Many adults and children have problems reading and comprehending books, signs, written directions, etc. These same individuals have difficulty processing written materials as a result of right hemisphere interference. The Lynks Reader (DLR Co., Richmond, VA) is a commercially developed device which has been used to help individuals move from their right to their left hemisphere and to increase reading fluency and comprehension. The objective of this project was to evaluate the best way to use the various forms of the Lynks Reader. Using the device demonstrated an increase in reading fluency and comprehension by increasing the left hemisphere dominance. In addition, different types of headphones with microphones, and music devices (MP3 or CD player), were studied to determine which performs best in formulating a more effective device. Furthermore, the voice and music sound level and frequency output of the device was calibrated to insure the efficacy.

The thesis addresses Semantic Verbal Fluency test and its potential as a diagnostics of cognitive deficit at schizophrenic population. Deficit of cognitive functions, presently considered as a core symptom of this disorder, substantially impacts daily life functioning. In particular, discriminant validity of Semantic Verbal Fluency test is examined in a mentally and neurologically healthy population as well as patients diagnosed with schizophrenia aged 18 to 40 years (N=339). Furthermore, results of profound analysis using a qualitative scoring system in a selected sample group (N=47) are presented. Moreover, the study investigates the association of selected demographic variables (gender, age, years of education) with results of Semantic Verbal Fluency test. Results of our statistical analysis reveal that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia performed significantly worse than healthy controls in all examined variables (total word count, total number of semantic clusters, total number of switches, mean cluster size, percent words in clusters, ratio of cluster switches) as compared with mentally and neurologically healthy subjects. Comparable results of the two research groups were attained solely in "number of hard switches" variable. Our results further indicate a significant association between...

Submitted by Viviane Borim de Goes null (viviane_borim@hotmail.com) on 2018-03-19T11:32:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Versão Final_Viviane borim.pdf: 1660097 bytes, checksum: 5a7b7a20f668bfe605743bc3785b11ab (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Satie Tagara (satie@marilia.unesp.br) on 2018-03-19T15:00:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 goes_vb_me_mar.pdf: 1660097 bytes, checksum: 5a7b7a20f668bfe605743bc3785b11ab (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-19T15:00:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 goes_vb_me_mar.pdf: 1660097 bytes, checksum: 5a7b7a20f668bfe605743bc3785b11ab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O processamento da informação auditiva é item fundamental para a função social, de modo a estar envolvido com domínios cognitivos como a função executiva, memória e linguagem. Isso permite ao indivíduo compreensão da linguagem e contribui posteriormente para expressão da mesma durante a comunicação. Nesse mesmo contexto, durante a situação comunicativa, a mesma é modulada pelo organismo por meio do funcionamento do sistema nervoso autônomo. Esse sistema também se relaciona com a cognição e esta, por sua vez, é fundamental para a aquisição e desenvolvimento da linguagem. Em tarefa executiva de linguagem ocorre o envolvimento dos domínios cognitivos acima citados. Dessa maneira, sugere-se que o processamento da informação auditiva se relaciona com o controle autonômico da frequência cardíaca e que tarefa executiva de linguagem pode modificar o desempenho dos potenciais relacionados a evento, de modo a representar maior esforço cognitivo, resultando em menor atividade da modulação parassimpática. Objetivos: Investigar a relação entre os potenciais relacionados a evento e a modulação parassimpática da frequência cardíaca antes e após tarefa executiva de linguagem e verificar os efeitos de tal tarefa. Método: Participaram desta pesquisa 42 mulheres saudáveis entre 18 e 30 anos de idade, com ensino médio completo, divididas em dois grupos: fonológico (n=21) e semântico (n=21). Após a colocação da cinta do cardiofrequencímetro na região do processo xifoide, a voluntária foi orientada a permanecer 10 minutos em repouso, sendo realizado os registros da frequência cardíaca. Em seguida, na primeira fase considerada pré-teste, foi iniciado o registro dos potenciais relacionados a evento com estimulação binaural nos parâmetros de frequência (1KHz/ 2KHz) paradigma oddball, concomitante ao registro da frequência cardíaca. Após, na segunda fase considerada teste, a tarefa executiva de linguagem foi realizada por meio do teste de fluência verbal fonológica para o grupo fonológico e teste de fluência verbal semântica para o grupo semântico. Na terceira fase considerada pós-teste, os registros dos potenciais relacionados a evento e da frequência cardíaca foram realizados utilizando os mesmos protocolos descritos na fase pré-teste. Resultados: Houve correlação da latência de P3 com o índice pNN50 no grupo fonológico pós-teste de fluência verbal fonológica (p=0,036). Na comparação dos potenciais relacionados a evento entre os momentos pré e pós-teste, foi observado diferença média e estatisticamente significante entre a latência de P3 após teste de fluência verbal fonológica, no grupo fonológico (p=0,020). Na comparação da modulação parassimpática da frequência cardíaca entre os momentos repouso, pré e pós-teste, houve diferença entre os índices RMSSD (p=0,007), pNN50 (p=0,035) e SD1 (p=0,007) após teste de fluência verbal fonológica, no grupo fonológico. Conclusão: Houve associação entre os potenciais relacionados a evento com a modulação parassimpática da frequência cardíaca após tarefa executiva de linguagem, em específico o teste de fluência verbal fonológica. Este teste, por sua vez, de forma significante, aumentou a latência de P3 e diminuiu a modulação parassimpática da frequência cardíaca. / The processing of auditory information is a fundamental element for the social function, involved with cognitive domains such as executive function, memory and language. This allows the individual to understand the language and subsequently contributes to its expression during communication. In the same context, during the communicative situation, it is modulated by the organism through the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. This system is also related to cognition and