetry of the paradigms. Complexity increases in asymmetric constructions, as well as in paradigmatic neutralisation when non-verbal predicates cannot be inflected in all the tenses and moods occurring in verbal predication. The results would be the reverse if we were to measure complexity in terms of the morphological structure. The asymmetric features in non-verbal predication are motivated language-externally, because non-verbal predicates refer to states and occur less frequently as predicates than verbal categories. The symmetry of the paradigms and constructions is motivated language-internally: a grammatical system with fewer rules is economical.

  20. Validity of verbal autopsy method to determine causes of death among adults in the urban setting of Ethiopia

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    Misganaw Awoke

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Verbal autopsy has been widely used to estimate causes of death in settings with inadequate vital registries, but little is known about its validity. This analysis was part of Addis Ababa Mortality Surveillance Program to examine the validity of verbal autopsy for determining causes of death compared with hospital medical records among adults in the urban setting of Ethiopia. Methods This validation study consisted of comparison of verbal autopsy final diagnosis with hospital diagnosis taken as a “gold standard”. In public and private hospitals of Addis Ababa, 20,152 adult deaths (15 years and above were recorded between 2007 and 2010. With the same period, a verbal autopsy was conducted for 4,776 adult deaths of which, 1,356 were deceased in any of Addis Ababa hospitals. Then, verbal autopsy and hospital data sets were merged using the variables; full name of the deceased, sex, address, age, place and date of death. We calculated sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values with 95% confidence interval. Results After merging, a total of 335 adult deaths were captured. For communicable diseases, the values of sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of verbal autopsy diagnosis were 79%, 78% and 68% respectively. For non-communicable diseases, sensitivity of the verbal autopsy diagnoses was 69%, specificity 78% and positive predictive value 79%. Regarding injury, sensitivity of the verbal autopsy diagnoses was 70%, specificity 98% and positive predictive value 83%. Higher sensitivity was achieved for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, but lower specificity with relatively more false positives. Conclusion These findings may indicate the potential of verbal autopsy to provide cost-effective information to guide policy on communicable and non communicable diseases double burden among adults in Ethiopia. Thus, a well structured verbal autopsy method, followed by qualified physician reviews could be capable of

  1. Validity of verbal autopsy method to determine causes of death among adults in the urban setting of Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Verbal autopsy has been widely used to estimate causes of death in settings with inadequate vital registries, but little is known about its validity. This analysis was part of Addis Ababa Mortality Surveillance Program to examine the validity of verbal autopsy for determining causes of death compared with hospital medical records among adults in the urban setting of Ethiopia. Methods This validation study consisted of comparison of verbal autopsy final diagnosis with hospital diagnosis taken as a “gold standard”. In public and private hospitals of Addis Ababa, 20,152 adult deaths (15 years and above) were recorded between 2007 and 2010. With the same period, a verbal autopsy was conducted for 4,776 adult deaths of which, 1,356 were deceased in any of Addis Ababa hospitals. Then, verbal autopsy and hospital data sets were merged using the variables; full name of the deceased, sex, address, age, place and date of death. We calculated sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values with 95% confidence interval. Results After merging, a total of 335 adult deaths were captured. For communicable diseases, the values of sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of verbal autopsy diagnosis were 79%, 78% and 68% respectively. For non-communicable diseases, sensitivity of the verbal autopsy diagnoses was 69%, specificity 78% and positive predictive value 79%. Regarding injury, sensitivity of the verbal autopsy diagnoses was 70%, specificity 98% and positive predictive value 83%. Higher sensitivity was achieved for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, but lower specificity with relatively more false positives. Conclusion These findings may indicate the potential of verbal autopsy to provide cost-effective information to guide policy on communicable and non communicable diseases double burden among adults in Ethiopia. Thus, a well structured verbal autopsy method, followed by qualified physician reviews could be capable of providing reasonable cause

  2. Effects of literacy on semantic verbal fluency in an immigrant population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, T. Rune; Waldemar, Gunhild

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: A significant impact of limited schooling and illiteracy has been found on numerous neuropsychological tests, which may partly be due to the ecological relevance of the tests in the context of illiteracy. The aims of this study were to compare the performance of illiterate and literate...... and acculturation score did not affect this interaction effect. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results are in line with previous studies comparing semantic fluency in illiterate and literate individuals. The results lend further support to the strong associations between literacy, semantic verbal fluency performance...... immigrants on two semantic criteria for the verbal fluency test, and examine the influence of acculturation on test performances. METHOD: Performances of 20 cognitively unimpaired illiterate and 21 literate Turkish immigrants aged ≥50 years were compared on an animal and supermarket criterion...

  3. Differential associations between types of verbal memory and prefrontal brain structure in healthy aging and late life depression.

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    Lamar, Melissa; Charlton, Rebecca; Zhang, Aifeng; Kumar, Anand

    2012-07-01

    Verbal memory deficits attributed to late life depression (LLD) may result from executive dysfunction that is more detrimental to list-learning than story-based recall when compared to healthy aging. Despite these behavioral dissociations, little work has been done investigating related neuroanatomical dissociations across types of verbal memory performance in LLD. We compared list-learning to story-based memory performance in 24 non-demented individuals with LLD (age ~ 66.1 ± 7.8) and 41 non-demented/non-depressed healthy controls (HC; age ~ 67.6 ± 5.3). We correlated significant results of between-group analyses across memory performance variables with brain volumes of frontal, temporal and parietal regions known to be involved with verbal learning and memory. When compared to the HC group, the LLD group showed significantly lower verbal memory performance for spontaneous recall after repeated exposure and after a long-delay but only for the list-learning task; groups did not differ on story-based memory performance. Despite equivalent brain volumes across regions, only the LLD group showed brain associations with verbal memory performance and only for the list-learning task. Specifically, frontal volumes important for subjective organization and response monitoring correlated with list-learning performance in the LLD group. This study is the first to demonstrate neuroanatomical dissociations across types of verbal memory performance in individuals with LLD. Results provide structural evidence for the behavioral dissociations between list-learning and story-based recall in LLD when compared to healthy aging. More specifically, it points toward a network of predominantly anterior brain regions that may underlie the executive contribution to list-learning in older adults with depression. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. A pilot study to test an intervention for dealing with verbal aggression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLaughlin, Sue; Bonner, Gwen; Mboche, Catherine; Fairlie, Trish

    Verbal aggression has been defined as communication with an intention to harm an individual through words, tone or manner, regardless of whether harm occurs. It includes verbal threat to harm, ridicule, openly hostile remarks, unjust persistent criticism, shouting or yelling insults, as well as more covert actions such as spreading hurtful rumours (Cox, 1987; Farrell et al, 2006). Receiving verbal aggression from a patient has been closely associated with psychological distress which may negatively affect work performance. A verbal aggression work book was developed to help nursing staff to deal with verbal aggression from patients in clinical practice. This was piloted over a six-week period with 18 nurses working on one acute psychiatric inpatient ward. Findings revealed that the intervention had some promising effects. However, much more attention needs to be paid to changing attitudes towards verbal aggression.

  5. Guidelines for Teaching Non-Verbal Communications Through Visual Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundu, Mahima Ranjan

    1976-01-01

    There is a natural unique relationship between non-verbal communication and visual media such as television and film. Visual media will have to be used extensively--almost exclusively--in teaching non-verbal communications, as well as other methods requiring special teaching skills. (Author/ER)

  6. Ecstasy exposure & gender: examining components of verbal memory functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Jenessa S; Shear, Paula; Lisdahl, Krista M

    2014-01-01

    Studies have demonstrated verbal memory deficits associated with past year ecstasy use, although specific underlying components of these deficits are less understood. Further, prior research suggests potential gender differences in ecstasy-induced serotonergic changes. Therefore, the current study investigated whether gender moderated the relationship between ecstasy exposure and components of verbal memory after controlling for polydrug use and confounding variables. Data were collected from 65 polydrug users with a wide range of ecstasy exposure (ages 18-35; 48 ecstasy and 17 marijuana users; 0-2310 ecstasy tablets). Participants completed a verbal learning and memory task, psychological questionnaires, and a drug use interview. Increased past year ecstasy exposure predicted poorer short and long delayed free and cued recalls, retention, and recall discrimination. Male ecstasy users were more susceptible to dose-dependent deficits in retention than female users. Past year ecstasy consumption was associated with verbal memory retrieval, retention, and discrimination deficits in a dose-dependent manner in a sample of healthy young adult polydrug users. Male ecstasy users were at particular risk for deficits in retention following a long delay. Gender difference may be reflective of different patterns of polydrug use as well as increased hippocampal sensitivity. Future research examining neuronal correlates of verbal memory deficits in ecstasy users are needed.

  7. Ecstasy exposure & gender: examining components of verbal memory functioning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenessa S Price

    Full Text Available Studies have demonstrated verbal memory deficits associated with past year ecstasy use, although specific underlying components of these deficits are less understood. Further, prior research suggests potential gender differences in ecstasy-induced serotonergic changes. Therefore, the current study investigated whether gender moderated the relationship between ecstasy exposure and components of verbal memory after controlling for polydrug use and confounding variables.Data were collected from 65 polydrug users with a wide range of ecstasy exposure (ages 18-35; 48 ecstasy and 17 marijuana users; 0-2310 ecstasy tablets. Participants completed a verbal learning and memory task, psychological questionnaires, and a drug use interview.Increased past year ecstasy exposure predicted poorer short and long delayed free and cued recalls, retention, and recall discrimination. Male ecstasy users were more susceptible to dose-dependent deficits in retention than female users.Past year ecstasy consumption was associated with verbal memory retrieval, retention, and discrimination deficits in a dose-dependent manner in a sample of healthy young adult polydrug users. Male ecstasy users were at particular risk for deficits in retention following a long delay. Gender difference may be reflective of different patterns of polydrug use as well as increased hippocampal sensitivity. Future research examining neuronal correlates of verbal memory deficits in ecstasy users are needed.

  8. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) impairs encoding but not retrieval of verbal information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranganathan, Mohini; Radhakrishnan, Rajiv; Addy, Peter H; Schnakenberg-Martin, Ashley M; Williams, Ashley H; Carbuto, Michelle; Elander, Jacqueline; Pittman, Brian; Andrew Sewell, R; Skosnik, Patrick D; D'Souza, Deepak Cyril

    2017-10-03

    Cannabis and agonists of the brain cannabinoid receptor (CB 1 R) produce acute memory impairments in humans. However, the extent to which cannabinoids impair the component processes of encoding and retrieval has not been established in humans. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether the administration of Δ 9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis, impairs encoding and/or retrieval of verbal information. Healthy subjects were recruited from the community. Subjects were administered the Rey-Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) either before administration of THC (experiment #1) (n=38) or while under the influence of THC (experiment #2) (n=57). Immediate and delayed recall on the RAVLT was compared. Subjects received intravenous THC, in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized manner at doses known to produce behavioral and subjective effects consistent with cannabis intoxication. Total immediate recall, short delayed recall, and long delayed recall were reduced in a statistically significant manner only when the RAVLT was administered to subjects while they were under the influence of THC (experiment #2) and not when the RAVLT was administered prior. THC acutely interferes with encoding of verbal memory without interfering with retrieval. These data suggest that learning information prior to the use of cannabis or cannabinoids is not likely to disrupt recall of that information. Future studies will be necessary to determine whether THC impairs encoding of non-verbal information, to what extent THC impairs memory consolidation, and the role of other cannabinoids in the memory-impairing effects of cannabis. Cannabinoids, Neural Synchrony, and Information Processing (THC-Gamma) http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT00708994 NCT00708994 Pharmacogenetics of Cannabinoid Response http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00678730 NCT00678730. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. Tactile Ranschburg effects: facilitation and inhibitory repetition effects analogous to verbal memory.

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    Roe, Daisy; Miles, Christopher; Johnson, Andrew J

    2017-07-01

    The present paper examines the effect of within-sequence item repetitions in tactile order memory. Employing an immediate serial recall procedure, participants reconstructed a six-item sequence tapped upon their fingers by moving those fingers in the order of original stimulation. In Experiment 1a, within-sequence repetition of an item separated by two-intervening items resulted in a significant reduction in recall accuracy for that repeated item (i.e., the Ranschburg effect). In Experiment 1b, within-sequence repetition of an adjacent item resulted in significant recall facilitation for that repeated item. These effects mirror those reported for verbal stimuli (e.g., Henson, 1998a . Item repetition in short-term memory: Ranschburg repeated. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 24(5), 1162-1181. doi:doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.24.5.1162). These data are the first to demonstrate the Ranschburg effect with non-verbal stimuli and suggest further cross-modal similarities in order memory.

  10. A survey of verbal and physical assaults towards psychiatrists in Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altinbaş, Kürşat; Altinbaş, Gülçin; Türkcan, Ahmet; Oral, E Timuçin; Walters, James

    2011-11-01

    Assaults on health professionals have been an area of burgeoning clinical and political interest in recent years. There is now a body of literature suggesting that violence towards psychiatrists is more common than to other doctors. Thus far the vast majority of research in this area has been conducted in Western European and North American clinical settings. For the first time, this study examines this issue in the context of Turkish psychiatric settings. (i) The study aims to detect the prevalence of verbal and physical assaults towards psychiatrists in Turkey. (ii) It aims to compare the experience of verbal and physical assaults according to the gender and training experience of psychiatrists. (iii) The paper intends to investigate how psychiatrists reacted to and appraised the experience of violence. A questionnaire was prepared to evaluate violence towards psychiatrists (adapted from the Overt Agression Scale). The questionaire was administered to psychiatric specialists and residents working in state hospitals, research and training hospitals, mental health hospitals and university psychiatry clinics. A response rate of 93% was achieved with 186 out of 200 psychiatrsits approached completing the study questionnaire. Of all the psychiatrists who responded, 71% reported having experienced verbal or physical assaults during their professional life (verbal assaults only (19.9%), physical assaults only (2.7%) and both (48.4%)). Of these, 26% suffered injury to at least a mild degree. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of gender and workplace. In spite of the extremely high rates of aggression and violence towards psychiatrists, roughly 50% perceived these acts a normal part of their job and only 5% formally reported the violent incident. The majority of psychiatrists described having been victims of verbal and physical assaults although half perceived aggression and violence as a normal part of their job. Levels of reporting of violence

  11. CULTURAL EXPLORATION AS ALTER/NATIVE1 ROUTE TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: INSIGHTS FROM YORUBA VERBAL ARTS

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    OLUWOLE COKER

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper interrogates Yoruba verbal arts and situates culture as a catalyst for development. It is suggested that the intricate resources of oral art, exemplified by Yoruba textual references, are viable ingredients for socio-cultural empowerment. To fully comprehend the dynamics of a society in constant change due to external and internal realities, one must reconsider culture in order to reposition the society. The multidimensional and multidisciplinary significance of Yoruba verbal art demonstrate that culture has a vital role to play in any meaningful socio-political advancement in the Nigerian body polity. The ideas conveyed in proverbial expressions, representing key cultural realities of the Yoruba people, offer insights and ideas for development and social good. The paper submits that a deeper exploration of the intricate resources of verbal art is a viable route to development.

  12. Education to promote verbal communication by caregivers in geriatric care facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukaya, Yasuko; Koyama, Sachiyo; Kimura, Yusuke; Kitamura, Takanori

    2009-12-01

    Our previous study divided the verbal communication between caregivers and elderly residents at geriatric care facilities into Type I communication (to elicit activities of daily living) and Type II communication (conversation that occurs in normal social life) and found that Type II communication promotes utterances by elderly residents. This study conducted an education intervention to promote Type II talking by caregivers and evaluated the results. At three geriatric care facilities, 243 caregivers who might care for 36 elderly residents experienced training involving lectures and group discussion to understand the importance of Type II talking and how to apply it to their daily work. A statistical comparison was applied to the changes in Type II talking duration from before the intervention, 1 week after the intervention, and 3 months after the intervention to evaluate the effect of the educational intervention. At two facilities, the Type II talking duration increased significantly from before the educational intervention to 1 week after the intervention and remained higher after 3 months. However, the educational intervention's effect was not clear at one facility. There was no significant difference in the elderly persons' total utterance duration, but it increased from before the intervention to 1 week after the intervention. After the educational intervention, the amount of Type II talking by the caregivers increased significantly 1 week after the intervention for two facilities, but although the amount of Type II talking was higher at 3 months than before the intervention, it was not as high as 1 week after the intervention.

  13. [Verbal and visual-spatial memory in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xiao-Yun; Jing, Jin; Fan, Miao; Yang, De-Sheng; Zhu, Yan-Na; Chen, Ling; Li, Xiu-Hong

    2018-04-01

    To explore the abilities of verbal and visual-spatial memory in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia. Thirty-two children with developmental dyslexia (aged 8-12 years) and thirty-nine age- and gender-matched normal children were involved in the study. Their verbal short-term and verbal working memories were measured using the digit ordering and the digit span tests, respectively. Their visual-spatial short-term and visual-spatial working memories were examined using the forward and backward block-tapping tests, respectively. The DD children scored lower in the digit ordering and the digit span tests than the control children (P<0.05). The scores for the forward and backward block-tapping tests did not vary between the two groups (P>0.05). The children with DD have the deficits in both verbal short-term memory and verbal working memory.

  14. Neurocognitive functioning over the course of trauma-focused psychotherapy for PTSD: Changes in verbal memory and executive functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nijdam, Mirjam J; Martens, Irene J M; Reitsma, Johannes B; Gersons, Berthold P R; Olff, Miranda

    2018-05-01

    Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have neurocognitive deficits in verbal memory and executive functioning. In this study, we examined whether memory and executive functioning changed over the course of treatment and which clinical variables were associated with change. Neuropsychological assessments were administered at baseline and endpoint of a randomized controlled trial as secondary outcome. Trauma survivors (n = 88) diagnosed with PTSD received trauma-focused psychotherapy within a 17-week randomized controlled trial. Neuropsychological tests were the California Verbal Learning Test, Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test, Stroop Color Word Test, and Trail Making Test. Significant, small- to medium-sized improvements in verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive functioning were found after trauma-focused psychotherapy (Cohen's d 0.16-0.68). Greater PTSD symptom decrease was significantly related to better post-treatment neurocognitive performance (all p effect sizes exceed those of practice effects. Future research should determine whether these changes translate into improved functioning in the daily lives of the patients. Patients with PTSD have difficulties performing verbal memory tasks (e.g., remembering a grocery list, recall of a story) and executive functioning tasks (e.g., shifting attention between two tasks, ignoring irrelevant information to complete a task). Verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive functioning significantly improved in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder over the course of trauma-focused psychotherapy. Improvements were equal in size for two different trauma-focused psychotherapies (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy and brief eclectic psychotherapy for PTSD). Medium-sized effects were found for recall of a story, whereas effects in other aspects of verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive functioning were small-sized. No causal

  15. Cross-cultural features of gestures in non-verbal communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chebotariova N. A.

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available this article is devoted to analysis of the concept of non-verbal communication and ways of expressing it. Gesticulation is studied in detail as it is the main element of non-verbal communication and has different characteristics in various countries of the world.

  16. From SOLER to SURETY for effective non-verbal communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stickley, Theodore

    2011-11-01

    This paper critiques the model for non-verbal communication referred to as SOLER (which stands for: "Sit squarely"; "Open posture"; "Lean towards the other"; "Eye contact; "Relax"). It has been approximately thirty years since Egan (1975) introduced his acronym SOLER as an aid for teaching and learning about non-verbal communication. There is evidence that the SOLER framework has been widely used in nurse education with little published critical appraisal. A new acronym that might be appropriate for non-verbal communication skills training and education is proposed and this is SURETY (which stands for "Sit at an angle"; "Uncross legs and arms"; "Relax"; "Eye contact"; "Touch"; "Your intuition"). The proposed model advances the SOLER model by including the use of touch and the importance of individual intuition is emphasised. The model encourages student nurse educators to also think about therapeutic space when they teach skills of non-verbal communication. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Nonverbal and verbal emotional expression and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, D S; Pennebaker, J W

    1993-01-01

    The spontaneous nonverbal expression of emotion is related to immediate reductions in autonomic nervous system activity. Similar changes in specific autonomic channels occur when individuals are encouraged to verbally express their emotions. Indeed, these physiological changes are most likely to occur among individuals who are either verbally or nonverbally highly expressive. These data suggest that when individuals must actively inhibit emotional expression, they are at increased risk for a variety of health problems. Several experiments are summarized which indicate that verbally expressing traumatic experiences by writing or talking improves physical health, enhances immune function, and is associated with fewer medical visits. Although less research is available regarding nonverbal expression, it is also likely that the nonverbal expression of emotion bears some relation to health status. We propose that the effectiveness of many common expressive therapies (e.g., art, music, cathartic) would be enhanced if clients are encouraged to both express their feelings nonverbally and to put their experiences into words.

  18. Using Decision Trees to Characterize Verbal Communication During Change and Stuck Episodes in the Therapeutic Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor Hugo eMasías

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Methods are needed for creating models to characterize verbal communication between therapists and their patients that are suitable for teaching purposes without losing analytical potential. A technique meeting these twin requirements is proposed that uses decision trees to identify both change and stuck episodes in therapist-patient communication. Three decision tree algorithms (C4.5, NBtree, and REPtree are applied to the problem of characterizing verbal responses into change and stuck episodes in the therapeutic process. The data for the problem is derived from a corpus of 8 successful individual therapy sessions with 1,760 speaking turns in a psychodynamic context. The decision tree model that performed best was generated by the C4.5 algorithm. It delivered 15 rules characterizing the verbal communication in the two types of episodes. Decision trees are a promising technique for analyzing verbal communication during significant therapy events and have much potential for use in teaching practice on changes in therapeutic communication. The development of pedagogical methods using decision trees can support the transmission of academic knowledge to therapeutic practice.

  19. Using decision trees to characterize verbal communication during change and stuck episodes in the therapeutic process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masías, Víctor H; Krause, Mariane; Valdés, Nelson; Pérez, J C; Laengle, Sigifredo

    2015-01-01

    Methods are needed for creating models to characterize verbal communication between therapists and their patients that are suitable for teaching purposes without losing analytical potential. A technique meeting these twin requirements is proposed that uses decision trees to identify both change and stuck episodes in therapist-patient communication. Three decision tree algorithms (C4.5, NBTree, and REPTree) are applied to the problem of characterizing verbal responses into change and stuck episodes in the therapeutic process. The data for the problem is derived from a corpus of 8 successful individual therapy sessions with 1760 speaking turns in a psychodynamic context. The decision tree model that performed best was generated by the C4.5 algorithm. It delivered 15 rules characterizing the verbal communication in the two types of episodes. Decision trees are a promising technique for analyzing verbal communication during significant therapy events and have much potential for use in teaching practice on changes in therapeutic communication. The development of pedagogical methods using decision trees can support the transmission of academic knowledge to therapeutic practice.

  20. The Topic of Life and Death in Verbal Creativity of Adolescents aged 14—16 Years

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    Hoziev V.B.,

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on how adolescents aged 14—16 years use the topic of life and death in their verbal creativity. The authors carried out an experimental research on the genesis of this process and describe how the topic evolves as a specific new formation of verbal creativity in adolescence. At the center of the research were conditions of verbal creativity. The subjects in three samples (traditional learning; spontaneous development; project-based-learning were asked to write an essay on any topic; these essays were subsequently assessed using content analysis. The outcomes revealed that the topic of life and death is likely to appear in the essays of those adolescents whose reference group is more comfortable psychologically. The literary merit of writing statistically correlates with the effectiveness of verbal creativity acquisition. In its psychological content the topic was actually a challenge, a manifestation of rebellion of a young man, an important attempt to get closer to the hidden boundary of the known, a significant step in initiation.

  1. The verbal facilitation effect: re-reading person descriptions as a system variable to improve identification performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sporer, Siegfried L; Kaminski, Kristina S; Davids, Maike C; McQuiston, Dawn

    2016-11-01

    When witnesses report a crime, police usually ask for a description of the perpetrator. Several studies suggested that verbalising faces leads to a detriment in identification performance (verbal overshadowing effect [VOE]) but the effect has been difficult to replicate. Here, we sought to reverse the VOE by inducing context reinstatement as a system variable through re-reading one's own description before an identification task. Participants (N = 208) watched a video film and were then dismissed (control group), only described the perpetrator, or described and later re-read their own descriptions before identification in either target-present or target-absent lineups after a 2-day or a 5-week delay. Identification accuracy was significantly higher after re-reading (85.0%) than in the no description control group (62.5%) irrespective of target presence. Data were internally replicated using a second target and corroborated by several small meta-analyses. Identification accuracy was related to description quality. Moreover, there was a tendency towards a verbal facilitation effect (VFE) rather than a VOE. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses confirm that our findings are not due to a shift in response bias but truly reflect improvement of recognition performance. Differences in the ecological validity of study paradigms are discussed.

  2. Verbal memory functioning moderates psychotherapy treatment response for PTSD-Related nightmares.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, J Cobb; Harb, Gerlinde; Brownlow, Janeese A; Greene, Jennifer; Gur, Ruben C; Ross, Richard J

    2017-04-01

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with cognitive deficits in attention, executive control, and memory, although few studies have investigated the relevance of cognitive difficulties for treatment outcomes. We examined whether cognitive functioning and history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) were associated with response to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for PTSD-related sleep problems. In a randomized controlled trial of Imagery Rehearsal (IR) added to components of CBT for Insomnia (IR + cCBT-I) compared to cCBT-I alone for PTSD-related recurrent nightmares, 94 U.S. veterans completed a battery of cognitive tests. TBI was assessed via structured clinical interview. Mixed-effects models examined main effects of cognitive functioning and interactions with time on primary sleep and nightmare outcomes. Significant verbal immediate memory by time interactions were found for nightmare distress, nightmare frequency, and sleep quality, even after controlling for overall cognitive performance and depression. TBI exhibited main effects on outcomes but no interactions with time. Findings indicated that individuals with lower verbal memory performance were less likely to respond to treatment across two sleep interventions. Veterans with TBI displayed greater symptoms but no altered trajectories of treatment response. Together with prior literature, findings suggest that verbal memory functioning may be important to consider in PTSD treatment implementation. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Cognitive Training and Work Therapy for the Treatment of Verbal Learning and Memory Deficits in Veterans With Alcohol Use Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Morris D; Vissicchio, Nicholas A; Weinstein, Andrea J

    2016-01-01

    This study focused on the efficacy of cognitive training for verbal learning and memory deficits in a population of older veterans with alcohol use disorders. Veterans with alcohol use disorders, who were in outpatient treatment at VA facilities and in early-phase recovery (N = 31), were randomized to receive a three-month trial of daily cognitive training plus work therapy (n = 15) or work therapy alone (n = 16), along with treatment as usual. Participants completed assessments at baseline and at three- and six-month follow-ups; the Hopkins Verbal Learning Task (HVLT) was the primary outcome measure. Participants were primarily male (97%) and in their mid-50s (M = 55.16, SD = 5.16) and had been sober for 1.64 (SD = 2.81) months. Study retention was excellent (91% at three-month follow-up) and adherence to treatment in both conditions was very good. On average, participants in the cognitive training condition had more than 41 hours of cognitive training, and both conditions had more than 230 hours of productive activity. HVLT results at three-month follow-up revealed significant condition effects favoring cognitive training for verbal learning (HVLT Trial-3 T-score, p cognitive training condition with clinically significant verbal memory deficits (p therapy alone condition and a trend toward significance for verbal learning deficits, which was not sustained at six-month follow-up. This National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded pilot study demonstrates that cognitive training within the context of another activating intervention (work therapy) may have efficacy in remediating verbal learning and memory deficits in patients with alcohol use disorder. Findings indicate a large effect for cognitive training in this pilot study, which suggests that further research is warranted. This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT 01410110).

  4. The effects of verbal descriptions on performance in lineups and showups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Brent M; Seale-Carlisle, Travis M; Mickes, Laura

    2018-01-01

    Verbally describing a face has been found to impair subsequent recognition of that face from a photo lineup, a phenomenon known as the verbal overshadowing effect (Schooler & Engstler-Schooler, 1990). Recently, a large direct replication study successfully reproduced that original finding (Alogna et al., 2014). However, in both the original study and the replication studies, memory was tested using only target-present lineups (i.e., lineups containing the previously seen target face), making it possible to compute the correct identification rate (correct ID rate; i.e., the hit rate) but not the false identification rate (false ID rate; i.e., the false alarm rate). Thus, the lower correct ID rate for the verbal condition could reflect either reduced discriminability or a conservative criterion shift relative to the control condition. In four verbal overshadowing experiments reported here, we measured both correct ID rates and false ID rates using photo lineups (Experiments 1 and 2) or single-photo showups (Experiments 3 and 4). The experimental manipulation (verbally describing the face or not) occurred either immediately after encoding (Experiments 1 and 3) or 20-min after encoding (Experiments 2 and 4). In the immediate condition, discriminability did not differ between groups, but in the delayed condition, discriminability was lower in the verbal description group (i.e., a verbal overshadowing effect was observed). A fifth experiment found that the effect of the immediate-versus-delayed manipulation may be attributable to a change in the content of verbal descriptions, with the ratio of diagnostic to generic facial features in the descriptions decreasing as delay increases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Cerebrocerebellar networks during articulatory rehearsal and verbal working memory tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, S H Annabel; Desmond, John E

    2005-01-15

    Converging evidence has implicated the cerebellum in verbal working memory. The current fMRI study sought to further characterize cerebrocerebellar participation in this cognitive process by revealing regions of activation common to a verbal working task and an articulatory control task, as well as regions that are uniquely activated by working memory. Consistent with our model's predictions, load-dependent activations were observed in Broca's area (BA 44/6) and the superior cerebellar hemisphere (VI/CrusI) for both working memory and motoric rehearsal. In contrast, activations unique to verbal working memory were found in the inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and the right inferior cerebellum hemisphere (VIIB). These findings provide evidence for two cerebrocerebellar networks for verbal working memory: a frontal/superior cerebellar articulatory control system and a parietal/inferior cerebellar phonological storage system.

  6. A normative study of lexical verbal fluency in an educationally-diverse elderly population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Bong Jo; Lee, Cheol Soon; Oh, Byoung Hoon; Hong, Chang Hyung; Lee, Kang Soo; Son, Sang Joon; Han, Changsu; Park, Moon Ho; Jeong, Hyun-Ghang; Kim, Tae Hui; Park, Joon Hyuk; Kim, Ki Woong

    2013-12-01

    Lexical fluency tests are frequently used to assess language and executive function in clinical practice. We investigated the influences of age, gender, and education on lexical verbal fluency in an educationally-diverse, elderly Korean population and provided its' normative information. We administered the lexical verbal fluency test (LVFT) to 1676 community-dwelling, cognitively normal subjects aged 60 years or over. In a stepwise linear regression analysis, education (B=0.40, SE=0.02, standardized B=0.506) and age (B=-0.10, SE=0.01, standardized B=-0.15) had significant effects on LVFT scores (p0.05). Education explained 28.5% of the total variance in LVFT scores, which was much larger than the variance explained by age (5.42%). Accordingly, we presented normative data of the LVFT stratified by age (60-69, 70-74, 75-79, and ≥80 years) and education (0-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and ≥13 years). The LVFT norms should provide clinically useful data for evaluating elderly people and help improve the interpretation of verbal fluency tasks and allow for greater diagnostic accuracy.

  7. Poorer verbal working memory for a second language selectively impacts academic achievement in university medical students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Collette; Canny, Benedict J; Reser, David H; Rajan, Ramesh

    2013-01-01

    Working memory (WM) is often poorer for a second language (L2). In low noise conditions, people listening to a language other than their first language (L1) may have similar auditory perception skills for that L2 as native listeners, but do worse in high noise conditions, and this has been attributed to the poorer WM for L2. Given that WM is critical for academic success in children and young adults, these speech in noise effects have implications for academic performance where the language of instruction is L2 for a student. We used a well-established Speech-in-Noise task as a verbal WM (vWM) test, and developed a model correlating vWM and measures of English proficiency and/or usage to scholastic outcomes in a multi-faceted assessment medical education program. Significant differences in Speech-Noise Ratio (SNR50) values were observed between medical undergraduates who had learned English before or after five years of age, with the latter group doing worse in the ability to extract whole connected speech in the presence of background multi-talker babble (Student-t tests, p learning styles, stress, and musical abilities in a questionnaire administered to the students previously. The remaining two variables, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Age of Acquisition of English (AoAoE) were significantly positively correlated with the SNR50, showing that those with a poorer capacity to discriminate simple English sentences from noise had learnt English later in life and had higher levels of stress - all characteristics of the international students. Local students exhibited significantly lower SNR50 scores and were significantly younger when they first learnt English. No significant correlation was detected between the SNR50 and the students' Visual/Verbal Learning Style (r = -0.023). Standard multiple regression was carried out to assess the relationship between language proficiency and verbal working memory (SNR50) using 5 variables of L2 proficiency, with the

  8. Seeing Cells: Teaching the Visual/Verbal Rhetoric of Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinolfo, John; Heifferon, Barbara; Temesvari, Lesly A.

    2007-01-01

    This pilot study obtained baseline information on verbal and visual rhetorics to teach microscopy techniques to college biology majors. We presented cell images to students in cell biology and biology writing classes and then asked them to identify textual, verbal, and visual cues that support microscopy learning. Survey responses suggest that…

  9. The arcuate fasciculus network and verbal deficits in psychosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenney Joanne P.M.

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Verbal learning (VL and fluency (VF are prominent cognitive deficits in psychosis, of which the precise neuroanatomical contributions are not fully understood. We investigated the arcuate fasciculus (AF and its associated cortical regions to identify structural abnormalities contributing to these verbal impairments in early stages of psychotic illness.

  10. Verbal learning and memory impairments in posttraumatic stress disorder: the role of encoding strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnsen, Grethe E; Asbjørnsen, Arve E

    2009-01-30

    The present study examined mechanisms underlying verbal memory impairments in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Earlier studies have reported that the verbal learning and memory alterations in PTSD are related to impaired encoding, but the use of encoding and organizational strategies in patients with PTSD has not been fully explored. This study examined organizational strategies in 21 refugees/immigrants exposed to war and political violence who fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for chronic PTSD compared with a control sample of 21 refugees/immigrants with similar exposure, but without PTSD. The California Verbal Learning Test was administered to examine differences in organizational strategies and memory. The semantic clustering score was slightly reduced in both groups, but the serial cluster score was significantly impaired in the PTSD group and they also reported more items from the recency region of the list. In addition, intrusive errors were significantly increased in the PTSD group. The data support an assumption of changed memory strategies in patients with PTSD associated with a specific impairment in executive control. However, memory impairment and the use of ineffective learning strategies may not be related to PTSD symptomatology only, but also to self-reported symptoms of depression and general distress.

  11. Memory, verbal fluency, and response inhibition in normal aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaurav Thapliyal

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The concepts of aging-related cognitive changes have appeared to be a major challenge in the society. In this context, the present study was planned to find out the functioning of aging population on different neurocognitive measures. Aims: The aim of the study was to find out the neurocognitive functioning, namely memory, verbal fluency, and response inhibition of normal aging population. Materials and Methods: Following purposive sampling technique, a total of 50 healthy subjects (30 males and 20 females in the age range of 60-70 years were recruited from Jaipur city of Rajasthan. Mini-mental state Examination, PGI memory scale, animal names test, and Stroop test were administered. Results: The findings reveal dysfunction in almost all the domains of memory, namely mental balance, attention and concentration, delayed recall, verbal retention for dissimilar pairs, visual retention and recognition, immediate recall, verbal retention for similar pairs, and visual retention. In domain of verbal fluency, all subjects gave low responses on the animal names test. In domain of response inhibition, all the subjects took less time in color test as compared to color word test on the Stroop task. Conclusions: Findings suggest that there are dysfunction in the area of memory, verbal fluency, and response inhibition in persons aged 60-70 years. However, recent and remote memory were found to be intact.

  12. The visual attention span deficit in dyslexia is visual and not verbal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobier, Muriel; Zoubrinetzky, Rachel; Valdois, Sylviane

    2012-06-01

    The visual attention (VA) span deficit hypothesis of dyslexia posits that letter string deficits are a consequence of impaired visual processing. Alternatively, some have interpreted this deficit as resulting from a visual-to-phonology code mapping impairment. This study aims to disambiguate between the two interpretations by investigating performance in a non-verbal character string visual categorization task with verbal and non-verbal stimuli. Results show that VA span ability predicts performance for the non-verbal visual processing task in normal reading children. Furthermore, VA span impaired dyslexic children are also impaired for the categorization task independently of stimuli type. This supports the hypothesis that the underlying impairment responsible for the VA span deficit is visual, not verbal. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

  13. Verbal versus Physical Aggression in Intermittent Explosive Disorder

    OpenAIRE

    Look, Amy E.; McCloskey, Michael S.; Coccaro, Emil F.

    2014-01-01

    Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) is the only adult psychiatric diagnosis for which pathological aggression is primary. DSM-IV criteria focused on physical aggression, but DSM-5 allows for an IED diagnosis in the presence of frequent verbal aggression with or without concurrent physical aggression. It remains unclear how individuals with verbal aggression differ from those with physical aggression with respect to cognitive-affective deficits and psychosocial functioning. The current study...

  14. verbal extensions: valency decreasing extensions in the basà ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Finance

    London: Hodder. Education. Imoh, P.M., 2013. Verbal extensions: Valency increasing operations in Basà verbal system. Paper presented at the West African Languages Congress (WALC) and 26th Annual. Conference of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria (26th CLAN), 29th July to 2nd August. 2013, University of Ibadan, ...

  15. Verbal Thinking and Inner Speech Use in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David M; Peng, Cynthia; Wallace, Gregory L

    2016-12-01

    The extent to which cognition is verbally mediated in neurotypical individuals is the subject of debate in cognitive neuropsychology, as well as philosophy and psychology. Studying "verbal thinking" in developmental/neuropsychological disorders provides a valuable opportunity to inform theory building, as well as clinical practice. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive, critical review of such studies among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD involves severe social-communication deficits and limitations in cognitive/behavioural flexibility. The prevailing view in the field is that neither cognition nor behaviour is mediated verbally in ASD, and that this contributes to diagnostic features. However, our review suggests that, on the contrary, most studies to date actually find that among people with ASD cognitive task performance is either a) mediated verbally in a typical fashion, or b) not mediated verbally, but at no obvious cost to overall task performance. Overall though, these studies have methodological limitations and thus clear-cut conclusions are not possible at this stage. The aim of the review is to take stock of existing empirical findings, as well as to help develop the directions for future research that will resolve the many outstanding issues in this field.

  16. [Deficit of verbal recall caused by left dorso-lateral thalamic infarction].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousseaux, M; Cabaret, M; Benaim, C; Steinling, M

    1995-01-01

    A case of amnesia with preferential disorder of verbal recall, associated to a limited infarct of the left superior, external and anterior thalamus, is reported. This lesion involved the anterior and middle dorso-lateral nuclei and the centrolateral nucleus, sparing most of the structures classically incriminated in diencephalic amnesia. At the initial stage, the patient presented discrete language impairment and severe deficit of semantic processing, which later recovered. At the late stage, the anterograde and retrograde amnesia principally concerned the recall of verbal information used in daily life, verbal learning using short-term and long-term recall, questionnaires evaluating retrograde memory and requiring the evocation of proper names. Verbal priming was also affected. Verbal recognition was preserved. Evocation of the most recent events of the personal life was also impaired. Confrontation of this case with others previously reported suggests that various thalamic amnesias may be described, associated to different cognitive deficits, in relation with the preferential situation of lesions.

  17. Relações entre controle executivo e memória episódica verbal no comprometimento cognitivo leve e na demência tipo Alzheimer Relationships between executive control and verbal episodic memory in the mild cognitive impairment and the Alzheimer-type dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amer Cavalheiro Hamdan

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo comparou e relacionou o desempenho de idosos com Comprometimento Cognitivo Leve e Demência Tipo Alzheimer em testes de controle executivo e de memória episódica verbal. Para a avaliação da memória episódica verbal utilizamos a Tarefa de Recordação de Palavras Imediata e a Tarefa de Recordação de Palavras com Intervalo. Na avaliação do controle executivo foram utilizados, os seguintes testes: Random Number Generation, Trail Making Test, Fluência Verbal semântica e fonológica, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Reading Span Test e Brow-Peterson Test. Treze idosos do grupo controle foram equiparados quanto à idade e escolaridade com nove idosos com Comprometimento Cognitivo Leve e oito idosos com Demência Tipo Alzheimer. Foram encontradas diferenças e associações estatisticamente significantes em relação aos testes de controle executivo entre os grupos investigados. Apesar da presença de associações significativas entre a memória episódica verbal e o controle executivo, não foram evidenciados déficits do controle executivo nos idosos com Comprometimento Cognitivo Leve.This study compared and related the performance of older people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer-type dementia in tests of executive control and of verbal episodic memory. In the evaluation of the verbal episodic memory we used the Task of Immediate Word Recall and the Task of Delayed Word Recall. In the evaluation of executive control we used the following tests: Random Number Generation, Trail Making Test, Semantic and Phonological Verbal Fluency, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Reading Span Test, and Brow-Peterson Test. Thirteen elders of the control group were compared by age and education with nine elders with Mild Cognitive Impairment and eight elders with Alzheimer-type dementia. Differences and significant statistical associations were found in relation to the tests of executive control with the groups investigated. Despite the

  18. Verbal Working Memory in Children With Cochlear Implants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldwell-Tarr, Amanda; Low, Keri E.; Lowenstein, Joanna H.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Verbal working memory in children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing was examined. Participants Ninety-three fourth graders (47 with normal hearing, 46 with cochlear implants) participated, all of whom were in a longitudinal study and had working memory assessed 2 years earlier. Method A dual-component model of working memory was adopted, and a serial recall task measured storage and processing. Potential predictor variables were phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, nonverbal IQ, and several treatment variables. Potential dependent functions were literacy, expressive language, and speech-in-noise recognition. Results Children with cochlear implants showed deficits in storage and processing, similar in size to those at second grade. Predictors of verbal working memory differed across groups: Phonological awareness explained the most variance in children with normal hearing; vocabulary explained the most variance in children with cochlear implants. Treatment variables explained little of the variance. Where potentially dependent functions were concerned, verbal working memory accounted for little variance once the variance explained by other predictors was removed. Conclusions The verbal working memory deficits of children with cochlear implants arise due to signal degradation, which limits their abilities to acquire phonological awareness. That hinders their abilities to store items using a phonological code. PMID:29075747

  19. Verbal Processing Speed and Executive Functioning in Long-Term Cochlear Implant Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    AuBuchon, Angela M.; Pisoni, David B.; Kronenberger, William G.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report how "verbal rehearsal speed" (VRS), a form of covert speech used to maintain verbal information in working memory, and another verbal processing speed measure, perceptual encoding speed, are related to 3 domains of executive function (EF) at risk in cochlear implant (CI) users: verbal…

  20. Non-verbal numerical cognition: from reals to integers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallistel; Gelman

    2000-02-01

    Data on numerical processing by verbal (human) and non-verbal (animal and human) subjects are integrated by the hypothesis that a non-verbal counting process represents discrete (countable) quantities by means of magnitudes with scalar variability. These appear to be identical to the magnitudes that represent continuous (uncountable) quantities such as duration. The magnitudes representing countable quantity are generated by a discrete incrementing process, which defines next magnitudes and yields a discrete ordering. In the case of continuous quantities, the continuous accumulation process does not define next magnitudes, so the ordering is also continuous ('dense'). The magnitudes representing both countable and uncountable quantity are arithmetically combined in, for example, the computation of the income to be expected from a foraging patch. Thus, on the hypothesis presented here, the primitive machinery for arithmetic processing works with real numbers (magnitudes).

  1. Verbal fluency in children with intellectual disability: Influence of basic executive components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gligorović Milica

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Phonemic and semantic fluency tasks are frequently used to differentiate executive control roles and the integrity of lexical-semantic representation. The main goal of this study is to determine the influence of basic executive components on phonemic and semantic productivity in children with mild intellectual disability. The sample consisted of 95 children with unspecified mild intellectual disability (MID, ages 10-13.11. Phonemic fluency was assessed by the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT, while semantic fluency was assessed by the Category Naming Test (CNT. Cognitive flexibility was assessed by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST and Trail Making Test (TMT. Number Manipulation Task (NMT was used for the verbal working memory assessment, while Day/Night Stroop Task was used for the assessment of inhibitory control. The results analysis showed that all of the assessed EF components significantly affect phonemic productivity. Semantic productivity significantly depends on WCST and TMT performance. Verbal working memory and inhibitory control do not significantly contribute to semantic productivity. The results of our study indicate that the discrepancy between phonemic and semantic productivity in children with MID could be directly associated with the basic executive functions components.

  2. Examining the direct and indirect effects of visual-verbal paired associate learning on Chinese word reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgiou, George; Liu, Cuina; Xu, Shiyang

    2017-08-01

    Associative learning, traditionally measured with paired associate learning (PAL) tasks, has been found to predict reading ability in several languages. However, it remains unclear whether it also predicts word reading in Chinese, which is known for its ambiguous print-sound correspondences, and whether its effects are direct or indirect through the effects of other reading-related skills such as phonological awareness and rapid naming. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of visual-verbal PAL on word reading in an unselected sample of Chinese children followed from the second to the third kindergarten year. A sample of 141 second-year kindergarten children (71 girls and 70 boys; mean age=58.99months, SD=3.17) were followed for a year and were assessed at both times on measures of visual-verbal PAL, rapid naming, and phonological awareness. In the third kindergarten year, they were also assessed on word reading. The results of path analysis showed that visual-verbal PAL exerted a significant direct effect on word reading that was independent of the effects of phonological awareness and rapid naming. However, it also exerted significant indirect effects through phonological awareness. Taken together, these findings suggest that variations in cross-modal associative learning (as measured by visual-verbal PAL) place constraints on the development of word recognition skills irrespective of the characteristics of the orthography children are learning to read. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. A study of verbal and spatial information processing using event-related potentials and positron emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ninomiya, Hideaki; Ichimiya, Atsushi; Chen, Chung-Ho; Onitsuka, Toshiaki; Kuwabara, Yasuo; Otsuka, Makoto; Ichiya, Yuichi

    1997-01-01

    The activated cerebral regions and the timing of information processing in the hemispheres was investigated using event-related potentials (ERP) and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) as the neurophysiological indicators. Seven men and one woman (age 19-27 years) were asked to categorize two-syllable Japanese nouns (verbal condition) and to judge the difference between pairs of rectangles (spatial condition), both tests presented on a monochrome display. In the electroencephalogram (EEG) session, EEG were recorded from 16 electrode sites, with linked earlobe electrodes as reference. In the positron emission tomography (PET) session, rCBF were measured by the 15 O-labeled H 2 O bolus injection method. Regions of interest were the frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital and central lobes, and the entire cerebral hemispheres. When the subtracted voltages of the ERP in homologous scalp sites were compared for the verbal and spatial conditions, the significant differences were at F7·F8 and T5·T6 (the 10-20 system). The latencies of the differences at T5·T6 were around 200, 250 and 320 ms. A significant difference in rCBF between the verbal and spatial conditions was found only in the temporal region. It was concluded that early processing of information, that is, registration and simple recognition, may be performed mainly in the left temporal lobe for verbal information and in the right for spatial information. (author)

  4. Neural correlates of the spacing effect in explicit verbal semantic encoding support the deficient-processing theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callan, Daniel E; Schweighofer, Nicolas

    2010-04-01

    Spaced presentations of to-be-learned items during encoding leads to superior long-term retention over massed presentations. Despite over a century of research, the psychological and neural basis of this spacing effect however is still under investigation. To test the hypotheses that the spacing effect results either from reduction in encoding-related verbal maintenance rehearsal in massed relative to spaced presentations (deficient processing hypothesis) or from greater encoding-related elaborative rehearsal of relational information in spaced relative to massed presentations (encoding variability hypothesis), we designed a vocabulary learning experiment in which subjects encoded paired-associates, each composed of a known word paired with a novel word, in both spaced and massed conditions during functional magnetic resonance imaging. As expected, recall performance in delayed cued-recall tests was significantly better for spaced over massed conditions. Analysis of brain activity during encoding revealed that the left frontal operculum, known to be involved in encoding via verbal maintenance rehearsal, was associated with greater performance-related increased activity in the spaced relative to massed condition. Consistent with the deficient processing hypothesis, a significant decrease in activity with subsequent episodes of presentation was found in the frontal operculum for the massed but not the spaced condition. Our results suggest that the spacing effect is mediated by activity in the frontal operculum, presumably by encoding-related increased verbal maintenance rehearsal, which facilitates binding of phonological and word level verbal information for transfer into long-term memory. Copyright 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  5. Verbal Prompting, Hand-over-Hand Instruction, and Passive Observation in Teaching Children with Developmental Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biederman, G. B.; Fairhall, J. L.; Raven, K. A.; Davey, V. A.

