Research Priorities for Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Long View.

This article introduces the Special Issue: Selected Papers From the 2022 Apraxia Kids Research Symposium. The field of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) has developed significantly in the past 15 years, with key improvements in understanding of basic biology including genetics, neuroscience, and computational modelling; development of diagnostic tools and methods; diversity of evidence-based interventions with increasingly rigorous experimental designs; and understanding of impacts beyond impairment-level measures. Papers in this special issue not only review and synthesize the some of the substantial progress to date but also present novel findings addressing critical research gaps and adding to the overall body of knowledge.

Mercury as a hapten: A review of the role of toxicant-induced brain autoantibodies in autism and possible treatment considerations.

Background: Mercury has many direct and well-recognized neurotoxic effects. However, its immune effects causing secondary neurotoxicity are less well-recognized. Mercury exposure can induce immunologic changes in the brain indicative of autoimmune dysfunction, including the production of highly specific brain autoantibodies.

Behind the Scenes of Noninvasive Brain-Computer Interfaces: A Review of Electroencephalography Signals, How They Are Recorded, and Why They Matter.

Purpose: Brain-computer interface (BCI) techniques may provide computer access for individuals with severe physical impairments. However, the relatively hidden nature of BCI control obscures how BCI systems work behind the scenes, making it difficult to understand electroencephalography (EEG) records the BCI related brain signals, brain signals are recorded by EEG, and these signals are targeted for BCI control. Furthermore, in the field of speech-language-hearing, signals targeted for BCI application have been of primary interest to clinicians and researchers in the area of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Cerebral hypoperfusion in autism spectrum disorder.

Cerebral hypoperfusion, or insufficient blood flow in the brain, occurs in many areas of the brain in patients diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Hypoperfusion was demonstrated in the brains of individuals with ASD when compared to normal healthy control brains either using positron emission tomography (PET) or single‑photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The affected areas include, but are not limited to the: prefrontal, frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal cortices; thalami; basal ganglia; cingulate cortex; caudate nucleus; the limbic system including the hippocampal area; putamen; substantia nigra; cerebellum; and associative cortices.

An exploratory study of visual sequential processing in children with cochlear implants.

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare visual sequential processing in school-age children with cochlear implants (CIs) and their normal-hearing (NH) peers. Visual sequential processing was examined using both behavioral and an event-related potential (ERP) measures.

Methods: Eighteen children with CIs and nineteen children who had hearing within normal limits (NH) participated in the behavioral study.

Transcranial direct current stimulation lessens dual task cost in people with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) progressively impairs motor and cognitive function. Gait dysfunction in PD is exacerbated during dual task gait. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may therapeutically benefit motor and cognitive deficits.

Shared Brain Connectivity Issues, Symptoms, and Comorbidities in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Tourette Syndrome.

The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Tourette syndrome (TS), has increased over the past two decades. Currently, about one in six children in the United States is diagnosed as having a neurodevelopmental disorder. Evidence suggests that ASD, ADHD, and TS have similar neuropathology, which includes long-range underconnectivity and short-range overconnectivity.

Variation in semantic priming across age groups: an AERP study.

Objective: To study the semantic priming effect on words across the life span by means of auditory event-related potentials (AERPs).

Design: Participants heard a series of three words (S1, S2, and S3). The task was to indicate whether S2 was in the same semantic category as S3.

Prospective, blinded exploratory evaluation of the PlayWisely program in children with autism spectrum disorder.

The purpose of the study was to explore a low-cost intervention that targets an increasingly common developmental disorder. The study was a blinded, exploratory evaluation of the PlayWisely program on autism symptoms and essential learning foundation skills (attention, recognition, and memory skills) in children with a diagnosis of autism, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger syndrome (AS). Eighteen children, 1 to 10 years of age, were evaluated using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition (CARS2); the PlayWisely Interactive Test of Attention, Recognition, and Memory Skills; Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT).

Prospective trial of equine-assisted activities in autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Anecdotal reports and some studies suggest that equine-assisted activities may be beneficial in autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Objective: To examine the effects ofequine-assisted activities on overall severity of autism symptoms using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the quality ofparent-child interactions using the Timberlawn Parent-Child Interaction Scale. In addition, this study examined changes in sensory processing, quality of life, and parental treatment satisfaction.

Auditory-cognitive interactions underlying interaural asymmetry in an adult listener: a case study.

Objective: Abnormal interaural asymmetry on tests of dichotic listening is commonly observed in individuals suspected of auditory processing disorder (APD). Although a structural basis for the abnormality has been widely accepted, the influence of cognitive variables on the degree of observed asymmetry has gained increasing attention. To study this issue, we manipulated cognitive influences on interaural asymmetry in an adult with the auditory complaints typically associated with APD.

Toxicity biomarkers among US children compared to a similar cohort in France: a blinded study measuring urinary porphyrins.

The purpose of this blinded study was to evaluate potential environmental toxicity in a cohort of neurotypical children ( = 28) living in a suburban area of north-central Texas in the United States (US) with a comparable age- and gender-matched cohort of neurotypical children ( = 28) living in a suburban area of southeastern France using urinary porphyrin testing: uroporphyrin (uP), heptacarboxyporphyrin (7cxP), hexacarboxyporphyrin (6cxP), pentacarboxyporphyrin (5cxP), precoproporphyrin (prcP), and coproporphyrin (cP). Results showed significantly elevated 6cxP, prcP (an atypical, mercury-specific porphyrin), and cP levels, and increasing trends in 5cxP levels, among neurotypical children in the USA compared to children in France. Data suggest that in US neurotypical children, there is a significantly increased body-burden of mercury (Hg) compared to the body-burden of Hg in the matched neurotypical children in France.

Toxicity biomarkers in autism spectrum disorder: a blinded study of urinary porphyrins.

Background:   Recent studies suggest that children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have significantly increased levels of urinary porphyrins associated with mercury (Hg) toxicity, including pentacarboxyporphyrin (5cxP), precoproporphyrin (prcP), and coproporphyrin (cP), compared to typically developing controls. However, these initial studies were criticized because the controls were not age- and gender-matched to the children diagnosed with an ASD.

Methods:   Urinary porphyrin biomarkers in a group of children (2-13 years of age) diagnosed with an ASD (n= 20) were compared to matched (age, gender, race, location, and year tested) group of typically developing controls (n= 20).

Electrophysiological correlates of word comprehension: event-related potential (ERP) and independent component analysis (ICA).

In this study we asked to what extent auditory evoked potentials can help us to understand the complex processes underlying word comprehension. Monosyllabic and bisyllabic words were presented to 34 young adults in the context of a semantic category judgment. The basic paradigm assessed the typicality effect, the tendency for classification of members of a category to be made more accurately and more rapidly for strong exemplars than for weak exemplars.

Sensory correlations in autism.

This study examined the relationship between auditory, visual, touch, and oral sensory dysfunction in autism and their relationship to multisensory dysfunction and severity of autism. The Sensory Profile was completed on 104 persons with a diagnosis of autism, 3 to 56 years of age. Analysis showed a significant correlation between the different processing modalities using total scores.

Divided-attention and directed-attention listening modes in children with dichotic deficits: an event-related potential study.

Dichotic listening (DL) procedures are commonly employed in the evaluation of auditory processing in children. Review of the various clinical tests reveals considerable diversity in both the signals employed and their mode of administration. The extent to which other non auditory-specific factors influence the test outcome is often difficult to determine.

Effects of childhood hearing loss on organization of semantic memory: typicality and relatedness.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to study how early childhood hearing loss affects development of concepts and categories, aspects of semantic knowledge that allow us to group and make inferences about objects with common properties, such as dogs versus cats. We assessed category typicality and out-of-category relatedness effects. The typicality effect refers to performance advantage (faster reaction times, fewer errors) for objects with a higher number of a category's characteristic properties; the out-of-category relatedness effect refers to performance disadvantage (slower reaction times and more errors) for out-of-category objects that share some properties with category members.

The pattern of sensory processing abnormalities in autism.

The study was undertaken to evaluate the nature of sensory dysfunction in persons with autism. The cross-sectional study examined auditory, visual, oral, and touch sensory processing, as measured by the Sensory Profile, in 104 persons with a diagnosis of autism, 3-56 years of age, gender-and age-matched to community controls. Persons with autism had abnormal auditory, visual, touch, and oral sensory processing that was significantly different from controls.

Complementing behavioral measures with electrophysiological measures in diagnostic evaluation: a case study in two languages.

This case study focuses on a bilingual, older man who spoke Polish and English and showed weaknesses on clinical measures of dichotic listening in English. It was unclear whether these test results were influenced by the participant's facility with his second language or by other nonauditory factors. To elucidate the nature of this deficit, the authors examined behavioral and electrophysiological responses during dichotic-listening tasks involving linguistic processing in both languages.

Behavioral and electrophysiologic evidence of auditory processing disorder: a twin study.

We administered a battery of both behavioral and electrophysiologic measures to a pair of fraternal twin girls, one of whom exhibited symptoms consistent with an auditory processing disorder. Both twins were within normal limits on standardized tests of cognitive and language skills. Basic audiometric measures, as well as behavioral tests of simultaneous masking, backward masking, gap detection, and frequency-sweep discrimination, showed little difference between the twins.