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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to quantify sentence-level articulatory kinematics in individuals treated for oral squamous cell carcinoma (ITOC) compared to control speakers while also assessing the effect of treatment site (jaw vs. tongue). Furthermore, this study aimed to assess the relation between articulatory-kinematic measures and self-reported speech problems. Method: Articulatory-kinematic data from the tongue tip, tongue back, and jaw were collected using electromagnetic articulography in nine Dutch ITOC and eight control speakers. To quantify articulatory kinematics, the two-dimensional articulatory working space (AWS; in mm² ), one-dimensional anteroposterior range of motion (AP-ROM; in mm), and superior-inferior range of motion (SIROM in mm) were calculated and examined. Self-reported speech problems were assessed with the Speech Handicap Index (SHI). Results: Compared to a sex-matched control group, ITOC showed significantly smaller AWS, AP-ROM, and SI-ROM for both the tongue tip and tongue back sensor, but no significant differences were observed for the jaw sensor. This pattern was found for both individuals treated for tongue and jaw tumors. Moderate nonsignificant correlations were found between the SHI and the AWS of the tongue back and jaw sensors. Conclusions: Despite large individual variation, ITOC showed reduced one- and two-dimensional tongue, but not jaw, movements compared to control speakers and treatment for tongue and jaw tumors resulted in smaller tongue movements. A larger sample size is needed to establish a more generalizable connection between the AWS and the SHI. Further research should explore how these kinematic changes in ITOC are related to acoustic and perceptual measures of speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding the different factors that determine vocabulary development in young children is essential for the diagnosis and rehabilitation of language disorders in children. Language development is closely related to other cognitive processes such as auditory verbal learning and memory. This research focuses on the development of a novel auditory verbal learning test (AVLT) for 4- and 5-year-old children within the Dutch population. This new test is an adaptation of the common AVLT for both older children and adults, usually including a list of 15 words. Considering the lower attention span and limited executive functioning in young children, the word list of this new instrument is reduced to 10 words. Besides, a second recognition form has been developed to improve the ability to distinguish between possible underlying learning and memory deficits. Method: Ninety-five preschool children (ages 4;0–5;12 [years;months]) were tested with this new AVLT 10-word test for kids (10WT-K), yielding different measures of verbal auditory memory. Forty-eight of 95 children received a recognition task with semantically unrelated items, and 47 of 95 received a recognition task with semantically related items. Three additional language skills were assessed to establish test validation: receptive and expressive vocabulary performance and nonword repetition. Outcome of the 10WT-K was related to scores on the language measures. Results: Positive correlations were found between the total score of the 10WT-K and all three aforementioned language skills. We found no correlations between frequency of error types (intrusions and repetitions) and language measures. Furthermore, children who were administered the recognition list with semantically related items showed fewer correct answers and more false-positive and falsenegative responses than children who received a recognition list with semantically unrelated items. Conclusions: The 10WT-K for young children can be used to (a) measure different aspects of auditory verbal learning and memory, (b) clarify the nature of possible verbal learning difficulties, and (c) identify a possible nature of language disorders. The word recognition task tested with semantically related items provides a more accurate measurement of individual differences, namely, in distinguishing retrieval and storage abilities. The significant relation found between auditory verbal short-term memory capacity and vocabulary performance in preschool children is a first step toward establishing test validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study assesses how spectrotemporal degradations that can occur in the sound transmission of a cochlear implant (CI) may influence the ability of non-native listeners to recognize the intended meaning of utterances based on the position of the prosodically focused word. Previous research suggests that perceptual accuracy and listening effort are negatively affected by CI processing (or CI simulations) or when the speech is presented in a non-native language, in a number of tasks and circumstances. How these two factors interact to affect prosodic focus interpretation, however, remains unclear. Method: In an online experiment, normal-hearing (NH) adolescent and adult native Dutch learners of English and a small control group of NH native English adolescents listened to CI-simulated (eight-channel noise-band vocoded) and