A comparison of cognitive processing during cloze and multiple-choice reading tests using brain activation

This study compares cognitive processing and cerebral activation during a cloze test to a multiple-choice reading test. Data were obtained through an innovative neuroimaging technique (near-infrared spectroscopy, NIRS) and stimulated recall interviews. Fifteen Japanese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners participated. Greater brain activation was observed in the cloze condition than in the multiple-choice condition. Individual variation in degree of cerebral activation was also found and further examined by referencing the stimulated recall interviews. Pedagogical and research implications are provided, especially emphasizing that practitioners and researchers should exercise caution and informed judgment when they use cloze tests

Cerebral tissue pO2 response to stimulation is preserved with age in awake mice

Published in final edited form as: Neurosci Lett. 2019 April 23; 699: 160–166. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2019.02.007.Compromised oxygen supply to cerebral tissue could be an important mechanism contributing to age-related cognition decline. We recently showed in awake mice that resting cerebral tissue pO2 decreases with age, a phenomenon that manifests mainly after middle-age. To extend these findings, here we aimed to study how tissue pO2 response to neuronal stimulation is affected by aging. We used two-photon phosphorescence lifetime microscopy to directly measure the brain tissue pO2 response to whisker stimulation in healthy awake young, middle-aged and old mice. We show that despite a decrease in baseline tissue pO2, the amplitude of the tissue pO2 response to stimulation is well preserved with age. However, the response dynamics are altered towards a slower response with reduced post-stimulus undershoot in older ages, possibly due to stiffer vessel wall among other factors. An estimation of the net oxygen consumption rate using a modified Krogh model suggests that the O2 overshoot during stimulation may be necessary to secure a higher capillary O2 delivery to the tissue proportional to increased CMRO2 to maintain the capillary tissue pO2. It was observed that the coupling between the CMRO2 and capillary O2 delivery is preserved with age.Accepted manuscrip

The cerebral basis for language learner strategies: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

In this paper, we validate Macaro\u27s (2006) model of strategy use among language learners by assessing the amount of neural activity around the prefrontal cortex, the supposed locus of working memory (WM). We also examine whether WM activation during first language (L1) strategy deployment is lower than WM activation during second language (L2) strategy deployment, as predicted by Macaro\u27s model. In theanalysis, we consider data obtained through an innovative neuroimaging technique (nearinfrared spectroscopy) and stimulated-recall interviews. The results reveal greater brain activity during execution of the L1 and L2 tasks than in a control condition; further, use of strategies in the L2 resulted in stronger WM activation than use of strategies in the L1. These results provide partial support for the validity of Macaro\u27s model

The impact of aging and language proficiency on the interhemispheric dynamics for discourse processing: a nirs study

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura CorrespondenteO estudo do cérebro bilíngüe e em fase de envelhecimento pode trazer evidências importantes para nossa compreensão da dinâmica cerebral no processamento lingüístico. Há uma necessidade de se implementarem estudos que investiguem o processamento do discurso por estas populações. Neste estudo, investigou-se o processamento de narrativas em seus níveis micro-, macro-proposicional e situacional por bilíngües de proficiência intermediária na língua estrangeira (L1 inglês e L2 francês) e por indivíduos idosos. Os participantes leram narrativas seguidas de asserções as quais contemplavam um dos três níveis do discurso e julgavam a plausibilidade da informação apresentada na asserção com referência ao texto correspondente. Os resultados trazidos pelo estudo sugerem a possibilidade da aplicação de abordagens teóricas similares para explicar o processamento lingüístico nestas duas populações. Embora originadas por diferentes razões (envelhecimento ou reduzida proficiência na segunda língua), as deficiências ou limitações trazidas à compreensão da linguagem geram padrões comparáveis nas mudanças hemodinâmicas no cérebro (por exemplo, mudanças hemodinâmicas mais significativas, difusas ou em alguns casos bilaterais), as quais parecem poder ser explicadas através do mesmo enquadramento teórico, proposto por Banich e colegas. A partir dos dados, parece plausível afirmar-se que, em ambos os grupos, os hemisférios tenderam a cooperar e dividir os custos impostos pelo processamento da tarefa, ou solicitaram uma mais prominente ativação na área recrutada para executar a tarefa. De modo semelhante ao que é postulado pelo modelo, um aumento na ativação em uma região e/ou as contribuições entre os hemisférios foram positivamente correlacionadas ao nível de complexidade da tarefa. The study of the bilingual and of the aging brain has the potential to offer important evidences for our understanding of the cerebral dynamics for language processing. There is a special need of studies to investigate discourse processing by these populations. In this study, intermediate-proficiency bilinguals (English as L1 and French as L2) and elderly individuals' narrative processing at the micro-, macro-structural and situational levels were investigated, by the application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Participants read narratives followed by probes, which tapped one of the three levels, and judged the plausibility of their information by reference to the corresponding passage. The findings brought by the study suggest the possibility of the application of similar theoretical approaches to explain language processing in these two populations. Although emerging from different reasons (aging or low proficiency in the L2), the deficits or limitations brought to language comprehension generate some comparable inter-hemispheric patterns in brain hemodynamics (for instance that of more relevant, wider and in some cases bilateral hemodynamic changes), which are compatible with the theoretical framework proposed by Banich and colleagues. Thus, it seems to be arguable that in both populations the hemispheres tended to cooperate and share the costs for task processing, or demanded an increased activation in the recruited area in order to accomplish the task. Similarly to the assumptions made by the model, it seems to be plausible to state that the increase of activation within a region and/or the interhemispheric contributions were positively correlated to the amount of task difficulty