    1998-01-01

    A study involving six children (ages 5-13) with mental retardation found that overall passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling in teaching skills, and that passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling with response-contingent verbal prompting. (Author/CR)

  6. Verbal aspects in West Greenlandic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trondhjem, Naja Blytmann

    2017-01-01

    In this article, lexical aspectual types in West Greenlandic are investigated in the five aspectual types, states, achievements, semelfactives, activities and accomplishments. It is shown that derivational verbalizing affixes include aspectual type congruent with the lexical aspect and how the as...

  7. Verbal auditory agnosia in a patient with traumatic brain injury: A case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jong Min; Woo, Seung Beom; Lee, Zeeihn; Heo, Sung Jae; Park, Donghwi

    2018-03-01

    Verbal auditory agnosia is the selective inability to recognize verbal sounds. Patients with this disorder lose the ability to understand language, write from dictation, and repeat words with reserved ability to identify nonverbal sounds. However, to the best of our knowledge, there was no report about verbal auditory agnosia in adult patient with traumatic brain injury. He was able to clearly distinguish between language and nonverbal sounds, and he did not have any difficulty in identifying the environmental sounds. However, he did not follow oral commands and could not repeat and dictate words. On the other hand, he had fluent and comprehensible speech, and was able to read and understand written words and sentences. Verbal auditory agnosia INTERVENTION:: He received speech therapy and cognitive rehabilitation during his hospitalization, and he practiced understanding of verbal language by providing written sentences together. Two months after hospitalization, he regained his ability to understand some verbal words. Six months after hospitalization, his ability to understand verbal language was improved to an understandable level when speaking slowly in front of his eyes, but his comprehension of verbal sound language was still word level, not sentence level. This case gives us the lesson that the evaluation of auditory functions as well as cognition and language functions important for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, because the verbal auditory agnosia tends to be easily misdiagnosed as hearing impairment, cognitive dysfunction and sensory aphasia.

  8. A Daily Process Examination of the Temporal Association Between Alcohol Use and Verbal and Physical Aggression in Community Couples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Testa, Maria; Derrick, Jaye L.

    2014-01-01

    Alcohol use has been associated with intimate partner aggression perpetration and victimization; however, much of the evidence is based on survey research. Few studies have addressed the proximal effects of drinking episodes on the subsequent occurrence of partner aggression. The current study used daily diary methodology to consider the daily and temporal association between drinking episodes and episodes of partner verbal and physical aggression among a community sample of married and cohabiting couples (N = 118). Male and female partners each provided 56 days of independent daily reports of drinking and partner conflict episodes, including verbal and physical aggression, using interactive voice response technology. Dyadic data analyses, guided by the actor-partner interdependence model, were conducted using hierarchical generalized linear modeling with multivariate outcomes. Daily analyses revealed that alcohol consumption was associated with perpetration of verbal and physical aggression the same day, but not with victimization. Temporal analyses revealed that the likelihood of perpetrating verbal and physical aggression, and the likelihood of being verbally and physically victimized, increased significantly when alcohol was consumed in the previous four hours. Findings did not differ according to gender of perpetrator or victim, and the interaction between perpetrator and victim's alcohol use was not significant in any analysis. The study provides clear evidence that, within a sample of community couples without substance-use disorders or other psychopathology, alcohol consumption by men and women contributes to the occurrence of partner aggression episodes. PMID:24341618

  9. S61. THE ASSOCIATION OF VERBAL LEARNING DEFICITS WITH AGE AND SYMPTOMS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontis, Dimitrios; Giannakopoulou, Alexandra; Theochari, Eirini; Andreopoulou, Angeliki; Vassilouli, Spyridoula; Giannakopoulou, Dimitra; Siettou, Eleni; Tsaltas, Eleftheria

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background The relationship of age and symptoms with the performance on verbal learning and memory tasks in schizophrenia could provide useful information for optimizing and individualizing the efforts to remediate the cognitive impairments of patients. Methods During a cross-sectional study, 97 medicated and stabilized patients with chronic schizophrenia (61 males and 36 females, mean age=43.74 years, standard deviation-SD=11.59), which were consecutively referred to our Unit, were assessed using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). A linear regression analysis was conducted in order to investigate the effect of symptoms and age on HVLT performance. Results Increased age and total PANSS symptoms were associated with worse total recall (raw scores) (B=-0.109. 95% confidence interval-C.I.- =-0.18, -0.038, t=-3.038, df=90 p=0.003 and B=-0.053, 95%CI=-0.097, -0.008, t=-2.356, df=90, p=0.021, respectively). The effect of symptoms on HVLT total recall was significant for positive (B=-0.166, 95%CI=-0.316, -0.015, t=-2.189, df=90, p=0.031), negative (B=-0.167, 95%CI=-0.279, -0.054, t=-2.949, df=90, p=0.004), but not for general psychopathology symptoms (B=-0.05, 95%CI=-0.129, 0.03, t=-1.247, df=90, p=0.216). Further analyses revealed the significant negative correlations of total symptoms with the performance in immediate recall during the first HVLT trial (B=-0.021, 95% CI=-0.036, -0.005, df=89, p=0.011), and age during the second (B=-0.046, 95%CI=-0.076,-0.017, p=0.003) and third (B=-0.048, 95%CI=-0.083, -0.014, df=89, p=0.007) HVLT immediate recall trials. Both total symptoms and age were significantly negatively correlated with the performance in recognition discrimination (raw scores) (symptoms: B=-0.199, 95%CI=-0.363, -0.035, df=87, t=-2.415, p=0.017 and age: B=-0.357, 95%CI=-0.617, -0.098, df=87, t=-2.737, p=0.008). We failed to find any significant correlation between either age or symptoms with

  10. How do subvocal rehearsal and general attentional resources contribute to verbal short-term memory span?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio eMorra

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Whether rehearsal has a causal role in verbal STM has been controversial in the literature. Recent theories of working memory emphasize a role of attentional resources, but leave unclear how they contribute to verbal STM. Two experiments (with 49 and 102 adult participants, respectively followed up previous studies with children, aiming to clarify the contributions of attentional capacity and rehearsal to verbal STM. Word length and presentation modality were manipulated. Experiment 1 focused on order errors, Experiment 2 on predicting individual differences in span from attentional capacity and articulation rate. Structural equation modelling showed clearly a major role of attentional capacity as a predictor of verbal STM span; but was inconclusive on whether rehearsal efficiency is an additional cause or a consequence of verbal STM. The effects of word length and modality on STM were replicated; a significant interaction was also found, showing a larger modality effect for long than short words, which replicates a previous finding on children. Item errors occurred more often with long words and correlated negatively with articulation rate. This set of findings seems to point to a role of rehearsal in maintaining item information. The probability of order errors per position increased linearly with list length. A revised version of a neo-Piagetian model was fit to the data of Experiment 2. That model was based on two parameters: attentional capacity (independently measured and a free parameter representing loss of partly-activated information. The model could partly account for the results, but underestimated STM performance of the participants with smaller attentional capacity. It is concluded that modelling of verbal STM should consider individual and developmental differences in attentional capacity, rehearsal rate, and (perhaps order representation.

  11. How do subvocal rehearsal and general attentional resources contribute to verbal short-term memory span?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morra, Sergio

    2015-01-01

    Whether rehearsal has a causal role in verbal STM has been controversial in the literature. Recent theories of working memory emphasize a role of attentional resources, but leave unclear how they contribute to verbal STM. Two experiments (with 49 and 102 adult participants, respectively) followed up previous studies with children, aiming to clarify the contributions of attentional capacity and rehearsal to verbal STM. Word length and presentation modality were manipulated. Experiment 1 focused on order errors, Experiment 2 on predicting individual differences in span from attentional capacity and articulation rate. Structural equation modeling showed clearly a major role of attentional capacity as a predictor of verbal STM span; but was inconclusive on whether rehearsal efficiency is an additional cause or a consequence of verbal STM. The effects of word length and modality on STM were replicated; a significant interaction was also found, showing a larger modality effect for long than short words, which replicates a previous finding on children. Item errors occurred more often with long words and correlated negatively with articulation rate. This set of findings seems to point to a role of rehearsal in maintaining item information. The probability of order errors per position increased linearly with list length. A revised version of a neo-Piagetian model was fit to the data of Experiment 2. That model was based on two parameters: attentional capacity (independently measured) and a free parameter representing loss of partly-activated information. The model could partly account for the results, but underestimated STM performance of the participants with smaller attentional capacity. It is concluded that modeling of verbal STM should consider individual and developmental differences in attentional capacity, rehearsal rate, and (perhaps) order representation.

  12. Verbal abuse of nurses by physicians in a private sector setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Joubert

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine whether physicians in a private sector setting verbally abuse nurses, and to what extent. A review of the literature showed that verbal abuse by physicians accounts for the highest incidence of aggression towards nurses in health care, and that it is strongly related to turnover rates. It has also been reported in recent studies that within the context of verbally abusive episodes, patient care, work productivity, morale and job satisfaction have been negatively affected. Of the 120 questionnaires that were distributed among registered and enrolled nurses, 83 were returned in time to be used, which was a response rate of 69%. This response rate is consistent with previous studies and is exactly the same as for a study that was done in Turkey (Uzun, 2003:81. The questionnaire used was one that has been adapted from the Verbal Abuse Scale developed by Manderino and Berkey (1997:50 and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS 2 as described by Little (1999:24, and was in the form of a 4-point Likert-scale with one open ended question. The results showed that 79% of the nurses admitted that verbal abuse was taking place. Forms of direct verbal abuse included 81 % that felt they were criticised unjustly, 76% that were screamed at in front of others, and 81 % that felt physicians vented their frustration on them. The results obtained in the study were consistent with previous studies done elsewhere and it indicated that nurses still experience high levels of verbal abuse in the workplace.

  13. General types of idiomatic verbal units in English and Swahili

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Людмила Алексеевна Семенкова

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the comparative analysis of the idiomatic verbal units-word combination of the two typologically different languages - English and Swahili: As a result a number of general syntactic types of their idiomatic verbal units are determined.

  14. Oncologists’ non-verbal behavior and analog patients’ recall of information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hillen, M.A.; de Haes, H.C.J.M.; van Tienhoven, G.; van Laarhoven, H.W.M.; van Weert, J.C.M.; Vermeulen, D.M.; Smets, E.M.A.

    2016-01-01

    Background Information in oncological consultations is often excessive. Those patients who better recall information are more satisfied, less anxious and more adherent. Optimal recall may be enhanced by the oncologist’s non-verbal communication. We tested the influence of three non-verbal behaviors,

  15. Oncologists' non-verbal behavior and analog patients' recall of information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hillen, Marij A.; de Haes, Hanneke C. J. M.; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W. M.; van Weert, Julia C. M.; Vermeulen, Daniëlle M.; Smets, Ellen M. A.

    2016-01-01

    Background Information in oncological consultations is often excessive. Those patients who better recall information are more satisfied, less anxious and more adherent. Optimal recall may be enhanced by the oncologist's non-verbal communication. We tested the influence of three non-verbal behaviors,

  16. Motor skills and verbal fluency in HIV positive older adults in Rural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Finger Tapping Test of the Developmental Neuropsychological Test Battery was also used. Results: Tests of motor skill were less sensitive to HIV infection (F (1, 48) = 1.134, p= .292) than verbal fluency tests-Hopkins Verbal Learning (F (1, 48) = 42.994, p=.000, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test- delay (F (1, 48) = 45.886, ...

  17. An Exploratory Analysis of American Indian Children's Cultural Engagement, Fluid Cognitive Skills, and Standardized Verbal IQ Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsethlikai, Monica

    2011-01-01

    This exploratory cross-sectional study examined fluid cognitive skills and standardized verbal IQ scores in relation to cultural engagement amongst Tohono O'odham children (N = 99; ages 7 to 12 years). Guardians with higher socioeconomic status engaged their children in more cultural activities, and participation in more cultural activities…

  18. Improvement in verbal memory performance in depressed in-patients after treatment with electroconvulsive therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biedermann, S V; Bumb, J M; Demirakca, T; Ende, G; Sartorius, A

    2016-12-01

    Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective and well-tolerated therapy for severe and treatment-resistant depression. Cognitive side-effects are still feared by some patients and clinicians. Importantly, cognitive impairments are among the most disabling symptoms of depression itself. Patients suffering from a severe episode of depression were treated with either ECT or treatment as usual (TAU) in an in-patient setting. Matched healthy participants served as controls (HC). Verbal memory was tested with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) before the specific treatment started (ECT = 15, TAU = 16, HC = 31) and 2 months after the last ECT session or 2 months after discharge respectively. Before the specific treatment started, depressed patients performed substantially worse compared with HC in total, short- and long-delay recall in the CVLT, while the ECT group showed the worst performance. More severely depressed patients showed worse performances in these measures. Intriguingly, verbal memory showed a significant improvement in ECT-treated patients, but not in the other groups. No differences between the groups were found at follow-up. Contrary to the widely feared assumption that ECT has long-term impact on memory functions, we found evidence that ECT is superior to TAU in improving verbal memory in depressed patients. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Computer-Based Oral Hygiene Instruction versus Verbal Method in Fixed Orthodontic Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moshkelgosha, V.; Mehrvarz, Sh.; Saki, M.; Golkari, A.

    2017-01-01

    Statement of Problem: Fixed orthodontic appliances in the oral cavity make tooth cleaning procedures more complicated. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of computerized oral hygiene instruction with verbal technique among fixed orthodontic patients referred to the evening clinic of Orthodontics of Shiraz Dental School. Materials and Methods: A single-blind study was performed in Orthodontic Department of Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran, from January to May 2015 following the demonstrated exclusion and inclusion criteria. The sample size was considered 60 patients with 30 subjects in each group. Bleeding on probing and plaque indices and dental knowledge were assessed in the subjects to determine pre-intervention status. A questionnaire was designed for dental knowledge evaluation. The patients were randomly assigned into the computerized and verbal groups. Three weeks after the oral hygiene instruction, indices of bleeding on probing and plaque index and the dental knowledge were evaluated to investigate post-intervention outcome. The two groups were compared by chi-square and student t tests. The pre- and post-intervention scores in each group were compared using paired t-test. Results: In the computerized group, the mean score for plaque index and bleeding on probing index was significantly decreased while dental health knowledge was significantly increased after oral hygiene instruction, in contrast to the verbal group. Conclusions: Within the limitations of the current study, computerized oral hygiene instruction is proposed to be more effective in providing optimal oral health status compared to the conventional method in fixed orthodontic patients. PMID:28959765

  20. The Influence of verbalization on the pattern of cortical activation during mental arithmetic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zarnhofer Sabrina

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study at 3 T was to investigate the influence of the verbal-visual cognitive style on cerebral activation patterns during mental arithmetic. In the domain of arithmetic, a visual style might for example mean to visualize numbers and (intermediate results, and a verbal style might mean, that numbers and (intermediate results are verbally repeated. In this study, we investigated, first, whether verbalizers show activations in areas for language processing, and whether visualizers show activations in areas for visual processing during mental arithmetic. Some researchers have proposed that the left and right intraparietal sulcus (IPS, and the left angular gyrus (AG, two areas involved in number processing, show some domain or modality specificity. That is, verbal for the left AG, and visual for the left and right IPS. We investigated, second, whether the activation in these areas implied in number processing depended on an individual's cognitive style. Methods 42 young healthy adults participated in the fMRI study. The study comprised two functional sessions. In the first session, subtraction and multiplication problems were presented in an event-related design, and in the second functional session, multiplications were presented in two formats, as Arabic numerals and as written number words, in an event-related design. The individual's habitual use of visualization and verbalization during mental arithmetic was assessed by a short self-report assessment. Results We observed in both functional sessions that the use of verbalization predicts activation in brain areas associated with language (supramarginal gyrus and auditory processing (Heschl's gyrus, Rolandic operculum. However, we found no modulation of activation in the left AG as a function of verbalization. Conclusions Our results confirm that strong verbalizers use mental speech as a form of mental

  1. The Effectiveness of Verbal Self-Instruction Training on Math Problem-Solving of Intellectually Disabled Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masoume Pourmohamadreza-Tajrishi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The study was aimed to determine the effectiveness of verbal self-instruction training on math problem-solving of intellectually disabled boy students in Tehran Provinces. Methods: The study was a semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design with control group. Thirty intellectually disabled boy students were selected randomly through cluster sampling method from 9th grade students. They were assigned to experimental and control group equally. Experimental group participated in 8 sessions and were trained by verbal self-instruction program but control group did not. All students answered to a teacher-made math problem-solving test before and after the training sessions. Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance. Results: Findings showed that there was a significant difference between two groups according to math problem-solving performance (P<0.002. Discussion: It can conclude that verbal self-instruction training probably leads to promote math problem-solving performance of intellectually disabled boy students.

  2. From Sensory Perception to Lexical-Semantic Processing: An ERP Study in Non-Verbal Children with Autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantiani, Chiara; Choudhury, Naseem A; Yu, Yan H; Shafer, Valerie L; Schwartz, Richard G; Benasich, April A

    2016-01-01

    This study examines electrocortical activity associated with visual and auditory sensory perception and lexical-semantic processing in nonverbal (NV) or minimally-verbal (MV) children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Currently, there is no agreement on whether these children comprehend incoming linguistic information and whether their perception is comparable to that of typically developing children. Event-related potentials (ERPs) of 10 NV/MV children with ASD and 10 neurotypical children were recorded during a picture-word matching paradigm. Atypical ERP responses were evident at all levels of processing in children with ASD. Basic perceptual processing was delayed in both visual and auditory domains but overall was similar in amplitude to typically-developing children. However, significant differences between groups were found at the lexical-semantic level, suggesting more atypical higher-order processes. The results suggest that although basic perception is relatively preserved in NV/MV children with ASD, higher levels of processing, including lexical- semantic functions, are impaired. The use of passive ERP paradigms that do not require active participant response shows significant potential for assessment of non-compliant populations such as NV/MV children with ASD.

  3. From Sensory Perception to Lexical-Semantic Processing: An ERP Study in Non-Verbal Children with Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantiani, Chiara; Choudhury, Naseem A.; Yu, Yan H.; Shafer, Valerie L.; Schwartz, Richard G.; Benasich, April A.

    2016-01-01

    This study examines electrocortical activity associated with visual and auditory sensory perception and lexical-semantic processing in nonverbal (NV) or minimally-verbal (MV) children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Currently, there is no agreement on whether these children comprehend incoming linguistic information and whether their perception is comparable to that of typically developing children. Event-related potentials (ERPs) of 10 NV/MV children with ASD and 10 neurotypical children were recorded during a picture-word matching paradigm. Atypical ERP responses were evident at all levels of processing in children with ASD. Basic perceptual processing was delayed in both visual and auditory domains but overall was similar in amplitude to typically-developing children. However, significant differences between groups were found at the lexical-semantic level, suggesting more atypical higher-order processes. The results suggest that although basic perception is relatively preserved in NV/MV children with ASD, higher levels of processing, including lexical- semantic functions, are impaired. The use of passive ERP paradigms that do not require active participant response shows significant potential for assessment of non-compliant populations such as NV/MV children with ASD. PMID:27560378

  4. Trauma team leaders' non-verbal communication: video registration during trauma team training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Härgestam, Maria; Hultin, Magnus; Brulin, Christine; Jacobsson, Maritha

    2016-03-25

    There is widespread consensus on the importance of safe and secure communication in healthcare, especially in trauma care where time is a limiting factor. Although non-verbal communication has an impact on communication between individuals, there is only limited knowledge of how trauma team leaders communicate. The purpose of this study was to investigate how trauma team members are positioned in the emergency room, and how leaders communicate in terms of gaze direction, vocal nuances, and gestures during trauma team training. Eighteen trauma teams were audio and video recorded during trauma team training in the emergency department of a hospital in northern Sweden. Quantitative content analysis was used to categorize the team members' positions and the leaders' non-verbal communication: gaze direction, vocal nuances, and gestures. The quantitative data were interpreted in relation to the specific context. Time sequences of the leaders' gaze direction, speech time, and gestures were identified separately and registered as time (seconds) and proportions (%) of the total training time. The team leaders who gained control over the most important area in the emergency room, the "inner circle", positioned themselves as heads over the team, using gaze direction, gestures, vocal nuances, and verbal commands that solidified their verbal message. Changes in position required both attention and collaboration. Leaders who spoke in a hesitant voice, or were silent, expressed ambiguity in their non-verbal communication: and other team members took over the leader's tasks. In teams where the leader had control over the inner circle, the members seemed to have an awareness of each other's roles and tasks, knowing when in time and where in space these tasks needed to be executed. Deviations in the leaders' communication increased the ambiguity in the communication, which had consequences for the teamwork. Communication cannot be taken for granted; it needs to be practiced

  5. Adaptation of a paradigm for examining the development of fear beliefs through the verbal information pathway in preschool-age children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rifkin, Lara S; Schofield, Casey A; Beard, Courtney; Armstrong, Thomas

    2016-12-01

    Verbal threat information has been shown to induce fear beliefs in school-age children (i.e. 6-12 years; for a review see Muris & Field, 2010). The current study adapted an existing paradigm (Field & Lawson, 2003) to examine the impact of verbal threat information on self-report and behavioral measures of fear in preschool-age children. Thirty children (aged 3-5) were provided with threat, positive, or no information about three novel Australian marsupials. There was a significant increase in fear belief for the animal associated with threat information compared to the animal associated with positive or no information. Verbal threat information did not impact behavioral avoidance in the complete sample; however, findings from an exploratory subgroup analysis excluding three-year-olds indicated that children demonstrated significant behavioral avoidance for the threat condition compared to the positive condition. These findings provide additional support for Rachman's theory of fear acquisition (1977, 1991) and suggest this paradigm may be used to examine the age at which verbal threat information becomes a relevant mode of fear acquisition for young children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Misinterpretation of Facial Expressions of Emotion in Verbal Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eack, Shaun M.; Mazefsky, Carla A.; Minshew, Nancy J.

    2015-01-01

    Facial emotion perception is significantly affected in autism spectrum disorder, yet little is known about how individuals with autism spectrum disorder misinterpret facial expressions that result in their difficulty in accurately recognizing emotion in faces. This study examined facial emotion perception in 45 verbal adults with autism spectrum…

  7. Investigating Verbal and Visual Auditory Learning After Conformal Radiation Therapy for Childhood Ependymoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Pinto, Marcos; Conklin, Heather M.; Li Chenghong; Xiong Xiaoping; Merchant, Thomas E.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine whether children with localized ependymoma experience a decline in verbal or visual-auditory learning after conformal radiation therapy (CRT). The secondary objective was to investigate the impact of age and select clinical factors on learning before and after treatment. Methods and Materials: Learning in a sample of 71 patients with localized ependymoma was assessed with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-C) and the Visual-Auditory Learning Test (VAL). Learning measures were administered before CRT, at 6 months, and then yearly for a total of 5 years. Results: There was no significant decline on measures of verbal or visual-auditory learning after CRT; however, younger age, more surgeries, and cerebrospinal fluid shunting did predict lower scores at baseline. There were significant longitudinal effects (improved learning scores after treatment) among older children on the CVLT-C and children that did not receive pre-CRT chemotherapy on the VAL. Conclusion: There was no evidence of global decline in learning after CRT in children with localized ependymoma. Several important implications from the findings include the following: (1) identification of and differentiation among variables with transient vs. long-term effects on learning, (2) demonstration that children treated with chemotherapy before CRT had greater risk of adverse visual-auditory learning performance, and (3) establishment of baseline and serial assessment as critical in ascertaining necessary sensitivity and specificity for the detection of modest effects.

  8. A influência da comunicação não verbal no cuidado de enfermagem La influencia de la comunicación no verbal en la atención de enfermería The influence of non-verbal communication in nursing care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Cristina Viana Santos

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo é vinculado ao Núcleo de Pesquisa e Experimentação em Enfermagem da Escola de Enfermagem Alfredo Pinto UNIRIO, e que teve origem durante o desenvolvimento de um trabalho monográfico. O objeto constitui-se no significado da comunicação não-verbal sob a ótica dos graduandos de enfermagem. Apresenta como objetivos: Identificar o significado da comunicação não verbal para os acadêmicos de enfermagem e Analisar a influência da mesma no cuidado de enfermagem. A abordagem metodológica utilizada foi à qualitativa aplicando-se como estratégia a dinâmica de sensibilidade para a coleta de dados. Observa-se que os alunos da graduação identificam a importância e a influência da comunicação não verbal durante a assistência, entretanto, há a necessidade em se ampliar o conhecimento do processo de comunicação não verbal para implementação do cuidado de enfermagem.Este estudio está vinculado al Núcleo de Investigación y Experimentación en Enfermería de la Escuela de Enfermería Alfredo Pinto UNIRIO, y que tuvo origen durante el desarrollo de un trabajo de monografía. El objeto se constituye en el significado de la comunicación no-verbal según la visión de los estudiantes de graduación en enfermería. Presenta como objetivos: Identificar el significado de la comunicación no-verbal para los académicos de enfermería, y Analizar la influencia de la misma en el cuidado de enfermería. El enfoque metodológico utilizado fue el cualitativo, y se aplicó la dinámica de sensibilidad como estrategia para la recopilación de datos. Se observa que los alumnos del curso de graduación identifican la importancia y la influencia de la comunicación no-verbal durante la asistencia, sin embargo, existe la necesidad de ampliar el conocimiento del proceso de comunicación no-verbal para la implementación del cuidado de enfermería.The present study is linked to the Center for Researching and Testing in Nursing at the

  9. Predictors of verbal working memory in children with cerebral palsy.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peeters, M.; Verhoeven, L.; Moor, J.M.H. de

    2009-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to examine the precursors of verbal working memory in 52 children with cerebral palsy with varying degrees of speech impairments in the first grade of special education. Following Baddeley's model of working memory, children's verbal working memory was measured by

  10. Predictors of verbal working memory in children with cerebral palsy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peeters, M.H.J.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Moor, J.M.H. de

    2009-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to examine the precursors of verbal working memory in 52 children with cerebral palsy with varying degrees of speech impairments in the first grade of special education. Following Baddeley's model of working memory, children's verbal working memory was measured by

  11. The verbal-visual discourse in Brazilian Sign Language – Libras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanya Felipe

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to broaden the discussion on verbal-visual utterances, reflecting upon theoretical assumptions of the Bakhtin Circle that can reinforce the argument that the utterances of a language that employs a visual-gestural modality convey plastic-pictorial and spatial values of signs also through non-manual markers (NMMs. This research highlights the difference between affective expressions, which are paralinguistic communications that may complement an utterance, and verbal-visual grammatical markers, which are linguistic because they are part of the architecture of phonological, morphological, syntactic-semantic and discursive levels in a particular language. These markers will be described, taking the Brazilian Sign Language–Libras as a starting point, thereby including this language in discussions of verbal-visual discourse when investigating the need to do research on this discourse also in the linguistic analyses of oral-auditory modality languages, including Transliguistics as an area of knowledge that analyzes discourse, focusing upon the verbal-visual markers used by the subjects in their utterance acts.

  12. Poorer verbal working memory for a second language selectively impacts academic achievement in university medical students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Collette Mann

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Working memory (WM is often poorer for a second language (L2. In low noise conditions, people listening to a language other than their first language (L1 may have similar auditory perception skills for that L2 as native listeners, but do worse in high noise conditions, and this has been attributed to the poorer WM for L2. Given that WM is critical for academic success in children and young adults, these speech in noise effects have implications for academic performance where the language of instruction is L2 for a student. We used a well-established Speech-in-Noise task as a verbal WM (vWM test, and developed a model correlating vWM and measures of English proficiency and/or usage to scholastic outcomes in a multi-faceted assessment medical education program. Significant differences in Speech-Noise Ratio (SNR50 values were observed between medical undergraduates who had learned English before or after five years of age, with the latter group doing worse in the ability to extract whole connected speech in the presence of background multi-talker babble (Student-t tests, p < 0.001. Significant negative correlations were observed between the SNR50 and seven of the nine variables of English usage, learning styles, stress, and musical abilities in a questionnaire administered to the students previously. The remaining two variables, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS and the Age of Acquisition of English (AoAoE were significantly positively correlated with the SNR50 , showing that those with a poorer capacity to discriminate simple English sentences from noise had learnt English later in life and had higher levels of stress – all characteristics of the international students. Local students exhibited significantly lower SNR50 scores and were significantly younger when they first learnt English. No significant correlation was detected between the SNR50 and the students’ Visual/Verbal Learning Style (r = −0.023. Standard multiple regression was

  13. Early 'visual' cortex activation correlates with superior verbal memory performance in the blind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amedi, Amir; Raz, Noa; Pianka, Pazit; Malach, Rafael; Zohary, Ehud

    2003-07-01

    The visual cortex may be more modifiable than previously considered. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in ten congenitally blind human participants, we found robust occipital activation during a verbal-memory task (in the absence of any sensory input), as well as during verb generation and Braille reading. We also found evidence for reorganization and specialization of the occipital cortex, along the anterior-posterior axis. Whereas anterior regions showed preference for Braille, posterior regions (including V1) showed preference for verbal-memory and verb generation (which both require memory of verbal material). No such occipital activation was found in sighted subjects. This difference between the groups was mirrored by superior performance of the blind in various verbal-memory tasks. Moreover, the magnitude of V1 activation during the verbal-memory condition was highly correlated with the blind individual's abilities in a variety of verbal-memory tests, suggesting that the additional occipital activation may have a functional role.

  14. A PROPÓSITO DE LA COMUNICACIÓN VERBAL On Verbal Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luz Amparo Fajardo Uribe

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available El presente artículo es el resultado de un estudio de la comunicación verbal teniendo en cuenta la visión propuesta por el modelo inferencial. El objetivo del texto es ofrecer una descripción detallada de cada uno de los elementos que intervienen en él, a fin de brindar herramientas para que todos aquellos estudiantes, que se inician en los estudios del lenguaje, estén en capacidad de diferenciar los modelos que describen la comunicación como un proceso de descodificación, de aquellos que se basan en procesos inferenciales y que por lo tanto se ocupan no sólo de lo que se dice y cómo se dice, sino a demás de lo que se quiere decir.This paper is the result of a study made on verbal communication based on an inferential model. The main objective of this text is to provide a detailed description of each one of the elements that make part of it, in order to offer tools to the beginners, who are specially interested in language studies, to be able to differentiate models that describe communication as a decoding process from an inferential one that keeps in mind not only what is said and how it is said, but also what a speaker wants to mean.

  15. Diminished auditory sensory gating during active auditory verbal hallucinations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thoma, Robert J; Meier, Andrew; Houck, Jon; Clark, Vincent P; Lewine, Jeffrey D; Turner, Jessica; Calhoun, Vince; Stephen, Julia

    2017-10-01

    Auditory sensory gating, assessed in a paired-click paradigm, indicates the extent to which incoming stimuli are filtered, or "gated", in auditory cortex. Gating is typically computed as the ratio of the peak amplitude of the event related potential (ERP) to a second click (S2) divided by the peak amplitude of the ERP to a first click (S1). Higher gating ratios are purportedly indicative of incomplete suppression of S2 and considered to represent sensory processing dysfunction. In schizophrenia, hallucination severity is positively correlated with gating ratios, and it was hypothesized that a failure of sensory control processes early in auditory sensation (gating) may represent a larger system failure within the auditory data stream; resulting in auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). EEG data were collected while patients (N=12) with treatment-resistant AVH pressed a button to indicate the beginning (AVH-on) and end (AVH-off) of each AVH during a paired click protocol. For each participant, separate gating ratios were computed for the P50, N100, and P200 components for each of the AVH-off and AVH-on states. AVH trait severity was assessed using the Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scales AVH Total score (PSYRATS). The results of a mixed model ANOVA revealed an overall effect for AVH state, such that gating ratios were significantly higher during the AVH-on state than during AVH-off for all three components. PSYRATS score was significantly and negatively correlated with N100 gating ratio only in the AVH-off state. These findings link onset of AVH with a failure of an empirically-defined auditory inhibition system, auditory sensory gating, and pave the way for a sensory gating model of AVH. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. [Analyzing consumer preference by using the latest semantic model for verbal protocol].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamari, Yuki; Takemura, Kazuhisa

    2012-02-01

    This paper examines consumers' preferences for competing brands by using a preference model of verbal protocols. Participants were 150 university students, who reported their opinions and feelings about McDonalds and Mos Burger (competing hamburger restaurants in Japan). Their verbal protocols were analyzed by using the singular value decomposition method, and the latent decision frames were estimated. The verbal protocols having a large value in the decision frames could be interpreted as showing attributes that consumers emphasize. Based on the estimated decision frames, we predicted consumers' preferences using the logistic regression analysis method. The results indicate that the decision frames projected from the verbal protocol data explained consumers' preferences effectively.

  17. Dysregulation of X-Linked Gene Expression in Klinefelter’s Syndrome and Association With Verbal Cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vawter, Marquis P.; Harvey, Philip D.; DeLisi, Lynn E.

    2007-01-01

    Klinefelter’s Syndrome (KS) is a chromosomal karyotype with one or more extra X chromosomes. KS individuals often show language impairment and the phenotype might be due to overexpression of genes on the extra X chromosome(s). We profiled mRNA derived from lymphoblastoid cell lines from males with documented KS and control males using the Affymetrix U133P microarray platform. There were 129 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in KS group compared with controls after Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery adjustment. The DEGs included 14 X chromosome genes which were significantly over-represented. The Y chromosome had zero DEGs. In exploratory analysis of gene expression–cognition relationships, 12 DEGs showed significant correlation of expression with measures of verbal cognition in KS. Overexpression of one pseudoautosomal gene, GTPBP6 (GTP binding protein 6, putative) was inversely correlated with verbal IQ (r = −0.86, P < 0.001) and four other measures of verbal ability. Overexpression of XIST was found in KS compared to XY controls suggesting that silencing of many genes on the X chromosome might occur in KS similar to XX females. The microarray findings for eight DEGs were validated by quantitative PCR. The 14 X chromosome DEGs were not differentially expressed in prior studies comparing female and male brains suggesting a dysregulation profile unique to KS. Examination of X-linked DEGs, such as GTPBP6, TAF9L, and CXORF21, that show verbal cognition–gene expression correlations may establish a causal link between these genes, neurodevelopment, and language function. A screen of candidate genes may serve as biomarkers of KS for early diagnosis. PMID:17347996

  18. Relationships among Blood Pressure, Triglycerides and Verbal Learning in African Americans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sims, Regina C.; Madhere, Serge; Gordon, Shalanda; Clark, Elijah; Abayomi, Kobi A.; Callender, Clive O.; Campbell, Alfonso L.

    2013-01-01

    Background Individuals at greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) display poorer cognitive functioning across various cognitive domains. This finding is particularly prevalent among older adults; however, few studies examine these relationships among younger adults or among African Americans. Purpose The objective was to examine the relationships among 2 cardiovascular risk factors, elevated blood pressure and elevated triglycerides, and verbal learning in a community-based sample of African Americans. Methods Measurements of blood pressure and triglycerides were obtained in 121 African-American adults and compared to performance on 3 domains of the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II). Results Blood pressure was not related to CVLT-II performance. Triglyceride levels were inversely related to CVLT-II performance. Higher triglyceride levels were associated with poorer immediate, short delay and long delay recall. Conclusions Consistent with studies involving older participants, the current investigation shows that in a nonelderly sample of African Americans, triglyceride levels may be related to cognitive functioning. Because early detection and intervention of vascular-related cognitive impairment may have a salutary effect, future studies should include younger adults to highlight the impact of cardiovascular risk on cognition. PMID:18942281

  19. FMRI hypoactivation during verbal learning and memory in former high school football players with multiple concussions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terry, Douglas P; Adams, T Eric; Ferrara, Michael S; Miller, L Stephen

    2015-06-01

    Multiple concussions before the age of 18 may be associated with late-life memory deficits. This study examined neural activation associated with verbal encoding and memory retrieval in former athletes ages 40-65 who received at least two concussions (median = 3; range = 2-15) playing high school football and a group of former high school football players with no reported history of concussions matched on age, education, and pre-morbid IQ. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected during a modified verbal paired associates paradigm indicated that those with concussive histories had hypoactivation in left hemispheric language regions, including the inferior/middle frontal gyri and angular gyrus compared with controls. However, concussive history was not associated with worse memory functioning on neuropsychological tests or worse behavioral performance during the paradigm, suggesting that multiple early-life concussions may be associated with subtle changes in the verbal encoding system that limits one from accessing higher-order semantic networks, but this difference does not translate into measurable cognitive performance deficits. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Logic, reasoning, and verbal behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Terrell, Dudley J.; Johnston, J. M.

    1989-01-01

    This paper analyzes the traditional concepts of logic and reasoning from the perspective of radical behaviorism and in the terms of Skinner's treatment of verbal behavior. The topics covered in this analysis include the proposition, premises and conclusions, logicality and rules, and deductive and inductive reasoning.

  1. Common and distinct brain networks underlying verbal and visual creativity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Wenfeng; Chen, Qunlin; Xia, Lingxiang; Beaty, Roger E; Yang, Wenjing; Tian, Fang; Sun, Jiangzhou; Cao, Guikang; Zhang, Qinglin; Chen, Xu; Qiu, Jiang

    2017-04-01

    Creativity is imperative to the progression of human civilization, prosperity, and well-being. Past creative researches tends to emphasize the default mode network (DMN) or the frontoparietal network (FPN) somewhat exclusively. However, little is known about how these networks interact to contribute to creativity and whether common or distinct brain networks are responsible for visual and verbal creativity. Here, we use functional connectivity analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to investigate visual and verbal creativity-related regions and networks in 282 healthy subjects. We found that functional connectivity within the bilateral superior parietal cortex of the FPN was negatively associated with visual and verbal creativity. The strength of connectivity between the DMN and FPN was positively related to both creative domains. Visual creativity was negatively correlated with functional connectivity within the precuneus of the pDMN and right middle frontal gyrus of the FPN, and verbal creativity was negatively correlated with functional connectivity within the medial prefrontal cortex of the aDMN. Critically, the FPN mediated the relationship between the aDMN and verbal creativity, and it also mediated the relationship between the pDMN and visual creativity. Taken together, decreased within-network connectivity of the FPN and DMN may allow for flexible between-network coupling in the highly creative brain. These findings provide indirect evidence for the cooperative role of the default and executive control networks in creativity, extending past research by revealing common and distinct brain systems underlying verbal and visual creative cognition. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2094-2111, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. The California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version: relation to factor indices of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Jile, Judith R; Schrimsher, Gregory W; O'Bryant, Sid E

    2005-10-01

    The California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version (CVLT-C) provides clinicians with a method of assessing various aspects of children's verbal memory and has been found to be sensitive to memory deficits resulting from a variety of neurological conditions. Intuitively, the CVLT-C would be expected to be highly related to a child's verbal cognitive abilities; however, with only a few exceptions, the relationship of this test to various domains of cognitive function has not been broadly studied empirically. To examine this issue, we evaluated the amount of unique variance in CVLT-C scores that could be predicted by the Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Freedom from Distractibility, and Processing Speed indices of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) beyond that accounted for by age and gender in a sample of 62 children referred to an outpatient psychiatry clinic for neuropsychological evaluation. While the Processing Speed Index predicted a significant amount of variance for both short and long delay free and cued recall, the Verbal Comprehension Index was a poor predictor of CVLT-C performance on all outcome variables, accounting for only 1.5 to 4.5% additional variance above age and gender. These findings indicate that while the CVLT-C may be relatively independent of influences of verbal intelligence and abstract verbal reasoning, general speed and efficiency of processing play an important role in successful encoding for later retrieval on the CVLT-C.

  3. The Effect of English Verbal Songs on Connected Speech Aspects of Adult English Learners’ Speech Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farshid Tayari Ashtiani

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study was an attempt to investigate the impact of English verbal songs on connected speech aspects of adult English learners’ speech production. 40 participants were selected based on the results of their performance in a piloted and validated version of NELSON test given to 60 intermediate English learners in a language institute in Tehran. Then they were equally distributed in two control and experimental groups and received a validated pretest of reading aloud and speaking in English. Afterward, the treatment was performed in 18 sessions by singing preselected songs culled based on some criteria such as popularity, familiarity, amount, and speed of speech delivery, etc. In the end, the posttests of reading aloud and speaking in English were administered. The results revealed that the treatment had statistically positive effects on the connected speech aspects of English learners’ speech production at statistical .05 level of significance. Meanwhile, the results represented that there was not any significant difference between the experimental group’s mean scores on the posttests of reading aloud and speaking. It was thus concluded that providing the EFL learners with English verbal songs could positively affect connected speech aspects of both modes of speech production, reading aloud and speaking. The Findings of this study have pedagogical implications for language teachers to be more aware and knowledgeable of the benefits of verbal songs to promote speech production of language learners in terms of naturalness and fluency. Keywords: English Verbal Songs, Connected Speech, Speech Production, Reading Aloud, Speaking

  4. Bilateral and unilateral ECT: effects on verbal and nonverbal memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squire, S R; Slater, P C

    1978-11-01

    The memory loss associated with bilateral and nondominant unilateral ECT was assessed with verbal memory tests known to be sensitive to left temporal lobe dysfunction and with nonverbal memory tests known to be sensitive to right temporal lobe dysfunction. Bilateral ECT markedly impaired delayed retention of verbal and nonverbal material. Right unilateral ECT impaired delayed retention of nonverbal material without measurably affecting retention of verbal material. Nonverbal memory was affected less by right unilateral ECT than by bilateral ECT. These findings, taken together with a consideration of the clinical efficacy of the two types of treatment, make what appears to be a conclusive case for unilateral over bilateral ECT.

  5. Drama to promote non-verbal communication skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Martina; Nixon, Lara; Broadfoot, Kirsten; Hofmeister, Marianna; Dornan, Tim

    2018-05-23

    Non-verbal communication skills (NVCS) help physicians to deliver relationship-centred care, and the effective use of NVCS is associated with improved patient satisfaction, better use of health services and high-quality clinical care. In contrast to verbal communication skills, NVCS training is under developed in communication curricula for the health care professions. One of the challenges teaching NVCS is their tacit nature. In this study, we evaluated drama exercises to raise awareness of NVCS by making familiar activities 'strange'. Workshops based on drama exercises were designed to heighten an awareness of sight, hearing, touch and proxemics in non-verbal communication. These were conducted at eight medical education conferences, held between 2014 and 2016, and were open to all conference participants. Workshops were evaluated by recording narrative data generated during the workshops and an open-ended questionnaire following the workshop. Data were analysed qualitatively, using thematic analysis. Non-verbal communication skills help doctors to deliver relationship-centred care RESULTS: One hundred and twelve participants attended workshops, 73 (65%) of whom completed an evaluation form: 56 physicians, nine medical students and eight non-physician faculty staff. Two themes were described: an increased awareness of NVCS and the importance of NVCS in relationship building. Drama exercises enabled participants to experience NVCS, such as sight, sound, proxemics and touch, in novel ways. Participants reflected on how NCVS contribute to developing trust and building relationships in clinical practice. Drama-based exercises elucidate the tacit nature of NVCS and require further evaluation in formal educational settings. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

  6. Hemispheric Lateralization of Verbal and Spatial Working Memory during Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagel, Bonnie J.; Herting, Megan M.; Maxwell, Emily C.; Bruno, Richard; Fair, Damien

    2013-01-01

    Adult functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) literature suggests that a left-right hemispheric dissociation may exist between verbal and spatial working memory (WM), respectively. However, investigation of this type has been obscured by incomparable verbal and spatial WM tasks and/or visual inspection at arbitrary thresholds as means to…

  7. Non-Verbal Communication Training: An Avenue for University Professionalizing Programs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazaille, Mariane

    2011-01-01

    In accordance with today's workplace expectations, many university programs identify the ability to communicate as a crucial asset for future professionals. Yet, if the teaching of verbal communication is clearly identifiable in most university programs, the same cannot be said of non-verbal communication (NVC). Knowing the importance of the…

  8. Role of Verbal Memory in Reading Text Comprehension of Individuals with Down Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levorato, Maria Chiara; Roch, Maja; Florit, Elena

    2011-01-01

    This study analyzed the relationship between verbal memory and reading text comprehension in individuals with Down syndrome. The hypothesis that verbal memory provides unique contribution to reading text comprehension after controlling for verbal skills was tested. Twenty-three individuals with Down syndrome (ages 11 years, 2 months-18 years, 1…

  9. Some Aspects of Verbal Politeness in Maghrebi Arabic Dialects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca D'Anna

    2014-12-01

    Positive politeness, on the other hand, seems to be frequently employed, without the occurrence of any FTA, in standardised and predictable ways, thus questioning Brown and Levinson’s theory to a certain extent. The two scholars, in facts, considered the necessity to redress a FTA as the primary reason for the existence of verbal politeness, leaving all the phenomena that contradicted this tenet to the vague domain of the speakers’ spontaneous verbal inventiveness. The expressions observed in Maghrebi dialects, on the contrary, are not spontaneous, but part of the competence of all mature native speakers, who are usually expected to perform them. This independent existence of verbal politeness, thus, represents one of the most interesting features of Maghrebi Arabic dialects and a field that still calls for further research and investigation.