this, in turn, is fundamental for the acquisition and development of language. In the executive task of language, the involvement of the cognitive domains mentioned above occurs. Thus, it is suggested that the auditory information processing is related to the autonomic control of the heart rate and that the executive task of language can modify the performance of the event-related potentials, in order to represent greater cognitive effort, resulting in less activity of the parasympathetic modulation. Objective: To investigate the relationship between event-related potentials and the parasympathetic heart rate modulation before and after language task and verify the effects of such a task. Method: We analyzed 42 healthy women between 18 and 30 years of age with complete high school, were divided into two groups: phonological (n = 21) and semantic (n = 21). After placement of the cardiofrequency measuring strap in the xiphoid process region, the volunteer was instructed to remain at rest for 10 minutes, and heart rate records were performed. Then, in the first phase considered as a pre-test, the event-related potentials with binaural stimulation were started in the frequency parameters (1KHz/ 2KHz) oddball paradigm, concomitant to heart rate recording. After, the second phase, the executive task of language was performed using the phonological verbal fluency test for the phonological group and the semantic verbal fluency test for the semantic group. In the third phase considered post-test, the register the event-related potential and heart rate were performed using the same protocols described in the pre-test phase. Results: There was a correlation between the latency of P3 and the pNN50 index in the phonological group post-test of phonological verbal fluency (p = 0.036). In the comparison of the event-related potentials between the pre- and post-test moments, a mean and statistically significant difference between the P3 latency after phonological verbal fluency test was observed in the phonological group (p = 0.020). There was a difference between the RMSSD (p = 0.007), pNN50 (p = 0.035) and SD1 (p = 0.007) indices in the comparison of the parasympathetic heart rate modulation between the resting, pre and post-test moments phonological verbal fluency, in the phonological group. Conclusion: There was association between the event-related potentials with the parasympathetic heart rate modulation after executive language task, specifically the phonological verbal fluency test. This test, in turn, significantly increased P3 latency and decreased parasympathetic heart rate modulation.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:42:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ZilvamMS_TESE_reduzido.pdf: 9108618 bytes, checksum: 613dad3fd1a359dce84e2af73b067934 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-22 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Surfactant-polymer interactions are widely used when required rheological properties for specific applications, such as the production of fluids for oil exploration. Studies of the interactions of chitosan with cationic surfactants has attracted attention by being able to cause changes in rheological parameters of the systems making room for new applications. The commercial chitosan represents an interesting alternative to these systems, since it is obtained from partial deacetylation of chitin: the residues sites acetylated can then be used for the polymer-surfactant interactions. Alkyl ethoxylated surfactants can be used in this system, since these non-ionic surfactants can interact with hydrophobic sites of chitosan, modifying the rheology of solutions or emulsions resultants, which depends on the relaxation phenomenon occurring in these systems. In this work, first, inverse emulsions were prepared from chitosan solution as the dispersed phase and cyclohexane as the continuous phase were, using CTAB as a surfactant. The rheological analysis of these emulsions showed pronounced pseudoplastic behavior. This behavior was attributed to interaction of "loops" of chitosan chains. Creep tests were also performed and gave further support to these discussions. Subsequently, in order to obtain more information about the interaction of chitosan with non-ionic surfactants, solutions of chitosan were mixed with C12E8 and and carried out rheological analysis and dynamic light scattering. The systems showed marked pseudoplastic behavior, which became less evident when the concentration of surfactant was increased. Arrhenius and KWW equations were used to obtain parameters of the apparent activation energy and relaxation rate distribution, respectively, to which were connected to the content of surfactant and temperature used in this work / As intera??es tensoativo-pol?mero s?o amplamente usadas quando s?o necess?rias propriedades reol?gicas para aplica??es espec?ficas, como a produ??o de fluidos para explora??o do petr?leo. Estudos das intera??es de quitosana com tensoativos cati?nicos tem chamado aten??o por serem capazes de causar mudan?as nos par?metros reol?gicos dos sistemas abrindo espa?o para novas aplica??es. A quitosana comercial representa uma alternativa interessante para estes sistemas, uma vez que ela ? obtida a partir da desacetila??o parcial da quitina: os s?tos acetilados residuais podem, ent?o, ser usados para as intera??es pol?mero-tensoativo. Tensoativos alquil etoxilados podem ser utilizados neste sistema, pois estes tensoativos n?o i?nicos podem interagir com s?tios hidrof?bicos da quitosana, modificando a reologia de solu??es ou emuls?es resultantes, os quais dependem do fen?meno de relaxa??o ocorrendo nestes sistemas. Neste trabalho, primeiramente, foram preparadas emuls?es inversas de solu??o de quitosana como fase dispersa e cicloexano como fase cont?nua usando CTAB como tensoativo. A an?lise reol?gica destas emuls?es mostrou pronunciado comportamento pseudopl?stico. Esta pseudoplasticidade foi atribu?da ? intera??o por la?os loops de cadeias de quitosana. Ensaios de flu?ncia tamb?m foram executados e deram maior suporte a estas discuss?es. Em seguida, a fim de se obter maiores informa??es sobre as intera??es da quitosana com tensoativos n?o i?nicos, solu??es de quitosana foram misturadas com C12E8 e levadas ?s an?lises reol?gica e de espalhamento din?mico de luz. Os sistemas tiveram elevado comportamento pseudopl?stico, o qual se tornava menos evidente, quando o teor de tensoativo foi aumentado. Equa??es de Arrhenius e de KWW foram usadas para obter par?metros de energia de ativa??o aparente e de distribui??o da taxa de relaxa??o, respectivamente, aos quais foram relacionados em fun??o do teor de tensoativo e da temperatura, usados neste trabalho