How word meaning structure relates to executive functioning and theory of mind in children with developmental language disorder: A multiple case study.

Background And Aims: Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have difficulties in executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). These difficulties might be explained by the theory that children's conceptual understanding changes over five stages of word meaning structure, from concrete and context-dependent to abstract and precise. We present a multiple case study examining how word meaning structure relates to EF and ToM in children with DLD.

Individual variation in bilingual vocabulary in preschoolers with developmental language disorder.

Background: It is unclear how speech production, selective attention, and phonological working memory are related to first- (L1) and second-language (L2) vocabularies in bilingual preschoolers with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

Aims: To study individual variation in vocabularies in DLD bilingual preschoolers by (1) comparing them to typically developing (TD) bilingual, and TD and DLD monolingual peers; (2) differentially predicting L2 vocabulary; and (3) identifying and characterizing bilinguals' L1/L2 vocabulary profiles.

Methods: We measured the selective attention, working memory, and L1 Turkish/Polish (where applicable) and L1/L2 Dutch speech and vocabulary abilities of 31 DLD bilingual, 37 TD bilingual, and 61 DLD and 54 TD Dutch monolingual three-to-five year-olds.

Improving social emotional functioning in adolescents with Developmental Language Disorders: A mini review and recommendations.

Adolescents with Developmental Language Disorders (DLD) have more difficulties in social emotional functioning than their typically developing peers (TD), such as shyness and anxiety in social situations, fewer peer relations, greater risk of victimization, social isolation and depression. In addition, they are more likely to report higher levels of hyperactivity and conduct problems. These problems derive from a complex interplay between difficulties in language, social communication, underlying cognitive deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM), Executive Functioning (EF) and self-directed speech (SDS).

Beyond the Senses: How Self-Directed Speech and Word Meaning Structure Impact Executive Functioning and Theory of Mind in Individuals With Hearing and Language Problems.

Many individuals with developmental language disorder (DLD) and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) have social-emotional problems, such as social difficulties, and show signs of aggression, depression, and anxiety. These problems can be partly associated with their executive functions (EFs) and theory of mind (ToM). The difficulties of both groups in EF and ToM may in turn be related to self-directed speech (i.

The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study.

Alexithymia-reflecting deficits in cognitive emotion processing-is highly prevalent in individuals with depressive disorders. Subsequently, mixed evidence for attentional bias is found in these individuals. Alexithymia may be a potential influencing factor for attentional bias in depression.

Inhibitory Control and Craving in Dual Disorders and Recurrent Substance Use. Preliminary Findings.

In Dual Disorders (DD), which involves the co-occurrence of a disorder in substance use and a mental disorder, recurrent struggles with addictive behavior are frequent. Neuropsychological knowledge concerning the profile of inhibitory control and the irresistible urge to use substances (craving) within the DD patient group may contribute to the prevention of this recurrent addictive behavior. Inhibitory control and craving were assessed in 25 patients with DD and 25 healthy controls (HC).

Is a Negative Attentional Bias in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Explained by Comorbid Depression? An Eye-Tracking Study.

Heightened attention towards negative information is characteristic of depression. Evidence is emerging for a negative attentional bias in Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), perhaps driven by the high comorbidity between ASD and depression. We investigated whether ASD is characterised by a negative attentional bias and whether this can be explained by comorbid (sub) clinical depression.

The Emergence of Inner Speech and Its Measurement in Atypically Developing Children.

Inner speech (IS), or the act of silently talking to yourself, occurs in humans regardless of their cultural and linguistic background, suggesting its key role in human cognition. The absence of overt articulation leads to methodological challenges to studying IS and its effects on cognitive processing. Investigating IS in children is particularly problematic due to cognitive demands of the behavioral tasks and age restrictions for collecting neurophysiological data [e.

Implicit learning seems to come naturally for children with autism, but not for children with specific language impairment: Evidence from behavioral and ERP data.

Unlabelled: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) are two neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication skills. These skills are thought to develop largely through implicit-or automatic-learning mechanisms. The aim of the current paper was to investigate the role of implicit learning abilities in the atypical development of communication skills in ASD and SLI.

The Association Between Sequence Learning on the Serial Reaction Time Task and Social Impairments in Autism.

It is assumed that learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is related to learning involved in social skill development affected in autism, but this assumption has hardly been investigated. We have therefore examined associations between SRT task learning and social impairment measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in 72 autistic and non-autistic adults. Results revealed a positive correlation between deterministic sequence learning, putatively involving explicit learning, and social impairment in autistic adults but not in non-autistic adults.

Procedural learning across the lifespan: A systematic review with implications for atypical development.

This systematic review aimed to investigate procedural learning across the lifespan in typical and atypical development. Procedural learning is essential for the development of everyday skills, including language and communication skills. Although procedural learning efficiency has been extensively studied, there is no consensus yet on potential procedural learning changes during development and ageing.

Autism: Too eager to learn? Event related potential findings of increased dependency on intentional learning in a serial reaction time task.

