Carol A. Boliek

Vocalization and breathing during the first year of life

Vocalization and breathing were studied in 40 healthy infants, including five boys and five girls each at ages 5 weeks, 2.5 months, 6.5 months, and 12 months. Breathing was monitored through the use of a variable inductance plethysmograph that enabled estimates of the volume changes of the rib cage, abdomen, and lung, as well as estimates of selected temporal features of the breathing cycle. Four vocalization types were studied intensively. These included cries, whimpers, grunts, and syllable utterances. Breathing behavior was highly variable across the four vocalization types, demonstrating the degrees of freedom of performance available to the infant to accomplish the aeromechanical drive required. Such behavior was influenced by body length, body position, and age, but not by vocalization type and sex. The protocol established is a useful tool for observing the natural course of the emergence of vocalization and breathing during the first year of life.

Cued dichotic listening with right-handed, left-handed, bilingual and learning-disabled children

This study used cued dichotic listening to investigate differences in language lateralization among right-handed (control), left-handed, bilingual, and learning-disabled children. A sample of 60 subjects ranging in age from 7-13 yr were administered a CVC dichotic paradigm with three experimental conditions (free recall, directed left, directed right). A three-factor ANOVA design conducted on the data revealed that control, bilingual, and learning-disabled children produced the expected REA suggestive of left hemisphere dominance for language processing whereas left-handed children produced an LEA suggestive of right hemisphere superiority for language processing. The cued attention data derived from groups as well as from individual subjects suggested that in comparison with control children, left-handed children were greatly susceptible to attentional manipulation similar to learning-disabled children only in the opposite hemisphere. Bilingual children were found to have a REA much like control children although recall accuracy was depressed. Further, lambda (lambda) analyses conducted on individual subjects indicated that the magnitude and degree of perceptual asymmetry varied widely among individuals of various anomaly groups. These findings lend support to the hypothesis that attentional factors play a larger role in unilateral processing for some anomalous groups of children (i.e. left-handers and learning-disabled) while not affecting others (i.e. controls and bilinguals).

Lasting auditory attention impairment after persistent middle ear infections: a dichotic listening study

Dichotic listening performance was studied in children who at an early age had undergone a myringotomy with insertion of ventilating tubes for persistent middle ear infections (otitis media with effusion; OME) and compared with age‐equivalent children who had no history of otitis media or hearing problems. The OME group consisted of 19 children with a median age of 9 years; 15 of whom were right‐handed, and 14 were boys. The comparison sample comprised 18 children with a median age was 9 years 4 months. Hand preference and sex were matched with the OME group. Both groups were tested with dichotic listening to consonant‐vowel syllables and additional forced‐attention tasks. The comparison sample showed a weak right‐ear advantage, and age‐adequate attentional modulations. The children in the OME group showed a strong right‐ear advantage, but were not able to modulate the ear advantage during directed‐attention tasks. Models for interpreting the result are discussed.

Vocalization and breathing during the second and third years of life

Vocalization and breathing were studied in 40 healthy young children, including 5 boys and 5 girls at each, of ages of 18, 24, 30, and 36 months. A variable inductance plethysmograph was used to obtain estimates of volume changes of the rib cage, abdomen, and lung, as well as estimates of selected temporal features of the breathing cycle. Results indicated that breathing behavior was influenced by height and age, but not by vocalization type or sex. Such behavior was found to be highly variable, demonstrating that these young children had multiple degrees of freedom of performance available to accomplish the aeromechanical drive required.

Dichotic listening, handedness, and reading ability: A meta‐analysis

A meta‐analysis was used to aggregate data regarding the influence of selective attention, handedness, and reading ability on the right‐ear advantage in dichotic listening. Data from 15 independent dichotic studies that employed consonant‐vowel stimuli, free‐recall and directed‐attention conditions, and left‐and right‐handed children (age range 6 to 12 years, IQ > 85) classified as good and poor readers determined the sample. The statistical aggregation of research results based on the use of effect sizes and one‐sample tests indicated that younger (6 years, 0 months to 8 years, 11 months) and older (9 years, 0 months to 12 years, 11 months) good readers and older poor readers shifted attention and thus overcame the right ear advantage bias, whereas younger poor readers shift attention only in the directed‐right condition. Effect size analyses (with individuals combined for age) also indicated that left‐ and right‐handed good readers do not shift attention across directed conditions, but attentional shift...

Neuropsychological Aspects of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), major diagnostic criteria of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) include persistent patterns of inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. In comparison with other children of the same mental age, children with ADHD exhibit these symptoms in varying degrees of excess. The prevalence of ADHD is estimated at between 3 and 5% of all school-age children. Although data on prevalence in adolescence and adulthood are limited, it is thought that the percentages remain relatively stable through early adolescence. In a majority of cases, symptoms abate during late adolescence and adulthood. However, a lesser number of individuals continue to experience the entire array of symptoms associated with ADHD into midadulthood.