The modulating effect of education on semantic interference during healthy aging

Aging has traditionally been related to impairments in name retrieval. These impairments have usually been explained by a phonological transmission deficit hypothesis or by an inhibitory deficit hypothesis. This decline can, however, be modulated by the educational level of the sample. This study analyzed the possible role of these approaches in explaining both object and face naming impairments during aging. Older adults with low and high educational level and young adults with high educational level were asked to repeatedly name objects or famous people using the semantic-blocking paradigm. We compared naming when exemplars were presented in a semantically homogeneous or in a semantically heterogeneous context. Results revealed significantly slower rates of both face and object naming in the homogeneous context (i.e., semantic interference), with a stronger effect for face naming. Interestingly, the group of older adults with a lower educational level showed an increased semantic interference effect during face naming. These findings suggest the joint work of the two mechanisms proposed to explain age-related naming difficulties, i.e., the inhibitory deficit and the transmission deficit hypothesis. Therefore, the stronger vulnerability to semantic interference in the lower educated older adult sample would possibly point to a failure in the inhibitory mechanisms in charge of interference resolution, as proposed by the inhibitory deficit hypothesis. In addition, the fact that this interference effect was mainly restricted to face naming and not to object naming would be consistent with the increased age-related difficulties during proper name retrieval, as suggested by the transmission deficit hypothesis.This research was supported by grants PSI2013-46033-P to A.M., PSI2015-65502-C2-1-P to M.T.B., PCIN-2015-165-C02-01 to D.P., PSI2017-89324-C2-1-P to DP from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (http://www.mineco.gob.es/)

Correlations between motor and cognitive skills in young basketball players: A bivariate regression analysis

The present literature highlights the importance of the cognitive aspects in the motor development of the sporty, Typically Developing children. The cognitive aspects permit to investigate how overcoming our self-limits, by increasing the expectations. The cognitive development is a ground-variable of the motor development, and enriches it.In this study we refer to young basketball players aged between 7 and 11 years old. We propose them a motor (motor manual sequencing skill, manual dexterity, balance, and aiming and catching) and a cognitive assessment. (visuo-spatial working memory, attention, inhibition and switching). By collecting our data, we propose a complete bivariate regression analysis, which follows the preliminary already published data. We focus on cognitive and motor individual abilities, to verify the correlation between them. Through this investigation, we would like to support the involvement of cognitive aspects in each part of the motor development of the children, even if depending on teachers, coaches and educators

Risperidone reduces tic-like motor behaviors and linguistic dysfluences in severe persistent developmental stuttering

This case study shows the reduction of tic-like motor behaviors and linguistic dysfluencies in severe persistent developemental suttering after a risperidone treatment

Effetto del trattamento farmacologico nella balbuzie evolutiva: studio comportamentale di un caso singolo

La causa della balbuzie evolutiva ancora oggi non \ue8 completamente chiara, ma, all\u2019interno di una visione eziologica multifattoriale del disturbo, i lavori che indagano l\u2019efficacia degli antidopaminergici sembrano supportare l\u2019importanza della componente neurologica della balbuzie. In questo lavoro riportiamo un caso di balbuzie evolutiva persistente in et\ue0 adulta i cui sintomi sembrano venir controllati con successo grazie all\u2019utilizzo dell\u2019antidopaminergico risperidone, come risulta dalle misure comportamentali rilevate. I dati dimostrano che il farmaco migliora tutti i compiti verbali ma soprattutto quello di produzione di parole-contenuto. I risultati sono discussi in relazione alle componenti cognitive e neurologiche della balbuzie evolutiva

Motor excitability evaluation in developmental stuttering: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study.

Lower corticospinal responses in the left hemisphere of DS were found, as indicated by a reduction of peak-to-peak MEP amplitudes compared to normal speakers. CONCLUSIONS: This provides further evidence that DS may be a general motor deficit that also involves motor non-speech-related structures. Moreover, our results confirm that DS may be related to left hemisphere hypoactivation and/or lower left hemisphere dominance. The present data and protocol may be useful for diagnosis of subtypes of DS that may benefit from pharmacological treatment by targeting the general level of cortical excitability