The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication on auditory skills in clinically depressed subjects. Experimental subjects prescribed an SSRI were tested in a medicated and an unmedicated condition, and the test results were compared. Furthermore, the experimental group was compared with a control group consisting of normal subjects. Test measures included pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, acoustic reflex thresholds, and auditory electrophysiologic measures such as auditory brainstem and auditory late responses. An assessment scale for depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II) was also used. Results indicated statistically significant differences for the BDI-II between the control and experimental groups for both conditions. Electrophysiologic measures indicated a significantly shorter latency for auditory late potential P1 at 55 dBnSL, and a significantly larger amplitude at 45 dBnSL for the N1/P2 component for the unmedicated group. Although the other measures showed trends, they did not reach significance.

This study examined the nature of the undergraduate curricula for Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) for communication pathologists (speech-language therapists and audiologists) within the South African context. An exploratory descriptive survey design was utilised. The respondents were the authoritative voices in the area of APD, i.e. academics based at training institutions involved in the training of Speech-Language Therapists and Audiologists in the field of APD. They represented five of the six South African training institutions training speech-language therapists and audiologists. Information on the training programmes offered in APD was obtained with the use of a specifically designed questionnaire. This was further supplemented by copies of the course descriptors and / or study guides supplied by the respondents from the respective training institutions. A curriculum analysis framework was utilised to analyse the curricula (Jansen&Reddy, 1998). The findings of the study indicated that the curricula offered in APD at all training institutions compared well to current research and literature in the field of APD. However, information was not transparent on how the South African social and contextual issues were incorporated into training in APD. The researcher proposed that the curricula currently in use did not require major changes but appropriate amendments are required to be considered. The critical paradigm of inquiry was advocated to be used when training in the area of APD. Additionally, the researcher motivated for and recommended additions to the curricula on APD to address the South African situation as an essential part of the curriculum. The researcher’s principle guideline for amending the curricula was to incorporate these issues into the training based on the adoption of an ecological approach to assessment and remediation of APD. / Dissertation (M(Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

Perception of dichotic chords (free recall and directed recall), nonsense syllables (CVs), and three-pair digits was assessed on 24 musicians and 24 nonmusicians. On the dichotic-CV and dichotic-digit free-recall tasks, there was a significant right-ear advantage, but there were no group differences. With the dichotic-chords, free-recall condition, a significant left-ear advantage was observed but no group difference. For the dichotic-chords, directed-recall conditions, the musicians performed significantly better by 10 percent than the nonmusicians. Unexpectedly, for the dichotic chords, the 62-72 percent correct performances were better on the free-recall condition than the 42-55 percent performances on the directed-recall conditions. These differences between the two response modes were attributed to the difficulty of the dichotic-chord listening tasks and the probabilities associated with the closed-set response paradigms. The findings suggest that the dichotic-chord paradigm used in this study should not be included in clinical protocols used to assess auditory perceptual abilities.

Purpose: To establish normative data for children and to characterize developmental differences in performance with the free recall version of the Randomized Dichotic Digits Test. Research Design: Group comparison of behavioral data derived from administration of the Randomized Dichotic Digits Test. Study Sample: Children from 10 to 18 years of age (167) and young adults from 19 to 28 years of age (50). Results: Performance improved with age across all types of digit pairs, especially in the left ear, leading to smaller interaural asymmetries among older participants. A left-ear advantage was produced by 39 subjects (18%), only two of whom were left-handed. Normative data are reported for right and left ear scores and for interaural asymmetry (percent correct difference between the two ears) under one-, two-, and three-pair conditions of the test and for interaural asymmetry across the entire test. A unilateral deficit was identified in children (15.5%) and young adults (12%) for the left ear and in children (11.3%) and young adults (6%) for the right ear. A bilateral deficit was also identified in children (6.5%) and young adults (6%). Conclusions: This test may be useful as part of the clinical battery for identifying binaural integration weaknesses and referring individuals for auditory rehabilitation for interaural asymmetry (ARIA).

