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Au fur et à mesure de son extension à l'ensemble des champs disciplinaires, le concept de crise a perdu en intelligibilité. La psychiatrie n'échappe pas à ce phénomène par les différentes réalités que l'emploi de ce concept recouvre. Aussi, notre présente étude vise à s'intéresser à ce qu'il en est de la crise psychique et à clarifier ce dont elle témoigne pour chaque sujet au travers de ses manifestations dont l'hétérogénéité ne peut que saisir le clinicien. Afin de cerner au plus près notre objet qu'est le notion de crise psychique, nous proposerons en premier lieu une étude étymologique et historique du concept de crise, puis, en nous appuyant sur un référentiel psychanalytique enrichi d'apports philosophiques, phénoménologiques en particulier, nous analyserons en quoi toute crise psychique est réaction critique à une rencontre avec un réel faisant discontinuité, événement pour un sujet. Nous poserons alors que le bouleversement intime dont est cause le phénomène de crise psychique, par le déchirement des représentations du sujet qu'elle suscite, tire origine de son mode d'inscription singulier dans le langage par lequel il se maintient au monde. Soutenu par une présence soignante, le sujet en crise sera alors accompagné dans une décision à prendre ayant pour fin de créer un nouveau mode d'être vivable faisant suite à la chute de ses anciennes assises. Nous soutenons ainsi que toute crise psychique révèle l'être à lui-même. Toutefois, cette épiphanie n'est pas sans risque et c'est pourquoi un accompagnement soignant prend là, plus que jamais, toute son importance. À rebours des pratiques actuelles celui-ci veillera donc à ne pas entraver la crise psychique lorsqu'elle s'annonce, mais bien plutôt à soutenir la création originale et subjective susceptible d'en émaner. Soutien à l'émergence d'une nouvelle façon d'être au monde ainsi que l'aide ultérieure à la mise en récit dynamique par le sujet de la crise traversée par lui, tels nous paraissent être les préalables éthiques à toute prise en soins de la crise psychique. As the concept of crisis has permeated all disciplinary fields, it has become less intelligible. This phenomenon is also valid in psychiatry, on account of the usage of the concept in relation with different realities. Thus, our present case study takes interest in what the psychic crisis is, so as to clarify how it appears for individual subjects through its various manifestations, whose heterogeneity has an undeniable clinical interest. In an attempt to provide a granular definition of the psychic crisis, we will first put forth a historical and etymological study. Then, based on a system of psychoanalytical references supplied with contributions from philosophy and particularly from phenomenology, we will address in what way any psychic crisis comes as a critical reaction to an encounter with the real, which appears as a discontinuity, an event for the subject. We theorize that the internal disruption caused by the psychic crisis phenomenon, which tears apart the subject's representations, stems from its unique operating mode by means of the language use to interact with the surrounding world. The subject going through a crisis, and accompanied by health care professionals, will be guided to a decision that aims at creating a new livable mode following the downfall of their former objective certainty. Hence, we believe any psychic crisis unravels the subject as a being to themselves. However, such an epiphany is not harmless, which is why the health care professional plays an even greater role in this instance. Running counter to current practices, the health care professional must not hinder the psychic crisis when it arises, but, instead, make space for any uniquely subjective creation that is likely to come forth. We advocate for the emergence of a new mode of being, of dealing with the world, while facilitating the subject's fashioning of their own dynamic narrative, of the crisis they are going through. We believe, indeed, that such are the ethical prerequisites of care, with regard to the psychic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary Progressive Aphasia describes a languageled dementia and its variants. There is little research exploring the experiences of living with this disease. Metaphor, words that represent something else, have been studied extensively in healthrelated narratives to gain a more intimate insight into health experiences. Aims: This study explored the metaphors used spontaneously by people with PPA, their care partners (family), and speech and language therapists/pathologists (SLT/Ps) providing support along the continuum of care. Methods & Procedures: This study examined two previously collected data sets comprising naturalistic talk where metaphors were not the specific focus, the first from focus groups conducted with people with PPA and their families and the second from focus groups conducted with SLT/Ps working with people with PPA. Transcribed data were analysed for metaphor use through an iterative narrative approach. Outcomes & Results: In all, 237 examples of metaphorical language were identified in the data, with 14 metaphors from people with PPA, 116 from the families and 106 from SLT/Ps. Different metaphors were used by participants to describe their experiences depending on which variant of PPA they were living with, and people also described their disease differently over time. SLT/Ps also used metaphors, however, their language reflected the structured, professional perspective of delivering speech and language therapy services. Conclusions & Implications: SLT/Ps should listen for and recognise the metaphorical language used by people with PPA and their families to ensure therapeutic alignment, see beyond the PPA to recognise the individual’s needs, and provide person-centred and empathic support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using inclusive language and creating an inclusive clinical environment to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual+ patients is vital to optimizing access to care and patient outcomes. Practical recommendations are made for increasing inclusivity in the clinic, and a glossary of current terms is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the feasibility of a vocabulary-based teacher intervention to increase preschool teachers' production of complement clauses (e.g. I wonder if we can put the monkey in the tree) in teacher–children play interactions. Using a multiple baseline across participants design we measured the impact of an intervention that promoted preschool teachers' production of four complement clause verbs (CCVs)— figure out, notice, remember, wonder. Based on visual analysis we established a functional relation between the teacher intervention and the teachers' production of the target CCVs produced with a complement clause. Asking teachers to increase their use of CCVs in verbal interactions with children is a promising approach to increase teacher complex syntax input in the preschool classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 50+ years, there has been a huge rise in interest in consumer language research. This article spotlights the emergence and evolution of this area, identifying key themes and trends and highlighting topics for future research. Work has evolved from exploration of broad language concepts (e.g. rhetorics) to specific linguistic features (e.g. phonemes) and from monologues (e.g. advertiser to consumer) to two-way dialogues (e.g. consumer to service representative and back). We discuss future opportunities that arise from past trends and suggest two important shifts that prompt questions for future research: the new shift toward using voice (vs. hands) when interacting with objects and the ongoing shift toward using hands (vs. voices) to communicate with people. By synthesizing the past, and delineating a research agenda for the future, we hope to encourage more researchers to begin to explore this burgeoning area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his latest volume of the Philosophy of the Christian Life, Pattison addresses the titular question of a metaphysics of love. The discussion focuses on the presentation of three central ideas and elements: firstly, on the role of language with its forms as call and promise; secondly, on the relationship between love and time as Chronos and Kairos, in whose connection Pattison expands his thoughts from an individual to an ecclesial level. Finally, it is traced how, for Pattison, an inevitably human solidarity follows from his outlined thoughts. Critically questioned is why a universal love, as envisioned by Pattison, generally