Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kristen E. Li, Andrew Dimitrijevic, Karen A. Gordon, Elizabeth W. Pang, Hansel M. Greiner, Darren S. Kadis
Summary: Language comprehension is a complex process involving various brain regions. This study used magnetoencephalography to examine prosodic processing in typically developing children aged 4-18 years, and found age-related increases in coherence to the speech envelope in certain brain areas while age-related decreases in coherence in others. These results suggest a refinement of networks responsible for prosodic processing during development.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Eleonore Arbona, Kilian G. Seeber, Marianne Gullberg
Summary: Manual gestures and speech are integrated in native language comprehension, but it is uncertain whether this applies to second language (L2) comprehension. In a study on simultaneous interpreting (SI), Swedish speakers fluent in L2 English were presented with multimodal stimuli involving congruent or incongruent gestures and speech. In both passive viewing and interpreting tasks, incongruent stimuli led to longer reaction times. However, incongruent speech had a greater disruptive effect on gesture processing than incongruent gestures had on speech processing. This suggests only partial support for the expected mutual interaction of gesture and speech in L2 comprehension.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Charlotte Garcia, Alexandra Turcan, Hannah Howman, Ruth Filik
Summary: There is evidence that aging may decrease the ability to understand sarcasm, but the winking face emoji can help older adults interpret and perceive sarcastic intent more effectively.
COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Jennifer Hu, Hannah Small, Hope Kean, Atsushi Takahashi, Leo Zekelman, Daniel Kleinman, Elizabeth Ryan, Alfonso Nieto-Castanon, Victor Ferreira, Evelina Fedorenko
Summary: Through individual-subject analyses, researchers examined the response of the language network to high-level language production demands in three functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments. The results showed that sentence production, both spoken and typed, elicited a strong response throughout the language network. Additionally, the language network responded to both phrase-structure building and lexical access demands, with a stronger and more extensive response to phrase-structure building.
Article
Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Anna Rogers, Matt Gardner, Isabelle Augenstein
Summary: Alongside the research on deep learning models in NLP, there has been significant work on benchmark datasets for tracking modeling progress. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current resources in various formats and domains, while highlighting the gaps for future work. It proposes a new taxonomy for the skills required in question answering/reading comprehension systems and discusses the implications of overfocusing on English by surveying multilingual and monolingual resources.
ACM COMPUTING SURVEYS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Mathematical
Robin Willems, Koen L. P. M. Janssens, Peter H. M. Bovendeerd, Clemens V. Verhoosel, Olaf van der Sluis
Summary: This experiment examined how people process sentences with late-closure ambiguity. By using an analogy to quantum physics, the study found that the correct parse and misparse of the sentence do not coexist, and there is no quantum-like measurement-order effect.
PSYCHONOMIC BULLETIN & REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Myzoon Ali, Kathryn VandenBerg, Linda J. Williams, Louise R. Williams, Masahiro Abo, Frank Becker, Audrey Bowen, Caitlin Brandenburg, Caterina Breitenstein, Stefanie Bruehl, David A. Copland, Tamara B. Cranfill, Marie Di Pietro-Bachmann, Pamela Enderby, Joanne Fillingham, Federica Lucia Galli, Marialuisa Gandolfi, Bertrand Glize, Erin Godecke, Neil Hawkins, Katerina Hilari, Jacqueline Hinckley, Simon Horton, David Howard, Petra Jaecks, Elizabeth Jefferies, Luis M. T. Jesus, Maria Kambanaros, Eun Kyoung Kang, Eman M. Khedr, Anthony Pak-Hin Kong, Tarja Kukkonen, Marina Laganaro, Matthew A. Lambon Ralph, Ann Charlotte Laska, Beatrice Leemann, Alexander P. Leff, Roxele R. Lima, Antje Lorenz, Brian Mac Whinney, Rebecca Shisler Marshall, Marcus Meinzer, Reza Nilipour, Enrique Noe, Nam-Jong Paik, Rebecca Palmer, Ilias Papathanasiou, Brigida F. Patricio, Isabel Pavao Martins, Cathy Price, Tatjana Prizl Jakovac, Elizabeth Rochon, Miranda L. Rose, Charlotte Rosso, Ilona Rubi-Fessen, Marina B. Ruiter, Claerwen Snell, Benjamin Stahl, Jerzy P. Szaflarski, Shirley A. Thomas, Mieke Van De Sandt-Koenderman, Ineke van der Meulen, Evy Visch-Brink, Linda Worrall, Heather Harris Wright, Marian C. Brady
Summary: This study utilized a large, multilingual, international aphasia dataset to investigate the factors influencing recovery of language domains after stroke. Younger age and earlier intervention post-onset were associated with greater improvements in language abilities across various domains, while improvements diminished with increasing age and chronicity of aphasia.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Neguine Rezaii, James Michaelov, Sylvia Josephy-Hernandez, Boyu Ren, Daisy Hochberg, Megan Quimby, Bradford C. Dickerson
Summary: Nonfluent aphasia is characterized by simplified sentence structures and word-level abnormalities. The prevailing belief is that a core deficit in syntax processing causes these abnormalities. However, an alternative view based on information theory suggests that the word-level features of nonfluency are actually a compensatory process called lexical condensation.
ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Ryan J. Hubbard, Kara D. Federmeier
Summary: Predicting upcoming events is a critical function of the brain, and language provides a fertile testing ground for studying prediction. Neural rapid preactivation occurs following certain cues, but the predicted features may receive reduced processing upon confirmation.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Anna Krason, Gabriella Vigliocco, Marja-Liisa Mailend, Harrison Stoll, Rosemary Varley, Laurel J. Buxbaum
Summary: Aphasia is a language disorder that affects speech comprehension and communication. This study investigated the benefit of visual information accompanying speech for word comprehension in people with aphasia and identified the neuroanatomic substrates associated with this benefit. The findings demonstrated that visual speech information was more beneficial for typical individuals than those with aphasia, and the benefit was greater when speech was degraded. Lesion-symptom mapping analysis showed that damage to certain brain regions was associated with reduced benefit of audiovisual speech, suggesting the importance of these regions in cross-modal mapping.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Meiling Hao, Xiaoping Fang, Zhenzhen Sun, Youyi Liu
Summary: The Simple View of Reading posits that reading comprehension is a result of decoding and listening comprehension. This study found that listening comprehension only contributes to reading comprehension for advanced second language learners, while decoding accuracy predicts reading comprehension regardless of Chinese proficiency.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Laetitia Bodet-Contentin, Helene Messet-Charriere, Valerie Gissot, Aurelie Renault, Gregoire Muller, Aurelie Aubrey, Pierrick Gadrez, Elsa Tavernier, Stephan Ehrmann
Summary: The study evaluated an eye-tracking adapted comprehension test for ICU patients and found significant differences in comprehension capabilities among patients, which were related to age and educational level.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maryam Nasiri, Saeideh Moayedfar, Mehdi Purmohammad, Leila Ghasisin
Summary: Linguistic disorders are common in Alzheimer's disease, particularly in sentence processing and working memory. This study found that patients with mild Alzheimer's had lower scores in comprehension, production, and working memory compared to healthy elderly individuals. The processing problems in Alzheimer's patients are likely influenced by both working memory and language difficulties.
Article
Education & Educational Research
Alexandra N. Spichtig, Jeffrey P. Pascoe, Kristin M. Gehsmann, Fei Gu, John D. Ferrara
Summary: This study examined the relationship between silent reading rates and students' estimated academic vocabulary grade levels and comprehension accuracy. The results showed that higher academic vocabulary grade levels were associated with faster reading rates, while higher comprehension accuracy was associated with slower reading rates. Additionally, the interaction between school-mean-centered academic vocabulary grade levels and comprehension accuracy had a significant impact on reading rates.
