Negative content in auditory verbal hallucinations:a natural language processing approach

Introduction: Negative content of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) is a strong predictor of distress and impairment. This paper quantifies emotional voice-content in order to explore both subjective (i.e. perceived) and objectively (i.e. linguistic sentiment) measured negativity and investigates associations with distress. Methods: Clinical and non-clinical participants with frequent AVH (n = 40) repeated and recorded their AVH verbatim directly upon hearing. The AVH were analyzed for emotional valence using Pattern, a rule-based sentiment analyzer for Dutch. The AVH of the clinical individuals were compared to those of non-clinical voice-hearers on emotional valence and associated with experienced distress. Results: The mean objective valence of AVH in patients was significantly more negative than those of non-clinical voice-hearers. In the clinical individuals a larger proportion of the voice-utterances was negative (34.7% versus 18.4%) in objective valence. The linguistic valence of the AVH showed a significant, strong association with the perceived negativity, amount of distress and disruption of life, but not with the intensity of distress. Conclusions: Our results indicate that AVH of patients have a more negative linguistic content than those of non-clinical voice-hearers, which is associated with the experienced distress. Thus, patients not only perceive their voices as more negative, objective analyses confirm this

Discontinuation of specialist educational provision for children with DLD in the Netherlands: performance and predictors

Background. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is characterized by large heterogeneity, but little is known about the variation in specialist educational support that children with DLD receive. This longitudinal study compared the language and reading performance of children with DLD for whom provision had been discontinued at age 7 or 8 years and children with DLD for whom it was continued, relative to typically developing (TD) controls. Additionally, we investigated linguistic, cognitive and environmental predictors of the discontinuation of provision. Methods. Monolinguals and bilinguals with (n=120) and without (n=113) DLD participated. Standardized measures were used to examine the proportion of children per group with poor language and reading ability at age 7 or 8. Binary logistic regression was conducted to predict the discontinuation of specialist educational provision, including language and cognitive skills at age 5 or 6, language growth, parental education and bilingualism. Results. Specialist educational provision was discontinued for 25% of the children with DLD. More bilinguals than monolinguals received continuing support, although this difference fell just short of significance. Children with DLD, both with and without specialist provision, performed more poorly on the standardized instruments than TD children, and the children with DLD with provision more often scored poorly than those without provision. Parental education, aswell as children’s baseline scores on and growth in inflectional morphology, predicted the discontinuation of specialist educational support. Conclusions and implications. Within a relatively short time period, specialist educational provision was discontinued for many children with DLD. Although these children perform better than peers with DLD with continuing specialist support, their language and reading skills are often poor. This group thus remains vulnerable and requires attention. Future research into decisions about specialist educational provision is needed to understand the role and relevance of inflectional morphology and parental education in the (dis)continuation of provision

What risk factors for Developmental Language Disorder can tell us about the neurobiological mechanisms of language development

Language is a complex multidimensional cognitive system that is connected to many neurocognitive capacities. The development of language is therefore strongly intertwined with the development of these capacities and their neurobiological substrates. Consequently, language problems, for example those of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), are explained by a variety of etiological pathways and each of these pathways will be associated with specific risk factors. In this review, we attempt to link previously described factors that may interfere with language development to putative underlying neurobiological mechanisms of language development, hoping to uncover openings for future therapeutical approaches or interventions that can help children to optimally develop their language skills

Communication in Daily Life of Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Parents' and Teachers' Perspectives

Purpose: This study explores limitations in communication in daily life of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) from their parents' perspective as well as communicative abilities and social functioning in the classroom from their teacher's perspective. Furthermore, differences between children with mixed receptive–expressive disorder and children with expressive-only disorder in communication in daily life and social functioning are studied. Method: Data were collected through questionnaires completed by parents and teachers of children (5–6 years old) who attended schools for special education for DLD. Language test scores were retrieved from school records. Parents of 60 children answered open-ended questions about situations and circumstances in which their child was most troubled by language difficulties. Teachers of 83 children rated communicative abilities, social competence, and student–teacher relationship. Results: Parents reported communication with strangers as most troublesome and mentioned the influence of the mental state of their child. Parents considered limitations in expressing oneself and being understood and not being intelligible as core difficulties. Teachers rated the children's communicative abilities in the school context as inadequate, but their scores concerning social competence and the quality of teacher–child relationships fell within the normal range. Children with receptive–expressive disorder experienced limitations in communication in almost all situations, whereas those with expressive disorder faced limitations in specific situations. Children with receptive–expressive disorder were also significantly more limited in their communicative abilities and social competence at school than children with expressive disorder. No differences were found between the two groups in the quality of the teacher–child relationship. Conclusions: The results confirm that children with DLD face significant challenges in a variety of communicative situations. We found indications that children with receptive–expressive disorder experience more severe limitations than children with expressive disorder. The involvement of parents and teachers in evaluating a child's communicative ability provides valuable and clinically relevant information

What risk factors for Developmental Language Disorder can tell us about the neurobiological mechanisms of language development

Language is a complex multidimensional cognitive system that is connected to many neurocognitive capacities. The development of language is therefore strongly intertwined with the development of these capacities and their neurobiological substrates. Consequently, language problems, for example those of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), are explained by a variety of etiological pathways and each of these pathways will be associated with specific risk factors. In this review, we attempt to link previously described factors that may interfere with language development to putative underlying neurobiological mechanisms of language development, hoping to uncover openings for future therapeutical approaches or interventions that can help children to optimally develop their language skills