  10. Verbal Bullying Changes Among Students Following an Educational Intervention Using the Integrated Model for Behavior Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naidoo, Saloshni; Satorius, Benn K; de Vries, Hein; Taylor, Myra

    2016-11-01

    Bullying behavior in schools can lead to psychosocial problems. School-based interventions are important in raising student awareness, developing their skills and in planning to reduce bullying behavior. A randomized controlled trial, using a school-based educational intervention to reduce verbal bullying, was conducted among grade 10 students in 16 urban and rural schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in 2013. Baseline and postintervention questionnaires, developed using the Integrated Model for Behavior Change theoretical model, were used to assess changes in verbal bullying. Postintervention there were reduced verbal bullying experiences. Improved social norms and awareness of verbal bullying were associated with reduced verbal bullying experiences and behavior. Although less likely to bully others verbally, girls were more likely to experience verbal bullying. Students with no living father were more likely to bully others verbally. The study findings indicate that a school-based intervention can positively impact on verbal bullying experiences and behavior. © 2016, American School Health Association.

  11. How Does the Linguistic Distance Between Spoken and Standard Language in Arabic Affect Recall and Recognition Performances During Verbal Memory Examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taha, Haitham

    2017-06-01

    The current research examined how Arabic diglossia affects verbal learning memory. Thirty native Arab college students were tested using auditory verbal memory test that was adapted according to the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and developed in three versions: Pure spoken language version (SL), pure standard language version (SA), and phonologically similar version (PS). The result showed that for immediate free-recall, the performances were better for the SL and the PS conditions compared to the SA one. However, for the parts of delayed recall and recognition, the results did not reveal any significant consistent effect of diglossia. Accordingly, it was suggested that diglossia has a significant effect on the storage and short term memory functions but not on long term memory functions. The results were discussed in light of different approaches in the field of bilingual memory.

  12. Verbal Autopsies in Rural Tanzania

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Maternal mortality rates in rural Tanzania are high. In preparation for the introduction of an intervention to reduce maternal deaths by distribution of misoprostol and erythromycin to women living in rural Rorya District, Mara Region, Tanzania, we conducted a limited verbal autopsy by surveying family members of women ...

  13. Mecanismos de humor verbal en Twitter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Simarro Vázquez

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The present article aims to characterize samples of verbal humor published on the social network Twitter. To do so, an analysis of 81 humorous texts published under the hashtag #otegi during 1 March 2016, on which date Arnaldo Otegi was released from prison after six years, was carried out. A pragmatic study of the tweets was performed, opting for the General Theory of Verbal Humor as a basis. The examination conducted reveals that the manner of presentation of opposing scripts, the logical mechanisms availed of to resolve this kind of incongruity, the special narrative strategies selected and the linguistic choices made are determined at all times by the circumstances in which the texts are presented and the upper limit constraint of 140 characters per Twitter publication.

  14. Consistency between verbal and non-verbal affective cues: a clue to speaker credibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillis, Randall L; Nilsen, Elizabeth S

    2017-06-01

    Listeners are exposed to inconsistencies in communication; for example, when speakers' words (i.e. verbal) are discrepant with their demonstrated emotions (i.e. non-verbal). Such inconsistencies introduce ambiguity, which may render a speaker to be a less credible source of information. Two experiments examined whether children make credibility discriminations based on the consistency of speakers' affect cues. In Experiment 1, school-age children (7- to 8-year-olds) preferred to solicit information from consistent speakers (e.g. those who provided a negative statement with negative affect), over novel speakers, to a greater extent than they preferred to solicit information from inconsistent speakers (e.g. those who provided a negative statement with positive affect) over novel speakers. Preschoolers (4- to 5-year-olds) did not demonstrate this preference. Experiment 2 showed that school-age children's ratings of speakers were influenced by speakers' affect consistency when the attribute being judged was related to information acquisition (speakers' believability, "weird" speech), but not general characteristics (speakers' friendliness, likeability). Together, findings suggest that school-age children are sensitive to, and use, the congruency of affect cues to determine whether individuals are credible sources of information.

  15. [Verbal and gestural communication in interpersonal interaction with Alzheimer's disease patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiaratura, Loris Tamara; Di Pastena, Angela; Askevis-Leherpeux, Françoise; Clément, Sylvain

    2015-03-01

    Communication can be defined as a verbal and non verbal exchange of thoughts and emotions. While verbal communication deficit in Alzheimer's disease is well documented, very little is known about gestural communication, especially in interpersonal situations. This study examines the production of gestures and its relations with verbal aspects of communication. Three patients suffering from moderately severe Alzheimer's disease were compared to three healthy adults. Each one were given a series of pictures and asked to explain which one she preferred and why. The interpersonal interaction was video recorded. Analyses concerned verbal production (quantity and quality) and gestures. Gestures were either non representational (i.e., gestures of small amplitude punctuating speech or accentuating some parts of utterance) or representational (i.e., referring to the object of the speech). Representational gestures were coded as iconic (depicting of concrete aspects), metaphoric (depicting of abstract meaning) or deictic (pointing toward an object). In comparison with healthy participants, patients revealed a decrease in quantity and quality of speech. Nevertheless, their production of gestures was always present. This pattern is in line with the conception that gestures and speech depend on different communicational systems and look inconsistent with the assumption of a parallel dissolution of gesture and speech. Moreover, analyzing the articulation between verbal and gestural dimensions suggests that representational gestures may compensate for speech deficits. It underlines the importance for the role of gestures in maintaining interpersonal communication.

  16. Music listening while you learn: no influence of background music on verbal learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jäncke, Lutz; Sandmann, Pascale

    2010-01-07

    Whether listening to background music enhances verbal learning performance is still disputed. In this study we investigated the influence of listening to background music on verbal learning performance and the associated brain activations. Musical excerpts were composed for this study to ensure that they were unknown to the subjects and designed to vary in tempo (fast vs. slow) and consonance (in-tune vs. out-of-tune). Noise was used as control stimulus. 75 subjects were randomly assigned to one of five groups and learned the presented verbal material (non-words with and without semantic connotation) with and without background music. Each group was exposed to one of five different background stimuli (in-tune fast, in-tune slow, out-of-tune fast, out-of-tune slow, and noise). As dependent variable, the number of learned words was used. In addition, event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) of the EEG alpha-band were calculated as a measure for cortical activation. We did not find any substantial and consistent influence of background music on verbal learning. There was neither an enhancement nor a decrease in verbal learning performance during the background stimulation conditions. We found however a stronger event-related desynchronization around 800 - 1200 ms after word presentation for the group exposed to in-tune fast music while they learned the verbal material. There was also a stronger event-related synchronization for the group exposed to out-of-tune fast music around 1600 - 2000 ms after word presentation. Verbal learning during the exposure to different background music varying in tempo and consonance did not influence learning of verbal material. There was neither an enhancing nor a detrimental effect on verbal learning performance. The EEG data suggest that the different acoustic background conditions evoke different cortical activations. The reason for these different cortical activations is unclear. The most

  17. Music listening while you learn: No influence of background music on verbal learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandmann Pascale

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Whether listening to background music enhances verbal learning performance is still disputed. In this study we investigated the influence of listening to background music on verbal learning performance and the associated brain activations. Methods Musical excerpts were composed for this study to ensure that they were unknown to the subjects and designed to vary in tempo (fast vs. slow and consonance (in-tune vs. out-of-tune. Noise was used as control stimulus. 75 subjects were randomly assigned to one of five groups and learned the presented verbal material (non-words with and without semantic connotation with and without background music. Each group was exposed to one of five different background stimuli (in-tune fast, in-tune slow, out-of-tune fast, out-of-tune slow, and noise. As dependent variable, the number of learned words was used. In addition, event-related desynchronization (ERD and event-related synchronization (ERS of the EEG alpha-band were calculated as a measure for cortical activation. Results We did not find any substantial and consistent influence of background music on verbal learning. There was neither an enhancement nor a decrease in verbal learning performance during the background stimulation conditions. We found however a stronger event-related desynchronization around 800 - 1200 ms after word presentation for the group exposed to in-tune fast music while they learned the verbal material. There was also a stronger event-related synchronization for the group exposed to out-of-tune fast music around 1600 - 2000 ms after word presentation. Conclusion Verbal learning during the exposure to different background music varying in tempo and consonance did not influence learning of verbal material. There was neither an enhancing nor a detrimental effect on verbal learning performance. The EEG data suggest that the different acoustic background conditions evoke different cortical activations. The reason for

  18. Strategic verbal rehearsal in adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities: A multi-centre European study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poloczek, Sebastian; Henry, Lucy A; Danielson, Henrik; Büttner, Gerhard; Mähler, Claudia; Messer, David J; Schuchardt, Kirsten; Molen, Mariët J van der

    2016-11-01

    There is a long-held view that verbal short-term memory problems of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) might be due to a deficit in verbal rehearsal. However, the evidence is inconclusive and word length effects as indicator of rehearsal have been criticised. The aim of this multi-site European study was to investigate verbal rehearsal in adolescents with mild ID (n=90) and a comparison group of typically developing children matched individually for mental age (MA, n=90). The investigation involved: (1) a word length experiment with non-verbal recall using pointing and (2) 'self-paced' inspection times to infer whether verbal strategies were utilised when memorising a set of pictorial items. The word length effect on recall did not interact with group, suggesting that adolescents with ID and MA comparisons used similar verbal strategies, possibly phonological recoding of picture names. The inspection time data suggested that high span individuals in both groups used verbal labelling or single item rehearsal on more demanding lists, as long named items had longer inspection times. The findings suggest that verbal strategy use is not specifically impaired in adolescents with mild ID and is mental age appropriate, supporting a developmental perspective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Co-verbal gestures among speakers with aphasia: Influence of aphasia severity, linguistic and semantic skills, and hemiplegia on gesture employment in oral discourse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Anthony Pak-Hin; Law, Sam-Po; Wat, Watson Ka-Chun; Lai, Christy

    2015-01-01

    The use of co-verbal gestures is common in human communication and has been reported to assist word retrieval and to facilitate verbal interactions. This study systematically investigated the impact of aphasia severity, integrity of semantic processing, and hemiplegia on the use of co-verbal gestures, with reference to gesture forms and functions, by 131 normal speakers, 48 individuals with aphasia and their controls. All participants were native Cantonese speakers. It was found that the severity of aphasia and verbal-semantic impairment was associated with significantly more co-verbal gestures. However, there was no relationship between right-sided hemiplegia and gesture employment. Moreover, significantly more gestures were employed by the speakers with aphasia, but about 10% of them did not gesture. Among those who used gestures, content-carrying gestures, including iconic, metaphoric, deictic gestures, and emblems, served the function of enhancing language content and providing information additional to the language content. As for the non-content carrying gestures, beats were used primarily for reinforcing speech prosody or guiding speech flow, while non-identifiable gestures were associated with assisting lexical retrieval or with no specific functions. The above findings would enhance our understanding of the use of various forms of co-verbal gestures in aphasic discourse production and their functions. Speech-language pathologists may also refer to the current annotation system and the results to guide clinical evaluation and remediation of gestures in aphasia. None. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Co-verbal gestures among speakers with aphasia: Influence of aphasia severity, linguistic and semantic skills, and hemiplegia on gesture employment in oral discourse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Anthony Pak-Hin; Law, Sam-Po; Wat, Watson Ka-Chun; Lai, Christy

    2015-01-01

    The use of co-verbal gestures is common in human communication and has been reported to assist word retrieval and to facilitate verbal interactions. This study systematically investigated the impact of aphasia severity, integrity of semantic processing, and hemiplegia on the use of co-verbal gestures, with reference to gesture forms and functions, by 131 normal speakers, 48 individuals with aphasia and their controls. All participants were native Cantonese speakers. It was found that the severity of aphasia and verbal-semantic impairment was associated with significantly more co-verbal gestures. However, there was no relationship between right-sided hemiplegia and gesture employment. Moreover, significantly more gestures were employed by the speakers with aphasia, but about 10% of them did not gesture. Among those who used gestures, content-carrying gestures, including iconic, metaphoric, deictic gestures, and emblems, served the function of enhancing language content and providing information additional to the language content. As for the non-content carrying gestures, beats were used primarily for reinforcing speech prosody or guiding speech flow, while non-identifiable gestures were associated with assisting lexical retrieval or with no specific functions. The above findings would enhance our understanding of the use of various forms of co-verbal gestures in aphasic discourse production and their functions. Speech-language pathologists may also refer to the current annotation system and the results to guide clinical evaluation and remediation of gestures in aphasia. PMID:26186256

  1. Speeded Verbal Responding in Adults Who Stutter: Are There Deficits in Linguistic Encoding?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hennessey, Neville W.; Nang, Charn Y.; Beilby, Janet M.

    2008-01-01

    Linguistic encoding deficits in people who stutter (PWS, n = 18) were investigated using auditory priming during picture naming and word vs. non-word comparisons during choice and simple verbal reaction time (RT) tasks. During picture naming, PWS did not differ significantly from normally fluent speakers (n = 18) in the magnitude of inhibition of…

  2. Reexamining the Relationship between Verbal Knowledge Background and Keyword Training for Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogben; Lawson

    1997-07-01

    The literature on keyword training presents a confusing picture of the usefulness of the keyword method for foreign language vocabulary learning by students with strong verbal knowledge backgrounds. This paper reviews research which notes the existence of conflicting sets of findings concerning the verbal background-keyword training relationship and presents the results of analyses which argue against the assertion made by McDaniel and Pressley (1984) that keyword training will have minimal effect on students with high verbal ability. Findings from regression analyses of data from two studies did not show that the relationship between keyword training and immediate recall performance was moderated by verbal knowledge background. The disparate sets of findings related to the keyword training-verbal knowledge relationship and themes emerging from other research suggest that this relationship requires further examination.

  3. Exploring Children’s Peer Relationships through Verbal and Non-verbal Communication: A Qualitative Action Research Focused on Waldorf Pedagogy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aida Milena Montenegro Mantilla

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzes the relationships that children around seven and eight years old establish in a classroom. It shows that peer relationships have a positive dimension with features such as the development of children’s creativity to communicate and modify norms. These features were found through an analysis of children’s verbal and non-verbal communication and an interdisciplinary view of children’s learning process from Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf Pedagogy, and Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, specialists in children’s cognitive and social dimensions. This research is an invitation to recognize children’s capacity to construct their own rules in peer relationships.

  4. Kreative metoder i verbal supervision

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Claus Haugaard

    2013-01-01

    , bevægelser i rummet, etc.) og 4) der primært kommunikeres via verbal-sproglige udvekslinger. Efter en diskussion af forholdet mellem kreativitet og kreative metoder, fokuseres der på relevansen af og måder til adgang til ubevidste manifestationer. Sproget non- og paraverbale betydning inddrages. Et centralt...

  5. Perceived Discrimination in LGBTIQ Discourse: A Typology of Verbal Discrimination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sol Rojas Lizana

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available New within the field of Discourse Analysis, Perceived Discrimination (PD is the study of discourse that focuses on the perspective of the victims of discrimination. This article explores the experiences of verbal discrimination as reported by eighteen LGBTIQ participants during semi-structured, co-constructed interviews. Data were classified in order to develop a taxonomy of discrimination based on Mellor’s (2003, 2004. This taxonomy foregrounds two types of discrimination: verbal and behavioural. In this paper, I exemplify the forms of verbal discrimination encountered and offer an analysis of the discourse used in the construction of the experiences and of the effects reported. The results show that verbal discrimination is an overt phenomenon and that participants are stressed by the ever present possibility of facing it. Verbal discrimination is mainly triggered by a perceived transgression to the normalised standards of people’s behaviour, movements and look in a heterosexist society. It presents three subtypes: name calling, abuse and remarks. These subtypes are described through the analysis of keywords, effects and expressions (such as faggot, gay, dyke, queer, the pronoun ‘it’, religious comments and other remarks. The type of discrimination used was associated with the level of acquaintance perpetrators have with the experiencers; that is, name calling was used by people unknown to the victims while abuse and remarks by acquaintances and family members. Participants resorted to several discursive strategies to convey their intentions. They used mitigation strategies when wanting to minimize the experience, hedging and repetition were used for emphasis, and to convey urgency and pervasiveness. Metaphorical expressions related to internal or external injuries were also used to express the powerful effect of verbal discrimination on people.

  6. Predictors of Verbal Working Memory in Children with Cerebral Palsy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peeters, Marieke; Verhoeven, Ludo; de Moor, Jan

    2009-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to examine the precursors of verbal working memory in 52 children with cerebral palsy with varying degrees of speech impairments in the first grade of special education. Following Baddeley's model of working memory, children's verbal working memory was measured by means of a forced-recognition task. As precursors…

  7. Is it me? Verbal self-monitoring neural network and clinical insight in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sapara, Adegboyega; Ffytche, Dominic H; Cooke, Michael A; Williams, Steven C R; Kumari, Veena

    2015-12-30

    Self-monitoring, defined as the ability to distinguish between self-generated stimuli from other-generated ones, is known to be impaired in schizophrenia. This impairment has been theorised as the basis for many of the core psychotic symptoms, in particular, poor clinical insight. This study aimed to investigate verbal self-monitoring related neural substrates of preserved and poor clinical insight in schizophrenia. It involved 40 stable schizophrenia outpatients, 20 with preserved and 20 with poor insight, and 20 healthy participants. All participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging with brain coverage covering key areas in the self-monitoring network during a verbal self-monitoring task. Healthy participants showed higher performance accuracy and greater thalamic activity than both preserved and poor insight patient groups. Preserved insight patients showed higher activity in the putamen extending into the caudate, insula and inferior frontal gyrus, compared to poor insight patients, and in the anterior cingulate and medial frontal gyrus, compared to healthy participants. Poor insight patients did not show greater activity in any brain area compared to preserved insight patients or healthy participants. Future studies may pursue therapeutic avenues, such as meta-cognitive therapies to promote self-monitoring or targeted stimulation of relevant brain areas, as means of enhancing insight in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. The impact of the teachers? non-verbal communication on success in teaching

    OpenAIRE

    BAMBAEEROO, FATEMEH; SHOKRPOUR, NASRIN

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers’ use of non-verbal communication and ...

  9. Formulation of the verbal thought process based on generative rules

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suehiro, N; Fujisaki, H

    1984-01-01

    As assumption is made on the generative nature of the verbal thought process, based on an analogy between language use and verbal thought. A procedure is then presented for acquiring the set of generative rules from a given set of concept strings, leading to an efficient representation of verbal knowledge. The non-terminal symbols derived in the acquisition process are found to correspond to concepts and superordinate concepts in the human process of verbal thought. The validity of the formulation and the efficiency of knowledge representation is demonstrated by an example in which knowledge of biological properties of animals is reorganized into a set of generative rules. The process of inductive inference is then defined as a generalization of the acquired knowledge, and the principle of maximum simplicity of rules is proposed as a possible criterion for such generalization. The proposal is also tested by an example in which only a small part of a systematic body of knowledge is utilized to make interferences on the unknown parts of the system. 6 references.

  10. Context, culture and (non-verbal) communication affect handover quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankel, Richard M; Flanagan, Mindy; Ebright, Patricia; Bergman, Alicia; O'Brien, Colleen M; Franks, Zamal; Allen, Andrew; Harris, Angela; Saleem, Jason J

    2012-12-01

    Transfers of care, also known as handovers, remain a substantial patient safety risk. Although research on handovers has been done since the 1980s, the science is incomplete. Surprisingly few interventions have been rigorously evaluated and, of those that have, few have resulted in long-term positive change. Researchers, both in medicine and other high reliability industries, agree that face-to-face handovers are the most reliable. It is not clear, however, what the term face-to-face means in actual practice. We studied the use of non-verbal behaviours, including gesture, posture, bodily orientation, facial expression, eye contact and physical distance, in the delivery of information during face-to-face handovers. To address this question and study the role of non-verbal behaviour on the quality and accuracy of handovers, we videotaped 52 nursing, medicine and surgery handovers covering 238 patients. Videotapes were analysed using immersion/crystallisation methods of qualitative data analysis. A team of six researchers met weekly for 18 months to view videos together using a consensus-building approach. Consensus was achieved on verbal, non-verbal, and physical themes and patterns observed in the data. We observed four patterns of non-verbal behaviour (NVB) during handovers: (1) joint focus of attention; (2) 'the poker hand'; (3) parallel play and (4) kerbside consultation. In terms of safety, joint focus of attention was deemed to have the best potential for high quality and reliability; however, it occurred infrequently, creating opportunities for education and improvement. Attention to patterns of NVB in face-to-face handovers coupled with education and practice can improve quality and reliability.

  11. O que se faz com a linguagem verbal?

    OpenAIRE

    Magnanti, Celestina

    2010-01-01

    Resumo: O objetivo do presente trabalho é apresentar, de forma sucinta, uma visão de como as diversas correntes lingüísticas abordam a questão da linguagem verbal quanto a suas funções e sua influência no ensino da língua materna.Abstract: The objective of the present work is to show, abridgedly, one point of view about how the different linguistic approaches study the question of the verbal language when we perspective its functions and influence on the modern language teaching.

  12. Effective Verbal Persuasion in Prayer, Business, and Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Russell Jay Hendel

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available What verbal techniques – persuasion, explanation and evaluation – yield superior results? Answers to this question are taken from the education, business and prayer literature. We show that the best verbal approaches i focus on the future, ii attribute causes that are internal and controllable like effort, iii advocate sub-goals that are specific and achievable short term and iv use imagery focusing on emotions of mastery and enjoyment. Three theories – attribution theory, goal setting theory and imagery studies – are used to justify the results.

  13. El lenguaje no verbal: un proceso cognitivo superior indispensable para el ser humano

    OpenAIRE

    Corrales Navarro, Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    El lenguaje no verbal ha sido vital para la conservación y evolución de nuestra especie. El presente artículo recopila datos sobre la importancia evolutiva del lenguaje no verbal para el homo sapiens sapiens, y explica que sin este importante proceso cognitivo, no hubiera sido posible el paso hacia el lenguaje verbal.

  14. Emotional Verbalization and Identification of Facial Expressions in Teenagers’ Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. S. Ivanova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper emphasizes the need for studying the subjective effectiveness criteria of interpersonal communication and importance of effective communication for personality development in adolescence. The problemof undeveloped representation of positive emotions in communication process is discussed. Both the identification and verbalization of emotions are regarded by the author as the basic communication skills. The experimental data regarding the longitude and age levels are described, the gender differences in identification and verbalization of emotions considered. The outcomes of experimental study demonstrate that the accuracy of facial emotional expressions of teenage boys and girls changes at different rates. The prospects of defining the age norms for identification and verbalization of emotions are analyzed.

