Grammatical sensitivity: Its origins and potential contribution to early word reading skill

A three-phase longitudinal study examined the origins of grammatical sensitivity and its usefulness as a predictor of early word-level reading. At about 4 years of age, children were given a range of language and cognitive tests. One year later, the children were given a further series of language and cognitive tests, this time including grammatical sensitivity, phonological sensitivity, and nonword repetition. Another year later, word-level reading achievement was assessed. Overall, grammatical sensitivity and phonological sensitivity were more firmly grounded in earlier language ability than in cognitive ability. Phonological sensitivity and nonword repetition showed reliable predictive associations with subsequent word reading skills. Grammatical sensitivity did not. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Top-down influences on lexical selection during spoken word production: A 4T fMRI investigation of refractory effects in picture naming

Spoken word production is assumed to involve stages of processing in which activation spreads through layers of units comprising lexical-conceptual knowledge and their corresponding phonological word forms. Using high-field (4T) functional magnetic resonance imagine (fMRI), we assessed whether the relationship between these stages is strictly serial or involves cascaded-interactive processing, and whether central (decision/control) processing mechanisms are involved in lexical selection. Participants performed the competitor priming paradigm in which distractor words, named from a definition and semantically related to a subsequently presented target picture, slow picture-naming latency compared to that with unrelated words. The paradigm intersperses two trials between the definition and the picture to be named, temporally separating activation in the word perception and production networks. Priming semantic competitors of target picture names significantly increased activation in the left posterior temporal cortex, and to a lesser extent the left middle temporal cortex, consistent with the predictions of cascaded-interactive models of lexical access. In addition, extensive activation was detected in the anterior cingulate and pars orbitalis of the inferior frontal gyrus. The findings indicate that lexical selection during competitor priming is biased by top-down mechanisms to reverse associations between primed distractor words and target pictures to select words that meet the current goal of speech.

The rapid screen of concussion: An evaluation of the non-word repetition test for use in mTBI research

Primary objectives: (1) To investigate the Nonword Repetition test (NWR) as an index of sub-vocal rehearsal deficits after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI); (2) to assess the reliability, validity and sensitivity of the NWR; and (3) to compare the NWR to more sensitive tests of verbal memory. Research design: An independent groups design. Methods and procedures: Study 1 administered the NWR to 46 mTBI and 61 uninjured controls with the Rapid Screen of Concussion (RSC). Study 2 compared mTBI, orthopaedic and uninjured participants on the NWR and the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT-R). Main outcomes and results: The NWR did not improve the diagnostic accuracy of the RSC. However, it is reliable and indexes sub-vocal rehearsal speed. These findings provide evidence that although the current form of the NWR lacks sensitivity to the impact of mTBI, the development of a more sensitive test of sub-vocal rehearsal deficits following mTBI is warranted.

Longitudinal associations between children's phonological processing abilities, ADHD-like behaviour ratings and early reading develpment

The current study examined the contribution of phonological processing abilities and ADHD-like behaviours to first-grade word reading ability. 136 children were tested at the beginning and end of first grade. At both times, teachers rated children on hyperactive, inattentive, and oppositional behaviour. Children were given tests of letter knowledge at T1 and tests of word reading, phonological sensitivity, phonological memory, rapid automatised naming, and vocabulary at T1 and T2. Regression analyses revealed that, of the behavioural measures, inattention made the strongest contribution to T2 reading, even after controlling for the effects of T1 reading, hyperactivity, and oppositional behaviour. Hyperactivity did not explain variance in T2 reading once the effect of inattention was controlled. Inattention predicted 4.7% independent variance in T2 word reading ability, even after the effects of T1 reading, vocabulary, and phonological processing were controlled. Although phonological processing predicted 9.3% independent variance in T2 word reading, even after the effects of reading, vocabulary, and inattention were controlled, the effects of phonological processing may have been partly mediated by inattention. This research indicates that inattention contributes to the prediction of early reading development in unselected populations, and that this influence is independent of other key cognitive predictors of reading ability.