Early-Onset Pectus Excavatum Is More Likely to Be Part of a Genetic Variation

BACKGROUND: Potential underlying genetic variations of pectus excavatum (PE) are quite rare. Only one-fifth of PE cases are identified in the first decade of life and thus are of congenital origin. The objective of this study is to test if early-onset PE is more likely to be part of genetic variations than PE that becomes apparent during puberty or adolescence. MATERIALS AND METHODS:  Children younger than 11 years who presented with PE to the outpatient clinic of the Department of Pediatric Surgery at our center between 2014 and 2020 were screened by two clinical geneticists separately. Molecular analysis was performed based on the differential diagnosis. Data of all young PE patients who already had been referred for genetic counseling were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS:  Pathogenic genetic variations were found in 8 of the 18 participants (44%): 3 syndromic disorders (Catel-Manzke syndrome and two Noonan syndromes), 3 chromosomal disorders (16p13.11 microduplication syndrome, 22q11.21 microduplication syndrome, and genetic gain at 1q44), 1 connective tissue disease (Loeys-Dietz syndrome), and 1 neuromuscular disorder (pathogenic variation in BICD2 gene).CONCLUSION:  Early-onset PE is more likely to be part of genetic variations than PE that becomes apparent during puberty or adolescence. Referral for genetic counseling should therefore be considered. TRIAL REGISTRATION:  NCT05443113.</p

Disentangling the Grammar of 3-to 6-Year-Old Dutch Children With a Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose: Children with a developmental language disorder (DLD) are often delayed in their grammatical development. This is suggested to be the most important characteristic and clinical marker of DLD. However, it is unknown if this assumption is valid for young children, in the earliest stages of grammatical development. For this reason, this study investigates the complexity, diversity, and accuracy of the grammatical repertoires of 3-to 6-year-old Dutch children with DLD, in comparison to that of typically developing (TD) children matched on grammatical level. Method: Language samples of 59 children (29 children with DLD and 30 TD children) were analyzed using multiple measures of grammatical complexity, diversity, and accuracy. The TD children and children with DLD were language-matched on their grammatical development using the levels of the Dutch version of the Language Assessment, Remediation, and Screening Procedure, the Taal Analyse Remediëring en Screening Procedure (TARSP; Schlichting, 2017). Thus, the children with DLD were significantly older than the TD children (respectively DLD age range: 2;7–5;4 [years;months], Mage = 4;1; and TD age range: 2;0–3;9, Mage = 2;9). Results: The results show that children with DLD are comparable to language-matched TD children in their grammatical accuracy and diversity, but that they produce less complex utterances. Conclusions: The results indicate that children with DLD lag behind in their grammatical complexity as compared to language-matched TD children. The results also suggest that grammatical TARSP level is not sufficiently informative for selecting treatment goals. Instead, the results underline the importance of conducting language sample analyses, with special reference to the complexity of the utterances of a child with DLD

Characterizing speech heterogeneity in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) are highly heterogeneous in risk factors, symptom characteristics, and disease course outcome. Although speech anomalies have long been recognized as a core symptom of SSD, speech markers are an unexplored source of symptom heterogeneity that may be informative in recognizing relevant subtypes. This study investigated speech heterogeneity and its relation to clinical characteristics in a large sample of patients with SSD and healthy controls. Speech samples were obtained from 142 patients with SSD and 147 healthy controls by means of open-ended interviews. Speech was analyzed using standardized open-source acoustic speech software. Hierarchical clustering was conducted using acoustic speech markers. Symptom severity was rated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and cognition was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition for Schizophrenia. Three speech clusters could be distinguished in the patient group that differed regarding speech properties, independent of medication use. One cluster was characterized by mild speech disturbances, while two severely impaired clusters were recognized (fragmented speakers and prolonged pausers). Both clusters with severely impaired speech had more severe cognitive dysfunction than the mildly impaired speakers. Prolonged pausers specifically had difficulties with memory-related tasks. Prolonged pausing, as opposed to fragmented speaking, related to chronic active psychosis and refractory psychotic symptoms. Based on speech clustering, subtypes of patients emerged with distinct disease trajectories, symptomatology, and cognitive functioning. The identification of clinically relevant subgroups within SSD may help to characterize distinct profiles and benefit the tailoring of early intervention and improvement of long-term functional outcome. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).</p

Robustness of the rule-learning effect in 7-month-old infants: A close, multicenter replication of Marcus et al. (1999)

We conducted a close replication of the seminal work by Marcus and colleagues from 1999, which showed that after a brief auditory exposure phase, 7-month-old infants were able to learn and generalize a rule to novel syllables not previously present in the exposure phase. This work became the foundation for the theoretical framework by which we assume that infants are able to learn abstract representations and generalize linguistic rules. While some extensions on the original work have shown evidence of rule learning, the outcomes are mixed, and an exact replication of Marcus et al.'s study has thus far not been reported. A recent meta-analysis by Rabagliati and colleagues brings to light that the rule-learning effect depends on stimulus type (e.g., meaningfulness, speech vs. nonspeech) and is not as robust as often assumed. In light of the theoretical importance of the issue at stake, it is appropriate and necessary to assess the replicability and robustness of Marcus et al.'s findings. Here we have undertaken a replication across four labs with a large sample of 7-month-old infants (N = 96), using the same exposure patterns (ABA and ABB), methodology (Headturn Preference Paradigm), and original stimuli. As in the original study, we tested the hypothesis that infants are able to learn abstract “algebraic” rules and apply them to novel input. Our results did not replicate the original findings: infants showed no difference in looking time between test patterns consistent or inconsistent with the familiarization pattern they were exposed to