  15. Longitudinal study of symptom severity and language in minimally verbal children with autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurm, Audrey; Manwaring, Stacy S; Swineford, Lauren; Farmer, Cristan

    2015-01-01

    A significant minority of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are considered 'minimally verbal' due to language development stagnating at a few words. Recent developments allow for the severity of ASD symptoms to be examined using Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) Social Affect (SA) and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors (RRB) domain severity scores. The aim of the current study was to explore language outcomes in a cohort of minimally verbal children with autism evaluated through the preschool years and determine if and how ASD symptom severity in core domains predicts the development of spoken language by age 5. The sample consisted of 70 children with autism aged 1-5 years at the first evaluation who were examined at least 1 year later, during their fifth year of age. The ADOS overall level of language item was used to categorize children as minimally verbal or having phrase speech, and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning was used as a continuous measure of expressive language. At Time 1, 65% (n = 47) of children in the sample were minimally verbal and by Time 2, 36% (n = 17 of 47) of them had developed phrase speech. While the Time 1 ADOS calibrated severity scores did not predict whether or not a child remained minimally verbal at Time 2, change in the SA calibrated severity score (but not RRB) was predictive of the continuous measure of expressive language. However, change in SA severity no longer predicted continuous expressive language when nonverbal cognitive ability was added to the model. Findings indicate that the severity of SA symptoms has some relationship with continuous language outcome, but not categorical. However, the omnipresent influence of nonverbal cognitive ability was confirmed in the current study, as the addition of it to the model rendered null the predictive utility of SA severity. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. © 2014 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  16. Entorhinal cortex volume measured with 3T MRI is positively correlated with the Wechsler memory scale-revised logical/verbal memory score for healthy subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goto, Masami; Abe, Osamu; Takao, Hidemasa; Inano, Sachiko; Mori, Harushi; Kunimatsu, Akira; Ohtomo, Kuni; Miyati, Tosiaki; Yoshikawa, Takeharu; Hayashi, Naoto; Kabasawa, Hiroyuki; Aoki, Shigeki; Ino, Kenji; Iida, Kyouhito; Yano, Keiichi

    2011-01-01

    Previous studies revealed a correlation between local brain volume and cognitive function. The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between local gray matter volume and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) logical/verbal memory (WMS-R-verbal) score in healthy adults using a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance scanner and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained in 1,169 healthy adults. The T1-weighted images in native space were bias-corrected, spatially normalized, and segmented into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid images with Statistical Parametric Mapping 5. To investigate regionally the specific effects of the WMS-R-verbal score on the gray matter images, simple regression analysis was performed by VBM treating age, total intracranial volume, and gender as confounding covariates. A P value of less than 0.05 corrected with false discovery rate in voxel difference was considered to be statistically significant. Our study showed a significant positive correlation between the WMS-R-verbal score and the bilateral entorhinal cortex volume. In the right entorhinal, T value is 4.75, and the size of the clusters is 155 voxels. In the left entorhinal, T value is 4.08, and the size of the clusters is 23 voxels. A significant negative correlation was not found. To our knowledge, this is the first VBM study showing that entorhinal cortex volume is positively correlated with the WMS-R-verbal score for healthy subjects. Therefore, in our structural neuroimaging study, we add evidence to the hypothesis that the entorhinal cortex is involved in verbal memory processing. (orig.)

  17. Entorhinal cortex volume measured with 3T MRI is positively correlated with the Wechsler memory scale-revised logical/verbal memory score for healthy subjects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goto, Masami [University of Tokyo Hospital, Department of Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Kanazawa University, Tsunomatyou, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa (Japan); Abe, Osamu; Takao, Hidemasa; Inano, Sachiko; Mori, Harushi; Kunimatsu, Akira; Ohtomo, Kuni [University of Tokyo Hospital, Department of Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); Miyati, Tosiaki [Kanazawa University, Tsunomatyou, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa (Japan); Yoshikawa, Takeharu; Hayashi, Naoto [University of Tokyo Hospital, Department of Computational Diagnostic Radiology and Preventive Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Kabasawa, Hiroyuki [GE Healthcare, Japan Applied Science Laboratory, Hino (Japan); Aoki, Shigeki [Juntendo University, Department of Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); Ino, Kenji; Iida, Kyouhito; Yano, Keiichi [University of Tokyo Hospital, Department of Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan)

    2011-08-15

    Previous studies revealed a correlation between local brain volume and cognitive function. The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between local gray matter volume and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) logical/verbal memory (WMS-R-verbal) score in healthy adults using a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance scanner and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained in 1,169 healthy adults. The T1-weighted images in native space were bias-corrected, spatially normalized, and segmented into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid images with Statistical Parametric Mapping 5. To investigate regionally the specific effects of the WMS-R-verbal score on the gray matter images, simple regression analysis was performed by VBM treating age, total intracranial volume, and gender as confounding covariates. A P value of less than 0.05 corrected with false discovery rate in voxel difference was considered to be statistically significant. Our study showed a significant positive correlation between the WMS-R-verbal score and the bilateral entorhinal cortex volume. In the right entorhinal, T value is 4.75, and the size of the clusters is 155 voxels. In the left entorhinal, T value is 4.08, and the size of the clusters is 23 voxels. A significant negative correlation was not found. To our knowledge, this is the first VBM study showing that entorhinal cortex volume is positively correlated with the WMS-R-verbal score for healthy subjects. Therefore, in our structural neuroimaging study, we add evidence to the hypothesis that the entorhinal cortex is involved in verbal memory processing. (orig.)

  18. Domain-Generality of Timing-Based Serial Order Processes in Short-Term Memory: New Insights from Musical and Verbal Domains.

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    Simon Gorin

    Full Text Available Several models in the verbal domain of short-term memory (STM consider a dissociation between item and order processing. This view is supported by data demonstrating that different types of time-based interference have a greater effect on memory for the order of to-be-remembered items than on memory for the items themselves. The present study investigated the domain-generality of the item versus serial order dissociation by comparing the differential effects of time-based interfering tasks, such as rhythmic interference and articulatory suppression, on item and order processing in verbal and musical STM domains. In Experiment 1, participants had to maintain sequences of verbal or musical information in STM, followed by a probe sequence, this under different conditions of interference (no-interference, rhythmic interference, articulatory suppression. They were required to decide whether all items of the probe list matched those of the memory list (item condition or whether the order of the items in the probe sequence matched the order in the memory list (order condition. In Experiment 2, participants performed a serial order probe recognition task for verbal and musical sequences ensuring sequential maintenance processes, under no-interference or rhythmic interference conditions. For Experiment 1, serial order recognition was not significantly more impacted by interfering tasks than was item recognition, this for both verbal and musical domains. For Experiment 2, we observed selective interference of the rhythmic interference condition on both musical and verbal order STM tasks. Overall, the results suggest a similar and selective sensitivity to time-based interference for serial order STM in verbal and musical domains, but only when the STM tasks ensure sequential maintenance processes.

  19. Domain-Generality of Timing-Based Serial Order Processes in Short-Term Memory: New Insights from Musical and Verbal Domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorin, Simon; Kowialiewski, Benjamin; Majerus, Steve

    2016-01-01

    Several models in the verbal domain of short-term memory (STM) consider a dissociation between item and order processing. This view is supported by data demonstrating that different types of time-based interference have a greater effect on memory for the order of to-be-remembered items than on memory for the items themselves. The present study investigated the domain-generality of the item versus serial order dissociation by comparing the differential effects of time-based interfering tasks, such as rhythmic interference and articulatory suppression, on item and order processing in verbal and musical STM domains. In Experiment 1, participants had to maintain sequences of verbal or musical information in STM, followed by a probe sequence, this under different conditions of interference (no-interference, rhythmic interference, articulatory suppression). They were required to decide whether all items of the probe list matched those of the memory list (item condition) or whether the order of the items in the probe sequence matched the order in the memory list (order condition). In Experiment 2, participants performed a serial order probe recognition task for verbal and musical sequences ensuring sequential maintenance processes, under no-interference or rhythmic interference conditions. For Experiment 1, serial order recognition was not significantly more impacted by interfering tasks than was item recognition, this for both verbal and musical domains. For Experiment 2, we observed selective interference of the rhythmic interference condition on both musical and verbal order STM tasks. Overall, the results suggest a similar and selective sensitivity to time-based interference for serial order STM in verbal and musical domains, but only when the STM tasks ensure sequential maintenance processes.

  20. A Closer Look at the Pangasinan Verbal Affixes maN- and oN-

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    Francisco C. Rosario, Jr.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to present a simple description and discussion of the semantic and grammatical functions of the Pangasinan verbal affixes maN- and oN-. The semantic description of the functions of these Pangasinan verbal affixes was based on the meanings derived from the combination of the verbal affix and a list of compatible verb roots. Verb roots that are semantically related were also identified and classified to present an evidence that support the view that in particular semantic classes of verb roots, the root-affix correspondence is regular. The grammatical functions, on the other hand, were determined based on the type of arguments selected by the verbs, which were derived using the two verbal affixes. At least 370 verb roots were analyzed to identify the semantic and grammatical functions of these verbal affixes.

  1. The Development of Rehearsal in Verbal Short-Term Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Jarrold, Christopher; Hall, Debbora

    2013-01-01

    Verbal short-term memory, as indexed by immediate serial recall tasks (in which participants must recall several stimuli in order, immediately after presentation), develops considerably across middle childhood. One explanation for this age-related change is that children's ability to rehearse verbal material increases during this period, and one particularly influential version of this account is that only older children engage in any form of rehearsal. In this article, we critique evidence t...

  2. Separating discriminative and function-altering effects of verbal stimuli

    OpenAIRE

    Schlinger, Henry D.

    1993-01-01

    Ever since Skinner's first discussion of rule-governed behavior, behavior analysts have continued to define rules, either explicitly or implicitly, as verbal discriminative stimuli. Consequently, it is not difficult to find, in the literature on rule-governed behavior, references to stimulus control, antecedent control, or to rules occasioning behavior. However, some verbal stimuli have effects on behavior that are not easily described as discriminative. Such stimuli don't evoke behavior as d...

  3. Long-Term Treatment with Paroxetine Increases Verbal Declarative Memory and Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermetten, Eric; Vythilingam, Meena; Southwick, Steven M.; Charney, Dennis S.; Bremner, J. Douglas

    2011-01-01

    Background Animal studies have shown that stress is associated with damage to the hippocampus, inhibition of neurogenesis, and deficits in hippocampal-based memory dysfunction. Studies in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found deficits in hippocampal-based declarative verbal memory and smaller hippocampal volume, as measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Recent preclinical evidence has shown that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors promote neurogenesis and reverse the effects of stress on hippocampal atrophy. This study assessed the effects of long-term treatment with paroxetine on hippocampal volume and declarative memory performance in PTSD. Methods Declarative memory was assessed with the Wechsler Memory Scale–Revised and Selective Reminding Test before and after 9–12 months of treatment with paroxetine in PTSD. Hippocampal volume was measured with MRI. Of the 28 patients who started the protocol, 23 completed the full course of treatment and neuropsychological testing. Twenty patients were able to complete MRI imaging. Results Patients with PTSD showed a significant improvement in PTSD symptoms with treatment. Treatment resulted in significant improvements in verbal declarative memory and a 4.6% increase in mean hippocampal volume. Conclusions These findings suggest that long-term treatment with paroxetine is associated with improvement of verbal declarative memory deficits and an increase in hippocampal volume in PTSD. PMID:14512209

  4. Reprint of "Mathematics as verbal behavior".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marr, M Jackson

    2015-05-01

    "Behavior which is effective only through the mediation of other persons has so many distinguishing dynamic and topographical properties that a special treatment is justified and indeed demanded" (Skinner, 1957, p. 2). Skinner's demand for a special treatment of verbal behavior can be extended within that field to domains such as music, poetry, drama, and the topic of this paper: mathematics. For centuries, mathematics has been of special concern to philosophers who have continually argued to the present day about what some deem its "special nature." Two interrelated principal questions have been: (1) Are the subjects of mathematical interest pre-existing in some transcendental realm and thus are "discovered" as one might discover a new planet; and (2) Why is mathematics so effective in the practices of science and engineering even though originally such mathematics was "pure" with applications neither contemplated or even desired? I argue that considering the actual practice of mathematics in its history and in the context of acquired verbal behavior one can address at least some of its apparent mysteries. To this end, I discuss some of the structural and functional features of mathematics including verbal operants, rule-and contingency-modulated behavior, relational frames, the shaping of abstraction, and the development of intuition. How is it possible to understand Nature by properly talking about it? Essentially, it is because nature taught us how to talk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Picture versus words: A comparison of pictorial and verbal informed assent formats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siddharth Dutt

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background for the Study: Informed consent is a process of obtaining permission from the participant to participate in research. Involving children in a research requires them to give their “assent” for participation. Informed assent is obtained from children even after their guardians have given consent for participation. Studies have shown that children have difficulty understanding the key elements of research process such as right to withdraw from the study or the meaning of “harm” involved in the research process. Further, the studies have also propounded that using child-friendly methods such as using pictures and simple language would facilitate children's understanding. Objectives: In this study, pictorial and verbal assent formats were compared find out which format is suitable for children's understanding of informed assent with respect to research. Methods: A sample of 389 school going children and adolescents of both the gender, ranging from 7 to 16 years were considered for the study. The sample was randomly divided into two groups, where for one group (n = 197, pictorial assent format was administered and another group (n = 192, verbal assent format was administered. The pictorial assent format was developed for the study by the corresponding author. Results and Conclusions: Analysis revealed that there was a significant level of interaction between gender and the two assent formats. Males were able to understand pictorial assent format better compared to the females, whereas females were able to understand verbal assent format better than the males, when age and education were considered as covariates. Further, it was found that as age increases there is better understanding of research processes in both the formats. Hence, while the process of obtaining assent for participation in research, age of child must be considered and with respect to gender differences males tend to prefer pictorial formats whereas females tend to

  6. Effects of a school-based instrumental music program on verbal and visual memory in primary school children: a longitudinal study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingo eRoden

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the effects of a school-based instrumental training program on the development of verbal and visual memory skills in primary school children. Participants either took part in a music program with weekly 45 minutes sessions of instrumental lessons in small groups at school, or they received extended natural science training. A third group of children did not receive additional training. Each child completed verbal and visual memory tests for three times over a period of 18 months. Significant Group by Time interactions were found in the measures of verbal memory. Children in the music group showed greater improvements than children in the control groups after controlling for children's socio-economic background, age and IQ. No differences between groups were found in the visual memory tests. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research by suggesting that children receiving music training may benefit from improvements in their verbal memory skills.

  7. Effects of a school-based instrumental music program on verbal and visual memory in primary school children: a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roden, Ingo; Kreutz, Gunter; Bongard, Stephan

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effects of a school-based instrumental training program on the development of verbal and visual memory skills in primary school children. Participants either took part in a music program with weekly 45 min sessions of instrumental lessons in small groups at school, or they received extended natural science training. A third group of children did not receive additional training. Each child completed verbal and visual memory tests three times over a period of 18 months. Significant Group by Time interactions were found in the measures of verbal memory. Children in the music group showed greater improvements than children in the control groups after controlling for children's socio-economic background, age, and IQ. No differences between groups were found in the visual memory tests. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research by suggesting that children receiving music training may benefit from improvements in their verbal memory skills.

  8. Examining the Relative Contribution of Memory Updating, Attention Focus Switching, and Sustained Attention to Children’s Verbal Working Memory Span

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beula M. Magimairaj

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Whereas considerable developmental memory research has examined the contributions of short-term memory, processing efficiency, retention duration, and scope of attention to complex memory span, little is known about the influence of controlled attention. The present study investigated the relative influence of three understudied attention mechanisms on the verbal working memory span of school-age children: memory updating; attention focus switching; and sustained attention. Results of general linear modeling revealed that, after controlling for age, only updating accuracy emerged as a significant predictor of verbal working memory span. Memory updating speed (that subsumed attention focus switching speed also contributed but was mediated by age. The results extend the developmental memory literature by implicating the mechanism of memory updating and developmental improvement in speed of attention focus switching and updating as critical contributors to children’s verbal working memory. Theoretically, the results provide substantively new information about the role of domain-general executive attention in children’s verbal working memory.

  9. Effects of a School-Based Instrumental Music Program on Verbal and Visual Memory in Primary School Children: A Longitudinal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roden, Ingo; Kreutz, Gunter; Bongard, Stephan

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effects of a school-based instrumental training program on the development of verbal and visual memory skills in primary school children. Participants either took part in a music program with weekly 45 min sessions of instrumental lessons in small groups at school, or they received extended natural science training. A third group of children did not receive additional training. Each child completed verbal and visual memory tests three times over a period of 18 months. Significant Group by Time interactions were found in the measures of verbal memory. Children in the music group showed greater improvements than children in the control groups after controlling for children’s socio-economic background, age, and IQ. No differences between groups were found in the visual memory tests. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research by suggesting that children receiving music training may benefit from improvements in their verbal memory skills. PMID:23267341

  10. Correlations of Male College Students' Verbal Response Mode Use in Psychotherapy with Measures of Psychological Disturbance and Psychotherapy Outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDaniel, Susan H.; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Compared verbal response mode use by male students with measures of clients' psychological distress, disturbance, and change. Results indicated more distressed clients used a higher percentage of disclosures and lower percentage of edifications, clients who improved more participated more, no relationship between improvement in psychotherapy and…

  11. Verbal communication among Alzheimer's disease patients, their caregivers, and primary care physicians during primary care office visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Karen L; Lingler, Jennifer H; Schulz, Richard

    2009-11-01

    Primary care visits of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) often involve communication among patients, family caregivers, and primary care physicians (PCPs). The objective of this study was to understand the nature of each individual's verbal participation in these triadic interactions. To define the verbal communication dynamics of AD care triads, we compared verbal participation (percent of total visit speech) by each participant in patient/caregiver/PCP triads. Twenty-three triads were audio taped during a routine primary care visit. Rates of verbal participation were described and effects of patient cognitive status (MMSE score, verbal fluency) on verbal participation were assessed. PCP verbal participation was highest at 53% of total visit speech, followed by caregivers (31%) and patients (16%). Patient cognitive measures were related to patient and caregiver verbal participation, but not to PCP participation. Caregiver satisfaction with interpersonal treatment by PCP was positively related to caregiver's own verbal participation. Caregivers of AD patients and PCPs maintain active, coordinated verbal participation in primary care visits while patients participate less. Encouraging verbal participation by AD patients and their caregivers may increase the AD patient's active role and caregiver satisfaction with primary care visits.

  12. Verbal protocols as methodological resources: research evidence

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    Alessandra Baldo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This article aims at reflecting on the use of verbal protocols as a methodological resource in qualitative research, more specifically on the aspect regarded as the main limitation of a study about lexical inferencing in L2 (BALDO; VELASQUES, 2010: its subjective trait. The article begins with a brief literature review on protocols, followed by a description of the study in which they were employed as methodological resources. Based on that, protocol subjectivity is illustrated through samples of unparalleled data classification, carried out independently by two researchers. In the final section, the path followed to minimize the problem is presented, intending to contribute to improve efficiency in the use of verbal protocols in future research.

  13. Independent and Combined Effects of Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Bilingualism on Children's Vocabulary and Verbal Short-Term Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meir, Natalia; Armon-Lotem, Sharon

    2017-01-01

    The current study explores the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) and bilingualism on the linguistic skills and verbal short-term memory of preschool children. In previous studies comparing children of low and mid-high SES, the terms "a child with low-SES" and "a child speaking a minority language" are often interchangeable, not enabling differentiated evaluation of these two variables. The present study controls for this confluence by testing children born and residing in the same country and attending the same kindergartens, with all bilingual children speaking the same heritage language (HL-Russian). A total of 120 children (88 bilingual children: 44 with low SES; and 32 monolingual children: 16 with low SES) with typical language development, aged 5; 7-6; 7, were tested in the societal language (SL-Hebrew) on expressive vocabulary and three repetition tasks [forward digit span (FWD), nonword repetition (NWR), and sentence repetition (SRep)], which tap into verbal short-term memory. The results indicated that SES and bilingualism impact different child abilities. Bilingualism is associated with decreased vocabulary size and lower performance on verbal short-term memory tasks with higher linguistic load in the SL-Hebrew. The negative effect of bilingualism on verbal short-term memory disappears once vocabulary is accounted for. SES influences not only linguistic performance, but also verbal short-term memory with lowest linguistic load. The negative effect of SES cannot be solely attributed to lower vocabulary scores, suggesting that an unprivileged background has a negative impact on children's cognitive development beyond a linguistic disadvantage. The results have important clinical implications and call for more research exploring the varied impact of language and life experience on children's linguistic and cognitive skills.

  14. The Relationship of Student Teachers' Bureaucratic Orientation to Verbal Classroom Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturm, Dieter W. F.

    1979-01-01

    Determines the relationship of student teachers' commitment to values, attitudes, and behaviors characteristically fostered by bureaucratic organizations and their verbal classroom behavior while teaching. Findings reveal no difference in verbal classroom behavior of student teachers high and low in bureaucratic orientation, and no difference in…

  15. PENGARUH DARI PROBLEM POSING METHOD TERHADAP KREATIVITAS VERBAL SISWA SMP KELAS VII

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    Bagus Priambodo

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Verbal creativity is the ability to think fluent, flexible, and original that manifested through the words. Psychological freedom is one factor that can develop creativity. One alternative teaching methods that provide freedom in an atmosphere of learning is the Problem Posing Method (PPM which is triggered by Paulo Freire. This research aims to determine the presence or absence of the influence of PPM on verbal creativity. Characteristic of the subjects was junior high school students in grade 7th, received conventional learning materials, and have never had learning by using PPM. This study used a non-randomized pretest-posttest control group design. Subjects in the study were divided into two, experimental group (N = 33 and control group (N= 35. The data was collected using the Verbal Creativity Test. The results of hypothesis testing used Independent Sample T Test techniques showed the differences of mean = 3.294, α = 0.014 with (p<0.05. Keywords: Verbal creativity, problem posing method, a test of verbal creativity, junior high school students

  16. Bilateral generic working memory circuit requires left-lateralized addition for verbal processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ray, Manaan Kar; Mackay, Clare E; Harmer, Catherine J; Crow, Timothy J

    2008-06-01

    According to the Baddeley-Hitch model, phonological and visuospatial representations are separable components of working memory (WM) linked by a central executive. The traditional view that the separation reflects the relative contribution of the 2 hemispheres (verbal WM--left; spatial WM--right) has been challenged by the position that a common bilateral frontoparietal network subserves both domains. Here, we test the hypothesis that there is a generic WM circuit that recruits additional specialized regions for verbal and spatial processing. We designed a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm to elicit activation in the WM circuit for verbal and spatial information using identical stimuli and applied this in 33 healthy controls. We detected left-lateralized quantitative differences in the left frontal and temporal lobe for verbal > spatial WM but no areas of activation for spatial > verbal WM. We speculate that spatial WM is analogous to a "generic" bilateral frontoparietal WM circuit we inherited from our great ape ancestors that evolved, by recruitment of additional left-lateralized frontal and temporal regions, to accommodate language.

  17. The neurodevelopmental differences of increasing verbal working memory demand in children and adults

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    V.M. Vogan

    2016-02-01

    We used fMRI and a 1-back verbal WM task with six levels of difficulty to examine the neurodevelopmental changes in WM function in 40 participants, twenty-four children (ages 9–15 yr and sixteen young adults (ages 20–25 yr. Children and adults both demonstrated an opposing system of cognitive processes with increasing cognitive demand, where areas related to WM (frontal and parietal regions increased in activity, and areas associated with the default mode network decreased in activity. Although there were many similarities in the neural activation patterns associated with increasing verbal WM capacity in children and adults, significant changes in the fMRI responses were seen with age. Adults showed greater load-dependent changes than children in WM in the bilateral superior parietal gyri, inferior frontal and left middle frontal gyri and right cerebellum. Compared to children, adults also showed greater decreasing activation across WM load in the bilateral anterior cingulate, anterior medial prefrontal gyrus, right superior lateral temporal gyrus and left posterior cingulate. These results demonstrate that while children and adults activate similar neural networks in response to verbal WM tasks, the extent to which they rely on these areas in response to increasing cognitive load evolves between childhood and adulthood.