excludes self-love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article responds to three reviews of Philosophy of Christian Life, focussing on issues of heteronomy, abuse of power, the authority of the call, language, technology, and deliverance from self-hatred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated if people are acquainted with the term 'ageism', and to what extent acquaintance with this term corresponds with reports of discrimination, due to age. The study included an online survey, answered by 1,025 Israeli respondents. The questionnaire began by asking the respondents to define 'What is ageism?' (gilanut in Hebrew) and then to mark 'If and what types of discrimination they experienced in the last year'. Subsequently, we defined and demonstrated the term ageism and asked participants to share experiences of this phenomenon; 457 (45%) participants were not familiar with the term. In the group that was unfamiliar with the term, only 46 (10%) reported that they had such experiences. In the group that was acquainted with the term, 208 (30%) reported that they had experienced ageism. In contrast, once the term, ageism, was defined and demonstrated in the survey, 638 (62%) respondents shared experiences of ageism in their lives. Of those who shared their experiences of ageism, 202 (31%) were initially unfamiliar with the term. The study's results show that there is an association between the linguistic representation of the phenomenon of ageism and reports of ageism. In the wider sense, the study shows that language and words have the power to help people understand and interpret social and human experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments investigated whether interpretations of quantitative expressions about described actors' behaviors are influenced by stereotypic expectancies. Participants rated sentences containing frequency adverbs describing either stereotype-consistent or stereotype-inconsistent behaviors. Results showed that recipients inferred a higher numerical frequency when sentences described stereotype-consistent (vs inconsistent) behaviors. These effects of stereotype consistency were stronger for high (vs low) degree frequency adverbs. The findings show how neutral statements about a person can be interpreted as stereotype-confirming information and thus contribute to stereotype maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the prevalence of 'spin' (i.e., reporting practices that distort the interpretation of results by positively reflecting negative findings or downplaying potential harms) strategies and level of spin in urological observational studies and whether the use of spin has changed over time. Materials and Methods: MEDLINE and Embase were searched to identify observational studies comparing therapeutic interventions in the top five urology journals and major urological subspecialty journals, published between 2000 and 2001, 2010 and 2011, and 2020 and 2021. Results: A total of 235 studies were included. Spin was identified in 81% of studies, with a median of two strategies per study. The most commonly used strategies were inadequate implication for clinical practice (30%), causal language or causal claim (29%), and use of linguistic spin (29%). Moderate to high levels of spin were found in 55% of conclusions. From 2000 to 2020, the average number of strategies used has significantly decreased each decade (H = 27.459, P < 0.001), and the median level of spin in conclusions was significantly lower in studies published in the 2020s and 2010s than in the 2000s (H = 11.649, P = 0.003). Conclusions: Our results suggest that 81% of urological observational studies comparing therapeutic interventions contained spin. Over the past two decades, the use of spin has significantly declined, but this remains an area for improvement, with 70% of included studies published in the 2020s employing spin. Medical writing should scrupulously avoid words or phrases that are not supported by data in the manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article describes the HAPOVER (a haptic pronunciation improver device), which was produced to help second language learners' pronunciation skills as part of their foreign language learning process. The device comprises eight independent vibration motors connected to the fingers other than the thumb. The developed tactile feedback device was utilized to enhance pronunciation via speech processing and using vibration motor. The acoustic difference between the reference and the participant's recorded pronunciation signal was calculated with the help of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) and Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) and converted into haptic codes that guide the speaker. The article describes the haptic codes' features and the creation method thereof. The device was tested by psychophysical evaluation. The results indicate an 80.74% improvement in word pronunciation with haptic guidance post training. Therefore, the results corroborate that word pronunciation data can be transmitted via tactile codes. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current methods used to investigate emotional inference and conflict resolution knowledge are limited in their suitability for use with children with language disorders due to a reliance on language processing. This is problematic, as nearly 8% of the population are estimated to have developmental language disorder (DLD). In this paper, we present 'Zoti's Social Toolkit', a set of animated scenarios that can be used to assess emotion inferencing and conflict resolution knowledge. All animated scenarios contain interpersonal situations centred around a gender‐neutral alien named Zoti. Four studies investigated the face and construct validity of the stimuli. The final stimulus set can be used with children, who may or may not have language difficulties and is openly available for use in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates the body's physiology, including cardiovascular function. As the ANS develops during the second to third trimester, fetal heart rate variability (HRV) increases while fetal heart rate (HR) decreases. In this way, fetal HR and HRV provide an index of fetal ANS development and future neurobehavioral regulation. Fetal HR and HRV have been associated with child language ability and psychomotor development behavior in toddlerhood. However, their associations with postbirth autonomic brain systems, such as the brainstem, hypothalamus, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), have yet to be investigated even though brain pathways involved in autonomic regulation are well established in older individuals. We assessed whether fetal HR and HRV were associated with the brainstem, hypothalamic, and dACC functional connectivity in newborns. Data were obtained from 60 pregnant individuals (ages 14-42) at 24-27 and 34-37 weeks of gestation using a fetal actocardiograph to generate fetal HR and HRV. During natural sleep, their infants (38 males and 22 females) underwent a fMRI scan between 40 and 46 weeks of postmenstrual age. Our findings relate fetal heart indices to brainstem, hypothalamic, and dACC connectivity and reveal connections with widespread brain regions that may support behavioral and emotional regulation. We demonstrated the basic physiologic association between fetal HR indices and lower- and higher-order brain regions involved in regulatory processes. This work provides the foundation for future behavioral or physiological regulation research in fetuses and infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a close analysis of the language of the doxologies in the book of Daniel. Three types of observations raise the question whether the Danielic doxologies might be redactional: 1) the language of the doxologies differs from the language of the stories in Dan 2–6; 2) the doxologies exhibit some formulaic expressions that also occur in other texts (Ps 145, 11QSefer ha-Milhamah, 4QApocryphon of Daniel AR, and 4QSongs of the Sageb); 3) the doxologies express the notion that God’s sovereignty surpasses that of human kings, which underscores the theological conviction found in Dan 2–6 and Dan 7 and forms a literary link between them; but only some of them thereby also express that God’s sovereignty is eternal. Based on such observations, this article attempts to reconstruct some of the redactional activities in Dan 2–6 and argues that the doxologies were added (and expanded) at different stages in the growth of Daniel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Aims Materials and Methods Results Conclusions Dysmenorrhoea‐Related Pelvic Pain (DRPP) is a common