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Yuzhi Luo, Hongwen Song, Li Wan, Xiaochu Zhang
Summary: This study found that the relative contribution of vocabulary depth and breadth to different types of listening comprehension tests varied. Vocabulary depth made a greater contribution in a test assessing integrative skills, while neither vocabulary depth nor breadth could independently predict literal comprehension in a test involving narrative conversations. However, vocabulary depth could independently predict inferential comprehension in a test comprising expository passages.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert Plomin, Sophie von Stumm
Summary: Polygenic scores have rapidly grown in importance within the behavioral sciences over the past decade, allowing for the prediction of common disorders and traits in the population without needing to understand the processes between genes and behavior. While ultimate explanations from genes to behavior remain a long-term goal, the immediate practical utility of prediction for identifying at-risk individuals is a crucial first step. Increasing the predictive power of polygenic scores is a key focus for research in order to use them as an early warning system for prevention.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Eshim S. Jami, Anke R. Hammerschlag, Hill F. Ip, Andrea G. Allegrini, Beben Benyamin, Richard Border, Elizabeth W. Diemer, Chang Jiang, Ville Karhunen, Yi Lu, Qing Lu, Travis T. Mallard, Pashupati P. Mishra, Ilja M. Nolte, Teemu Palviainen, Roseann E. Peterson, Hannah M. Sallis, Andrey A. Shabalin, Ashley E. Tate, Elisabeth Thiering, Natalia Vilor-Tejedor, Carol Wang, Ang Zhou, Daniel E. Adkins, Silvia Alemany, Helga Ask, Qi Chen, Robin P. Corley, Erik A. Ehli, Luke M. Evans, Alexandra Havdahl, Fiona A. Hagenbeek, Christian Hakulinen, Anjali K. Henders, Jouke Jan Hottenga, Tellervo Korhonen, Abdullah Mamun, Shelby Marrington, Alexander Neumann, Kaili Rimfeld, Fernando Rivadeneira, Judy L. Silberg, Catharina E. van Beijsterveldt, Eero Vuoksimaa, Alyce M. Whipp, Xiaoran Tong, Ole A. Andreassen, Dorret Boomsma, Sandra A. Brown, S. Alexandra Burt, William Copeland, Danielle M. Dick, K. Paige Harden, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Catharina A. Hartman, Joachim Heinrich, John K. Hewitt, Christian Hopfer, Elina Hypponen, Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin, Jaakko Kaprio, Liisa Keltikangas-Jarvinen, Kelly L. Klump, Kenneth Krauter, Ralf Kuja-Halkola, Henrik Larsson, Terho Lehtimaki, Paul Lichtenstein, Sebastian Lundstrom, Hermine H. Maes, Per Magnus, Marcus R. Munafo, Jake M. Najman, Pal R. Njolstad, Albertine J. Oldehinkel, Craig E. Pennell, Robert Plomin, Ted Reichborn-Kjennerud, Chandra Reynolds, Richard J. Rose, Andrew Smolen, Harold Snieder, Michael Stallings, Marie Standl, Jordi Sunyer, Henning Tiemeier, Sally J. Wadsworth, Tamara L. Wall, Andrew J. O. Whitehouse, Gail M. Williams, Eivind Ystrom, Michel G. Nivard, Meike Bartels, Christel M. Middeldorp
Summary: The study investigates the genetic architecture of internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents, finding rater-based heterogeneity in genetic effects and genetic correlations with adult internalizing disorders and other childhood psychiatric traits. Additionally, reducing phenotypic heterogeneity in childhood samples is crucial for future GWAS success.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fenja Schlag, Andrea G. Allegrini, Jan Buitelaar, Ellen Verhoef, Marjolein van Donkelaar, Robert Plomin, Kaili Rimfeld, Simon E. Fisher, Beate St Pourcain
Summary: This study systematically investigated the genetic links between various mental health conditions and social symptoms. The results revealed associations between social behavior and genetic risk for ADHD, ASD, MD, and schizophrenia. The study also identified differences in the genetic architecture across different disorders and the impact of age, reporter, and social traits on genetic effects.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Fionnuala Larkin, Brianna Ralston, Sophie Jayne Dinsdale, Sakura Kimura, Marianna Emma Hayiou-Thomas
Summary: Autistic people experience higher rates of physical health problems and somatic symptoms due to psychological factors. This study found that diagnosed autistic individuals had higher rates of alexithymia and intolerance of uncertainty, which were associated with higher somatic symptoms. However, somatic symptoms were also predicted by physical and mental health conditions, female gender, alexithymia, and intolerance of uncertainty, regardless of autism status.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Philip S. Dale, Alexander Paul, Michael Rosholm, Dorthe Bleses