  18. The technique of «Subliminal verbal suggestion for the treatment of [pseudo]obsessions»

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. V. Danilevska

    2016-03-01

    schizophrenia patients with [pseudo]obsessions in the structure of the disease treatment. Proven therapeutic efficiency of the developed technique, was confirmed by clinical psychopathological and psychodiagnostic study. Patients who underwent treatment with the use of "Subliminal verbal suggestion for the treatment of [pseudo]obsessions" techniques in addition to standard therapy had a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of the [pseudo]obsessions, improved smoother speech and thinking, reduce anxiety, mood enhancement, normalization of lifestyle, the violation of which was associated with a [pseudo]obsessions, compared to the comparison group.

  19. Visceral States Call for Visceral Measures: Verbal Overshadowing of Hunger Ratings Across Assessment Modalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creswell, Kasey G; Sayette, Michael A; Schooler, Jonathan W; Wright, Aidan G C; Pacilio, Laura E

    2018-03-01

    We introduce a nonverbal "visceral" measure of hunger (i.e., squeezing a handheld dynamometer) and provide the first evidence of verbal overshadowing effects in this visceral domain. We presented 106 participants with popcorn and recorded their hunger levels in one of three conditions: (1) first report hunger using a traditional self-report rating scale (i.e., verbal measure) and then indicate hunger by squeezing a dynamometer (i.e., nonverbal measure), (2) first indicate hunger nonverbally and then indicate hunger verbally, or (3) indicate hunger only nonverbally. As hypothesized, nonverbal measures of hunger predicted subsequent eating behavior when they were uncontaminated by verbal measures-either because they preceded verbal measures of hunger or because they were the sole measure of hunger. Moreover, nonverbal measures of hunger were a better predictor of eating behavior than verbal measures. Implications of the study for communicating embodied experiences in a way that escapes the confines of symbolic representations are discussed.

  20. Expanded pharmacy technician roles: Accepting verbal prescriptions and communicating prescription transfers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, Timothy P; Adams, Alex J

    2017-11-01

    As the role of the clinical pharmacist continues to develop and advance, it is critical to ensure pharmacists can operate in a practice environment and workflow that supports the full deployment of their clinical skills. When pharmacy technician roles are optimized, patient safety can be enhanced and pharmacists may dedicate more time to advanced clinical services. Currently, 17 states allow technicians to accept verbal prescriptions called in by a prescriber or prescriber's agent, or transfer a prescription order from one pharmacy to another. States that allow these activities generally put few legal limitations on them, and instead defer to the professional judgment of the supervising pharmacist whether to delegate these tasks or not. These activities were more likely to be seen in states that require technicians to be registered and certified, and in states that have accountability mechanisms (e.g., discipline authority) in place for technicians. There is little evidence to suggest these tasks cannot be performed safely and accurately by appropriately trained technicians, and the track record of success with these tasks spans four decades in some states. Pharmacists can adopt strong practice policies and procedures to mitigate the risk of harm from verbal orders, such as instituting read-back/spell-back techniques, or requiring the indication for each phoned-in medication, among other strategies. Pharmacists may also exercise discretion in deciding to whom to delegate these tasks. As the legal environment becomes more permissive, we foresee investment in more robust education and training of technicians to cover these activities. Thus, with the adoption of robust practice policies and procedures, delegation of verbal orders and prescription transfers can be safe and effective, remove undue stress on pharmacists, and potentially free up pharmacist time for higher-order clinical care. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. A associação entre a suspeita inicial de perda auditiva e a ausência de comunicação verbal em crianças com transtornos do espectro autístico The association between an initial suspicion of hearing loss and the absence of verbal communication in children with autism spectrum disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaine Colombo Sousa

    2009-01-01

    carried out analyzing 54 anamneses of individuals with diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders. From each case history, it was obtained the records of the initial suspicion of hearing loss, mentioned by family members. The degree of association between the initial suspicion of hearing loss and the type of communicative performance (verbal and non-verbal was verified. After that, hearing assessments were tracked down to confirm the pertinence of the hearing complaint mentioned. The data were statistically analysed using Chi-Square Test and Fisher's Exact Test. A significance level of 0.05 was adopted. RESULTS: It was verified that 62.96% of the parents of children with autism (both verbal and non-verbal exhibited an initial suspicion of hearing loss as the first etiology. The hearing assessment demonstrated that only 11.11% of the individuals with non-verbal communication and none of those with verbal communication actually had some type of hearing impairment. CONCLUSIONS: The number of children with initial suspicion of hearing loss was significant, regardless whether these individuals had verbal or non-verbal communication. However, in the association analysis between communicative performance and suspicion of hearing impairments, the results were significantly greater for non-verbal children. This fact leads to a reflection on the importance of sensitization of the professionals who act in childcare clinic regarding the search for a differential diagnosis between hearing impairment and autistic spectrum disorders.

  2. Teaching Literacy Skills to French Minimally Verbal School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with the Serious Game SEMA-TIC: An Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serret, Sylvie; Hun, Stéphanie; Thümmler, Susanne; Pierron, Prescillia; Santos, Andreia; Bourgeois, Jérémy; Askenazy, Florence

    2017-01-01

    Learning to read is very challenging for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but also very important, as it can give them access to new knowledge. This is even more challenging in minimally verbal children, who do not have the verbal abilities to learn through usual methods. To address the learning of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD, we designed the serious game SEMA-TIC, which relies on non-verbal cognitive skills and uses specific learning strategies adapted to the features of autistic individuals. This study investigated the usability of SEMA-TIC (in terms of adaptability, efficiency, and effectiveness) for the acquisition of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD. Twenty-five children with ASD and no functional language participated in the study. Children in the training group received the SEMA-TIC training over 23 weeks (on average), while no intervention was provided to children in the non-training group. Results indicated that SEMA-TIC presents a suitable usability, as all participants were able to play (adaptability), to complete the training (efficiency) and to acquire significant literacy skills (effectiveness). Indeed, the literacy skills in the training group significantly improved after the training, as measured by specific experimental tasks (alphabet knowledge, word reading, word-non-word discrimination, sentence reading and word segmentation; all p ≤ 0.001) compared to the non-training group. More importantly, 3 out of 12 children of the training group could be considered as word decoders at the end of the intervention, whereas no children of the non-training group became able to decode words efficiently. The present study thus brings preliminary evidence that French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD are able to learn literacy skills through SEMA-TIC, a specific computerized intervention consisting in a serious game based on non-verbal cognitive

  3. Teaching Literacy Skills to French Minimally Verbal School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with the Serious Game SEMA-TIC: An Exploratory Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serret, Sylvie; Hun, Stéphanie; Thümmler, Susanne; Pierron, Prescillia; Santos, Andreia; Bourgeois, Jérémy; Askenazy, Florence

    2017-01-01

    Learning to read is very challenging for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but also very important, as it can give them access to new knowledge. This is even more challenging in minimally verbal children, who do not have the verbal abilities to learn through usual methods. To address the learning of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD, we designed the serious game SEMA-TIC, which relies on non-verbal cognitive skills and uses specific learning strategies adapted to the features of autistic individuals. This study investigated the usability of SEMA-TIC (in terms of adaptability, efficiency, and effectiveness) for the acquisition of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD. Twenty-five children with ASD and no functional language participated in the study. Children in the training group received the SEMA-TIC training over 23 weeks (on average), while no intervention was provided to children in the non-training group. Results indicated that SEMA-TIC presents a suitable usability, as all participants were able to play (adaptability), to complete the training (efficiency) and to acquire significant literacy skills (effectiveness). Indeed, the literacy skills in the training group significantly improved after the training, as measured by specific experimental tasks (alphabet knowledge, word reading, word-non-word discrimination, sentence reading and word segmentation; all p ≤ 0.001) compared to the non-training group. More importantly, 3 out of 12 children of the training group could be considered as word decoders at the end of the intervention, whereas no children of the non-training group became able to decode words efficiently. The present study thus brings preliminary evidence that French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD are able to learn literacy skills through SEMA-TIC, a specific computerized intervention consisting in a serious game based on non-verbal cognitive

  4. Teaching Literacy Skills to French Minimally Verbal School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with the Serious Game SEMA-TIC: An Exploratory Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvie Serret

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Learning to read is very challenging for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD, but also very important, as it can give them access to new knowledge. This is even more challenging in minimally verbal children, who do not have the verbal abilities to learn through usual methods. To address the learning of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD, we designed the serious game SEMA-TIC, which relies on non-verbal cognitive skills and uses specific learning strategies adapted to the features of autistic individuals. This study investigated the usability of SEMA-TIC (in terms of adaptability, efficiency, and effectiveness for the acquisition of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD. Twenty-five children with ASD and no functional language participated in the study. Children in the training group received the SEMA-TIC training over 23 weeks (on average, while no intervention was provided to children in the non-training group. Results indicated that SEMA-TIC presents a suitable usability, as all participants were able to play (adaptability, to complete the training (efficiency and to acquire significant literacy skills (effectiveness. Indeed, the literacy skills in the training group significantly improved after the training, as measured by specific experimental tasks (alphabet knowledge, word reading, word-non-word discrimination, sentence reading and word segmentation; all p ≤ 0.001 compared to the non-training group. More importantly, 3 out of 12 children of the training group could be considered as word decoders at the end of the intervention, whereas no children of the non-training group became able to decode words efficiently. The present study thus brings preliminary evidence that French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD are able to learn literacy skills through SEMA-TIC, a specific computerized intervention consisting in a serious game based on non-verbal

  5. Sentence processing and verbal working memory in a white-matter-disconnection patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Lars; Cunitz, Katrin; Obleser, Jonas; Friederici, Angela D

    2014-08-01

    The Arcuate Fasciculus/Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (AF/SLF) is the white-matter bundle that connects posterior superior temporal and inferior frontal cortex. Its causal functional role in sentence processing and verbal working memory is currently under debate. While impairments of sentence processing and verbal working memory often co-occur in patients suffering from AF/SLF damage, it is unclear whether these impairments result from shared white-matter damage to the verbal-working-memory network. The present study sought to specify the behavioral consequences of focal AF/SLF damage for sentence processing and verbal working memory, which were assessed in a single patient suffering from a cleft-like lesion spanning the deep left superior temporal gyrus, sparing most surrounding gray matter. While tractography suggests that the ventral fronto-temporal white-matter bundle is intact in this patient, the AF/SLF was not visible to tractography. In line with the hypothesis that the AF/SLF is causally involved in sentence processing, the patient׳s performance was selectively impaired on sentences that jointly involve both complex word orders and long word-storage intervals. However, the patient was unimpaired on sentences that only involved long word-storage intervals without involving complex word orders. On the contrary, the patient performed generally worse than a control group across standard verbal-working-memory tests. We conclude that the AF/SLF not only plays a causal role in sentence processing, linking regions of the left dorsal inferior frontal gyrus to the temporo-parietal region, but moreover plays a crucial role in verbal working memory, linking regions of the left ventral inferior frontal gyrus to the left temporo-parietal region. Together, the specific sentence-processing impairment and the more general verbal-working-memory impairment may imply that the AF/SLF subserves both sentence processing and verbal working memory, possibly pointing to the AF

  6. Verbal creativity in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Teresa Q; Miller, Zachary A; Adhimoolam, Babu; Zackey, Diana D; Khan, Baber K; Ketelle, Robin; Rankin, Katherine P; Miller, Bruce L

    2015-02-01

    Emergence of visual and musical creativity in the setting of neurologic disease has been reported in patients with semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), also called semantic dementia (SD). It is hypothesized that loss of left anterior frontotemporal function facilitates activity of the right posterior hemispheric structures, leading to de novo creativity observed in visual artistic representation. We describe creativity in the verbal domain, for the first time, in three patients with svPPA. Clinical presentations are carefully described in three svPPA patients exhibiting verbal creativity, including neuropsychology, neurologic exam, and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed to quantify brain atrophy patterns in these patients against age-matched healthy controls. All three patients displayed new-onset creative writing behavior and produced extensive original work during the course of disease. Patient A developed interest in wordplay and generated a large volume of poetry. Patient B became fascinated with rhyming and punning. Patient C wrote and published a lifestyle guidebook. An overlap of their structural MR scans showed uniform sparing in the lateral portions of the language-dominant temporal lobe (superior and middle gyri) and atrophy in the medial temporal cortex (amygdala, limbic cortex). New-onset creativity in svPPA may represent a paradoxical functional facilitation. A similar drive for production is found in visually artistic and verbally creative patients. Mirroring the imaging findings in visually artistic patients, verbal preoccupation and creativity may be associated with medial atrophy in the language-dominant temporal lobe, but sparing of lateral dominant temporal and non-dominant posterior cortices.

  7. VERBAL IN FINE ARTS: USE OF QUOTES, WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS IN MODERN ART MEMES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sapanzha, O.S.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the analysis of verbal art memes as a phenomenon of modern network communication. Based on the typology of art memes (visual, animation, verbal and synthetic we provide the characteristics of the tools used in the construction of verbal art memes. The main method of creating art memes is the method of appropriation. The main device that creates new meanings of artistic images in verbal art memes is the inclusion of speech elements in the work of art. Unlike visual art memes, using professional art of the XX century, a verbal art meme is mass scale by its origin and understandable to a wide audience of network users and consumers of mass art content.

  8. Verbal working memory and reading abilities among students with visual impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argyropoulos, Vassilios; Masoura, Elvira; Tsiakali, Thomai K; Nikolaraizi, Magda; Lappa, Christina

    2017-05-01

    This study investigated the relationship between working memory (WM) and reading abilities among students with visual impairment (VI). Seventy-five students with VI (visually impairment and blindness), aged 10-15 years old participated in the study, of whom 44 were visually impaired and 31 were blind. The participants' reading ability was assessed with the standardized reading ability battery Test-A (Padeliadu & Antoniou, 2008) and their verbal working memory ability was assessed with the listening recall task from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (Pickering et al., 2001). Data analysis indicated a strong correlation between verbal WM and decoding, reading comprehension and overall reading ability among the participants with VI, while no correlation was found between reading fluency and verbal WM. The present study points out the important role of verbal WM in reading among students who are VI and carries implications for the education of those individuals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The impact of aging and hearing status on verbal short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhaegen, Clémence; Collette, Fabienne; Majerus, Steve

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study is to assess the impact of hearing status on age-related decrease in verbal short-term memory (STM) performance. This was done by administering a battery of verbal STM tasks to elderly and young adult participants matched for hearing thresholds, as well as to young normal-hearing control participants. The matching procedure allowed us to assess the importance of hearing loss as an explanatory factor of age-related STM decline. We observed that elderly participants and hearing-matched young participants showed equal levels of performance in all verbal STM tasks, and performed overall lower than the normal-hearing young control participants. This study provides evidence for recent theoretical accounts considering reduced hearing level as an important explanatory factor of poor auditory-verbal STM performance in older adults.

  10. Cerebral Glucose Metabolism is Associated with Verbal but not Visual Memory Performance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardener, Samantha L; Sohrabi, Hamid R; Shen, Kai-Kai; Rainey-Smith, Stephanie R; Weinborn, Michael; Bates, Kristyn A; Shah, Tejal; Foster, Jonathan K; Lenzo, Nat; Salvado, Olivier; Laske, Christoph; Laws, Simon M; Taddei, Kevin; Verdile, Giuseppe; Martins, Ralph N

    2016-03-31

    Increasing evidence suggests that Alzheimer's disease (AD) sufferers show region-specific reductions in cerebral glucose metabolism, as measured by [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET). We investigated preclinical disease stage by cross-sectionally examining the association between global cognition, verbal and visual memory, and 18F-FDG PET standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) in 43 healthy control individuals, subsequently focusing on differences between subjective memory complainers and non-memory complainers. The 18F-FDG PET regions of interest investigated include the hippocampus, amygdala, posterior cingulate, superior parietal, entorhinal cortices, frontal cortex, temporal cortex, and inferior parietal region. In the cohort as a whole, verbal logical memory immediate recall was positively associated with 18F-FDG PET SUVR in both the left hippocampus and right amygdala. There were no associations observed between global cognition, delayed recall in logical memory, or visual reproduction and 18F-FDG PET SUVR. Following stratification of the cohort into subjective memory complainers and non-complainers, verbal logical memory immediate recall was positively associated with 18F-FDG PET SUVR in the right amygdala in those with subjective memory complaints. There were no significant associations observed in non-memory complainers between 18F-FDG PET SUVR in regions of interest and cognitive performance. We observed subjective memory complaint-specific associations between 18F-FDG PET SUVR and immediate verbal memory performance in our cohort, however found no associations between delayed recall of verbal memory performance or visual memory performance. It is here argued that the neural mechanisms underlying verbal and visual memory performance may in fact differ in their pathways, and the characteristic reduction of 18F-FDG PET SUVR observed in this and previous studies likely reflects the pathophysiological changes in specific

  11. Tutorial: Teaching Verbal Behavior to Children with ASD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Einar T. INGVARSSON

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Early and intensive behavioral intervention has been shown to result in favorable outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder. Procedures and practices based on and influenced by B. F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior (VB have been increasingly integrated into EIBI curricula in recent years. In this article, I give an overview of some basic tenets of VB as they pertain to behavioral interventions for children with ASD, with a special emphasis on the relevance of basic behavioral principles to verbal operants. Additionally, I provide a few examples of practical recommendations derived from VB.

  12. Truthfulness in science teachers’ bodily and verbal actions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daugbjerg, Peer

    2013-01-01

    A dramaturgical approach to teacher’s personal bodily and verbal actions is applied through the vocabulary of truthfulness. Bodily and verbal actions have been investigated among Danish primary and lower secondary school science teachers based on their narratives and observations of their classroom...... actions. The analysis shows how science teachers engage truthfully in pupil relations through an effort of applying classroom management, among other things. In all, this indicates that if science education research wants to understand science teachers’ personal relations to teaching science it could...... be beneficial to address the truthfulness of science teachers’ narratives and actions....

  13. Resting-state functional connectivity in medication-naïve schizophrenia patients with and without auditory verbal hallucinations : A preliminary report

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chang, Xiao; Collin, Guusje; Xi, Yibin; Cui, Longbiao; Scholtens, Lianne H.; Sommer, Iris E.; Wang, Huaning; Yin, Hong; Kahn, René S.; van den Heuvel, Martijn P.

    2017-01-01

    Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a cardinal feature of schizophrenia that has been associated with activation in language processing areas, in concert with higher-order cognitive brain networks. It remains to be determined whether, and if so how, the functional dynamics between these brain

  14. Modeling learning and memory using verbal learning tests: results from ACTIVE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Alden L; Rebok, George W; Brandt, Jason; Tommet, Doug; Marsiske, Michael; Jones, Richard N

    2013-03-01

    To investigate the influence of memory training on initial recall and learning. The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study of community-dwelling adults older than age 65 (n = 1,401). We decomposed trial-level recall in the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) and Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) into initial recall and learning across trials using latent growth models. Trial-level increases in words recalled in the AVLT and HVLT at each follow-up visit followed an approximately logarithmic shape. Over the 5-year study period, memory training was associated with slower decline in Trial 1 AVLT recall (Cohen's d = 0.35, p = .03) and steep pre- and posttraining acceleration in learning (d = 1.56, p learning, d = 3.10, p memory-trained group had a higher level of recall than the control group through the end of the 5-year study period despite faster decline in learning. This study contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms by which training benefits memory and expands current knowledge by reporting long-term changes in initial recall and learning, as measured from growth models and by characterization of the impact of memory training on these components. Results reveal that memory training delays the worsening of memory span and boosts learning.

  15. Folinic acid improves verbal communication in children with autism and language impairment: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frye, R E; Slattery, J; Delhey, L; Furgerson, B; Strickland, T; Tippett, M; Sailey, A; Wynne, R; Rose, S; Melnyk, S; Jill James, S; Sequeira, J M; Quadros, E V

    2018-02-01

    We sought to determine whether high-dose folinic acid improves verbal communication in children with non-syndromic autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and language impairment in a double-blind placebo control setting. Forty-eight children (mean age 7 years 4  months; 82% male) with ASD and language impairment were randomized to receive 12 weeks of high-dose folinic acid (2 mg kg -1 per day, maximum 50 mg per day; n=23) or placebo (n=25). Children were subtyped by glutathione and folate receptor-α autoantibody (FRAA) status. Improvement in verbal communication, as measured by a ability-appropriate standardized instrument, was significantly greater in participants receiving folinic acid as compared with those receiving placebo, resulting in an effect of 5.7 (1.0,10.4) standardized points with a medium-to-large effect size (Cohen's d=0.70). FRAA status was predictive of response to treatment. For FRAA-positive participants, improvement in verbal communication was significantly greater in those receiving folinic acid as compared with those receiving placebo, resulting in an effect of 7.3 (1.4,13.2) standardized points with a large effect size (Cohen's d=0.91), indicating that folinic acid treatment may be more efficacious in children with ASD who are FRAA positive. Improvements in subscales of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, the Autism Symptom Questionnaire and the Behavioral Assessment System for Children were significantly greater in the folinic acid group as compared with the placebo group. There was no significant difference in adverse effects between treatment groups. Thus, in this small trial of children with non-syndromic ASD and language impairment, treatment with high-dose folinic acid for 12 weeks resulted in improvement in verbal communication as compared with placebo, particularly in those participants who were positive for FRAAs.

  16. O papel das pistas do contexto verbal no reconhecimento de palavras The role of verbal-context clues in the word-recognition process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Regina Kirchner Guimarães

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available O processo de leitura é estudado principalmente com base em dois modelos teóricos: o ascendente (bottom-up, baseado na concepção que considera o desempenho em leitura dependente do processo de decodificação, e o descendente (top-down, fundamentado na concepção que defende que a leitura se apóia especialmente na utilização de informações sintático-semânticas do texto. O presente estudo teve por objetivo investigar a contribuição do uso de informações do contexto verbal no reconhecimento de palavras. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, os sujeitos com dificuldades na leitura apoiaram-se no contexto verbal para compensar suas dificuldades, lendo corretamente 75,24% das palavras apresentadas.The reading process is studied mainly with basis on two theoretical models: the bottom-up model - based on the conception that considers the reading performance as being dependent on a decoding process, and the top-down model - based on the conception that the reading ability relies mainly on the use of syntactic-semantic information present in the text. This study was targeted at determining the importance of using information provided by the verbal context in recognizing words. Pursuant to the results attained, the subjects with reading problems found support in verbal context to compensate their difficulties, being able to read correctly about 75.24% of the words presented.

  17. Musicians' and nonmusicians' short-term memory for verbal and musical sequences: comparing phonological similarity and pitch proximity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Victoria J; Baddeley, Alan D; Hitch, Graham J

    2010-03-01

    Language-music comparative studies have highlighted the potential for shared resources or neural overlap in auditory short-term memory. However, there is a lack of behavioral methodologies for comparing verbal and musical serial recall. We developed a visual grid response that allowed both musicians and nonmusicians to perform serial recall of letter and tone sequences. The new method was used to compare the phonological similarity effect with the impact of an operationalized musical equivalent-pitch proximity. Over the course of three experiments, we found that short-term memory for tones had several similarities to verbal memory, including limited capacity and a significant effect of pitch proximity in nonmusicians. Despite being vulnerable to phonological similarity when recalling letters, however, musicians showed no effect of pitch proximity, a result that we suggest might reflect strategy differences. Overall, the findings support a limited degree of correspondence in the way that verbal and musical sounds are processed in auditory short-term memory.