condition, which may or may not include bladder‐related symptoms. Primary health care practitioners (PHCP) rely heavily on language for diagnosis of DRPP‐related conditions. However, there are no established pain descriptors to assist PHCP to determine whether an individual's DRPP may include a bladder component.To identify differences in the use of pain descriptors in women with DRPP with and without a co‐existing bladder pain component, through an exploratory study of the language of pelvic pain in women.A cross‐sectional online survey of Australian and New Zealand women (n = 750, ages 18–49) who have self‐identified pelvic pain. Free text and predetermined pain descriptors used by women with a self‐perceived bladder pain component (DRPPB+, n = 468) were compared to those without bladder pain (DRPPB−, n = 282). Statistical analysis included Pearson χ2, logistic regression and analysis of variance tests using StataCorp Stata Statistical Software combined with qualitative data from AntConc concordance software.Within free‐form text, bloating (P = 0.014) and pressure (P = 0.031) were used more commonly to describe dysmenorrhoea in women with DRPPB+, while the word excruciating (P < 0.001) was more commonly used by women with DRPPB−. From a pre‐determined list of descriptors, pounding (P < 0.001), tingling (P < 0.001), stabbing (P = 0.010), burning (P = 0.002) and cramping (P = 0.021) were more commonly used by women with DRPPB+, than women with DRPPB−.Systematic patterns of word use should encourage practitioners to further enquire about bladder symptoms that may co‐exist with dysmenorrhoea. Knowledge of these words may be useful in targeting diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of utilizing the mother tongue on psychologists' acquisition of proficiency in the Ullman's experiential dreamwork group approach. Employing a qualitative ethnographic methodology, the research documents the immersive training experiences within the Ullman approach, subject to subsequent analysis, by a Muslim clinical psychologist in training, whose native language is Arabic, engaging in the experiential dreamwork conducted in English. The findings confirms the pivotal role of the mother tongue in fostering group cohesion and facilitating emotional processing within the Ullman framework. Furthermore, the research underscores the significance of language in shaping the holistic learning experience, emphasizing the imperative consideration of linguistic and cultural implications inherent in this distinctive training process for clinical psychologists. A nuanced understanding of the impact of language on experiential learning enhances our comprehension of the intricate interplay between language, emotions and personal development among trainees in clinical psychology. Beyond individual learning encounters, the research prompts a broader contemplation on the incorporation of linguistic and cultural factors in the training of clinical psychologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the aim, methodology, and initial results of a joint initiative between two universities (Université de Kinshasa in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Université de Liège in Liège, Belgium), two conservation training courses (Academy of Fine Arts of Kinshasa and École Supérieure des Arts Saint-Luc in Liège), and the Institute of National Museums of Congo. The Nous avons des lacunes (We have gaps) project plays on the notion of loss – both material and of knowledge – to involve communities in the construction of endogenous knowledge on the conservation of objects: a task to be carried out by the Congolese, for the Congolese. For many Congolese, concepts such as ‘museum’ and ‘conservation’ sound foreign, and the idea of cultural rights remains highly abstract and theoretical. The challenge is to transform the manifestation of these rights through conservation into a real tool for empowerment. The exhibition concept is two-fold: conservators explain what loss or material alteration has occurred in a specific object, and how they remedy it, thus arousing interest in a little-known profession. At the same time, they show and explain their own gaps in knowledge, and ask the public for information about the technique, function, use, naming, or names of the mystery object in the four national languages and numerous Congolese idioms. The Nous avons des lacunes project aims to highlight the role and involvement of communities and different social entities as active guardians of their heritage, by humbly admitting the lack of knowledge among professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pretrained deep learning models self-supervised on large datasets of language, image, and graph representations are often fine-tuned on downstream tasks and have demonstrated remarkable adaptability in a variety of applications including chatbots, autonomous driving, and protein folding. Additional research aims to improve performance on downstream tasks by fusing high dimensional data representations across multiple modalities. In this work, we explore a novel fusion of a pretrained language model, ChemBERTa-2, with graph neural networks for the task of molecular property prediction. We benchmark the MolPROP suite of models on seven scaffold split MoleculeNet datasets and compare with state-of-the-art architectures. We find that (1) multimodal property prediction for small molecules can match or significantly outperform modern architectures on hydration free energy (FreeSolv), experimental water solubility (ESOL), lipophilicity (Lipo), and clinical toxicity tasks (ClinTox), (2) the MolPROP multimodal fusion is predominantly beneficial on regression tasks, (3) the ChemBERTa-2 masked language model pretraining task (MLM) outperformed multitask regression pretraining task (MTR) when fused with graph neural networks for multimodal property prediction, and (4) despite improvements from multimodal fusion on regression tasks MolPROP significantly underperforms on some classification tasks. MolPROP has been made available at https://github.com/merck/MolPROP. Scientific contribution: This work explores a novel multimodal fusion of learned language and graph representations of small molecules for the supervised task of molecular property prediction. The MolPROP suite of models demonstrates that language and graph fusion can significantly outperform modern architectures on several regression prediction tasks and also provides the opportunity to explore alternative fusion strategies on classification tasks for multimodal molecular property prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a lesser explored area of research involving the interaction between young people and culture in an Indian city, Pune. By looking at young peoples’ conceptions about the city and their everyday cultural participation, we show that the city is culturally divided on the lines of language, spatiality, class, and status, and these further interact with each other in complicated ways. For young people in Pune city, English and Marathi are set in an unequal relationship, however there is a disagreement on the place of these languages in this relationship. Further, the recent young migrants showed ‘in-betweenness’ in their cultural imaginations about the rural and the urban. Young people’s everyday cultural interactions happened through family, friends, and the internet. Diversities, inequalities, and tensions marked those processes. Their families’ differential access to cultural capital shaped their cultural socialisation and opportunities in cultural fields. They saw engagement with the digital world as inevitable; but recognising the difference between the virtual and the real worlds, they involved themselves in online debates only with persons with whom they had some real-world connections. We further show that along with socio-economic inequalities, young people are fragmented at the cultural level too, and they navigate these different cultural worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Purpose Approach and methods Findings Policy implications This article argues that the NGO sector should prioritize translation as an anti‐racist practice because failing to tackle colonial language hierarchies replicates historic power structures. Aligned with the locally led approach to development, the article responds to calls for more research into the role of translation in shaping development outcomes, and answers direct appeals from NGO practitioners for translation glossaries in different languages to improve communication between development actors.We introduce a new participatory method for co‐producing translations of terms that community members deem important for