汉语口吃者在不出声言语中的语音编码

口吃者与非口吃者在不出声言语中语音编码的差异是口吃者语音加工异常的有力证据。通过三个实验,分别考察了口吃者与非口吃者监控汉语拼音中声母、韵母及声调的差异。结果表明,口吃者对声母的监控与非口吃者相比没有显著的差异,但在监控韵母及声调时,口吃者的反应显著慢于非口吃者。研究结果支持了关于口吃的“内在修正假说”,对研究汉语的语音编码有启发,对于口吃的诊断和治疗也有重要的启示     

转换功能对汉语口吃者语音编码的影响

采用双任务范式比较了16名口吃者和16名非口吃者在数字转换任务的同时重复双声词和叠韵词的时间和口吃频率,考察转换功能对于汉语口吃者语音编码的影响。结果表明,转换功能影响汉语口吃者的语音编码：口吃者和非口吃者加工叠韵词比加工双声词需要更多的转换功能。研究结果支持口吃的“内在修正假说”,对口吃的诊断和治疗有重要启示。     

工作记忆中汉语反词长效应机制

工作记忆中的反词长效应(reverse word-length effect)指在对长词和短词混合的词表进行即时序列回忆时, 独立长词回忆成绩优于独立短词的现象。以汉字词语为材料通过3个实验探讨反词长效应的机制。实验1采用纯粹词表和长短词混合词表, 既得到纯粹词词长效应, 也得到独立词反词长效应。实验2削弱了长短词之间的词长差异, 结果独立词反词长效应消失, 且独立词回忆成绩优于纯粹词。实验3设计了视觉延迟条件, 得到与实验1类似的结果, 只是独立词反词长效应有所削弱。三个实验的结果并不一致, 无法用现有的语音回路理论或SIMPLE理论进行很好地解释, 理论的整合与创新显得非常重要。因此, 提出多重编码以既相互竞争又相互补充方式进行平行加工的观点进行更完整地解释。     

刷新功能对汉语口吃者语音编码的影响

该研究采用双任务实验范式比较了口吃者和非口吃者在色点位置刷新任务的同时重复双声词和叠韵词的反应时和口吃频率。结果表明,口吃者和非口吃者加工叠韵词比加工双声词均需要更多的刷新功能。研究结果支持了口吃的"内在修正假说",对口吃的诊断和治疗有重要的启示。     

汉语言语产生中的词长效应

采用启动条件下的词汇命名和图片命名范式, 探讨在汉语言语产生中词长效应的产生机制, 考察概念激活、词条提取和语音编码对词长效应的影响。实验1和实验2表明, 词条提取过程并不影响在词汇命名中的词长效应, 支持多词素词整词通达表征的理论。实验3显示, 概念激活和语音编码共同影响在图片命名中的词长效应, 被试对长词的命名时间显著地长于对短词的命名时间, 对下属水平概念的词汇提取显著地慢于对基本水平概念的词汇提取。研究结果支持多词素词语音编码的序列性和基本水平类别优先习得的观点。     

口吃儿童言语产生中的抑制控制：来自出声Go/Nogo任务的证据

抑制控制在言语产生中起重要作用,其功能异常可能是造成口吃的原因之一。前人研究发现成年口吃者存在与抑制控制相关的脑区(右侧额下回)的过度激活,但在口吃儿童中没有。此外,关于口吃儿童抑制控制的行为研究只运用了按键任务,结果也存在很大争议。故本研究运用出声Go/Nogo任务检验口吃儿童在言语产生中的反应抑制能力。结果发现,口吃组与对照组在击中和虚报的反应时、漏报率和虚报率上均未表现出组间差异,而且口吃组的这些指标与口吃程度也没有显著相关。在排除速度与准确率的权衡后,上述结果支持口吃儿童在言语产生中对发音运动的反应抑制并不存在普遍缺陷,在一定程度上支持了成年口吃者右侧额下回过度激活的补偿解释。     

