Article
Neurosciences
Felix Broehl, Christoph Kayser
Summary: The representation of speech in the brain is often examined by measuring the alignment of rhythmic brain activity to the speech envelope. Broadband speech envelope may provide a distorted picture on speech encoding. Tracking in the 1 to 6 Hz EEG bands differentially reflected low and high frequency speech-derived envelopes, independent of the specific carrier frequency but sensitive to attentional manipulations.
Article
Developmental Biology
Diana C. Lopera-Perez, Srishti Nayak, Giulia Stangier, Charu T. Tuladhar, Ashley M. St John, Philip G. Grieve, Amanda R. Tarullo
Summary: The study shows that there are differences in neural organization between a nonsocial baseline and a social interaction for infants from higher-income families and whose mothers used higher proportions of infant-directed speech, but not for infants from economically strained families or whose mothers used lower proportions of infant-directed speech.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Mira L. Nencheva, Casey Lew-Williams
Summary: Infant-directed speech (IDS) supports language processing by optimizing neural entrainment, enhancing moment-to-moment attention, and impacting long-term language development.
DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Maria Spinelli, Francesca Lionetti, Maria Concetta Garito, Prachi E. Shah, Maria Grazia Logrieco, Silvia Ponzetti, Paola Cicioni, Susanna Di Valerio, Mirco Fasolo
Summary: This study aimed to explore the linguistic and pragmatic features of infant-directed speech (IDS) during mother-infant interactions at 3 months of age. The results showed few differences in IDS linguistic characteristics between preterm and full-term infants. Additionally, full-term mothers adjusted their IDS pragmatic features based on the quality of co-regulation, while preterm mothers did not. Parenting stress was associated with specific linguistic IDS features regardless of birth status.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Melanie Soderstrom, Marisa Casillas, Megan Gornik, Alexis Bouchard, Sarah MacEwan, Anahita Shokrkon, John Bunce
Summary: Child-directed speech is found in many languages around the world, but the differences in its implementation and cultural support have raised questions about its universality. This study found that adult participants from different language/cultural communities have varying abilities to discriminate child-directed speech, and there are complex relationships between affect expression and child-directed speech across languages.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Elise Turk, Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, Ruth Feldman, Marion I. van den Heuvel, Jonathan Levy
Summary: This article introduces the application and challenges of parent-infant EEG, providing a detailed guide on how to implement and run parent-infant EEG paradigms, including recommendations for data processing and interpretation of results.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Miriam D. Lense, Sarah Shultz, Corine Astesano, Warren Jones
Summary: Infant-directed singing entrains infants' eye-looking behavior to the rhythm of the singing, promotes bonding and social learning between infants and caregivers.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
V. N. Kiroy, O. M. Bakhtin, E. M. Krivko, D. M. Lazurenko, E. Aslanyan, D. G. Shaposhnikov, I. Shcherban
Summary: Research on EEG coherence values during spoken and imagined speech showed higher coherence levels during real verbalization, especially in the gamma-2 rhythm frequencies. Specific spatial coherence patterns in the left cerebral hemisphere were formed during imagined speech at gamma-2 frequencies. Machine learning and neural network classification demonstrated significant similarity between spatial coherent patterns of spoken and inner speech, with potential application in Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Pediatrics
Flaviana Tenuta, Roberto Marcone, Elvira Graziano, Francesco Craig, Luciano Romito, Angela Costabile
Summary: This study aimed to investigate emotional and prosodic components of Infant-directed speech (IDS) longitudinally during a child's first year of life by analyzing children's responses to different prosodic trends used by mothers. The results showed that IDS production varies with the child's age, with higher intensity at only nine months, as seen in the results related to elocution velocity. The maternal verbal sensitivity and ability to tune into the child's affective states, especially at nine months, can predict the child's understanding of future language.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Hannah S. Sarvasy, Weicong Li, Jaydene Elvin, Paola Escudero
Summary: In many communities, speech to infants and small children has distinct features compared to speech to adults, which can also be observed in speech directed to foreigners. This study examines the vowel acoustics in the Nungon language of Papua New Guinea, specifically in child-directed speech, conversational speech, and monologues directed towards a non-native speaker. The findings show that Nungon child-directed speech lacks vowel hyper-articulation but displays other prosodic traits common to child-directed speech. Furthermore, the vowel patterns in Nungon foreigner-directed speech are significantly different from those in child-directed speech and conversational speech. This study contributes to the understanding of speech variation and its cultural implications in different linguistic communities.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Cesar E. Corona-Gonzalez, Luz Maria Alonso-Valerdi, David I. Ibarra-Zarate
Summary: The study investigated the effect of personalized binaural beats (BB) on brain entrainment, finding that personalized theta and beta BB can promote neural resynchronization, but different mental conditions were not achieved.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Abhishek Singh, Rituraj Kabra, Rahul Kumar, Manjunath Belgod Lokanath, Reetika Gupta, Sumit Kumar Shekhar
Summary: A device-based solution was proposed to continuously monitor user utterances during a predefined period, classifying them as device-directed or non-device-directed, aiming to enhance the user experience with voice assistants.