their visions of “development” and social change. We contend that participatory translation fosters an anti‐racist approach to knowledge production by centring communities in the construction of meaning, which may encompass language and concepts outside the international development lexicon.The study was based on the principles of community‐based participatory research, and an Advisory Board of community members was instrumental in its design. The draft of the glossary was produced in two three‐day participatory workshops in Lilongwe and Zomba, Malawi. These were attended by 36 people representing potential user groups of the glossary.The workshop participants created 385 translations of development terms, including 70 translations that are not listed in the Oxford Chichewa–English Dictionary. They also engaged in critically reflective discussions that challenged dominant discourses of development. We argue that participatory translation is a tool to transcend the language barrier in a way that simultaneously subverts conventional power hierarchies and offers access to different ways of understanding the world.NGOs in different linguistic and geographical contexts could adopt participatory translation activities in the early stages of forming relationships with communities and local partners to build trust and common understanding. In line with an anti‐racist approach, this would help to combat systemic linguistic exclusion, which exacerbates other forms of disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the biological, biomarker-driven framework of Alzheimer's disease (AD) becomes formalized through revised, consensus clinical criteria, clinicians will confront more and more patients in the earliest, asymptomatic stages of disease. The language and diction used by practitioners to characterize these early patients, whether they are diagnosed with AD, and how their condition is documented in medical and legal records have important implications for both their care and their medical-legal status outside of the health system. Investigation is needed urgently to better understand clinicians' views and practices regarding early AD, as we adapt to new disease definitions in this unprecedented era of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study tested how the use of positive- (e.g. beautiful) and negative-valenced (e.g. horrible) words in natural language and its change in time affects the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms among depressed and non-depressed individuals. This longitudinal mixed methods study (N = 40 participants, n = 1440 narratives) with three measurements within a year showed that at the between-person level the use of negative-valenced words was strongly associated with the increase in anxiety and depression symptoms over time while the use of positive-valenced words was slightly associated with the decrease in anxiety and depression symptom. These effects were not supported for within-person level (i.e. changes in word usage). No significant differences were observed in the effects between depressed and non-depressed groups. Summing up, the overall use of positive- and negative-valenced words (particularly negative-valenced words) had a stronger effect on the severity of psychopathological symptoms than their change over time. The results were discussed in the context of natural language processing and its application in diagnosing depression and anxiety symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As people age, there is a natural decline in cognitive functioning and brain structure. However, the relationship between brain function and cognition in older adults is neither straightforward nor uniform. Instead, it is complex, influenced by multiple factors, and can vary considerably from one person to another. Reserve, compensation, and maintenance mechanisms may help explain why some older adults can maintain high levels of performance while others struggle. These mechanisms are often studied concerning memory and executive functions that are particularly sensitive to the effects of aging. However, language abilities can also be affected by age, with changes in production fluency. The impact of brain changes on language abilities needs to be further investigated to understand the dynamics and patterns of aging, especially successful aging. We previously modeled several compensatory profiles of language production and lexical access/retrieval in aging within the Lexical Access and Retrieval in Aging (LARA) model. In the present paper, we propose an extended version of the LARA model, called LARA‐Connectivity (LARA‐C), incorporating recent evidence on brain connectivity. Finally, we discuss factors that may influence the strategies implemented with aging. The LARA‐C model can serve as a framework to understand individual performance and open avenues for possible personalized interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, federal institutions must provide governmental services to all citizens in the country's two official languages: French and English. This paper uses a survey experiment to test exposure to written English as a determinant of support for official bilingualism in the French‐speaking province of Quebec. The data emanate from an exit poll conducted in two Quebec electoral districts during the 2019 Canadian federal elections (n = 430). Results suggest the existence of heterogeneous experimental effects depending on vote choice. Indeed, Bloc Québécois voters—the federal party most strongly supportive of linguistic rights—are disproportionately supportive of institutional bilingualism when randomly exposed to written English on the survey questionnaire. These results are robust to the inclusion of socio‐demographic and attitudinal control variables, including support for Quebec independence. Our paper bolsters causal claims about the contextual determinants of in‐group favouritism and cultural threat in divided societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early disruptions to social communication development, including delays in joint attention and language, are among the earliest markers of autism spectrum disorder (autism, henceforth). Although social communication differences are a core feature of autism, there is marked heterogeneity in social communication‐related development among infants and toddlers exhibiting autism symptoms. Neural markers of individual differences in joint attention and language abilities may provide important insight into heterogeneity in autism symptom expression during infancy and toddlerhood. This study examined patterns of spontaneous electroencephalography (EEG) activity associated with joint attention and language skills in 70 community‐referred 12‐ to 23‐month‐olds with autism symptoms and elevated scores on an autism diagnostic instrument. Data‐driven cluster‐based permutation analyses revealed significant positive associations between relative alpha power (6–9 Hz) and concurrent response to joint attention skills, receptive language, and expressive language abilities. Exploratory analyses also revealed significant negative associations between relative alpha power and measures of core autism features (i.e., social communication difficulties and restricted/repetitive behaviors). These findings shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying typical and atypical social communication development in emerging autism and provide a foundation for future work examining neural predictors of social communication growth and markers of intervention response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recently reported strong, replicable (i.e., replicated) evidence for lexically mediated compensation for coarticulation (LCfC; Luthra et al., 2021), whereby lexical knowledge influences a prelexical process. Critically, evidence for LCfC provides robust support for interactive models of cognition that include top‐down feedback and is inconsistent with autonomous models that allow only feedforward processing. McQueen, Jesse, and Mitterer (2023) offer five counter‐arguments against our interpretation; we respond to each of those arguments here and conclude that top‐down feedback provides the most parsimonious explanation of extant data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to compare the developmental profiles of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with Down Syndrome (DS) between the ages of 3 and 6 years. The study examines whether these developmental disorders share common developmental milestones or exhibit distinctive characteristics. A total of 43 children, 23 with DS and 20 with ASD, participated in the study. Cognitive and language skills were assessed