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Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether the performance on each of seven phonological processing (PP) tests from the Russian Test of Phonological Processing (RuToPP), with their varying levels of linguistic complexity and composite phonological indices, are significant predictors of developmental dyslexia (DD) and can reliably differentiate children with and without reading impairment. Additionally, we examined the general contribution of phonological skills to text reading fluency in children with various levels of reading performance. Method: A total of 173 Russian-speaking 7- to 11-year-old children participated in this study: 124 who were typically developing (TD) and 49 who had been diagnosed with DD. We assessed reading fluency with a standardized reading test and PP with the RuToPP. We investigated the potential of phonological skills to predict the presence or absence of a dyslexia diagnosis using multinomial logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and calculations of the sensitivity and specificity of each test and index. The contribution of phonological skills to reading fluency was also assessed in a mixed group of children. Results: Six of seven RuToPP tests were significant predictors of dyslexia. However, while the RuToPP correctly identified 93%-99% of TD children, for children with dyslexia, it ranged from 4% to 47% depending on the test. In a mixed group of children with and without dyslexia, performance in the more complex phonological tests was a stronger predictor of reading fluency. Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with the literature on predictors of literacy skills and dyslexia while uniquely demonstrating the impact of the complexity level of the phonological tests on the classification outcome. PP is a significant and necessary predictor of reading skills, but it is not sufficient for diagnostic purposes.

The lack of standardized language assessment tools in Russian impedes clinical work, evidence-based practice, and research in Russian-speaking clinical populations. To address this gap in assessment of neurogenic language disorders, we developed and standardized a new comprehensive assessment instrument-the Russian Aphasia Test (RAT). The principal novelty of the RAT is that each subtest corresponds to a specific level of linguistic processing (phonological, lexical-semantic, syntactic, and discourse) in different domains: auditory comprehension, repetition, and oral production. In designing the test, we took into consideration various (psycho)linguistic factors known to influence language performance, as well as specific properties of Russian. The current paper describes the development of the RAT and reports its psychometric properties. A tablet-based version of the RAT was administered to 85 patients with different types and severity of aphasia and to 106 age-matched neurologically healthy controls. We established cutoff values for each subtest indicating deficit in a given task and cutoff values for aphasia based on the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis of the composite score. The RAT showed very high sensitivity (> .93) and specificity (> .96), substantiating its validity for determining presence of aphasia. The tests high construct validity was evidenced by strong correlations between subtests measuring similar linguistic processes. The concurrent validity of the test was also strong as demonstrated by a high correlation with an existing aphasia battery. Overall high internal, inter-rater, and test-retest reliability were obtained. The RAT is the first comprehensive aphasia language battery in Russian with properly established psychometric properties. It is sensitive to a wide range of language deficits in aphasia and can reliably characterize individual profiles of language impairments. Notably, the RAT is the first comprehensive aphasia test in any language to be fully automatized for administration on a tablet, maximizing further standardization of presentation and scoring procedures.

The concept of "extra-cortical organization of higher mental functions" proposed by Lev Vygotsky and expanded by Alexander Luria extends cultural-historical psychology regarding the interplay of natural and cultural factors in the development of the human mind. Using the example of self-regulation, the authors explore the evolution of this idea from its origins to recent findings on the neuropsychological trajectories of the development of executive functions. Empirical data derived from the Tools of the Mind project are used to discuss the idea of using classroom intervention to study the development of self-regulation in early childhood.

Luria is one of the most influential authors in cognitive neuroscience, and in particular neuropsychology. New scientific achievements and clinical observations have significantly supported many of his suggestions and hypotheses. The article describes the basic concepts of neuropsychological evaluation and rehabilitation, associated with the method of syndrome analysis developed by Luria for diagnosis mental function and focus in the qualitative interpretation of the results neuropsychological diagnosis. Luria is regarded as a pioneer in cognitive rehabilitation. His ideas have maintained relevance and have continued to be developed and analyzed. Luria is presented as one of the major founders of contemporary neuropsychology from the fundamental point of view and the clinical perspective. His influence has continued significantly during the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a new computer-based test battery of neuropsychological assessment in 6-9-year-old children. The battery consists of seven tests for assessing executive functions, functions of activation regulation, functions of visual-spatial information and auditory information processing. The following tests are described in the article: the Dots task, two-colored Schulte-Gorbov tables, Corsi block span test and Understanding of Similar Sounding Words test. The battery is developed in the software platform 'MSU-Practice' (http://psychosoft.ru). The system allows researchers to conduct the tests, collect data and analyze them. In addition, it includes cloud service to support the collaboration of different research groups. A total of 21 preschoolers, 52 first-graders and 114 second-graders took part in a pilot study. All three groups of children took the four computer tests and went through a neuropsychological assessment adapted for children between the ages of 5 and 9. The correlation analysis showed consistency between the results of the computer tests and the results of the neuropsychological assessments. This allowed us to conclude that the new computer methodology is sufficiently sensible and valid to assess different components of higher mental functions in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific heritage of Alexander Luria is vast and not completely studied. His scientific archive includes a range of documents that academics have never encountered. We analyzed the history of Luria's research of semantic aphasia, specifically as it is related to the impairment of visuospatial processing. For this purpose, we investigated unpublished archive materials dating back to 1928-1940, particularly the monograph 'Parietal Aphasia' from 1940. The literature regarding the history of the issue and neurophysiological and linguistic interpretations of semantic aphasia is discussed in detail by Luria. We also introduce Luria's diagnostic manual for the semantic impairment of language and describe the syndrome structure of semantic aphasia. To conclude, we discuss the specificity of semantic aphasia analysis in the pre-war monograph compared to later studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]