图-词干扰范式下汉语口吃者的语义编码

采用图-词干扰范式, 通过2个实验考察了汉语口吃者的语义编码。实验1发现, 在基本水平命名中,口吃者与非口吃者均表现出语义干扰效应, 语义相关干扰词的命名时间显著长于语义无关干扰词的命名时间, 口吃者在语义相关干扰条件下所受到的干扰比非口吃者大; 在类别水平命名中, 口吃者与非口吃者的表现类似, 都表现出语义促进效应, 语义相关干扰词的命名时间显著短于语义无关干扰词的命名时间, 语义相关干扰词的命名错误率也显著低于语义无关干扰词的命名错误率。实验2发现, 在基本水平命名中, 当SOA为-200 ms、-100 ms和0 ms时, 语义相关干扰条件下的反应时显著长于在语义无关干扰条件下的反应时, 当SOA为-100 ms和0 ms时, 口吃者的语义干扰效应比非口吃者更加明显。整个研究表明, 口吃者的语义编码出现了延缓, 口吃者比非口吃者需要更多的时间来排除语义干扰词的干扰。研究结果在一定程度上支持了关于口吃的多因素模型。     

年老化对中文阅读眼动控制的影响:来自词长和语境预测性效应的证据

本研究通过对比老年与青年人在阅读中词长、词频和语境预测性效应上的差异,探讨中文阅读中眼动控制的年老化问题。结果发现:(1)词长的年龄主效应显著,注视时间和首次注视位置指标上年龄与词长的交互作用显著;(2)在注视时间指标上发现了显著的词频和语境预测性效应,年龄与语境预测性之间交互作用显著。综合而言,中文阅读中老年读者的词长效应和语境预测性效应不同于青年读者,由此可见,视觉功能和词汇加工功能衰退都是中文阅读眼动控制年老化的诱发原因。     

词长对中文阅读眼跳目标选择的影响：眼动证据

英文阅读研究发现词长对眼跳目标选择有重要影响,阅读等词长的句子时,长词的偏好眼跳长度比短词更长。但是中文文本没有词间空格,读者难以从副中央凹获取词长信息,所以基于英文阅读得出的结果是否适用于中文阅读尚不清楚。本研究采用等词长句子阅读范式,使用全部由单字词或双字词组成的句子或由各种词长的词汇组成的混合句作为实验材料,考察词长对中文阅读眼跳目标选择的影响。结果发现,中文阅读中的眼跳长度会随词长变化而变化,双字词句的眼跳入长度和眼跳出长度均显著长于单字词句,支持了基于词中心的眼跳长度假设;同时,实验也发现混合句中的双字词的眼跳长度和双字词句中双字词的眼跳长度没有显著差异,支持了基于加工情况的眼跳目标选择策略;综合二者,说明中文阅读中,读者眼跳目标选择可能建立在副中央凹对词长信息加工的基础之上。     

老年人书写产生中词汇频率和音节频率效应的时间进程:ERP研究

本研究运用事件相关电位技术,考察了老年人(60岁以上)汉语词汇书写产生过程中的词汇频率效应和音节频率效应的时间进程。实验中采用图画命名范式,要求被试在看到图画之后迅速且准确地写出相应的名称。结果表明:词汇频率和音节频率影响汉字书写的潜伏期,表现为高词汇频率词的书写潜伏期短于低词汇频率词,高音节频率词的书写潜伏期短于低音节频率词;在书写产生的早期阶段,词频与音节频率效应独立发生,早期词频效应可能来源于正字法词典中信息的提取,早期音节频率效应可能来源于语音词典中对音节的提取,且词频效应早于音节频率效应,这为"正字法自主假设"提供了支持证据。在书写产生的晚期阶段,词频和音节频率之间存在交互作用,这可能是由于语音词典和正字法词典之间的双向联结,激活的双向扩散引起的。语音信息在书写产生过程被激活,在较晚的阶段影响了正字法编码过程。     

准备间隔对口吃者言语反应速度的影响

为了考察准备间隔对口吃者言语反应速度的影响,作者采用固定准备间隔下的预备反应时范式,设置了6种准备间隔,通过三个系列实验,检测口吃者的最佳言语准备间隔。结果发现,无论时间压力（项目间隔）怎样变化,口吃被试的问题在于,当准备间隔增加到800ms时,他们无法有效保持或提高反应速度;而且,这一现象只在言语命名任务上表现明显。作者认为,口吃者在言语运动准备过程中的异常,很可能是引起口吃现象的重要原因。     