using standardized tools, including the Battelle Developmental Inventory, Reynell Developmental Language Scales III, and NEPSY-II battery. The results indicated that children with ASD outperformed children with DS in the areas of fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and communication. Additionally, children with ASD demonstrated higher scores in language comprehension and expressive language, compared to children with DS. Significant correlations were found between motor skills and communication abilities. Neuropsychological evaluations revealed significant differences between the two groups in various tasks, such as the comprehension of instructions, body part naming and identification, and recognition of emotions. These findings contribute to our understanding of the similarities and differences between ASD and DS, shedding light on the dissociation between cognition and language and its impact on adaptive functioning in these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This survey explores Swiss mental health professionals', users', and relatives' opinions on re-naming schizophrenia exploiting Switzerland's specific multilingualism to examine possible effects of linguistic and microcultural differences on the issue. Opinions on 'schizophrenia' were collected using a self-rated online questionnaire incl. Freetext answers available in the three main Swiss languages, German, French and Italian. It was distributed to the main professional and self-help organizations in Switzerland between June and October 2021. Overall, 449 persons completed the questionnaire, 263 in German, 172 in French and 14 in Italian. Of the total sample, 339 identified as mental health professionals, 81 as relatives and 29 as users. Considering the whole sample, almost half favored a name-change with a significant difference between stakeholder- and between language groups. Also, the name 'schizophrenia' was evaluated more critically than the diagnostic concept. Qualitative analysis of freetext answers showed a highly heterogenous argumentation, but no difference between language groups. Our results suggest the attitude towards re-naming might itself be subject to (micro)cultural difference, and they highlight the nature of 'schizophrenia' as not only a scientific, but also a linguistic and cultural object. Such local factors ought to be taken into consideration in the global debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a cultural cognitive theory of sexual violence: a Zerubavelian reading of its classificatory, attentional, perceptual, semiotic, mnemonic, and temporal dimensions. It maps the asymmetric syntactic contrasts between the cultural trifecta of "Victim‐Survivors," "Victimizers," and the hitherto unnamed, taken‐for‐granted "Unvictims," arguing that those who experience sexual violence are marked in contrast to both those who victimize and those who have never been victimized. Suggesting that one need not be the actor of a marked act to be marked by it, a victimizing person's marked act crystallizes as a marked identity for the person they victimize, a process I call "semiotic ricochet." Extending critiques of the victimhood‐survivorship frame, this article argues that the "rigid‐minded," binary classificatory scheme of "Victim" or "Survivor" reifies, universalizes, derivatizes, and temporally displaces its attributed. It proposes hyphenating, encasing in scare quotes, and capitalizing the identity category of "Victim‐Survivor," as well as referring to individuals as "those who experience sexual violence." Using the Zerubavelian theoretico‐methodological practice of "concept‐driven" sociology, it identifies the "Victim‐Survivor" as merely one specific instantiation of the generic social type the "Damaged Good," alongside other identities derived from marked non‐acts such as placement in foster care or undergoing a mastectomy for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To conduct pretesting of Urdu Receptive Language Scale (URLS) for scale modification and development of protocol for administration on children. Methods: This exploratory research was conducted from December 2021 to June 2022 in Lahore, Pakistan. Objective was achieved by pretesting in three steps including literature review, expert review and pilot testing on infants, toddlers and children aged 0-6 years utilizing purposive sampling technique. For expert review five experts' speech language pathologists with minimum five years of experience and for pilot study 48 normal developing children age range birth to six years were recruited. The analysis was done using content validity ratio, content validity index and Cronbach alpha. Protocol for administration of test items and stimulus with minimum three correct responses among four children's responses were finalized. Results: Of the 59 items, 57 with CVR = 0.99 were retained. Item number 3 (age 6-11 months) and item 5 (age 3.6-3.11 years) were eliminated as CVR was <0.99. CVI was one for retained items indicating acceptable validity. Cronbach's alpha was 0.95 indicating high level of internal consistency for the scale. Task groups of protocol of administration directions included: Selection of scale items, testing environment, seating arrangements, rapport building and involving the caregiver, handling the scale material and scoring the task responses. Conclusion: The modified 57 items has high validity and internal consistency with suitable protocol of administration. It is linguistically appropriate for the application on larger scale with children of different cultural backgrounds in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to identify kindergarteners at risk for language and reading disorders and to determine predictors. A representative sample of 311 kindergarteners in general education classrooms in the U.S. Midwest were assessed with the Well Screening in fall, winter, and spring. Groups were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) on measures of memory, phonological awareness, retrieval speed, social communication, and letter knowledge. Children at risk for reading disorders performed most poorly on phonological awareness, whereas children at risk for language disorders struggled most with social communication. Retrieval speed alone was not a reliable predictor of reading risk in kindergarten. High performers scored best on working memory. The high-performing reading group outscored the high-performing language group on letter knowledge. Phonological awareness distinguished the high-performing reading group but not the high-performing language group from their non-high-performing classmates. Early identification of these relevant subgroups allows for early targeted interventions and monitoring of growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dialogic reading (DR) is an effective shared reading technique based on the prompts–evaluate–expand–repeat (PEER) sequence, which fosters children's language development. This study examines the effects of its elements by comparing shared reading with prompts with minimal feedback (PMF) and PEER. Methods: This study included 364 typically developing Chinese kindergarteners and used a randomised control trial design. The children and their parents were divided into three groups, namely, the PMF, PEER and control groups. The children were pre‐ and post‐tested on their language skills and reading interest measures before and after the intervention. Results: Results showed that after a 12‐week intervention, the children in the PMF group outperformed those in the control group in terms of receptive vocabulary, character reading and listening comprehension. Meanwhile, the children in the PEER group outperformed those in the PMF and control groups not only in terms of the above measures but also in their expressive vocabulary and reading interest. Conclusions: These results highlight the contribution of parents' questions and the additional benefits of their systematically corrective feedback on kindergarten children's language and reading interest development. This study supports the literature on cognitive engagement theory related to young children's individual language and reading interest development through interactive parent–child DR activities. Highlights: What is already known about this topicDR activities enhance children's language ability development.The DR paradigm involves four essential sequences, namely, prompts, evaluate, expand and repeat. What this paper addsEffects of prompts and PEER on children's language ability and reading interest development.Effects of parental prompts and feedback on kindergarten children's language and reading interest development. Implications for theory, policy or