Prediction of mental effort derived from an automated vocal biomarker using machine learning in a large-scale remote sample.

Introduction: Biomarkers of mental effort may help to identify subtle cognitive impairments in the absence of task performance deficits. Here, we aim to detect mental effort on a verbal task, using automated voice analysis and machine learning.

Methods: Audio data from the digit span backwards task were recorded and scored with automated speech recognition using the online platform NeuroVocalix, yielding usable data from 2,764 healthy adults (1,022 male, 1,742 female; mean age 31.

Health Professionals' Perspectives on the Nature of Distress and Low Mood in Young People with Cancer.

Purpose: Young people with cancer are at increased risk of depression, yet evidence-based psychological interventions that are tailored to the specific needs of young people with cancer are scarce, and depression in this group may be particularly challenging to recognize and treat. The aims of this study were to (1) explore the views of health professionals in recognizing and treating low mood in young people with cancer and (2) identify the key components of an effective online treatment package for depression in this population.

Methods: Eighteen NHS health professionals with a range of professional backgrounds working directly with young people with cancer were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule.

A Brain Marker for Developmental Speech Disorders.

Objective: To characterize the organization of speech- and language-related white matter tracts in children with developmental speech and/or language disorders.

Study Design: We collected magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging data from 41 children, ages 9-11 years, with developmental speech and/or language disorders, and compared them with 45 typically developing controls with the same age range. We used probabilistic tractography of diffusion-weighted imaging to map language (3 segments of arcuate fasciculus, extreme capsule system) and speech motor (corticobulbar) tracts bilaterally.

The Organization of Working Memory Networks is Shaped by Early Sensory Experience.

Early deafness results in crossmodal reorganization of the superior temporal cortex (STC). Here, we investigated the effect of deafness on cognitive processing. Specifically, we studied the reorganization, due to deafness and sign language (SL) knowledge, of linguistic and nonlinguistic visual working memory (WM).

The Effectiveness of Psychosocial Interventions for Psychological Outcomes in Pediatric Oncology: A Systematic Review.

Context: This review summarizes the current randomized controlled trials literature on psychological and physical outcomes of psychosocial interventions in pediatric oncology.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of psychosocial interventions in children with cancer.

Methods: A search of the literature resulted in a total of 12 randomized clinical trials and these have evaluated psychosocial interventions in children younger than 18 years with current and previous diagnoses of cancer.

The English Version of the Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome-Quality of Life Scale for Children and Adolescents (C&A-GTS-QOL).

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder that can have a detrimental impact on the health-related quality of life of children with the condition. To date no patient-reported health-related quality of life measures have been developed for children and adolescents in the English language. This study validated the first disease-specific scale for the quantitative assessment of health-related quality of life in 118 children and adolescents with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (C&A-GTS-QOL) following language adaptation from Italian to English in the United Kingdom.