Summary: This longitudinal study explores the prediction of later achievement based on early development, particularly early expressive vocabulary. The results indicate that early vocabulary plays a significant role in educational attainment and can be used as an important indicator for early intervention.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Wonuola A. Akingbuwa, Anke R. Hammerschlag, Andrea G. Allegrini, Hannah Sallis, Ralf Kuja-Halkola, Kaili Rimfeld, Paul Lichtenstein, Sebastian Lundstrom, Marcus R. Munafo, Robert Plomin, Michel G. Nivard, Meike Bartels, Christel M. Middeldorp
Summary: Genetic factors partially explain the associations between childhood psychopathology and adult outcomes. Specific adult traits are genetically associated with childhood psychopathology, such as major depression being associated with ADHD, internalizing problems, and social problems. Additionally, educational attainment, BMI, and neuroticism have genetic associations with specific childhood phenotypes, while bipolar disorder, subjective well-being, and insomnia are not associated with any childhood traits.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS PART B-NEUROPSYCHIATRIC GENETICS
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Robert Plomin
Summary: This review looks back on the journey of behavioral genetic research and celebrates milestones, focusing on the last fifty years. The advent of DNA microarrays enabled genome-wide association studies, which successfully identified DNA variants contributing to the heritability of behavioral traits. The DNA revolution in the behavioral sciences allows for the prediction of individual differences in behavior from early in life.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Agnieszka Gidziela, Margherita Malanchini, Kaili Rimfeld, Andrew McMillan, Angelica Ronald, Essi Viding, Alison Pike, Kathryn Asbury, Thalia C. Eley, Sophie von Stumm, Robert Plomin
Summary: Individual differences in symptoms of behavior problems in childhood and adolescence are primarily due to non-shared environment (NSE), and few specific environmental factors have been found to account for these differences. Home and classroom environments are more likely to influence behavior problem symptoms via genetics than via NSE.
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ziada Ayorech, Jessie R. Baldwin, Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Kaili Rimfeld, Robert Plomin
Summary: This study examines the association between media use and mental health, finding that negative media use is correlated with poor mental health, while general media use is correlated with prosocial behavior and fewer behavioral problems. The study suggests that genetically informed designs should be adopted to strengthen causal inference in research on the mental health impact of media use.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Veera M. Rajagopal, Andrea Ganna, Jonathan R. Coleman, Andrea Allegrini, Georgios Voloudakis, Jakob Grove, Thomas D. Als, Henriette T. Horsdal, Liselotte Petersen, Vivek Appadurai, Andrew Schork, Alfonso Buil, Cynthia M. Bulik, Jonas Bybjerg-Grauholm, Marie Baekvad-Hansen, David M. Hougaard, Ole Mors, Merete Nordentoft, Thomas Werge, Preben Bo Mortensen, Gerome Breen, Panos Roussos, Robert Plomin, Esben Agerbo, Anders D. Borglum, Ditte Demontis
Summary: Individuals with psychiatric disorders show cognitive differences compared to the general population, which can be observed early in school performance and are genetically influenced. A genome-wide association study revealed a strong negative correlation between math performance and risk for most psychiatric disorders, while language performance correlated positively with risk for certain disorders, especially schizophrenia. Furthermore, genetic variants related to schizophrenia risk and better language performance are more common in individuals involved in creative professions compared to the general population. These findings suggest a potential genetic overlap between language ability, creativity, and psychopathology.