practiceThis study supports the literature on cognitive engagement theory related to young children's individual language and reading interest development through interactive parent–child DR activities.Parent–child interactive communication regarding book reading activities is important to promoting children's expressive vocabulary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This toolkit presents a comprehensive framework for a toolkit intended to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the medical field and recommendations. We advocate for clear, comprehensive definitions and interpretations of fundamental EDI terms, laying the groundwork necessary for initiating and maintaining EDI initiatives. Furthermore, we offer a systematic approach to establishing EDI committees within medical departments, accentuating the pivotal role these committees play as they drive and steer EDI strategies. This toolkit also explores strategies tailored for the recruitment of a diverse workforce. This includes integral aspects such as developing inclusive job advertisements, implementing balanced search methods for candidates, conducting unbiased appraisals of applications, and structuring diverse hiring committees. The emphasis on these strategies not only augments the diversity within medical institutions but also sets the stage for a more holistic approach to healthcare delivery. Therefore, by adopting the recommended strategies and guidelines outlined in this framework, medical institutions and specifically radiology departments can foster an environment that embodies inclusivity and equity, thereby enhancing the quality of patient care and overall health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The article extends the distinction of semantic from syntactic labour to comprehend all forms of mental labour. It answers a critique from de Fremery and Buckland, which required envisaging mental labour as a differentiated spectrum. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a discursive approach. It first reviews the significance and extensive diffusion of the distinction of semantic from syntactic labour. Second, it integrates semantic and syntactic labour along a vertical dimension within mental labour, indicating analogies in principle with, and differences in application from, the inherited distinction of intellectual from clerical labour. Third, it develops semantic labour to the very highest level, on a consistent principle of differentiation from syntactic labour. Finally, it reintegrates the understanding developed of semantic labour with syntactic labour, confirming that they can fully and informatively occupy mental labour. Findings: The article further validates the distinction of semantic from syntactic labour. It enables to address Norbert Wiener's classic challenge of appropriately distributing activity between human and computer. Research limitations/implications: The article transforms work in progress into knowledge for diffusion. Practical implications: It has practical implications for determining what tasks to delegate to computational technology. Social implications: The paper has social implications for the understanding of appropriate human and machine computational tasks and our own distinctive humanness. Originality/value: The paper is highly original. Although based on preceding research, from the late 20th century, it is the first separately published full account of semantic and syntactic labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ukraine has always been a plural state comprised of multiple ethnic, linguistic, religious, and regional subcultures. Yet, since 2014 and, in particular, since February 2022, these often-competing identities have been codified under a more overarching identity. The forging of unified plural Ukrainian identity as concept has arisen out of a mutual struggle for survival, international diaspora mobilization, the elevation of diverse narratives of experience from across Ukraine, and a connected digital environment that links and reinforces concepts of social capital. Rooted in theories of constructivist identity formation, this analysis examines those attributes of Ukraine and Ukrainian society which have been fused together under great pressure to create a new and perhaps more unified national identity. Leveraging cases examining discourses on identity and the production of shared socio-cultural artifacts and quantitative data from both public opinion surveys and large-scale social media sentiment, this analysis finds that Ukraine, often thought of in the West as fractured along multiple lines, is, in fact unifying behind a common national idea. This unification and the creation of a new national identity have profound implications for post-war Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The associations of screen use with children's cognition are not well evidenced and recent, large, longitudinal studies are needed. We aimed to assess the associations between screen use and cognitive development in the French nationwide birth cohort. Methods: Time and context of screen use were reported by parents at ages 2, 3.5 and 5.5. Vocabulary, non‐verbal reasoning and general cognitive development were assessed with the MacArthur‐Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MB) at age 2, the Picture Similarities subtest from the British Ability Scales (PS) at age 3.5 and the Child Development Inventory (CDI) at ages 3.5 and 5.5. Outcome variables were age‐adjusted and standardized (mean = 100, SD = 15). Multiple imputations were performed among children (N = 13,763) with ≥1 screen use information and ≥1 cognitive measures. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations between screen use and cognitive development were assessed by linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic and birth factors related to the family and children, and children's lifestyle factors competing with screen use. Baseline cognitive scores were further considered in longitudinal analysis. Results: TV‐on during family meals at age 2, not screen time, was associated with lower MB scores at age 2 (β [95% CI] = −1.67 [−2.21, −1.13]) and CDI scores at age 3.5 (−0.82 [−1.31, −0.33]). In cross‐sectional analysis, screen time was negatively associated with CDI scores at ages 3.5 (−0.67 [−0.94, −0.40]) and 5.5 (−0.47 [−0.77, −0.16]), and, in contrast, was positively associated with PS scores (0.39 [0.07, 0.71]) at age 3.5. Screen time at age 3.5 years was not associated with CDI scores at age 5.5 years. Conclusions: Our study found weak associations of screen use with cognition after controlling for sociodemographic and children's birth factors and lifestyle confounders, and suggests that the context of screen use matters, not solely screen time, in children's cognitive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed at developing and standardizing the Telephone Language Screener (TLS), a novel, disease-nonspecific, telephone-based screening test for language disorders. Methods: The TLS was developed in strict pursuance to the current psycholinguistic standards. It comprises nine tasks assessing phonological, lexical-semantic and morpho-syntactic components, as well as an extra Backward Digit Span task. The TLS was administered to 480 healthy participants (HPs), along with the Telephone-based Semantic Verbal Fluency (t-SVF) test and a Telephone-based Composite Language Index (TBCLI), as well as to 37 cerebrovascular/neurodegenerative patients—who also underwent the language subscale of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-L). An HP subsample was also administered an in-person language battery. Construct validity, factorial structure, internal consistency, test–retest and inter-rater reliability were tested. Norms were derived via Equivalent Scores. The capability of the TLS to discriminate patients from HPs and to identify, among the patient cohort, those with a defective TICS-L, was also examined. Results: The TLS was underpinned by a mono-component structure and converged with the t-SVF (p <.001), the TBCLI (p <.001) and the in-person language battery (p =.002). It was internally consistent (McDonald's ω = 0.67) and reliable between raters (ICC = 0.99) and at retest (ICC = 0.83). Age and education, but not sex, were predictors of TLS scores. The TLS optimally discriminated patients from HPs (AUC = 0.80) and successfully identified patients with an impaired TICS-L (AUC = 0.92). In patients, the TLS converged with TICS-L scores (p = 0.016). Discussion: The TLS is a valid, reliable, normed and clinically feasible telephone-based screener for language impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study aimed to develop