Dataset Information

Investigation into inconsistent lateralisation of language functions as a potential risk factor for language impairment.

ABSTRACT: Disruption to language lateralisation has been proposed as a cause of developmental language impairments. In this study, we tested the idea that consistency of lateralisation across different language functions is associated with language ability. A large sample of adults with variable language abilities (N = 67 with a developmental disorder affecting language and N = 37 controls) were recruited. Lateralisation was measured using functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) for three language tasks that engage different language subprocesses (phonological decision, semantic decision and sentence generation). The whole sample was divided into those with consistent versus inconsistent lateralisation across the three tasks. Language ability (using a battery of standardised tests) was compared between the consistent and inconsistent groups. The results did not show a significant effect of lateralisation consistency on language skills. However, of the 31 individuals showing inconsistent lateralisation, the vast majority (84%) were in the disorder group with only five controls showing such a pattern, a difference that was higher than would be expected by chance. The developmental disorder group also demonstrated weaker correlations between laterality indices across pairs of tasks. In summary, although the data did not support the hypothesis that inconsistent language lateralisation is a major cause of poor language skills, the results suggested that some subtypes of language disorder are associated with inefficient distribution of language functions between hemispheres. Inconsistent lateralisation could be a causal factor in the aetiology of language disorder or may arise in some cases as the consequence of developmental disorder, possibly reflective of compensatory reorganisation.

SUBMITTER: Bradshaw AR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7078955 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Pointing toward concrete objects is a well-known and efficient communicative strategy. Much less is known about the communicative effectiveness of abstract pointing where the pointing gestures are directed to "empty space." McNeill's (2003) observations suggest that abstract pointing can be used to establish referents in gesture space, without the referents being physically present. Recently, however, it has been shown that abstract pointing typically provides redundant information to the uttered speech thereby suggesting a very limited communicative value (So et al., 2009). In a first approach to tackle this issue we were interested to know whether perceivers are sensitive at all to this gesture cue or whether it is completely discarded as irrelevant add-on information. Sensitivity to for instance a gesture-speech mismatch would suggest a potential communicative function of abstract pointing. Therefore, we devised a mismatch paradigm in which participants watched a video where a female was interviewed on various topics. During her responses, she established two concepts in space using abstract pointing (e.g., pointing to the left when saying Donald, and pointing to the right when saying Mickey). In the last response to each topic, the pointing gesture accompanying a target word (e.g., Donald) was either consistent or inconsistent with the previously established location. Event related brain potentials showed an increased N400 and P600 when gesture and speech referred to different referents, indicating that inconsistent use of gesture space impairs language comprehension. Abstract pointing was found to influence comprehension even though gesture was not crucial to understanding the sentences or conducting the experimental task. These data suggest that a referent was retrieved via abstract pointing and that abstract pointing can potentially be used for referent indication in a discourse. We conclude that abstract pointing has a potential communicative function.

Project description:BackgroundLanguage plays a major role in human behavior. For this reason, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in which linguistic ability is impaired could have a big impact on the individual's social interaction and general wellbeing. Such disorders tend to have a strong genetic component, but most past studies examined mostly the linguistic overlaps across these disorders; investigations into their genetic overlaps are limited. The aim of this study was to assess the potential genetic overlap between language impairment and broader behavioral disorders employing methods capturing both common and rare genetic variants.MethodsWe employ polygenic risk scores (PRS) trained on specific language impairment (SLI) to evaluate genetic overlap across several disorders in a large case-cohort sample comprising ~13,000 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases, including cases of childhood autism and Asperger's syndrome, ~15,000 attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cases, ~3000 schizophrenia cases, and ~21,000 population controls. We also examine rare variants in SLI/language-related genes in a subset of the sample that was exome-sequenced using the SKAT-O method.ResultsWe find that there is little evidence for genetic overlap between SLI and ADHD, schizophrenia, and ASD, the latter being in line with results of linguistic analyses in past studies. However, we observe a small, significant genetic overlap between SLI and childhood autism specifically, which we do not observe for SLI and Asperger's syndrome. Moreover, we observe that childhood autism cases have significantly higher SLI-trained PRS compared to Asperger's syndrome cases; these results correspond well to the linguistic profiles of both disorders. Our rare variant analyses provide suggestive evidence of association for specific genes with ASD, childhood autism, and schizophrenia.ConclusionsOur study provides, for the first time, to our knowledge, genetic evidence for ASD subtypes based on risk variants for language impairment.