Masking Level Difference (MLD) tests are an established component of auditory processing test batteries; however, normative data for these tests vary according to procedure. In this study, forty normal, native-English speaking adults between the ages of 18 and 26 were tested for MLD via a newly developed computer software program using both an adaptive procedure (MLDA) and a Bekesy procedure (MLDB). The results from the two procedures were analyzed for sex differences and compared with each other. For both the MLDA and MLDB, the results showed statistically significant sex differences in the masked thresholds used to obtain the MLD (NoSo and NoSπ), but no significant difference in the calculated MLD value (NoSo - NoSπ). These results suggest that since the MLD was similar for both sexes, the normative data need not be reported separately by sex. The results also showed statistically significant differences between procedures, with the MLDA procedure producing higher MLDs than the MLDB procedure. The MLDA procedure lent itself to a d´ analysis, which could not be determined using MLDB due to the nature of a Bekesy assessment. For MLDA, d´ = 1.4, test sensitivity = 96.4%, and test specificity = 60.3%. The results of this study indicate that MLDA is a better testing procedure due to MLDA’s higher MLD average and the statistical data available (d´, and measures of sensitivity and specificity) when using the MLDA procedure.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第24932号 / 情博第843号 / 新制||情||141(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科知能情報学専攻 / (主査)教授 神谷 之康, 教授 西田 眞也, 准教授 吉井 和佳 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

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<p>Many behavioural theories describe Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as having roots as a social disorder. However, our research adds to previous studies showing that those with ASD with normal intelligence have perceptual problems that affect their social functioning. We report that those with ASD perform worse than controls in all of our speech tasks that measure the ability to filter speech in noise, specialization for native speech sound categories, and audio-visual integration of speech sounds. Those with ASD also performed worse on tasks measuring specialization for native musical meters, but not on tasks measuring absolute pitch or knowledge of tonal harmony. This research provides some explanation for why perceptual areas that develop early instead of late are most impaired in ASD, which can have implications for remediation. Besides perceptual problems, we found in other research that those with ASD have abnormal prosody, which varies according to language ability. We report that those with Autism Moderate Language Functioning (A-moderateL) use a restricted pitch range relative to those with Autism High Language Functioning (A-highL) and controls, whereas those with A-highL use a larger pitch range relative to those with A-moderateL and controls. We also found that A-moderateL speakers and controls, but not A-highL speakers vary acoustic features to mark words representing focus relative to topic. This research is important because identifying different ASD language subgroups might lead to more appropriate speech and language therapy.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The purpose of this study was to (a) identify educational counseling interventions and accommodations that learning disabled (LD) postsecondary students received that contributed to their academic success and (b) identify barriers and issues that LD students experienced in accessing services. Ten postsecondary students were identified and classified as LD that had attended a community college in Northern Virginia and volunteered to participate in this study. Out of the ten, two students were selected for this research study. These students were interviewed using a two-part questionnaire (Appendix C). The questionnaire included significant factors and variables frequently associated with postsecondary success. Questions in part I of the Questionnaire pertained to the LD student's profile (e.g., medical and social history, employment, volunteer work, hobbies, education including special education experiences, language therapy, and assessments). Questions in part II consisted of the recommended support services identified in the literature (e.g., disability awareness, accommodations, self-advocacy skills, academic remediation, parent and counselor advocacy, computer technology, career counseling, transition services, and rehabilitation counseling) often delivered to LD students. Psychological and educational assessments were also obtained, reviewed, and coded. The interviews were tape recorded in order to assure concise descriptive information from the student's own "personal" past and current educational experiences. Each student reported that they had received a great deal of assistance by another individual who had been most instrumental in helping them over come their postsecondary academic barriers. These individuals were also interviewed. The interviews were transcribed, and the data collected were coded. Two in-depth comprehensive case studies were developed by reviewing and recording data from the interviews, psychological assessments, and educational records. All narrative material was subsequently analyzed by coding procedures used in grounded theory. / Ed. D.