neuropsychological norms for older Asian Americans with English as a primary or secondary language, using data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC). Method: A normative sample of Asian American participants was derived from the NACC database using robust criteria: participants were cognitively unimpaired at baseline (i.e., no MCI or dementia) and remained cognitively unimpaired at 1-year follow-up. Clinical and demographic characteristics were compared between Primary and Secondary English speakers using analyses of variance for continuous measures and chi-square tests for categorical variables. Linear regression models compared neuropsychological performance between the groups, adjusting for demographics (age, sex, and education). Regression models were developed for clinical application to compute demographically adjusted z -scores. Results: Secondary English speakers were younger than Primary English speakers (p <.001). There were significant differences between the groups on measures of mental status (Mini-Mental State Examination, p =.002), attention (Trail Making Test A, Digit Span Forward Total Score, p <.001), language (Boston Naming Test, Animal Fluency, Vegetable Fluency, p <.001), and executive function (Trail Making Test B, p =.02). Conclusions: Separate normative data are needed for Primary vs. Secondary English speakers from Asian American backgrounds. We provide normative data on older Asian Americans to enable clinicians to account for English use in the interpretation of neuropsychological assessment scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examines the child's place in the foster family through the use of conventional names for familial figures (e.g., 'mum/dad') and through the foster parents' intention to adopt the child. Data were collected at two time points during childhood and adolescence, among children placed in kinship and non‐kinship foster care in Norway. Children placed at a younger age and children in non‐kinship foster care were more likely to call their foster parents for 'mum/dad'. Children placed at an older age and children in non‐kinship care were more often presented as 'foster child' by their foster parents. Only 25%–34% of foster parents reported having considered adoption. The most common reason for not considering adoption was that they already deemed to be a family. The use of conventional names for familial figures in foster families might not necessarily reflect the child's integration into a foster family as it seems to be related to the age of the child at placement rather than to the duration of placement. Intention to adopt was relatively low, mostly because foster parents considered adoption as not necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do Latinos who consume more Spanish language media relative to English language media express greater political trust and efficacy? While research produces increasing evidence that variations in English language media content shape core democratic attitudes like political trust, and that Spanish language media shapes acculturation and issue attitudes among Latinos, research has not explored whether broader linguistic media environments shape attitudes fundamental to democracy. Given revolutionary changes the English language media environment, and stark contrasts between English and Spanish language media environments in terms of fragmentation, ideological and partisan news reporting, narratives portraying Latinos as a "threat," and Latino-oriented and affirming content, relative consumption of Spanish or English language news may come with important implications. Bilingual Latinos who consume varying mixtures of media from these environments offer a unique population for exploring these relationships. Building off studies relating patterns of Latino acculturation and Spanish language media to a variety of attitudinal effects, we explore the relationship between linguistic media consumption and political trust and efficacy using three unique datasets: the 2008 CMPS, 2016 CMPS, and our own survey conducted in 2021. We then leverage unique variables in the 2016 CMPS to explore whether Latino trust and efficacy relate directly to relative consumption of Spanish language media or indirectly to Spanish language media through recall of Latino-oriented content and induced emotional reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected speech is often used to assess many aspects of an individual's language abilities after stroke. However, it is unknown the degree to which elicitation methods differ in generating structural and syntactic aspects of connected speech, two critical components of successful communication. Quantifying the degree to which elicitation methods differ in eliciting structurally, syntactically, and lexically complex connected speech at the earliest stage of stroke before reorganization and rehabilitation of function independent of clinical diagnosis of aphasia has not been examined to date. Addressing this gap has implications for early clinical intervention as well as empirical studies of connected speech production. We compared two common elicitation methods, picture description and storytelling on lexical, structural, and syntactic measures of connected speech in speakers during the acute stage of left hemisphere stroke. We measured connected speech using an automated quantitative production analysis approach (Fromm et al., 2021) in 71 native-English speaking participants (27 female; 59 ± 13 years) within an average 3.9 days from left hemisphere stroke onset. We tested the degree of agreement and consistency between elicitation methods for lexical, structural, and syntactic measures of connected speech, as well as the degree of concordance in classifying deficits across individuals. Storytelling elicited significantly more words and more structurally complex, lexically diverse, and syntactically accurate speech in comparison to picture description. Elicitation methods differed in measuring outcomes across participants for the lexical and syntactic, but not structural complexity aspects of connected speech where storytelling classified more participants with impairments in comparison to picture description. These differences suggest storytelling provides assessment of connected speech abilities more reflective of real-world abilities where its use is particularly critical for examining individual differences and providing diagnoses of acute stroke language deficits. As a result, using storytelling as a connected speech elicitation method more effectively captures a patient's language capabilities after stroke, consequently informing clinical diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAnalysed through the lens of language ideology, this qualitative study delved into the multilingual experiences of Chinese international students in English-medium instruction (EMI) studies in Germany. Drawing on semi-structured interview data from 16 Chinese postgraduate students in an international university, this study probed into these students’ language ideologies related to English, German, and Mandarin Chinese. Data analysis showed that their language ideologies were complex and intertwined with academic success, social integration, future employment, solidarity within ethnic groups, and widening local networks. It was also found that the participants’ multiple while often conflicting language ideologies were pivotal in shaping their investment in and usage of particular languages. The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the diversity inherent in international students’ language ideologies in EMI and have significant implications for the internationalisation of multilingual environments in higher education (HE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language technology tools provide a promising way to teach, share, retain, and curate under-resourced language learning materials in community. The inclusion of language teachers working with communities increases the potential for designed tools to be adopted by those groups. However, there is little research concerning the adaptation of tools designed with one community to other languages. To identify the implications for such scalability, we ran workshops with the ‘Record and Write’ tool, developed as a versatile format for collection, curation, and use of under-resourced language learning materials in community. The process enabled teachers of languages with varying availability of teaching materials to reflect on some of the embedded complexities of adapting the tool to their context. This paper critically reflects on the design process of the tool and design lessons learned relating to language governance, the