The cerebral basis for language learner strategies: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

In this paper, we validate Macaro’s (2006) model of strategy use among language learners by assessing the amount of neural activity around the prefrontal cortex, the supposed locus of working memory (WM). We also examine whether WM activation during first language (L1) strategy deployment is lower than WM activation during second language (L2) strategy deployment, as predicted by Macaro’s model. In the analysis, we consider data obtained through an innovative neuroimaging technique (near-infrared spectroscopy) and stimulated- recall interviews. The results reveal greater brain activity during execution of the L1 and L2 tasks than in a control condition; further, use of strategies in the L2 resulted in stronger WM activation than use of strategies in the L1. These results provide partial support for the validity of Macaro’s model

Comparison of Neurological Activation Patterns of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders When Verbally Responding to a Pragmatic Task

This study examined the neurological activation of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) while performing a pragmatic judgment task. In this study, children between the ages of 9 and 15 years responded to questions regarding a social situation, taken from the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language, while concurrently having their brain activity measured. We targeted four brain regions for analysis: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), superior temporal gyrus (STG), and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Ten children with ASD and 20 typically developing (TD) children participated. Matching occurred in a bracketing manner with each child in the ASD group being matched to two control children to account for natural variability. Neuroimgaging was conducted utilizing functional Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood concentration levels were measured through Near‐Infrared light cap with 44 channels. The cap was placed over frontal lobe and the left lateral cortex. The placement was spatially registered using the Polhemus. Analysis indicated that children in the ASD group performed significantly poorer than their controls on the pragmatic judgment task. Mixed repeated measures analysis of variance of neurological data indicated that the children with ASD had lower concentration levels of oxygenated and total hemoglobin across the four regions. There were significantly higher concentration levels for oxygenated and total hemoglobin in the STG. Analysis of correct and incorrect responses revealed significantly more activation in the OFC when responses were correct. Additionally, there was a significant interaction of Accuracy and Group in left DLPFC. Children with ASD presented higher oxygenated hemoglobin concentration values when responding correctly, while children in the control group presented higher oxygenated hemoglobin concentration values for the incorrect items. Statistical Parametric Mapping was performed for each triad to assess the diffusion of neural activation across the frontal cortex and the left lateral cortex. Individual comparisons revealed that 7 out of 10 children with ASD demonstrated patterns consistent with more diffuse brain activation than their TD controls. Findings from this study suggest that an fNIRS study can provide important information about the level and diffusion of neural processing of verbal children and adolescents with ASD

Emotional speech and affective touch processing in children less than 2 years of age

