Topographical relationship of the amygdaloid body to the hippocampal formation and lateral ventricle – MRI study

The relationship of the amygdaloid body to the hippocampal formation and lateral ventricle was studied on MRI slabs of brains of 25 volunteers. Considering the presence of the hippocampal formation and/or uncal sulcus on a cross-section three segments of the amygdaloid body were distinguished in rostro-caudal order: prehippocampal, suprahippocampal anterior (preuncal) and suprahippocampal posterior (uncal), each one presenting characteristic features. The lengths of the amygdaloid body and of its segments were calculated. In each segment the great variability of the topographical relations was found. Especially in the suprahippocampal anterior segment the relation of the lateral ventricle to both, the amygdaloid body and hippocampus shows great differences, even between the right and left side

The phonological skills of bilingual preschool children speaking Polish and Ukrainian in Poland

Zagadnienie jakościowych i ilościowych różnic w rozwoju fonologicznym dwujęzycznych oraz ich jednojęzycznych równieśników jest problemem nierozstrzygniętym, zwłaszcza w kontekście języków zbliżonych ze sobą typologicznie. Niniejsza publikacja prezentuje badanie, służące analizie rozwoju fonologicznego dwujęzycznych dzieci przedszkolnych, mówiących po polsku i ukraińsku, czyli niezbadanych pod tym kątem języków słowiańskich. W badaniu wzięło udział 57 dzieci w wieku od 4;0-6;0 - 18 z nich to dzieci dwujęzyczne z Polski, 19 to dzieci jednojęzyczne z Polski i 20 to dzieci jednojęzyczne z Ukrainy. W badaniu użyto kwestionariuszy obrazkowych za pomocą których zebrano realizacje dzieci. Wyniki badania pokazały dwujęzyczny rozwój fonologiczny w większości z użyciem typowych wzorców, silnymi wpływami międzyjęzykowymi i rzadkimi procesami, które były trudne do interpretacji. Autorzy wysunęli hipotezę, iż ogólny rozwój fonologiczny dzieci dwujęzycznych może opierać się na typowych wzorcach, zwłaszcza między językami podobnymi do siebie. Badanie potwierdziło również konieczność dwujęzycznego badania dzieci. Błędy, które nie są zinterpretowane jako typowe dla rozwoju albo wynikające z kontaktu językowych mogą być objawem zaburzenia.The extent of quantitative and qualitative differences in phonological development between bilingual children and their monolingual counterparts remains unresolved, especially with regard to typologically related languages. The current study used a comparative research design to examine the phonological skills of preschool children speaking Polish and Ukrainian, a pair of Slavic languages hitherto unexplored in this context. It involved 57 typically-developing children aged 4;0-6;0, i.e. 18 bilingual children speaking Polish and Ukrainian in Poland, 19 monolingual Polish children in Poland and 20 monolingual Ukrainian children in Ukraine. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of data collected through single word elicitation tests involved between-group comparisons of bilingual and monolingual children’s speech and within-group comparisons of the bilingual children’s phonological systems. Results paint a complex picture of bilingual phonological development with mostly typical patterns, a strong crosslinguistic influence, and rare processes which are difficult to interpret. Authors hypothesise that such general patterns of phonological process use might be typical of bilingual development involving typologically-related and geographically close languages. Findings underscore the need to assess bilingual children in all their languages and dialects. Errors which cannot be interpreted through either rules of normal development or crosslinguistic interaction could be a sign of disorder

Height and relative leg length as indicators of the quality of the environment among Mozambican juveniles and adolescents

The growth status of Mozambique adolescents was assessed to test the hypothesis that relative leg length is a more sensitive indicator of the quality of the environment than the total height. The sample comprised 690 boys and 727 girls, aged between 9 and 17 years, from Maputo. It is divided between those living in the Centre of Maputo and those living in the slums on the periphery of the city. Height, weight, and sitting height were measured and the sitting height ratio was calculated. The hypothesis that relative leg length is more sensitive than total stature as an indicator of environmental quality is not uniformly confirmed. Overall, mean stature is greater for the centre group than the slum group, but relative leg length as measured by the sitting height ratio does not differ. Compared with African-American references (NHANES II), all centre girls, 9- to 14-year-old slum girls, all slum boys, and the oldest centre boys show relatively shorter legs. These findings show that within the Mozambique sample, relative leg length is not sensitive enough to distinguish the quality of the living environment. Mozambique was a colony of Portugal until 1975. Civil unrest and warfare characterized the late Colonial period and the postindependence period until a peace settlement was concluded in 1992. It is possible that all socioeconomic status groups within the country suffered sufficiently to reduce relative leg length compared with the better-off African-American reference sample. Possible genetic influences on relative leg length are also discussed. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc