Disfluency clusters in speakers with and without neurogenic stuttering following traumatic brain injury

PurposeAnalyze the characteristics and rate of disfluency clusters in adults with and without neurogenic stuttering after traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodTwenty adults with TBI participated in this study, including 10 with neurogenic stuttering (Group B) and 10 without -stuttering (Group A). Disfluency clusters in speech samples were classified into three types: Stuttering-like (SLD), other (OD), and mixed (MIX).ResultsSpeakers with and without neurogenic stuttering produced the same mean number of disfluency clusters. In addition, the mean length of clusters did not differ between these speaker groups although the longest clusters did. The most frequently occurring cluster type for people with neurogenic stuttering was MIX and OD for people without stuttering. Although the speakers in Group A produced stuttering-like disfluencies, these never occurred together to form a SLD type cluster. For Group B, the starter units of the clusters were usually stuttering-like disfluencies, while for Group A, the starter units were mostly interruptions.ConclusionsCompared to non-stuttering speakers, stuttering after TBI did not increase the number of clusters, but rather lengthened them. In speakers with neurogenic stuttering, the number and length of clusters were related to the manifestation of other communication deficits, not to the frequency of stuttering-like disfluencies. Still, SLD clusters occurred only in those people with neurogenic stuttering. These findings raise questions about the nature of both neurogenic stuttering and the dynamics of disfluency clustering.     

Lifetime Acts of Violence Assessment (LAVA) predictors of laboratory aggression

While self-report data warrants interpretive caution in applied settings, these indices serve an important role in exploratory research. The Lifetime Assessment of Violent Acts (LAVA) inventory is a brief, reliable, face-valid questionnaire for estimating the frequency, triggers, and consequences (including injuries to others) of prior acts of aggression. The LAVA also identifies the situational contexts in which prior violence was triggered and provides a basis for risk classifications based on past reactive, intimate partner, alcohol-related, and/or weapon-related violence. Scores on the LAVA indices have been linked to a range of developmental and maladjustment indicators. Associations were found between lab-provoked (Taylor Aggression Paradigm) responding and both dimensional and risk classification scores in this sample (N = 92) of college men. Participants “competed” with a fictional opponent using electric shock as a retaliatory measure for perceived provocation. The total LAVA dimensional score predicted mean shock intensity ( d = .87), baseline responding ( d = 0.90), and past sexual aggression ( d = 1.01). Shock intensities in response to high provocation were predicted ( M d = 0.57) by all but one LAVA index. Participants who reported inflicting one or more injuries on another showed more intense escalations of aggression ( d = 0.46) in response to provocation than normative counterparts. Prior injuries to another ( RR = 2.71), reactive acts of aggression ( RR = 3.73), or intimate-partner violence ( RR = 4.19) elevated the risk of one or more prior acts of self-reported sexual aggression. The limitations and potential value of self-report data were discussed in regard to aggression research.     

A neurodevelopmental perspective on male violence

Research is increasingly documenting a neurobiological basis to violence. This review takes a neurodevelopmental perspective on the very small group of males who grow up to become persistent violent offenders. After outlining six criteria for what constitutes a neurodevelopmental disorder, the extent to which chronic violence meets these definitional criteria is examined, covering the fields of genetics, structural and functional brain imaging, and neuropsychology. Early health risk factors for violence are then outlined, including birth complications, minor physical anomalies, prenatal smoking and alcohol exposure, poor nutrition, lead exposure, and traumatic brain injury. Persistent adult violence is argued to originate in aberrant temperamental behavior in early childhood, to have a stable developmental trajectory, and to be associated with impaired education, social, and occupational functioning. Taken together, it is argued that chronic adult violence meets criterion for being conceptualized as having neurodevelopmental origins and that an important, but not sole, source of neural maldevelopment lies in prenatal and early postnatal risk factors. This review concludes with a recognition of the sociopolitical context within which a neurodevelopmental perspective on chronic violence sits, together with directions for future research, including whether a neurodevelopmental hypothesis is best applied to reactive as opposed to proactive aggression.     

Does transcranial direct current stimulation during writing alleviate upper limb freezing in people with Parkinson’s disease? A pilot study

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) can boost motor performance in Parkinson’s disease (PD) when it is applied at rest. However, the potential supplementary therapeutic effect of the concurrent application of tDCS during the training of motor tasks is largely unknown. The present study examined the effects of tDCS on upper limb motor blocks during a freezing-provoking writing task (the funnel task) requiring up- and down-stroke movements at alternating amplitudes. Ten PD patients and 10 age-matched controls underwent two sessions of writing combined with 20 min of anodal or sham tDCS on the left M1 in a randomized cross-over design. The primary outcome was the number of upper limb freezing episodes during five trials of the funnel task on a touch-sensitive tablet. PD patients showed a significant reduction in freezing episodes during tDCS compared to sham. No effects of tDCS were found for the amplitude, variability and speed of the strokes outside the freezing episodes. However, patients who reported freezing episodes in daily life (N = 6) showed a beneficial effect of tDCS on stroke characteristics. These results indicate a subgroup-dependent variability in response to non-invasive brain stimulation applied during the performance of motor tasks in PD. This warrants future studies to examine tDCS as an adjuvant tool for training programs aimed to reduce motor deficits related to freezing.     

