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The article explores how brain-targeted intervention can help ease stress and boost learning in children with special needs. Topics discussed include stressors from home that can interfere with effective learning, role of Brain Targeted Teaching (BTT) model, developed by Johns Hopkins University interim dean of academic affairs in the School of Education Mariale Hardiman, in supporting children's emotional needs, and importance of establishing a positive emotional climate for the children.

The article discusses the relationship between cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and cognitive and communicative functioning impairment. Clinically, dementing illnesses, which are the frequent causes of acquired cognitive and communicative disorders, are common consequences of CVD. Based on some findings, CVD and its risk factors, may lead to a number of structural and neural changes within the brain that may impede production of certain neurotransmitters implicated in number of cognitive functions.

The article offers news briefs in the field of communication sciences and disorders. A study showed that hearing professionals should consider their attitudes about language in addition to language background to fully understand bilingual clients' perception of English speech. A study showed that practitioners should have better knowledge about intergenerational language practices in minority-language families for greater understanding of families' language use.

The article reports on a Duke University study which found that when the eyes move, so do the eardrums. Replicating the findings in humans and rhesus monkeys, researchers determined that the movement of the eardrum following eye movement occurred even in the absence of externally delivered sounds. The results are said to suggest that a vision-related process modulates the first stage of hearing.

The article focuses on the prenatal virus namely human cytomegalovirus(CMV) for the causes of intellectual disability, deafness and deformities worldwide. A study says that as stem cells and other primitive cells mature into neurons, they become more susceptible to CMV but human induced pluripotent stem cells do not permit this fully. Babies develop impairments of brain maturation and intellectual ability due to CMV infection which is fast growing. Researchers working hard to find agents against HCMV and safer treatments.

The article focuses on the study of stereocilia, a v-shaped battlement situated at the top of sensory cells linked to inner ear. It says that stereocilia are organelles responsible for receiving vibrations that get into the ear through electrical signals that pass through the brain and form a sound. It adds that the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) researchers have discovered a new protein that works with other proteins to control stereocilia length.

The article focuses on the use of frequency-specific auditory brainstem response (ABR) to assess the hearing thresholds and to determine the hearing loss of infants. It says that ABR also helps meet the goal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs which aim to start intervention with personal amplification by six months of age. Meanwhile, thresholds in the normal hearing level (nHL) are changed to true behavioral threshold to ensure the proper application of ABR data.

The article discusses the role of pharyngeal and upper esophageal manometry in swallowing assessment in a dysphagia patient. The therapeutic implications of a speech-language therapist (SLP) misdiagnosing a source of residue in the esophagus are explored. Manometry is used by SLPs to explain the breakdown in swallowing physiology, to plan treatment, and also to determine cricopharyngeal dysfunction. Manometry is considered to be a tool that could add value to other measurement tools. INSETS: Case Example: The Use of Manometry in Assessment;Performing Manometry.

This article discusses research by the audiologist Levi Reiter into Reiter's Ear Kiss Syndrome (REKS), which has been publicized in the periodical "Newsday." This research features case studies into hearing loss by parents who have been kissed on the ear by their children. The paralysis that accompanies this condition is explored.

The article discusses the neurological basis of the reading disorder dyslexia. Scientists suggest that because reading is an acquired skill, dyslexia may be a phonological deficit. Brain imaging indicates that neural systems on the left hemisphere of the brain control reading ability. Differences in the parieto-temporal and occipito-temporal systems in the posterior of the brain were observed in children with dyslexia. Reading interventions can improve reading ability in dyslexic children.

The article reports on the effects of auditory stimulation on the brain and experiments that use hearing aids as a model for examining the effects of amplification on the human central auditory system (CAS), as of May 2007. The implications for both basic and clinical science of acoustic stimulation on the auditory system are addressed, including long-term CAS activity changes in people with hearing aids, and hearing aid amplification and auditory system maturation.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Research in Brief: People Who 'Sound' Tall...Probably Are" in the February 2014 issue.

The article looks at a study conducted by John Morton, a psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis, which showed that listeners can accurately determine the relative heights of speakers by listening to them talk.

This article presents research news relating to the field of audiology. A study in "Science Daily" indicating the obesity is correlated with ear infections is noted. A study in the August, 2008 issue of "Ear & Hearing" indicating that early cochlear implants do not have all of the advantages previously assumed is presented.

This article discusses an Internet based presentation entitled "Peristalsis of Peril: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Esophagus," which will occur on the Web site www.ASHA.org on August 28, 2008.

The article discusses an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into the belief that the use of certain drugs, including Viagra, Levitra, Cialis, and Revatio, may lead to some hearing loss. The FDA has updated the labeling and adverse reactions that is provided with these drugs. Revatio treats pulmonary arterial hypertension and the other drugs treat impotence.

The author outlines medical diagnoses related to feeding and swallowing difficulties in patients with CHARGE syndrome. The first group are unable to take any nourishment by mouth without medical consent, the second group will have specialized diets determined by speech-language pathologists, and the third group demonstrate muscle weakness, most often in the jaw, lips, and tongue.