reflection of culture in database tools, conversational learning support, and differentiated needs for grammatical accuracy and annotation. Methodologically, the paper proposes a reflexive lens on co-design in cross-cultural contexts, identifying some of the latent assumptions embedded in technologies that emerge when tools are transposed to different language and learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSubjective cognitive decline (SCD) may serve as an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, accurately quantifying cognitive impairment in SCD is challenging, mainly because existing assessment tools lack sensitivity. This study examined how tasks specifically designed to assess knowledge of famous people, could potentially aid in identifying cognitive impairment in SCD. A total of 60 adults with SCD and 60 healthy controls (HCs) aged 50 to 82 years performed a famous people verbal fluency task and a famous people naming task. In the famous people fluency task, the results showed that the individuals with SCD produced significantly fewer famous names in the total time allowed than the HCs, and this difference was also found in the first and the second time interval. In the famous people naming task, the performance of the SCD group was significantly lower than that of the HC group only in the more recent period of fame. Overall, these results suggest that retrieving the names of famous people was more difficult for people with SCD than for people without cognitive complaints. They also suggest that famous people verbal fluency and naming tasks could be useful in detecting cognitive decline at the preclinical stage of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from 88 students, 20 advisers, and 24 hirers, this article examines the rhetorical persona of the “Professional” in résumés and cover letters. Participants often explained professionalism by its inverse: items, formats, and language that are labeled “unprofessional.” Their discussions suggest that professionalism can be a problematic requirement for applicants with work history or formats associated with feminized sexuality, or for applicants whose names trigger biases about White English Vernacular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Older adults with cancer are often the subject of much discussion at multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs), yet little is known about the language used to describe frailty and other geriatric considerations at these meetings. Our objective was to explore how MCC presentations depict older patients. We found that MCCs frequently referred to comorbidity burden and projected treatment tolerance on the basis of subjective evaluations, rather than comprehensive geriatric assessments. We also noted that mentions of surrogate measures for frailty, such as chronological age and performance status, varied between tumour sites, presenter specialties, and presenter training levels. Overall, our results suggest that MCCs predominantly rely on age-based descriptions and, thus, engender risk of age-biased decision making. This work may guide future efforts aimed at standardizing the language at MCCs to include more objective terms and validated tools for considering different geriatric domains when discussing older adults with cancer. Older adults with cancer often present with distinct complexities that complicate their care, yet the language used to discuss their management at multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs) remains poorly understood. A mixed methods study was conducted at a tertiary cancer centre in Toronto, Canada, where MCCs spanning five tumour sites were attended over six months. For presentations pertaining to a patient aged 75 or older, a standardized data collection form was used to record their demographic, cancer-related, and non-cancer-related information, as well as the presenter's specialty and training level. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were employed to explore MCC depictions of older patients (n = 75). Frailty status was explicitly mentioned in 20.0% of presentations, but discussions more frequently referenced comorbidity burden (50.7%), age (33.3%), and projected treatment tolerance (30.7%) as surrogate measures. None of the presentations included mentions of formal geriatric assessment (GA) or validated frailty tools; instead, presenters tended to feature select GA domains and subjective descriptions of appearance ("looks to be fit") or overall health ("relatively healthy"). In general, MCCs appeared to rely on age-focused language that may perpetuate ageism. Further work is needed to investigate how frailty and geriatric considerations can be objectively incorporated into discussions in geriatric oncology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music is a universal human attribute. The study of amusia, a neurologic music processing deficit, has increasingly elaborated our view on the neural organization of the musical brain. However, lesions causing amusia occur in multiple brain locations and often also cause aphasia, leaving the distinct neural networks for amusia unclear. Here, we utilized lesion network mapping to identify these networks. A systematic literature search was carried out to identify all published case reports of lesion-induced amusia. The reproducibility and specificity of the identified amusia network were then tested in an independent prospective cohort of 97 stroke patients (46 female and 51 male) with repeated structural brain imaging, specifically assessed for both music perception and language abilities. Lesion locations in the case reports were heterogeneous but connected to common brain regions, including bilateral temporoparietal and insular cortices, precentral gyrus, and cingulum. In the prospective cohort, lesions causing amusia mapped to a common brain network, centering on the right superior temporal cortex and clearly distinct from the network causally associated with aphasia. Lesion-induced longitudinal structural effects in the amusia circuit were confirmed as reduction of both gray and white matter volume, which correlated with the severity of amusia. We demonstrate that despite the heterogeneity of lesion locations disrupting music processing, there is a common brain network that is distinct from the language network. These results provide evidence for the distinct neural substrate of music processing, differentiating music-related functions from language, providing a testable target for noninvasive brain stimulation to treat amusia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Methods Results Significance Cortical intracerebral electrical stimulation is an important tool for language mapping in the presurgical work‐up of patients with drug‐resistant focal epilepsy. Language mapping with stereo–electroencephalography (EEG) is usually performed by high‐frequency stimulations (HFS: 50 Hz), whereas low‐frequency stimulations (LFS: 1 Hz) are usually considered useful for primary cortices mapping. Little is known in literature about “intermediate” frequencies (IFS: 6–15 Hz). Our objective is to explore the clinical usefulness of IFS in language mapping and identify factors, beyond the electrical parameters, that impact the mapping.We studied 23 patients submitted to stereo‐EEG for presurgical evaluation. Language mapping was performed in the anterior, posterior and/or basal language region of the dominant hemisphere for language. We included all contact positions within these regions stimulated by HFS (50 Hz, 5 s, 1–3 mA) and IFS (6‐15 Hz, 15 s, 5 mA). We compared the capability of both stimulation methods to induce a language deficit without afterdischarges (ADs), and we analyzed factors related to clinical examination, region, and stimulation technique by multivariate analysis.A total of 211 stimulations (98 HFS, 113 IFS) in 70 cortical sites within the anterior (84 stimulations), posterior (137), and basal language region (60) were included. IFS induced more frequently language deficits not associated to AD compared to HFS (37.1% vs 25.7%, p = .0043), whereas HFS provoked more diffuse AD (34.7% vs 15.0%, p = .001). Investigating multiple language functions increased the probability of revealing a deficit (odds ratio [OR] 3.16, p = .0016), independently of the stimulation method.IFS are valuable for language mapping, thereby improving the probability of inducing a clinical deficit not accompanied by an AD. The completeness of the clinical examination independently affects the sensitivity of the mapping. IFS are a new tool with potential usefulness for the cortical mapping of other associative cortical regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]