Impairment of syntax and lexical semantics in a patient with bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction

Bilateral vascular thalamic lesions are rare. Although a variety of neurobehavioral manifestations have been described, the literature is less documented with regard to accompanying linguistic disturbances. This article presents an in-depth neurolinguistic analysis of the language symptoms of a patient who incurred bilateral paramedian ischemic damage of the thalamus. In the post-acute phase of the stroke, a unique combination of transcortical sensory aphasia with syntactic impairment was found. Because of this atypical semiological association, additional analyses of spontaneous speech were performed. In spite of the typological affinity with the grammatic characteristic of marked simplification of syntax observed in Broca's aphasia, only a wordclass specific, lexical-semantic deficit for verbs was objectified. The hypothesis that lexical-semantic disturbances in our patient might result from a functional deafferentiation of both thalami with the frontal lobe is supported by: (1) associated neuropsychological deficits of frontal origin and (2) frontal-like behavioral disturbances.     

Neuropsychological evidence for "word-meaning deafness" in a Spanish-speaking patient

In this paper we present a case of "word-meaning deafness," characterised by serious problems in the comprehension of spoken language, whilst repetition and writing words and non-words from dictation are preserved. This performance indicates the impossibility of correctly accessing phonological representation from the semantic representation of words. Neuropsychological evidence on specific alterations in word-meaning disorders is scarce, and this study contributes new findings with a Spanish-speaking patient. The nature of the processes involved in understanding language and the cerebral mechanisms that might be affected in each case were discussed, in accordance with current neuropsychological theories.     

ERPs and contextual semantic discrimination: degrees of congruence in wakefulness and sleep

This study explores whether the brain can discriminate degrees of semantic congruency during wakefulness and sleep. Experiment 1 was conducted during wakefulness to test degrees of congruency by means of N400 amplitude. In Experiment 2, the same paradigm was applied to a different group of participants during natural night sleep. Stimuli were 108 sentences (definitions with two attributes) with four possible degrees of congruence as ending targets. In both studies, the amplitude of N400-like effect showed modulation according to the degree of congruency. The results indicate that the brain can accomplish sentential semantic discriminations not only in wakefulness but also in sleep.     

Is peer victimization related to body esteem in 10-year-old girls and boys?

Several studies show that a history of exposure to appearance-related teasing is linked to body dissatisfaction. This study extends those findings by examining the impact of bullying, and other forms of peer victimization, on different aspects of 10-year-old girls’ and boys’ body esteem. Participants were 960 Swedish 10-year-olds, 515 girls and 445 boys. Principal results show that social exclusion is related to 10-year-olds’ evaluations of their general appearance, to evaluations of their weight, and to beliefs about how others perceive their appearance. Furthermore, bullied girls have poorer body esteem in terms of beliefs of how others perceive their appearance than do bullied boys. Appearance teasing was associated with girls’ poorer body esteem in terms of general appearance and beliefs of others views of their appearance. For boys, teasing was associated with poorer body esteem on all dimensions. Thus, this study implies that a wider range of peer victimization relates to children's negative self-perceptions than was former known.     

Eye movement assessment of selective attentional capture by emotional pictures

The eye-tracking method was used to assess attentional orienting to and engagement on emotional visual scenes. In Experiment 1, unpleasant, neutral, or pleasant target pictures were presented simultaneously with neutral control pictures in peripheral vision under instruction to compare pleasantness of the pictures. The probability of first fixating an emotional picture, and the frequency of subsequent fixations, were greater than those for neutral pictures. In Experiment 2, participants were instructed to avoid looking at the emotional pictures, but these were still more likely to be fixated first and gazed longer during the first-pass viewing than neutral pictures. Low-level visual features cannot explain the results. It is concluded that overt visual attention is captured by both unpleasant and pleasant emotional content.     

Phoneme awareness is a key component of alphabetic literacy skills in consistent and inconsistent orthographies: evidence from Czech and English children

Two studies investigated the importance of phoneme awareness relative to other predictors in the development of reading and spelling among children learning a consistent orthography (Czech) and an inconsistent orthography (English). In Study 1, structural equation models revealed that Czech (n=107) and English (n=71) data were fitted well by the same predictors of reading and spelling. Phoneme awareness was a unique predictor in all models. In Study 2, Czech (n=40) and English (n=27) children with dyslexia showed similar deficits on phoneme awareness relative to their age- and spelling-matched control peers. Phoneme awareness appears to be a core component skill of alphabetic literacy, which is equally important for learners of consistent and inconsistent orthographies.     

A test of major assumptions about behavior change: a comprehensive look at the effects of passive and active HIV-prevention interventions since the beginning of the epidemic

This meta-analysis tested the major theoretical assumptions about behavior change by examining the outcomes and mediating mechanisms of different preventive strategies in a sample of 354 HIV-prevention interventions and 99 control groups, spanning the past 17 years. There were 2 main conclusions from this extensive review. First, the most effective interventions were those that contained attitudinal arguments, educational information, behavioral skills arguments, and behavioral skills training, whereas the least effective ones were those that attempted to induce fear of HIV. Second, the impact of the interventions and the different strategies behind them was contingent on the gender, age, ethnicity, risk group, and past condom use of the target audience in ways that illuminate the direction of future preventive efforts.     

The Death Anxiety Inventory: a revision

This work was an analysis of responses to the Death Anxiety Inven tory from 866 Spanish participants, 673 women and 193 men. Eliminating an item with a negative corrected item-total correlation and two more items which had low loadings on all factors yielded a 17-item inventory with a Cronbach coefficient alpha of .92 and a factorial structure of four significant factors which accounted for 65.8% of the total variance. These four factors were labeled Death Acceptance, Externally Generated Death Anxiety, Death Finality, and Thoughts About Death.     

Environmental topography and postural control demands shape aging-associated decrements in spatial navigation performance

This study tests the hypothesis that aging-induced cognitive permeation of sensorimotor functions contributes to adult age differences in spatial navigation performance. Virtual maze-like museums were projected in front of a treadmill. Sixteen 20-30-year-old men and sixteen 60-70-year-old men performed a way-finding task in city-block or variable topographies while walking with or without support. Walking support attenuated age-related decrements in navigational learning. Navigation load increased trunk-angle variability for older adults only. Age differences in spatial knowledge persisted despite perfect place-finding performance. City-block topography was easier than variable topography for younger adults only, indicating age-related differences in reliance on spatial relational learning. Attempts at supporting older adults' navigation performance should consider sensorimotor/cognitive interactions and qualitative differences in navigational activity.