Phonological encoding in the silent speech of persons who stutter

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of phonological encoding in the silent speech of persons who stutter (PWS) and persons who do not stutter (PNS). Participants were 10 PWS (M=30.4 years, S.D.=7.8), matched in age, gender, and handedness with 11 PNS (M=30.1 years, S.D.=7.8). Each participant performed five tasks: a familiarization task, an overt picture naming task, a task of self-monitoring target phonemes during concurrent silent picture naming, a task of monitoring target pure tones in aurally presented tonal sequences, and a simple motor task requiring finger button clicks in response to an auditory tone. Results indicated that PWS were significantly slower in phoneme monitoring compared to PNS. No significant between-group differences were present for response speed during the auditory monitoring, picture naming or simple motor tasks, nor did the two groups differ for percent errors in any of the experimental tasks. The findings were interpreted to suggest a specific deficiency at the level of phonological monitoring, rather than a general monitoring, reaction time or auditory monitoring deficit in PWS. Educational objectives: As a result of this activity, the participant should: (1) identify and assess the literature on phonological encoding skills in PWS, (2) enumerate and evaluate some major psycholinguistic theories of stuttering, and (3) describe the mechanism by which defective phonological encoding can disrupt fluent speech production.     

Phoneme monitoring in silent naming and perception in adults who stutter

The present study investigated phonological encoding skills in persons who stutter (PWS). Participants were 10 PWS (M = 31.8 years, S.D. = 5.9) matched for age, gender, and handedness with 12 persons who do not stutter (PNS) (M = 24.3 years, S.D. = 4.3). The groups were compared in a phoneme monitoring task performed during silent picture naming. The phonological complexity of the target items in the task was varied such that participants monitored either compound words or noun phrases. Performance in this task was compared to phoneme monitoring performed on aurally presented target words to investigate whether any differences observed in silent naming were also evident in perception. Analysis of the response time data, in milliseconds, indicated that PWS were significantly slower as compared to PNS in phoneme monitoring during silent naming; group differences were not obtained in the perception task. The groups were also comparable in the response time to phoneme monitoring within compound words and noun phrases in both silent naming and perception. The findings suggested that PWS were slower in the encoding of segmental, phonological units during silent naming. Furthermore, absence of such differences in perception ruled out a general monitoring deficit in PWS. Findings are interpreted within the context of the psycholinguistic theories of stuttering that postulate phonological encoding and/or monitoring as a causal variable in stuttering.

Educational objectives: As a result of this activity, the participant should: (1) describe relevant literature on phonological encoding skills in children and adults who stutter, (2) identify paradigms that can be used to investigate phonological processing in PWS, and (3) discuss the role of phonological encoding in speech production.     

Speeded verbal responding in adults who stutter: are there deficits in linguistic encoding?

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 RT from semantically related primes and the magnitude of facilitation from phonologically related primes. PWS also did not differ from controls in the degree to which words were faster than non-words during choice RT, although PWS were slower overall than controls. Simple RT showed no difference between groups, or between words and non-words, suggesting differences in speech initiation time do not explain the choice RT results. The findings are consistent with PWS not being deficient in the time course of lexical activation and selection, phonological encoding, and phonetic encoding. Potential deficits underlying slow choice RTs outside of linguistic encoding are discussed. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to (1) describe possible relationships between linguistic encoding processes and speech motor control difficulties in people who stutter; (2) explain the role of lexical priming tasks during speech production in evaluating the efficiency of linguistic encoding; (3) describe the different levels of processing that may be involved in slow verbal responding by people who stutter, and identify which levels could be involved based on the findings of the present study.     

The nature and treatment of stuttering as revealed by fMRI A within- and between-group comparison

This article reviews some of our recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of stuttering. Using event-related fMRI experiments, we investigated brain activation during speech production. Results of three studies comparing persons who stutter (PWS) and persons who do not stutter (PWNS) are outlined. Their findings point to a region in the right frontal operculum (RFO) that was consistently implicated in stuttering. During overt reading and before fluency shaping therapy, PWS showed higher and more distributed neuronal activation than PWNS. Immediately after therapy differential activations were even more distributed and left sided. They extended to frontal, temporal, and parietal regions, anterior cingulate, insula, and putamen. These over-activations were slightly reduced and again more right sided two years after therapy. Left frontal deactivations remained stable over two years of observation, and therefore possibly indicate a dysfunction. After therapy, we noted higher activations in persons who stutter moderately than in those who stutter severely. These activations might reflect patterns of compensation. We discuss why these findings suggest that fluency-inducing techniques might synchronize a disturbed signal transmission between auditory, speech motor planning, and motor areas.