Project description:Language is one of the cognitive domains often impaired across many neurodevelopmental disorders. While for some disorders the linguistic deficit is the primary impairment (e.g., specific language impairment, SLI), for others it may accompany broader behavioral problems (e.g., autism). The precise nature of this phenotypic overlap has been the subject of debate. Moreover, several studies have found genetic overlaps across neurodevelopmental disorders. This raises the question of whether these genetic overlaps may correlate with phenotypic overlaps and, if so, in what manner. Here, we apply a genome-wide approach to the study of the linguistic deficit in SLI, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using a discovery genome-wide association study of SLI, we generate polygenic risk scores (PRS) in an independent sample which includes children with language impairment, SLI, ASD or ADHD and age-matched controls and perform regression analyses across groups. The SLI-trained PRS significantly predicted risk in the SLI case-control group (adjusted R2 = 6.24%; P = 0.024) but not in the ASD or ADHD case-control groups (adjusted R2 = 0.0004%, 0.01%; P = 0.984, 0.889, respectively) nor for height, used as a negative control (R2 = 0.2%; P = 0.452). Additionally, there was a significant difference in the normalized PRS between children with SLI and children with ASD (common language effect size = 0.66; P = 0.044). Our study suggests no additive common-variant genetic overlap between SLI and ASD and ADHD. This is discussed in the context of phenotypic studies of SLI and related disorders. Autism Res 2020, 13: 369-381. © 2019 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Language deficits are characteristic of specific language impairment (SLI), but may also be found in other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many studies examined the overlaps and differences across the language deficits in these disorders, but few studies have examined the genetic aspect thereof. In this study, we use a genome-wide approach to evaluate whether common genetic variants increasing risk of SLI may also be associated with ASD and ADHD in the same manner. Our results suggest that this is not the case, and we discuss this finding in the context of theories concerning the etiologies of these disorders.

Project description:BackgroundThe extraordinarily high incidence of grammatical language impairments in developmental disorders suggests that this uniquely human cognitive function is "fragile". Yet our understanding of the neurobiology of grammatical impairments is limited. Furthermore, there is no "gold-standard" to identify grammatical impairments and routine screening is not undertaken. An accurate screening test to identify grammatical abilities would serve the research, health and education communities, further our understanding of developmental disorders, and identify children who need remediation, many of whom are currently un-diagnosed. A potential realistic screening tool that could be widely administered is the Grammar and Phonology Screening (GAPS) test--a 10 minute test that can be administered by professionals and non-professionals alike. Here we provide a further step in evaluating the validity and accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of the GAPS test in identifying children who have Specific Language Impairment (SLI).Methods and findingsWe tested three groups of children; two groups aged 3;6-6:6, a typically developing (n = 30) group, and a group diagnosed with SLI: (n = 11) (Young (Y)-SLI), and a further group aged 6;9-8;11 with SLI (Older (O)-SLI) (n = 10) who were above the test age norms. We employed a battery of language assessments including the GAPS test to assess the children's language abilities. For Y-SLI children, analyses revealed a sensitivity and specificity at the 5(th) and 10(th) percentile of 1.00 and 0.98, respectively, and for O-SLI children at the 10(th) and 15(th) percentile .83 and .90, respectively.ConclusionsThe findings reveal that the GAPS is highly accurate in identifying impaired vs. non-impaired children up to 6;8 years, and has moderate-to-high accuracy up to 9 years. The results indicate that GAPS is a realistic tool for the early identification of grammatical abilities and impairment in young children. A larger investigation is warranted in children with SLI and other developmental disorders.

Dataset Information

Investigation into inconsistent lateralisation of language functions as a potential risk factor for language impairment.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets