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Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in...
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Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 November 2023) | Viewed by 8495

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sergio Melogno

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Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Psychology, “Niccolò Cusano” University of Rome, 00166 Rome, Italy
2. Department of Psychology of Development and Socialization Processes, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: developmental neuroscience; neurodevelopmental disorders; autism spectrum disorder; language; figurative language development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Maria Antonietta Pinto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, “Sapienza” University, Rome, Italy
Interests: language development; psycholinguistics; cognition and metacognition; neurodevelopmental disorders; education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mila Dimitrova Vulchanova

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Guest Editor
Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Department of Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: language development; developmental disorders; autism; dyslexia; developmental language disorder; language processing; speech perception; spatial cognition and spatial language

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Neurodevelopmental disorders, which encompass various clinical conditions, are characterized by their heterogeneity, as reflected in heterogeneous language abilities. Differences can be found in both oral language comprehension and production and written comprehension and production.

This Special Issue will present empirical studies and theoretical models considering the abovementioned abilities in neurodevelopmental disorders, with the aim of encouraging in-depth studies on various profiles of oral and written language in a single condition or several. Studies on the developmental trajectories of the oral and written abilities of an individual with a single condition or multiple conditions over their lifespan are also of interest.

The issue also welcomes studies on interventions implemented at different developmental stages for oral and written comprehension and production.

To this end, we are inviting research articles, case studies, and literature reviews.

Prof. Dr. Sergio Melogno
Prof. Dr. Maria Antonietta Pinto
Prof. Dr. Mila Dimitrova Vulchanova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neurodevelopmental disorders
  • language abilities: comprehension and production
  • reading and writing
  • developmental trajectories
  • interventions

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

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7 pages, 199 KiB  
Editorial
Insights into Oral and Written Competencies in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
by Sergio Melogno, Maria Antonietta Pinto and Mila Vulchanova
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(2), 163; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14020163 - 06 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 797
Abstract
The study of language abilities offers privileged insights to access the multifaceted world of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD, henceforth), showing how particular aspects of language may be handled differently as a function of typical neuropsychological features of specific disorders [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