Educational objectives: The reader will learn about and be able to: (1) identify regions of brain activations and deactivations specific for PWS; (2) describe brain activation changes induced by fluency shaping therapy; and (3) discuss the correlation between stuttering severity and brain activation.     

The influence of workplace discrimination and vigilance on job satisfaction with people who stutter

Purpose The purpose of the present study is to examine the association between workplace discrimination, vigilance, and job satisfaction in people who stutter and compare this with people who do not stutter. Method Seventy-two people who stutter (PWS) and 92 people who do not stutter (PWNS) participated in an online survey. Participants completed a survey assessing 6 different areas: (a) background information, (b) job satisfaction, (c) everyday discrimination, and (d) heightened vigilance. Mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable. Results There was a relationship between being a PWS and job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. PWS were found to experience higher discrimination as well as be more vigilant. Discrimination and vigilance were found to mediate the relationship between stuttering and job satisfaction. Conclusion Results of this study indicate that the participants who stutter differ from PWNS in their job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. Clinicians can prepare PWS with self-advocacy strategies, legal knowledge of what their rights are as an employee who identifies as a person who stutters with a disability, a legal understanding of workplace discrimination, and counseling on the impact of vigilance on workplace experiences.     

Picture Naming Deficits in Developmental Dyslexia: The Phonological Representations Hypothesis

The picture and word naming performance of developmental dyslexics was compared to the picture and word naming performance of non-dyslexic (“garden variety”) poor readers, reading age, and chronological age-matched controls. The stimulus list used for both tasks was systematically manipulated for word length and word frequency. In order to examine picture naming errors in more depth, an object name recognition test assessed each subject's vocabulary knowledge of those names which they were unable to spontaneously label in the picture naming task. Findings indicated that the dyslexic and the garden variety poor readers exhibited a picture naming deficit relative to both chronological and reading age-matched controls. Findings also indicated that both groups of impaired readers obtained superior scores in the word naming task than in the picture naming task, while both groups of controls showed no difference in performance across tasks. The dyslexics' picture naming errors, but not those of the garden variety poor readers, were particularly marked on polysyllabic and/or low frequency words, indicating a possible phonological basis to the picture naming deficit of the dyslexic children. These children also recognized significantly more unnamed target words than all comparison groups, suggesting a particular difficulty inretrievingthe phonological codes of known picture names rather than a vocabulary deficit. Results are discussed in terms of dyslexics' difficulty in encoding full segmental phonological representations of names in long-term memory and/or in processing these representations in order to generate required names on demand.     

Gestural overlap in consonant clusters: effects on the fluent speech of stuttering and non-stuttering subjects

This study was designed to investigate if persons who stutter differ from persons who do not stutter in the coproduction of different types of consonant clusters, as measured in the number of dysfluencies and incorrect speech productions, in speech reaction times and in word durations. Based on the Gestural Phonology Model of Browman and Goldstein, two types of consonant clusters were formed: homorganic and heterorganic clusters, both intra-syllabic (CVCC) and inter-syllabic (CVC#CVC). Overall, the results indicated that homorganic clusters elicited more incorrect speech productions and longer reaction times than the heterorganic clusters, but there was no difference between the homorganic and the heterorganic clusters in the word duration data. Persons who stutter showed a higher percentage dysfluencies and a higher percentage incorrect speech productions than PWNS but there were no main group effects in reaction times and word durations. However, there was a significant three-way interaction effect between group, cluster type and cluster place: homorganic clusters elicited longer reaction times than heterorganic clusters, but only in the inter-syllabic condition and only for persons who stutter. These results suggest that the production of two consonants with the same place of articulation across a syllable boundary puts higher demands on motor planning and/or initiation than producing the same cluster at the end of a syllable, in particular for PWS. The findings are discussed in light of current theories on speech motor control in stuttering. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to describe: (1) the effect of gestural overlap between consonant clusters on speech reaction time and word duration of people who do and do not stutter and be able to (2) identify the literature in the field of gestural overlap between consonant clusters.