It has been suggested that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an increased tendency to use explicit (or intentional) learning strategies. This altered learning may play a role in the development of the social communication difficulties characterizing ASD. In the current study, we investigated incidental and intentional sequence learning using a Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task in an adult ASD population.

Unraveling Executive Functioning in Dual Diagnosis.

In mental health, the term dual-diagnosis is used for the co-occurrence of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) with another mental disorder. These co-occurring disorders can have a shared cause, and can cause/intensify each other's expression. Forming a threat to health and society, dual-diagnosis is associated with relapses in addiction-related behavior and a destructive lifestyle.

Contributions of emotional state and attention to the processing of syntactic agreement errors: evidence from P600.

The classic account of language is that language processing occurs in isolation from other cognitive systems, like perception, motor action, and emotion. The central theme of this paper is the relationship between a participant's emotional state and language comprehension. Does emotional context affect how we process neutral words? Recent studies showed that processing of word meaning - traditionally conceived as an automatic process - is affected by emotional state.

How stimulus and task complexity affect monitoring in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder.

The present study examined whether individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are able to update and monitor working memory representations of visual input, and whether performance is influenced by stimulus and task complexity. 15 high-functioning adults with ASD and 15 controls were asked to allocate either elements of abstract figures or semantically meaningful pictures to the correct category, according to a certain set of rules. In general, the groups did not differ on measures of intelligence, working memory, attention, fluency and memory.

Can monitoring in language comprehension in Autism Spectrum Disorder be modulated? Evidence from event-related potentials.

The present study examined language comprehension in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in light of monitoring. It was studied whether individuals with ASD monitor their language perception, and whether monitoring during language perception could be modulated with instructions. We presented higher-level (semantic) linguistic violations and lower-level (orthographic) linguistic violations in a free reading condition and in an instructed condition, recording event-related potentials.

The interplay between mood and language comprehension: evidence from P600 to semantic reversal anomalies.

Little is known about the relationship between language and emotion. Vissers et al. (2010) investigated the effects of mood on the processing of syntactic violations, as indexed by P600.

On the relationship between autistic traits and executive functioning in a non-clinical Dutch student population.

We examined the association between autistic traits and different aspects of executive functioning (EF), using non-clinical Social Science and Science students as participants. Autistic traits, and associated personality traits, were measured using the Autism Quotient (AQ) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), respectively. EF was examined by means of a random number generation test and a phonemic fluency test.

The interplay between attentional strategies and language processing in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder.

This study examined the hypothesis of an atypical interaction between attention and language in ASD. A dual-task experiment with three conditions was designed, in which sentences were presented that contained errors requiring attentional focus either at (a) low level, or (b) high level, or (c) both levels of language. Speed and accuracy for error detection were measured from 16 high-functioning adults with ASD, and 16 matched controls.

Diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in elderly people.

Background: As autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have largely been neglected in old-age psychiatry, the objective of the present paper is to describe the diagnostic process in elderly patients.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature on ASD in older age was undertaken and illustrated by a case series of three elderly patients first diagnosed with ASD in later life by a tertiary mental health clinic.

Results: The search of the literature only yielded three papers on late-life ASD, while the review of the available diagnostic procedures among adults suggests some relevance for screening instruments (Autism Questionnaire), diagnostic instruments (Module 4, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule), and neuropsychological examination to profile impairments.

The relationship of language and emotion: N400 support for an embodied view of language comprehension.

According to embodied theories, the symbols used by language are meaningful because they are grounded in perception, action, and emotion. In contrast, according to abstract symbol theories, meaning arises from the syntactic combination of abstract, amodal symbols. If language is grounded in internal bodily states, then one would predict that emotion affects language.

The influence of mood on the processing of syntactic anomalies: evidence from P600.

In several domains of psychology it has been shown that mood influences the way in which we process information. So far, little is known about the relation between mood and processes of language comprehension. In the present study we explore, whether, and if so how, mood affects the processing of syntactic anomalies in real time by recording event-related potentials (ERPs).

Attentional set shifting in autism spectrum disorder: differentiating between the role of perseveration, learned irrelevance, and novelty processing.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with impaired attentional set shifting, which may reflect enhanced perseverative responding, enhanced learned irrelevance, and/or reduced novelty processing. We assessed the contribution of these potential error sources in ASD adults. A total of 17 ASD and 19 matched comparison individuals first solved a discrimination learning task.

Monitoring in language perception: mild and strong conflicts elicit different ERP patterns.

In the language domain, most studies of error monitoring have been devoted to language production. However, in language perception, errors are made as well and we are able to detect them. According to the monitoring theory of language perception, a strong conflict between what is expected and what is observed triggers reanalysis to check for possible perceptual errors, a process reflected by the P600.

Monitoring in language perception: evidence from ERPs in a picture-sentence matching task.

P600 effects have been observed after syntactic ambiguous sentences, after several types of syntactic and semantic anomalies and after orthographic anomalies. On the basis of these findings, several investigators propose the P600 effect to reflect syntactic repair or syntactic restructuring. According to our Monitoring Theory the P600 effect reflects more general sentence reanalysis, to check whether the input sentence has been perceived appropriately.