Gender differences in coordination variability between shank and rearfoot during running

Female recreational runners are 2–3 times more likely to suffer from knee injury compared with male runners. However, the exact reason for this gender difference regarding knee injury remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate gender differences in coordination variability between shank and rearfoot during running using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Eleven healthy males and eleven healthy females ran on a treadmill. A modified vector coding technique procedure was used to create joint coupling between shank internal/external rotation and rearfoot eversion/inversion. The standard deviation of each coupling was computed as a measure of coordination variability during the stance phase. All trajectory data of coordination variability between genders were analyzed using a two-sample t-test of SPM. No differences in the normalized spatiotemporal parameters of speed, cadence and step length were found between males and females. SPM showed no significant differences between the genders in coordination variability. This study demonstrated that coordination variability between the shank and rearfoot during running may not be associated with the different incidence rates of knee injuries among male and female participants.     

Deployment trauma and seeking treatment for PTSD in US soldiers

Many service members in need of mental health treatment do not seek such treatment. This study investigated the frequency of Army soldiers’ exposure to specific types of deployment stressors and whether different event-types were associated with willingness to seek and actual receipt of treatment. Male soldiers who were married (n = 600) completed online surveys that assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), willingness to seek treatment for PTSD, actual receipt of PTSD treatment, and the frequency of exposure to 4 types of potentially traumatizing warzone experiences: committing a moral injury, observing a moral injury, threats to life, and traumatic loss. Soldiers who reported greater exposure to moral injury experiences (committed or observed) were less likely to be willing to seek treatment, regardless of PTSD symptom severity. Although exposure to moral injury did not differentiate actual treatment receipt, soldiers who endorsed loss were more likely to have received treatment, regardless of PTSD symptom severity. These results suggest that the types of trauma experienced during deployment may be a factor in postdeployment treatment-seeking attitudes and behaviors.     

句法加工的脑机制

语言理解中,句法加工至关重要,它把各个意义单元以不同的方式整合起来,从而形成整体的意义表征。句法加工的脑机制是心理语言学比较关注的问题,目前由于ERP技术和功能成像技术的进步,使对这一机制的探讨成为可能。该文对有关句法加工的脑机制的研究进行了回顾与总结,并针对目前该领域存在的问题与争论进行了讨论     

情绪应激对不同脑区c-fos表达的影响

利用电击信号和空瓶刺激两种情绪应激体液免疫调节作用动物模型,以c-fos原癌基因为探针,观察情绪应激后2个小时,大鼠全脑的c—fos原癌基因表达情况,探讨情绪应激对不同脑区c—fos表达的影响。结果表明,电击信号和空瓶刺激两种情绪应激源均能引起某些脑区或核团的c—fos蛋白表达明显增加,包括额皮质、扣带皮质、杏仁内侧核、前连合核、下丘脑背内侧核弥散部、弓状核、孤束核。结果提示,这些脑区或核团是情绪应激主要激活的中枢部位。     

琥珀酰明胶容量治疗对脑死亡后血清TNF—α、IL－1β、IL－6水平的影响

为了观察脑死亡后不同液体容量治疗对血清肿瘤坏死因子－α（TNF—α）、白细胞介素－1β（IL-1β）和白细胞介素－6（IL－6）等炎症介质水平改变的影响,选用巴马小型猪15只,随机分为3组各5只,即对照组（C组）、4％改良琥珀酰明胶组（MFG组）及乳酸林格氏液组（RL组）。C组不建立脑死亡模型,给与乳酸林格氏液30ml·kg^-1·d^-1～40ml·kg^-1·d^-1。MGF组和RL组为脑死亡组,采用颅内加压法建立脑死亡模型,MFG组给与4％改良琥珀酰明胶溶液30ml·kg^-1·d^-1,RL组给与乳酸林格氏液30-40ml·kg^-1·d^-1。分别于麻醉后及首次判定脑死亡后3、16、12、18和24h留取血样,检测血清中TNF-α、IL-1β、IL--6水平。结果发现MGF组较RL组血压和心率平稳;RL组TNF--α、IL-1β和IL-6水平自脑死亡后3h点开始逐渐升高;MFG组TNF--α、IL--1β和IL-6水平脑死亡后3h点开始亦升高,但升高幅度均较RL组低;三组间自脑死亡后3h点开始,组间比较差异有统计学意义。提示脑死亡后血清炎症介质TNF—α、IL-1β和IL--6释放增加,琥珀酰明胶可抑制脑死亡后TNF--α、IL--6、IL-1β等炎症介质的释放,减轻炎症反应,改善机体状况。