11 pages, 448 KiB  
Article
Analyzing Qualitative Changes in Metalinguistic Processing in Typically Developing 5- to 7-Year-Old Children
by Sergio Melogno, Maria Antonietta Pinto and Marco Lauriola
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(10), 1447; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13101447 - 11 Oct 2023
Viewed by 662
Abstract
This study was based on an analysis of some of the qualitative aspects underlying the findings of previous research into the metalinguistic abilities in 160 Italian-speaking, typically developing children aged from 5 to 7 years. This previous research had used six metalinguistic tasks, [...] Read more.
This study was based on an analysis of some of the qualitative aspects underlying the findings of previous research into the metalinguistic abilities in 160 Italian-speaking, typically developing children aged from 5 to 7 years. This previous research had used six metalinguistic tasks, a nonverbal intelligence test, and two lexical- and grammar-comprehension tests. The outcomes showed a significant improvement in all the dependent variables in the age range considered, measured by a series of ANOVAs, with high correlation between all the variables and a strong homogeneity between the metalinguistic tasks, as revealed by a factor analysis. Using generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis, the current study analyzed the cognitive levels of response that constituted the total score of each task, at each age (5–6, 6–7, and 7–8 years). Although based on the different distribution of the cognitive levels at each age and in each task, the results of this analysis further confirmed the significance of the developmental changes, and showed different developmental trajectories as a function of the specific task. These results are discussed in light of the different involvement of cognitive processes and literacy skills in the transitional phase between kindergarten and the first two years of primary school. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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12 pages, 606 KiB  
Article
An Experimental Study on Sarcasm Comprehension in School Children: The Possible Role of Contextual, Linguistics and Meta-Representative Factors
by Rachele Fanari, Sergio Melogno and Roberta Fadda
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(6), 863; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13060863 - 26 May 2023
Viewed by 1282
Abstract
Understanding sarcasm is a complex ability, which includes several processes. Previous studies demonstrated the possible roles of linguistic and meta-representative factors in understanding sarcasm in school children, while the influence of specific contextual variables still needs to be investigated. Here, we present two [...] Read more.
Understanding sarcasm is a complex ability, which includes several processes. Previous studies demonstrated the possible roles of linguistic and meta-representative factors in understanding sarcasm in school children, while the influence of specific contextual variables still needs to be investigated. Here, we present two studies investigating the possible role of contextual, linguistics, and meta-representative factors in understanding sarcasm in school children. In Study 1, we investigated sarcasm comprehension in 8–9-year-old school children in three different contexts, in which both familiarity and authority were manipulated. We found that understanding sarcasm was facilitated when the conversational partner was characterized by a high level of authority and familiarity (the mother) rather than when the conversational partner was an adult with a lower level of both authority and familiarity (the cashier of a food store). In Study 2, we replicated and extended Study 1 by investigating the possible influence of the same contextual factors but in a more sizeable sample and at different ages: first, third, and fifth grades of primary school. We found that understanding sarcasm improved significantly with age. The results of both studies indicated that understanding sarcasm is influenced by contextual factors. Children at any age better understood sarcasm produced by a speaker with a high level of both familiarity and authority. This ability improved with age. These results expand our understanding of how children infer a speaker’s intentions in sarcasm. This might be particularly of interest to develop possible interventions for children on the Autism Spectrum, who are known to misunderstand sarcasm at different levels of complexity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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11 pages, 1168 KiB  
Article
Proportional Reasoning Deficit in Dyslexia
by Giulia Cappagli, Beatrice Carzola, Cristina Potente and Monica Gori
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(5), 795; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13050795 - 12 May 2023
Viewed by 975
Abstract
Dyslexia has been linked to an altered perception of metrical structures in language, but no study to date has explored the link between reading impairments and other forms of metrical thinking (e.g., proportional reasoning). In the present study, we assessed proportional reasoning in [...] Read more.
Dyslexia has been linked to an altered perception of metrical structures in language, but no study to date has explored the link between reading impairments and other forms of metrical thinking (e.g., proportional reasoning). In the present study, we assessed proportional reasoning in 16 dyslexic children and 16 age-matched controls from 7 to 10 years of age in order to investigate whether dyslexia might be also linked to an altered form of metrical thinking. We found that dyslexic children are less accurate in performing judgments about proportionality compared to typical peers and that reading accuracy correlates with proportional reasoning abilities for 7–8-year-old children. Overall, these findings suggest that a link exists between reading and proportional reasoning abilities. We might speculate that fostering reasoning based on the meter can facilitate reading because it permits the segmentation of words in syllables and that dyslexia can be identified early with alternative non-reading tasks such as the proportional reasoning task used in this work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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14 pages, 1319 KiB  
Article
Computerized False Belief Tasks Impact Mentalizing Ability in People with Williams Syndrome
by Ching-Fen Hsu and Shi-Yu Rao
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(5), 722; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13050722 - 26 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1082
Abstract
People with Williams syndrome (WS) are characterized by hyper sociability, fluency in languages, and advantageous face-processing skills, leading to the proposal of a social module. Previous studies on the mentalizing abilities of people with WS using two-dimensional pictures, including normal-like, delayed, and deviant [...] Read more.
People with Williams syndrome (WS) are characterized by hyper sociability, fluency in languages, and advantageous face-processing skills, leading to the proposal of a social module. Previous studies on the mentalizing abilities of people with WS using two-dimensional pictures, including normal-like, delayed, and deviant behaviors, have yielded mixed results. Thus, this study examined the mentalizing ability of people with WS through structured computerized animations of false belief tasks to investigate whether inferences about other people’s minds can be improved in this population. Participants were shown animations containing unexpected location and content changes. After viewing each animation, participants had to answer four types of questions relating to character identification, reality, memory, and false belief. Their responses were recorded and analyzed. A comprehension of false belief was observed in 4-year-old healthy children, whereas children with WS showed enhanced comprehension of false belief (until they attained a chronological age [CA] of 5.9 years), suggesting an improvement in the theory of mind resulting from viewing structured computerized animations. This age is earlier than that reported by previous studies for using theory of mind to pass false belief tests (CA 9 years), even challenging the age at which individuals failed to pass the tests (CA 17.11 years). Structured computerized animations enhanced the mentalizing ability of people with WS to a certain extent. Compared to the typically developing controls, people with WS presented with a lower developmental level in processing false belief tasks. This study has educational implications for the development of computerized social skills interventions for people with WS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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14 pages, 1472 KiB  
Article
Emotion Priming in People with Williams Syndrome
by Ching-Fen Hsu and Pei Lv
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(3), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13030467 - 09 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1239
Abstract
Emotion categories configure the basic semantic knowledge of the human cognitive structure. Previous studies with people with Williams syndrome (WS) investigated their ability to process basic emotions and the dimensions of emotional valences. However, little is known about the categorization of emotions from [...] Read more.
Emotion categories configure the basic semantic knowledge of the human cognitive structure. Previous studies with people with Williams syndrome (WS) investigated their ability to process basic emotions and the dimensions of emotional valences. However, little is known about the categorization of emotions from the subordinate perspective of lexical words in people with WS. In this study, emotion priming was used as the research paradigm. Three types of emotional valence were used as stimuli: positive, neutral, and negative. Each emotional valence was used as a prime matched to a target in one of these same three types of emotional valence. All participants were asked to judge whether the prime and the target were matched in their emotional valence. People with WS (n = 14, 11M/3F, CA = 10.49, and MA = 6.57) showed priming patterns for emotion valences like those of the typically developing controls. When positive primes were presented, accuracy was higher for positive and negative targets than neutral targets. When neutral primes were presented, accuracy was highest for negative targets. When negative primes were presented, accuracy was the lowest for negative targets. All participants showed high priming accuracy for positive emotions; however, they confused neutral with positive targets. A negative priming effect was observed when negative primes preceded negative targets. Considering previous findings that people with WS show developmental delays in the basic emotions of anger and surprise, this study concludes that people with WS responded least accurately to the classification of emotional valence. The findings regarding the categorization of emotions in people with WS not only advance our understanding of their emotion knowledge and socioemotional cognition but also confirm the superficial enrichment of lexical semantics with weak conceptual change in people with WS. This weakness may result in impaired contextual integration in people with WS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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19 pages, 1454 KiB  
Article
Phoneme Representation and Articulatory Impairment: Insights from Adults with Comorbid Motor Coordination Disorder and Dyslexia
by Rebecca Marchetti, Serge Pinto, Laure Spieser, Marianne Vaugoyeau, Eddy Cavalli, Abdessadek El Ahmadi, Christine Assaiante and Pascale Colé
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(2), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13020210 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1503
Abstract
Phonemic processing skills are impaired both in children and adults with dyslexia. Since phoneme representation development is based on articulatory gestures, it is likely that these gestures influence oral reading-related skills as assessed through phonemic awareness tasks. In our study, fifty-two young dyslexic [...] Read more.
Phonemic processing skills are impaired both in children and adults with dyslexia. Since phoneme representation development is based on articulatory gestures, it is likely that these gestures influence oral reading-related skills as assessed through phonemic awareness tasks. In our study, fifty-two young dyslexic adults, with and without motor impairment, and fifty-nine skilled readers performed reading, phonemic awareness, and articulatory tasks. The two dyslexic groups exhibited slower articulatory rates than skilled readers and the comorbid dyslexic group presenting with an additional difficulty in respiratory control (reduced speech proportion and increased pause duration). Two versions of the phoneme awareness task (PAT) with pseudoword strings were administered: a classical version under time pressure and a delayed version in which access to phonemic representations and articulatory programs was facilitated. The two groups with dyslexia were outperformed by the control group in both versions. Although the two groups with dyslexia performed equally well on the classical PAT, the comorbid group performed significantly less efficiently on the delayed PAT, suggesting an additional contribution of articulatory impairment in the task for this group. Overall, our results suggest that impaired phoneme representations in dyslexia may be explained, at least partially, by articulatory deficits affecting access to them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into the Ability of Language Understanding and Writing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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