  18. Extended Analysis of Empirical Citations with Skinner's "Verbal Behavior": 1984-2004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Mark R.; Small, Stacey L.; Rosales, Rocio

    2007-01-01

    The present paper comments on and extends the citation analysis of verbal operant publications based on Skinner's "Verbal Behavior" (1957) by Dymond, O'Hora, Whelan, and O'Donovan (2006). Variations in population parameters were evaluated for only those studies that Dymond et al. categorized as empirical. Preliminary results indicate that the…

  19. The Development of Metaphor Comprehension and Its Relationship with Relational Verbal Reasoning and Executive Function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carriedo, Nuria; Corral, Antonio; Montoro, Pedro R; Herrero, Laura; Ballestrino, Patricia; Sebastián, Iraia

    2016-01-01

    Our main objective was to analyse the different contributions of relational verbal reasoning (analogical and class inclusion) and executive functioning to metaphor comprehension across development. We postulated that both relational reasoning and executive functioning should predict individual and developmental differences. However, executive functioning would become increasingly involved when metaphor comprehension is highly demanding, either because of the metaphors' high difficulty (relatively novel metaphors in the absence of a context) or because of the individual's special processing difficulties, such as low levels of reading experience or low semantic knowledge. Three groups of participants, 11-year-olds, 15-year-olds and young adults, were assessed in different relational verbal reasoning tasks-analogical and class-inclusion-and in executive functioning tasks-updating information in working memory, inhibition, and shifting. The results revealed clear progress in metaphor comprehension between ages 11 and 15 and between ages 15 and 21. However, the importance of executive function in metaphor comprehension was evident by age 15 and was restricted to updating information in working memory and cognitive inhibition. Participants seemed to use two different strategies to interpret metaphors: relational verbal reasoning and executive functioning. This was clearly shown when comparing the performance of the "more efficient" participants in metaphor interpretation with that of the "less efficient" ones. Whereas in the first case none of the executive variables or those associated with relational verbal reasoning were significantly related to metaphor comprehension, in the latter case, both groups of variables had a clear predictor effect.

  20. Effect of interaction with clowns on vital signs and non-verbal communication of hospitalized children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcântara, Pauline Lima; Wogel, Ariane Zonho; Rossi, Maria Isabela Lobo; Neves, Isabela Rodrigues; Sabates, Ana Llonch; Puggina, Ana Cláudia

    2016-12-01

    Compare the non-verbal communication of children before and during interaction with clowns and compare their vital signs before and after this interaction. Uncontrolled, intervention, cross-sectional, quantitative study with children admitted to a public university hospital. The intervention was performed by medical students dressed as clowns and included magic tricks, juggling, singing with the children, making soap bubbles and comedic performances. The intervention time was 20minutes. Vital signs were assessed in two measurements with an interval of one minute immediately before and after the interaction. Non-verbal communication was observed before and during the interaction using the Non-Verbal Communication Template Chart, a tool in which nonverbal behaviors are assessed as effective or ineffective in the interactions. The sample consisted of 41 children with a mean age of 7.6±2.7 years; most were aged 7 to 11 years (n=23; 56%) and were males (n=26; 63.4%). There was a statistically significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pain and non-verbal behavior of children with the intervention. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased and pain scales showed decreased scores. The playful interaction with clowns can be a therapeutic resource to minimize the effects of the stressing environment during the intervention, improve the children's emotional state and reduce the perception of pain. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  1. What you say matters: exploring visual-verbal interactions in visual working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mate, Judit; Allen, Richard J; Baqués, Josep

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore whether the content of a simple concurrent verbal load task determines the extent of its interference on memory for coloured shapes. The task consisted of remembering four visual items while repeating aloud a pair of words that varied in terms of imageability and relatedness to the task set. At test, a cue appeared that was either the colour or the shape of one of the previously seen objects, with participants required to select the object's other feature from a visual array. During encoding and retention, there were four verbal load conditions: (a) a related, shape-colour pair (from outside the experimental set, i.e., "pink square"); (b) a pair of unrelated but visually imageable, concrete, words (i.e., "big elephant"); (c) a pair of unrelated and abstract words (i.e., "critical event"); and (d) no verbal load. Results showed differential effects of these verbal load conditions. In particular, imageable words (concrete and related conditions) interfered to a greater degree than abstract words. Possible implications for how visual working memory interacts with verbal memory and long-term memory are discussed.

  2. Evaluating lexical characteristics of verbal fluency output in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juhasz, Barbara J; Chambers, Destinee; Shesler, Leah W; Haber, Alix; Kurtz, Matthew M

    2012-12-30

    Standardized lexical analysis of verbal output has not been applied to verbal fluency tasks in schizophrenia. Performance of individuals with schizophrenia on both a letter (n=139) and semantic (n=137) fluency task was investigated. The lexical characteristics (word frequency, age-of-acquisition, word length, and semantic typicality) of words produced were evaluated and compared to those produced by a healthy control group matched on age, gender, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) vocabulary scores (n=20). Overall, individuals with schizophrenia produced fewer words than healthy controls, replicating past research (see Bokat and Goldberg, 2003). Words produced in the semantic fluency task by individuals with schizophrenia were, on average, earlier acquired and more typical of the category. In contrast, no differences in lexical characteristics emerged in the letter fluency task. The results are informative regarding how individuals with schizophrenia access their mental lexicons during the verbal fluency task. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Individual differences in non-verbal number acuity correlate with maths achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halberda, Justin; Mazzocco, Michèle M M; Feigenson, Lisa

    2008-10-02

    Human mathematical competence emerges from two representational systems. Competence in some domains of mathematics, such as calculus, relies on symbolic representations that are unique to humans who have undergone explicit teaching. More basic numerical intuitions are supported by an evolutionarily ancient approximate number system that is shared by adults, infants and non-human animals-these groups can all represent the approximate number of items in visual or auditory arrays without verbally counting, and use this capacity to guide everyday behaviour such as foraging. Despite the widespread nature of the approximate number system both across species and across development, it is not known whether some individuals have a more precise non-verbal 'number sense' than others. Furthermore, the extent to which this system interfaces with the formal, symbolic maths abilities that humans acquire by explicit instruction remains unknown. Here we show that there are large individual differences in the non-verbal approximation abilities of 14-year-old children, and that these individual differences in the present correlate with children's past scores on standardized maths achievement tests, extending all the way back to kindergarten. Moreover, this correlation remains significant when controlling for individual differences in other cognitive and performance factors. Our results show that individual differences in achievement in school mathematics are related to individual differences in the acuity of an evolutionarily ancient, unlearned approximate number sense. Further research will determine whether early differences in number sense acuity affect later maths learning, whether maths education enhances number sense acuity, and the extent to which tertiary factors can affect both.

  4. Conception of the stimulation of the verbal talent: Case Cuba

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    Oscar Ovidio Calzadilla Pérez

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The stimulation of the talent constitutes a problem that generates inadequacies in the strategies for its educational attention. For it, the theoretical structuring of a pedagogic conception, compoundaround the definition of the concept of verbal talent is socialized, the levels of formation of this, the primary scholar's characterization psicopedagogical with verbal talent, the premises that address the stimulation process and the principle of the pedagogic combination of the acceleration and the enrichment; that which is introduced in the educational practice by the teacher by means of a strategy. It was used as fundamental method the study of cases that integrates the longitudinal analysis in on unique sample of scholars (2007-2013. The contributions to the pedagogic theory are obtained of the interpretation hermeneutic of the evidences analyzed in the traverse cuts of the qualitative study of whose dialectical ascent subjected theoretical generalizations settle down to the critical analysis of teachers and experts of the scientific community. The most significant results reside in the gradual traffic of the scholars of the sample for the levels of formation of the talent settled down in the investigation.

  5. High-functioning autism patients share similar but more severe impairments in verbal theory of mind than schizophrenia patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tin, L N W; Lui, S S Y; Ho, K K Y; Hung, K S Y; Wang, Y; Yeung, H K H; Wong, T Y; Lam, S M; Chan, R C K; Cheung, E F C

    2018-06-01

    Evidence suggests that autism and schizophrenia share similarities in genetic, neuropsychological and behavioural aspects. Although both disorders are associated with theory of mind (ToM) impairments, a few studies have directly compared ToM between autism patients and schizophrenia patients. This study aimed to investigate to what extent high-functioning autism patients and schizophrenia patients share and differ in ToM performance. Thirty high-functioning autism patients, 30 schizophrenia patients and 30 healthy individuals were recruited. Participants were matched in age, gender and estimated intelligence quotient. The verbal-based Faux Pas Task and the visual-based Yoni Task were utilised to examine first- and higher-order, affective and cognitive ToM. The task/item difficulty of two paradigms was examined using mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Multiple ANOVAs and mixed model ANOVAs were used to examine group differences in ToM. The Faux Pas Task was more difficult than the Yoni Task. High-functioning autism patients showed more severely impaired verbal-based ToM in the Faux Pas Task, but shared similar visual-based ToM impairments in the Yoni Task with schizophrenia patients. The findings that individuals with high-functioning autism shared similar but more severe impairments in verbal ToM than individuals with schizophrenia support the autism-schizophrenia continuum. The finding that verbal-based but not visual-based ToM was more impaired in high-functioning autism patients than schizophrenia patients could be attributable to the varied task/item difficulty between the two paradigms.

  6. A comparison of verbal and numerical judgments in the analytic hierarchy process

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huizingh, EKRE; Vrolijk, HCJ

    In the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), decision makers make pairwise comparisons of alternatives and criteria. The AHP allows to make these pairwise comparisons verbally or numerically. Although verbal statements are intuitively attractive for preference elicitation, there is overwhelming evidence

  7. Quantifying risk: verbal probability expressions in Spanish and English.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Lawrence D; Vázquez, Miguel E Cortés; Alvarez, Adolfo

    2009-01-01

    To investigate how Spanish- and English-speaking adults interpret verbal probability expressions presented in Spanish and English (eg, posiblemente and possibly, respectively). Professional translators and university students from México and the United States read a series of likelihood statements in Spanish or English and then estimated the certainty implied by each statement. Several terms that are regarded as cognates in English and Spanish elicited significantly different likelihood ratings. Several language equivalencies were also identified. These findings provide the first reported evaluation of Spanish likelihood terms for use in risk communications directed towards monolingual and bilingual Spanish speakers.

  8. The body image in ancient tragedy: a verbal visuality

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    Elisana De Carli

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, two tragedies of Sophocles and two others from Seneca are analyzed in order to identify the visuality given to the body through the word, image built for the character’s body, their levels of meaning and reverberation in text and scene. This information can be characterized as internal rubric because such data supports the scene’s construction. Thus, structure and content engender enhancing body's significance on scene either by its presence or a verbal visual, figuring a semantic occupation, which configures as one of the marks of the ancient theater.

  9. Cross-cultural Differences of Stereotypes about Non-verbal Communication of Russian and Chinese Students

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    I A Novikova

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with peculiarities of non-verbal communication as a factor of cross-cultural intercourse and adaptation of representatives of different cultures. The possibility of studying of ethnic stereotypes concerning non-verbal communication is considered. The results of empiric research of stereotypes about non-verbal communication of Russian and Chinese students are presented.

  10. Análise da comunicação verbal e não verbal de uma mãe cega e com limitação motora durante a amamentação

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    Lorita Marlena Freitag Pagliuca

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Análise da comunicação verbal e não verbal de mãe cega e com limitação motora durante a amamentação. Coleta por entrevista e filmagem, com análise qualitativa dos dados. Na comunicação verbal a mãe atua como remetente durante amamentação e uso da mamadeira, predominando a mensagem dificuldade de amamentar. Na não verbal, na posição deitada há ausência de contato face a face e diminui o contato físico; sentada, o contato está aumentado, expressa afeto, mas a mãe não direciona a face para o filho; administrando mamadeira, mãe sentada, expressa afeto e interação, mantém cabeça baixa. Conclui-se que a comunicação verbal está centrada na mensagem alimentação e na não verbal há interferência da posição para alimentar a criança.

  11. Estudo do código visual originado do código verbal na linguagem jornalística Study of the visual code originated the verbal code in journalistic language

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    Leange Severo Alves

    1982-11-01

    Full Text Available Estudo da interação e importância da linguagem verbal e não verbal na comunicação na mensagem jornalística. Analisamos, dentro deste enfoque, a escrita como representação, a arte gráfica, o traçado e corpo do tipo. Analisamos também o modo e medida de composição e as cores no jornal como recursos visuais que chamam e prendem a atenção do leitor.Study on the interaction and importance of the verbal and non-verbal language in the journalistic message communication, Within this subject, we have analysed representative writing, graphic arts, design and letter-types body. We have also analysed composition format, colours and layout as visual appears which catch the reader's attention.

  12. Effects of Age, Acoustic Challenge, and Verbal Working Memory on Recall of Narrative Speech.

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    Ward, Caitlin M; Rogers, Chad S; Van Engen, Kristin J; Peelle, Jonathan E

    2016-01-01

    A common goal during speech comprehension is to remember what we have heard. Encoding speech into long-term memory frequently requires processes such as verbal working memory that may also be involved in processing degraded speech. Here the authors tested whether young and older adult listeners' memory for short stories was worse when the stories were acoustically degraded, or whether the additional contextual support provided by a narrative would protect against these effects. The authors tested 30 young adults (aged 18-28 years) and 30 older adults (aged 65-79 years) with good self-reported hearing. Participants heard short stories that were presented as normal (unprocessed) speech or acoustically degraded using a noise vocoding algorithm with 24 or 16 channels. The degraded stories were still fully intelligible. Following each story, participants were asked to repeat the story in as much detail as possible. Recall was scored using a modified idea unit scoring approach, which included separately scoring hierarchical levels of narrative detail. Memory for acoustically degraded stories was significantly worse than for normal stories at some levels of narrative detail. Older adults' memory for the stories was significantly worse overall, but there was no interaction between age and acoustic clarity or level of narrative detail. Verbal working memory (assessed by reading span) significantly correlated with recall accuracy for both young and older adults, whereas hearing ability (better ear pure tone average) did not. The present findings are consistent with a framework in which the additional cognitive demands caused by a degraded acoustic signal use resources that would otherwise be available for memory encoding for both young and older adults. Verbal working memory is a likely candidate for supporting both of these processes.

  13. Effects of age, acoustic challenge, and verbal working memory on recall of narrative speech

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Caitlin M.; Rogers, Chad S.; Van Engen, Kristin J.; Peelle, Jonathan E.

    2016-01-01

    Background A common goal during speech comprehension is to remember what we have heard. Encoding speech into long-term memory frequently requires processes such as verbal working memory that may also be involved in processing degraded speech. Here we tested whether young and older adult listeners’ memory for short stories was worse when the stories were acoustically degraded, or whether the additional contextual support provided by a narrative would protect against these effects. Methods We tested 30 young adults (aged 18–28 years) and 30 older adults (aged 65–79 years) with good self-reported hearing. Participants heard short stories that were presented as normal (unprocessed) speech, or acoustically degraded using a noise vocoding algorithm with 24 or 16 channels. The degraded stories were still fully intelligible. Following each story, participants were asked to repeat the story in as much detail as possible. Recall was scored using a modified idea unit scoring approach, which included separately scoring hierarchical levels of narrative detail. Results Memory for acoustically degraded stories was significantly worse than for normal stories at some levels of narrative detail. Older adults’ memory for the stories was significantly worse overall, but there was no interaction between age and acoustic clarity or level of narrative detail. Verbal working memory (assessed by reading span) significantly correlated with recall accuracy for both young and older adults, whereas hearing ability (better ear pure-tone average) did not. Conclusion Our findings are consistent with a framework in which the additional cognitive demands caused by a degraded acoustic signal use resources that would otherwise be available for memory encoding for both young and older adults. Verbal working memory is a likely candidate for supporting both of these processes. PMID:26683044

  14. Verbal Memory Deficits Are Correlated with Prefrontal Hypometabolism in 18FDG PET of Recreational MDMA Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch, Oliver G.; Wagner, Michael; Jessen, Frank; Kühn, Kai-Uwe; Joe, Alexius; Seifritz, Erich; Maier, Wolfgang; Biersack, Hans-Jürgen; Quednow, Boris B.

    2013-01-01

    Introduction 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) is a recreational club drug with supposed neurotoxic effects selectively on the serotonin system. MDMA users consistently exhibit memory dysfunction but there is an ongoing debate if these deficits are induced mainly by alterations in the prefrontal or mediotemporal cortex, especially the hippocampus. Thus, we investigated the relation of verbal memory deficits with alterations of regional cerebral brain glucose metabolism (rMRGlu) in recreational MDMA users. Methods Brain glucose metabolism in rest was assessed using 2-deoxy-2-(18F)fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (18FDG PET) in 19 male recreational users of MDMA and 19 male drug-naïve controls. 18FDG PET data were correlated with memory performance assessed with a German version of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Results As previously shown, MDMA users showed significant impairment in verbal declarative memory performance. PET scans revealed significantly decreased rMRGlu in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal and inferior parietal cortex, bilateral thalamus, right hippocampus, right precuneus, right cerebellum, and pons (at the level of raphe nuclei) of MDMA users. Among MDMA users, learning and recall were positively correlated with rMRGlu predominantly in bilateral frontal and parietal brain regions, while recognition was additionally related to rMRGlu in the right mediotemporal and bihemispheric lateral temporal cortex. Moreover, cumulative lifetime dose of MDMA was negatively correlated with rMRGlu in the left dorsolateral and bilateral orbital and medial PFC, left inferior parietal and right lateral temporal cortex. Conclusions Verbal learning and recall deficits of recreational MDMA users are correlated with glucose hypometabolism in prefrontal and parietal cortex, while word recognition was additionally correlated with mediotemporal hypometabolism. We conclude that memory deficits of MDMA users arise from combined

  15. Using Extra-Linguistic Material for Mandarin-French Verbal Constructions Comparison

    OpenAIRE

    Magistry, Pierre; Prevot, Laurent; Cheung, Hintat; Shiao, C.Y; Desalle, Yann; Gaume, Bruno

    2009-01-01

    International audience; Systematic cross-linguistic studies of verbs syntactic-semantic behaviors for ty-pologically distant languages such as Mandarin Chinese and French are difficult to conduct.Such studies are nevertheless necessary due to the crucial role that verbal constructions playin the mental lexicon. This paper addresses the problem by combining psycho-linguisticsand computational methods. Psycho-linguistics provides us with a bilingual corpus that fea-tures verbal construction ass...

  16. Verbal autopsy of 80,000 adult deaths in Tamilnadu, South India

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    Peto Richard

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Registration of the fact of death is almost complete in the city of Chennai and not so in the rural Villupuram district in Tamilnadu, India. The cause of death is often inadequately recorded on the death certificate in developing countries like India. A special verbal autopsy (VA study of 48 000 adult (aged ≥ 25 yrs deaths in the city of Chennai (urban during 1995–97 and 32 000 in rural Villupuram during 1997–98 was conducted to arrive at the probable underlying cause of death to estimate cause specific mortality. Methods A ten day training on writing verbal autopsy (VA report for adult deaths was given to non-medical graduates with at least 15 years of formal education. They interviewed surviving spouse/close associates of the deceased to write a verbal autopsy report in local language (Tamil on the complaints, symptoms, signs, duration and treatment details of illness prior to death. Each report was reviewed centrally by two physicians independently. Random re-interviewing of 5% of the VA reports was done to check the reliability and reproducibility of the VA report. The validity of VA diagnosis was assessed only for cancer deaths. Results Verbal autopsy reduced the proportion of deaths attributed to unspecified and unknown causes from 54% to 23% (p Conclusion A ten day training programme to write verbal autopsy report with adequate feed back sessions and random sampling of 5% of the verbal autopsy reports for re-interview worked very well in Tamilnadu, to arrive at the probable underlying cause of death reliably for deaths in early adult life or middle age (25–69 years and less reliably for older ages (70+. Thus VA is practicable for deaths in early adult life or middle age and is of more limited value in old age.

  17. Verbal play as a discourse resource in the social interactions of older and younger communication pairs.

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    Shune, Samantha; Duff, Melissa Collins

    2014-01-01

    Verbal play, or the playful manipulation of elements of language, is a pervasive component of social interaction, serving important interpersonal functions. We analyzed verbal play in the interactional discourse of ten healthy younger pairs and ten healthy older pairs as they completed a collaborative referencing task. A total of 1,893 verbal play episodes were coded. While there were no group differences in verbal play frequency, age-related differences in the quality and function of these episodes emerged. While older participants engaged in more complex, extended, and reciprocal episodes that supported the social nature of communicative interactions (e.g., teasing), younger participants were more likely to engage in verbal play episodes for the purpose of successful task completion. Despite these age-related variations in the deployment of verbal play, verbal play is a robust interactional discourse resource in healthy aging, highlighting an element of human cognition that does not appear to decline with age.

  18. Making the invisible visible: verbal but not visual cues enhance visual detection.

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    Gary Lupyan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Can hearing a word change what one sees? Although visual sensitivity is known to be enhanced by attending to the location of the target, perceptual enhancements of following cues to the identity of an object have been difficult to find. Here, we show that perceptual sensitivity is enhanced by verbal, but not visual cues. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants completed an object detection task in which they made an object-presence or -absence decision to briefly-presented letters. Hearing the letter name prior to the detection task increased perceptual sensitivity (d'. A visual cue in the form of a preview of the to-be-detected letter did not. Follow-up experiments found that the auditory cuing effect was specific to validly cued stimuli. The magnitude of the cuing effect positively correlated with an individual measure of vividness of mental imagery; introducing uncertainty into the position of the stimulus did not reduce the magnitude of the cuing effect, but eliminated the correlation with mental imagery. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Hearing a word made otherwise invisible objects visible. Interestingly, seeing a preview of the target stimulus did not similarly enhance detection of the target. These results are compatible with an account in which auditory verbal labels modulate lower-level visual processing. The findings show that a verbal cue in the form of hearing a word can influence even the most elementary visual processing and inform our understanding of how language affects perception.

  19. Aging and verbal working memory capacity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noort, M.W.M.L. van den; Bosch, M.P.C.; Kralingen, R.B.A.S. van

    2008-01-01

    Objectives. The development of verbal working memory capacity over time was investigated. xxx Methods. Four different age groups were tested with the new standard computerized version of the reading span test (Van den Noort et al., 2006, 2008). xxx Results. Compared to the young adults, the old

  20. Hippocampal volume and auditory attention on a verbal memory task with adult survivors of pediatric brain tumor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayakar, Reema; King, Tricia Z; Morris, Robin; Na, Sabrina

    2015-03-01

    We examined the nature of verbal memory deficits and the possible hippocampal underpinnings in long-term adult survivors of childhood brain tumor. 35 survivors (M = 24.10 ± 4.93 years at testing; 54% female), on average 15 years post-diagnosis, and 59 typically developing adults (M = 22.40 ± 4.35 years, 54% female) participated. Automated FMRIB Software Library (FSL) tools were used to measure hippocampal, putamen, and whole brain volumes. The California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II) was used to assess verbal memory. Hippocampal, F(1, 91) = 4.06, ηp² = .04; putamen, F(1, 91) = 11.18, ηp² = .11; and whole brain, F(1, 92) = 18.51, ηp² = .17, volumes were significantly lower for survivors than controls (p memory indices of auditory attention list span (Trial 1: F(1, 92) = 12.70, η² = .12) and final list learning (Trial 5: F(1, 92) = 6.01, η² = .06) were significantly lower for survivors (p attention, but none of the other CVLT-II indices. Secondary analyses for the effect of treatment factors are presented. Volumetric differences between survivors and controls exist for the whole brain and for subcortical structures on average 15 years post-diagnosis. Treatment factors seem to have a unique effect on subcortical structures. Memory differences between survivors and controls are largely contingent upon auditory attention list span. Only hippocampal volume is associated with the auditory attention list span component of verbal memory. These findings are particularly robust for survivors treated with radiation. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.