Speech and touch are fundamental ways of communicating emotions in infancy and early childhood. However, little is known about emotional processing in children. The aim of this dissertation was to examine emotional speech and affective touch processing in children less than two years of age. Study I was a systematic review on emotional processing studies done using near-infrared spectroscopy in children up to two years of age. Study II examined two-monthold infant brain responses to different types of emotional speech using diffuse optical tomography (DOT); and Study III explored their association with selfreported maternal pregnancy-related anxiety. Study IV investigated affective touch processing in two-year-old children by using DOT. Bilateral temporal cortical activation was most commonly reported in response to emotional stimuli in children less than two years of age in earlier studies using NIRS (Study I). In two-month-old infants, we found a positive HbT response to happy > neutral speech in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and happy > angry speech in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and pSTS (Study II). We found that infant HbT responses to sad speech, over left STG and midinsula, correlated negatively with pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms at gestational week 24 (Study III). We observed a positive HbT response to affective touch in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left middle temporal gyrus in two-year-old children (Study IV). Our results demonstrate that two-months-old infants show differential activation to happy speech as compared to neutral and angry speech. In addition, twomonth-old infants’ attenuated processing of sad speech associates with maternal prenatal pregnancy-related anxiety during mid-pregnancy. Lastly, affective touch is processed in two-year-old children in the key components of the “social brain”, and thus affective touch probably plays an important role in forming social bonds between children and their caregivers.Emotionaalisen puheen ja affektiivisen kosketuksen käsittely alle kaksivuotiaiden lasten aivoissa. Puhe ja kosketus ovat keskeisiä tapoja viestiä tunteita lapsuudessa. Hyvin vähän kuitenkin tiedetään tunteiden prosessoinnista lasten aivoissa. Tämän väitöskirjan tarkoituksena oli tutkia tunneäänien ja tunnepitoisen kosketuksen prosessointia alle 2 vuotiailla lapsilla. Tutkimus I oli systemaattinen katsaus tunteiden prosessoinnista 0-2 vuotiailla lapsilla käyttäen lähi-infrapunaspektroskopiaa. Tutkimus II selvitti kahden kuukauden ikäisten vauvojen aivovasteita eri tyyppisille tunneäänille käyttäen diffuusia optista tomografiaa (DOT); ja Tutkimus III keskittyi selvittämään näiden aivovasteiden yhteyttä raskauteen liittyvään ahdistuneisuuteen, jota mitattiin PRAQ-R2 kyselylomakkeella raskauden aikana. Tutkimus IVssä tutkittiin kaksivuotiaiden lasten tunnepitoisen kosketuksen aivovasteita DOTia käyttäen. Havaitsimme, että temporaalilohkon aktivaatio lapsilla aivojen kummallakin puolella oli tavallisin vaste tunnestimuluksille kun tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin NIRSiä alle 2 vuotiailla lapsilla (Tutkimus I). Kahden kuukauden ikäisillä vauvoilla havaitsimme positiivisen HbT-vasteen iloiselle > neutraalille puheäänelle vasemman puolen posteriorisessa superiorisessa temporaalisulkuksessa (pSTS) ja iloiselle > vihaiselle puheäänelle vasemman puolen superiorisessa temporaaligyruksessa (STG) (Tutkimus II). Havaitsimme myös, että vauvojen HbT vasteet surulliselle puheäänelle vasemman puolen STGssa ja insulan keskiosassa korreloivat negatiivisesti raskauteen liittyviin ahdistuneisuusoireisiin raskausviikolla 24 (Tutkimus III). Osoitimme lisäksi, että tunnepitoinen kosketus aiheuttaa positiivisen HbT vasteen vasemman puolen inferiorisessa frontaaligyruksessa (IFG) ja vasemman puolen temporaalilohkon keskiosassa kaksivuotiailla lapsilla (Tutkimus IV).Tuloksemme osoittavat, että kahden kuukauden ikäisten vauvojen aivot reagoivat eri tavalla iloiseen puheääneen kuin neutraaliin ja vihaiseen puheääneen. Lisäksi tämän ikäisten vauvojen korostuneet vasteet surulliselle puheäänelle liittyivät äidin raskauteen liittyvään ahdistuneisuuteen. Lopuksi kävi ilmi, että tunnepitoista kosketusta prosessoidaan kaksivuotiaiden lasten aivoissa keskeisillä “sosiaalisten aivojen” alueilla ja siksi tunnepitoisella kosketuksella todennäköisesti on merkittävä rooli sosiaalisten siteiden muodostamisessa lasten ja heitä hoitavien aikuisten välillä

Attention and speech-processing related functional brain networks activated in a multi-speaker environment

Human listeners can focus on one speech stream out of several concurrent ones. The present study aimed to assess the whole-brain functional networks underlying a) the process of focusing attention on a single speech stream vs. dividing attention between two streams and 2) speech processing on different time-scales and depth. Two spoken narratives were presented simultaneously while listeners were instructed to a) track and memorize the contents of a speech stream and b) detect the presence of numerals or syntactic violations in the same (“focused attended condition”) or in the parallel stream (“divided attended condition”). Speech content tracking was found to be associated with stronger connectivity in lower frequency bands (delta band- 0,5–4 Hz), whereas the detection tasks were linked with networks operating in the faster alpha (8–10 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) bands. These results suggest that the oscillation frequencies of the dominant brain networks during speech processing may be related to the duration of the time window within which information is integrated. We also found that focusing attention on a single speaker compared to dividing attention between two concurrent speakers was predominantly associated with connections involving the frontal cortices in the delta (0.5–4 Hz), alpha (8–10 Hz), and beta bands (13–30 Hz), whereas dividing attention between two parallel speech streams was linked with stronger connectivity involving the parietal cortices in the delta and beta frequency bands. Overall, connections strengthened by focused attention may reflect control over information selection, whereas connections strengthened by divided attention may reflect the need for maintaining two streams in parallel and the related control processes necessary for performing the tasks.</div