non-CI-simulated English sentences differing in prosodically marked focus. For assessing perceptual accuracy, listeners had to indicate which of four possible context questions the speaker answered. For assessing listening effort, a dualtask paradigm was used with a secondary free recall task. Results: The results indicated that prosodic focus interpretation was significantly less accurate in the CI-simulated condition compared with the non-CIsimulated condition but that listening effort was not increased. Moreover, there was no interaction between the influence of the degraded CI-simulated speech signal and listening groups in either their perceptual accuracy or listening effort. Conclusion: Non-native listeners are not more strongly affected by spectrotemporal degradations than native listeners, and less proficient non-native listeners are not more strongly affected by these degradations than more proficient nonnative listeners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between the age of acquisition (AoA) and sentence length of sentences of the speech recognition (SR) tests for adults and children in Dutch, American English, and Canadian French. Method: The AoA and sentence length of the sentences of four SR tests for adults and children were determined. One-way analyses of variance were performed to assess differences between the tests. Results: The AoA and sentence length of the sentences significantly differed between the SR tests for adults. These differences were also found between the SR tests for children. Conclusions: The AoA and the sentence length differ across the SR tests in Dutch, American English, and Canadian French. The Dutch sentences have higher AoA and are longer than the sentences in American English and Canadian French. The effect of the linguistic complexity on sentence repetition accuracy should be investigated during the development and validation of a Dutch SR test for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main concept analysis (MCA; Kong, 2009) quantifies the effectiveness and efficiency of information transfer during verbal discourse by means of four sets of sequential pictorial stimuli. This test was originally developed for a Cantonese-speaking population. The main goals of this study were (a) to translate and adapt the MCA to Dutch; (b) to establish normative data for healthy native Dutchspeaking adults; (c) to assess the effect of age, education level, and gender on MCA outcome; and (d) to establish inter- and intrarater reliability of the Dutch MCA. Method: Language samples were collected from 60 healthy native Dutch speakers, equally recruited in different age (20-39 years, 40-59 years, 60-79 years) and education (middle and highly educated) categories through administration of the MCA. Utterances produced by at least 75% of the participants were included as a main concept in the Dutch MCA. Subsequently, age-specific normative data were established for each of the MCA parameters. Finally, an ICC was calculated in order to verify inter- and intrarater reliability of the Dutch MCA. Results: The translated MCA consisted of 19 main concepts. Age-specific normative data were obtained. Both age and education level had a significant effect on MCA outcome. Information transfer in elderly was both less effectively and efficiently compared to young- and middleaged adults. In addition, highly educated participants transferred information less efficiently compared to middle educated participants. Based on inter- and intrarater reliability measures, the Dutch MCA proved to be a reliable measuring instrument. Conclusions: The MCA was translated to Dutch, and agespecific normative data were established for a healthy, Dutchspeaking population. The Dutch MCA is a reliable tool for eliciting and quantifying discourse production. Validation of the test for people with aphasia is necessary in order for the test to be useful in a clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 2nd language proficiency and linguistic uncertainty on performance and listening effort in mixed language contexts. Method: Thirteen native speakers of Dutch with varying degrees of fluency in English listened to and repeated sentences produced in both Dutch and English and presented in the presence of single-talker competing speech in both Dutch and English. Target and masker language combinations were presented in both blocked and mixed (unpredictable) conditions. In the blocked condition, in each block of trials the target--masker language combination remained constant, and the listeners were informed of both prior to beginning the block. In the mixed condition, target and masker language varied randomly from trial to trial. All listeners participated in all conditions. Performance was assessed in terms of speech reception thresholds, whereas listening effort was quantified in terms of pupil dilation. Results: Performance (speech reception thresholds) and listening effort (pupil dilation) were both affected by 2nd language proficiency (English test score) and target and masker language: Performance was better in blocked as compared to mixed conditions, with Dutch as compared to English targets, and with English as compared to Dutch maskers. English proficiency was