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Kaitlyn M. Price, Karen G. Wigg, Else Eising, Yu Feng, Kirsten Blokland, Margaret Wilkinson, Elizabeth N. Kerr, Sharon L. Guger, Filippo Abbondanza, Andrea G. Allegrini, Till F. M. Andlauer, Timothy C. Bates, Manon Bernard, Milene Bonte, Dorret I. Boomsma, Thomas Bourgeron, Daniel Brandeis, Manuel Carreiras, Fabiola Ceroni, Valeria Csepe, Philip S. Dale, John C. DeFries, Peter F. de Jong, Jean Francois Demonet, Eveline L. de Zeeuw, Marie-Christine J. Franken, Clyde Francks, Margot Gerritse, Alessandro Gialluisi, Scott D. Gordon, Jeffrey R. Gruen, Marianna E. Hayiou-Thomas, Juan Hernandez-Cabrera, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Charles Hulme, Philip R. Jansen, Juha Kere, Tanner Koomar, Karin Landerl, Gabriel T. Leonard, Zhijie Liao, Michelle Luciano, Heikki Lyytinen, Nicholas G. Martin, Angela Martinelli, Urs Maurer, Jacob J. Michaelson, Nazanin Mirza-Schreiber, Kristina Moll, Anthony P. Monaco, Angela T. Morgan, Bertram Mueller-Myhsok, Dianne F. Newbury, Markus M. Noethen, Richard K. Olson, Silvia Paracchini, Tomas Paus, Zdenka Pausova, Craig E. Pennell, Bruce F. Pennington, Robert J. Plomin, Franck Ramus, Sheena Reilly, Louis Richer, Kaili Rimfeld, Gerd Schulte-Korne, Chin Yang Shapland, Nuala H. Simpson, Shelley D. Smith, Margaret J. Snowling, Beate St Pourcain, John F. Stein, Joel B. Talcott, Henning Tiemeier, J. Bruce Tomblin, Dongnhu T. Truong, Elsje van Bergen, Marc P. van der Schroeff, Marjolein Van Donkelaar, Ellen Verhoef, Carol A. Wang, Kate E. Watkins, Andrew J. O. Whitehouse, Erik G. Willcutt, Margaret J. Wright, Gu Zhu, Simon E. Fisher, Maureen W. Lovett, Lisa J. Strug, Cathy L. Barr
Summary: Reading Disability (RD) is often associated with difficulties in language phonology. Genome-wide association studies have identified genetic loci related to neuronal migration, axon guidance, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that may be implicated in RD. This study contributes candidate loci to the genetics of word reading and suggests that alleles linked to ASD risk may also be involved in word reading.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Educational
Filippo Abbondanza, Philip S. Dale, Carol A. Wang, Marianna E. Hayiou-Thomas, Umar Toseeb, Tanner S. Koomar, Karen G. Wigg, Yu Feng, Kaitlyn M. Price, Elizabeth N. Kerr, Sharon L. Guger, Maureen W. Lovett, Lisa J. Strug, Elsje van Bergen, Conor V. Dolan, J. Bruce Tomblin, Kristina Moll, Gerd Schulte-Koerne, Nina Neuhoff, Andreas Warnke, Simon E. Fisher, Cathy L. Barr, Jacob J. Michaelson, Dorret I. Boomsma, Margaret J. Snowling, Charles Hulme, Andrew J. O. Whitehouse, Craig E. Pennell, Dianne F. Newbury, John Stein, Joel B. Talcott, Dorothy V. M. Bishop, Silvia Paracchini
Summary: The association between handedness and language-related disorders has been extensively studied. However, the inconsistent findings may be attributed to factors such as small sample sizes, publication bias, and variation in study criteria. This study examined the frequency of non-right-handedness (NRH) in individuals with reading and/or language impairment and found a higher prevalence compared to controls. Meta-analysis results further supported the association between NRH and language/reading impairments, suggesting shared underlying pathways between brain lateralization, handedness, and cognitive functions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Catia M. Oliveira, Marianna E. Hayiou-Thomas, Lisa M. Henderson
Summary: The Serial Reaction Time task is widely used in individual differences research to examine the role of procedural memory. However, recent meta-analysis shows that the task has poor reliability, despite producing robust effects at the group level. Therefore, caution should be exercised when using the task for individual differences research until factors improving its reliability are better understood.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Catia M. Oliveira, Lisa M. M. Henderson, Marianna E. E. Hayiou-Thomas
Summary: The ability to extract patterns from sensory input is crucial for language and literacy development. Impairments in procedural learning may contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders such as dyslexia and developmental language disorder. A meta-analysis examining the relationship between language, literacy, and procedural learning found a small overall relationship, but no significant relationship at the group level.
Article
Psychology, Educational
Rachael W. Cheung, Chloe Austerberry, Pasco Fearon, Marianna E. Hayiou-Thomas, Leslie D. Leve, Daniel S. Shaw, Jody M. Ganiban, Misaki N. Natsuaki, Jenae M. Neiderhieser, David Reiss
Summary: Parenting and children's temperament significantly influence language development, with temperament reflecting parenting style and parenting effects reflecting common genes between parents and children.