Article
Physiology
Ileana Pirovano, Alfonso Mastropietro, Yuri Antonacci, Chiara Bara, Eleonora Guanziroli, Franco Molteni, Luca Faes, Giovanna Rizzo
Summary: The study of resting-state motor network functional connectivity using EEG is crucial in investigating changes that occur after an ischemic stroke and their correlation with motor function recovery.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Kai Yang, Shuang Wu, Di Zhou, Lin Gan, Gaoyan Zhang
Summary: In this study, EEG was used to explore the dynamic functional interactions among different regions during neural entrainment to speech. The results showed that both auditory regions and frontoparietal cognitive regions were activated during listening to story speech, indicating a hierarchical processing mechanism. Further analysis found that neural entrainment to speech occurs across multiple brain regions, with the bilateral insula, temporal lobe, and inferior frontal gyrus playing key roles in controlling information transmission.
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Ziting Jia, Chuan Xu, Jingqi Li, Jian Gao, Nai Ding, Benyan Luo, Jiajie Zou
Summary: This study analyzed the modulation of consciousness level on the mechanism of generating envelope-tracking response to speech. The phase lag between speech envelope and cortical response was found to reflect this mechanism. It was observed that consciousness-disordered patients generally showed unreliable neural tracking of speech, but the stimulus-response phase lag changed linearly with frequency between 3.5 and 8 Hz in a group of patients who had reliable cortical tracking, regardless of their consciousness state. These results suggest that the envelope-tracking response to speech can be generated by an automatic process that is minimally influenced by consciousness state.
Article
Neurosciences
Lena Henke, Ashley G. Lewis, Lars Meyer
Summary: Neural oscillations are found to be synchronized with eye movements during naturalistic reading, indicating that speech and language processing impose preferred processing time scales onto reading, largely independent of actual physical rhythms in the stimulus.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Pediatrics
Vito Giordano, Renate Fuiko, Andrea Witting, Lukas Unterasinger, Philipp Steinbauer, Johanna Bajer, Alex Farr, Stefanie Hoehl, Philipp Deindl, Monika Olischar, Angelika Berger, Katrin Klebermass-Schrehof
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the impact of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic on parental presence in the NICU and its effect on infant wellbeing. Retrospective cohort study showed a decrease in both parents' presence, while maternal presence and kangaroo care time increased during the pandemic. The results indicated a reduction in neonatal pain and agitation during the lockdown.
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biology
Trinh Nguyen, Lucie Zimmer, Stefanie Hoehl
Summary: Research has shown that infants engage in coordinated vocal exchanges with their caregivers even before they can speak. This early turn-taking behavior has been linked to favorable developmental outcomes, but little is known about the mechanisms involved. This study used brain activity measurements and observed turn-taking to reveal the relationship between infant brain development and later language development.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Editorial Material
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Stefanie Peykarjou, Stefanie Hoehl, Arnaud Leleu, Aliette Lochy, Viola Macchi Cassia
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Katharina H. Menn, Claudia Maennel, Lars Meyer
Summary: Infants gradually master the temporal patterns of their native language, starting with slow acoustic modulations and later transitioning to faster language-specific patterns. This developmental trajectory is constrained by the emergence of high-frequency neural oscillations in the infant electroencephalogram. The initial focus on slow prosodic modulations aligns with the availability of slow electrophysiological activity during prenatal development. This perspective emphasizes the importance of neuronal development as a driving force in infants' language acquisition.
PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Hannah Plueckebaum, Lars Meyer, Ann-Kathrin Beck, Katharina H. Menn
Summary: Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with an imbalance between the brain's excitatory and inhibitory systems. The developmental trajectory of this imbalance and its relationship to autism traits have not been well studied. In this study, the researchers examined the balance of excitatory and inhibitory activity in autistic children and found that it was related to language ability and autism trait development at specific ages.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Heini Tornqvist, Hanna Hoeller, Kerstin Vsetecka, Stefanie Hoehl, Miiamaaria V. V. Kujala
Summary: This study investigates the recognition and evaluation of dog and human emotional facial expressions by 4- and 6-year-old children and adult participants, as well as the effect of dog experience on emotion recognition. The results show that both age and experience influence the recognition and ratings of dog emotions. Children have more difficulty recognizing aggressive dog faces compared to adults, but their recognition of happy dog and human expressions is similar. Children also rate aggressive dogs more positively and with lower arousal than adults, and participants without dog experience rate aggressive dogs more positively.
Review
Psychology, Developmental
Moritz Koester, Alicja Brzozowska, Anna Banki, Markus Tuente, Emma Kate Ward, Stefanie Hoehl
Summary: This systematic review examines 69 studies applying RVS in 0- to 6-year-olds and summarizes the research findings and potential applications of RVS in early neurocognitive development. RVS offers unique advantages, such as targeted frequency and stimulus-specific neural responses, as well as a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the RVS response are still poorly understood and require further investigation.
DEVELOPMENTAL COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katharina H. Menn, Claudia Maennel, Lars Meyer
Summary: Infants' slow brain activity in the early stage restricts their initial processing abilities. However, they are able to acquire the short-lived speech sounds of their native language during their first year. The study shows that infants gradually acquire phoneme features that extend over longer time intervals to adapt to their slow processing abilities.
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Gloria Mittmann, Vanessa Zehetner, Stefanie Hoehl, Beate Schrank, Adam Barnard, Kate Woodcock
Summary: This scoping review explores the range and characteristics of augmented reality (AR) applications that improve social skills. The findings reveal that most applications are designed for children with autism, focusing on teaching the ability to recognize facial expressions. However, there are also diverse applications targeting the general population, including both children and adults, with a range of outcome goals.
JMIR SERIOUS GAMES
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Educational
Christine Michel, Daniel Matthes, Stefanie Hoehl
Summary: This study examined the neural and behavioral responses of infants to maternal ostensive signals during naturalistic mother-infant interactions and their impact on object encoding. The results showed that ostensive signals from mothers directed infants' attention to objects and the mothers themselves. The infants' theta activity synchronized and alpha activity desynchronized during interactions compared to a resting phase, but these amplitudes were not influenced by maternal ostensive signals. While ostensive signals did not facilitate object encoding, higher infant theta power during encoding predicted better subsequent object recognition, highlighting the importance of theta-band power for early learning processes.
Article
Psychology, Educational
Stefanie Peykarjou, Stefanie Hoehl, Sabina Pauen
Summary: This study investigated the development of rapid visual object categorization. The results showed that children and adults had similar categorization abilities for animals and furniture, but the responses were greatly reduced by phase-scrambling. Infants were able to categorize objects at 4 months, but only at 11 months, high-level cues enhanced their performance.
Article
Neurosciences
Jose Sanchez-Bornot, Roberto C. Sotero, J. A. Scott Kelso, Ozguer Simsek, Damien Coyle
Summary: This study proposes a multi-penalized state-space model for analyzing unobserved dynamics, using a data-driven regularization method. Novel algorithms are developed to solve the model, and a cross-validation method is introduced to evaluate regularization parameters. The effectiveness of this method is validated through simulations and real data analysis, enabling a more accurate exploration of cognitive brain functions.