correlated with listening performance. Listeners also exhibited greater peak pupil dilation in mixed as compared to blocked conditions for trials with Dutch maskers, whereas pupil dilation during preparation for speaking was higher for English targets as compared to Dutch ones in almost all conditions. Conclusions: Both listener's proficiency in a 2nd language and uncertainty about the target language on a given trial play a significant role in how bilingual listeners attend to speech in the presence of competing speech in different languages, but precise effects also depend on which language is serving as target and which as masker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The field of neuromodulation is currently seeking to treat a wide range of disorders with various types of invasive devices. In recent years, several preclinical trials and case reports in humans have been published on their potential for chronic tinnitus. However, studies to obtain insight into patients' willingness to undergo these treatments are scarce. The aim of this survey study was to find out whether tinnitus patients are willing to undergo invasive neuromodulation when taking its risks, costs, and potential benefits into account. Method: A Visual Analog Scale (VAS, 0-10) was used to measure the outcome. Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficients were computed to determine the correlation between patient characteristics and acceptance rates. Results: Around one fifth of the patients were reasonably willing to undergo invasive treatment (VAS 5--7), and around one fifth were fully willing to do so (VAS 8--10). Hearing aids, used as a control, were accepted most, followed by cochlear implantation, deep brain stimulation, and cortical stimulation. Acceptance rates were slightly higher when the chance of cure was higher. Patients with a history of attempted treatments were more eager than others to find a new treatment for tinnitus. Conclusions: A considerable proportion of patients with tinnitus would accept a variety of invasive treatments despite the associated risks or costs. When clinical neuromodulatory studies for tinnitus are to be performed, particular attention should be given to obtaining informed consent, including explaining the potential risks and providing a realistic outcome expectation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research note was to validate a simplified version of the Dutch nonword repetition task (NWR; Rispens & Baker, 2012). The NWR was shortened and scoring was transformed to correct/incorrect nonwords, resulting in the shortened NWR (NWR-S). Method: NWR-S and NWR performance were compared in the previously published data set of Rispens and Baker (2012; N = 88), who compared NWR performance in 5 participant groups: specific language impairment (SLI), reading impairment (RI), both SLI and RI, one control group matched on chronological age, and one control group matched on language age. Results: Analyses of variance showed that children with SLI + RI performed significantly worse than other participant groups in NWR-S, just as in NWR. Logistic regression analyses showed that both tasks can predict an SLI + RI outcome. NWR-S holds a sensitivity of 82.6% and a specificity of 95.4% in identifying children with SLI + RI. The sensitivity of the original NWR is 87.0% with a specificity of 87.7%. Conclusions: As the original NWR, the NWR-S comprising a subset of 22 nonwords scored with a simplified scoring system can identify children with combined SLI and RI while saving a significant amount of the needed assessment time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study assessed whether a categorical speech perception (CP) deficit is associated with dyslexia or familial risk for dyslexia, by exploring a possible cascading relation from speech perception to phonology to reading and by identifying whether speech perception distinguishes familial risk (FR) children with dyslexia (FRD) from those without dyslexia (FRND). Method: Data were collected from 9-year-old FRD (n = 37) and FRND (n = 41) children and age-matched controls (n = 49) on CP identification and discrimination and on the phonological processing measures rapid automatized naming, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition. Results: The FRD group performed more poorly on CP than the FRND and control groups. Findings on phonological processing align with the literature in that (a) phonological processing related to reading and (b) the FRD group showed the lowest phonological processing outcomes. Furthermore, CP correlated weakly with reading, but this relationship was fully mediated by rapid automatized naming. Conclusion: Although CP phonological skills are related to dyslexia, there was no strong evidence for a cascade from CP to phonology to reading. Deficits in CP at the behavioral level are not directly associated with dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study evaluated a newly developed quasi-universal nonword repetition task (Q-U NWRT) as a diagnostic tool for bilingual children with language impairment (LI) who have Dutch as a 2nd language. The Q-U NWRT was designed to be minimally influenced by knowledge of 1 specific language in contrast to a language-specific NWRT with which it was compared. Method: One hundred twenty monolingual and bilingual children with and without LI participated (30 per group). A mixed-design analysis of variance was used to investigate the effects of LI and bilingualism on the NWRTs. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to evaluate the instruments' diagnostic value. Results: Large negative effects of LI were found on both NWRTs, whereas negative effects of bilingualism only occurred on the language-specific NWRT. Both instruments had high clinical accuracy in the monolingual group, but only the Q-U NWRT had high clinical accuracy in the bilingual group. Conclusions: This study indicates that the Q-U NWRT is a promising diagnostic tool to help identify LI in bilingual children learning Dutch as a 2nd language. The instrument was clinically accurate in both a monolingual and bilingual group of children and seems better able to disentangle LI from language disadvantage than more language-specific measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study tested the milk flow rates and variability in flow of currently available nipples used for bottle-feeding infants who are hospitalized. Method: Clinicians in 3 countries were surveyed regarding nipples available to them for feeding infants who are hospitalized. Twenty-nine nipple types were identified, and 10 nipples of each type were tested by measuring the amount of infant formula expressed in 1 min using a breast pump. Mean milk flow rate (mL/min) and coefficient of variation were used to compare nipples within brand and within category (i.e., Slow, Standard, Premature). Results: Flow rates varied widely between nipples, ranging from 2.10 mL/min for the Enfamil Cross-Cut to 85.34 mL/min for the Dr. Brown’s Y-Cut Standard Neck. Variability of flow rates among nipples of the same type ranged from a coefficient of variation of 0.05 for Dr. Brown’s Level 1 Standard- and Wide-Neck to 0.42 for the Enfamil CrossCut. Mean coefficient of variation by brand ranged from 0.08 for Dr. Brown’s to 0.36 for Bionix. Conclusions: Milk flow is an easily manipulated variable that may contribute to the degree of physiologic instability experienced by infants who are medically fragile during oral feeding. This study provides clinicians with information to guide appropriate selection of bottle nipples for feeding infants who are hospitalized [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this study, the authors assessed the influence of masking level (29% or 71% sentence perception) and test modality on the processing load during language perception as reflected by the pupil response. In addition, the authors administered a delayed cued stimulus recall test to examine whether processing load affected the encoding of the stimuli in memory. Method: Participants performed speech and text reception threshold tests, during which the pupil response was measured. In the cued recall test, the first half of correctly perceived sentences was presented, and participants were asked to complete the sentences. Reading and listening span tests of working memory capacity were presented as well. Results: Regardless of test modality, the pupil response indicated higher processing load in the 29% condition than in the 71% correct condition. Cued recall was better for the 29% condition. Conclusions: The consistent effect of masking level on the pupil response during listening and reading support the validity of the pupil response as a measure of processing load during language perception. The absent relation between pupil response and cued recall may suggest that cued recall is not directly related to processing load, as reflected by the pupil response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Auditory perception of vowels in background noise is enhanced when combined with visually perceived speech features. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the influence of visual cues on vowel perception extends to incongruent vowels, in a manner similar to the McGurk effect observed with consonants. Method: Identification of Dutch front vowels /i, y, e, Y/ that share all features other than height and lip-rounding was measured for congruent and incongruent audiovisual conditions. The audio channel was systematically degraded by adding noise, increasing the reliance on visual cues. Results: The height feature was more robustly carried over through the auditory channel and the lip-rounding feature through the visual channel. Hence, congruent audiovisual presentation enhanced identification, while incongruent presentation led to perceptual fusions and thus decreased identification. Conclusions: Visual cues influence the identification of congruent as well as incongruent audiovisual vowels. Incongruent visual information results in perceptual fusions, demonstrating that the McGurk effect can be instigated by long phonemes such as vowels. This result extends to the incongruent presentation of the visually less reliably perceived height. The findings stress the importance of audiovisual congruency in communication devices, such as cochlear implants and videoconferencing tools, where the auditory signal could be degraded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]