			Home About us Contact

Receptive Vocabulary (receptive + vocabulary)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	50%

Selected Abstracts

Searching for the Hebb effect in Down syndrome: evidence for a dissociation between verbal short-term memory and domain-general learning of serial order

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 4 2010
E. K. Mosse
Abstract Background The Hebb effect is a form of repetition-driven long-term learning that is thought to provide an analogue for the processes involved in new word learning. Other evidence suggests that verbal short-term memory also constrains now vocabulary acquisition, but if the Hebb effect is independent of short-term memory, then it may be possible to demonstrate its preservation in a sample of individuals with Down syndrome, who typically show a verbal short-term memory deficit alongside surprising relative strengths in vocabulary. Methods In two experiments, individuals both with and without Down syndrome (matched for receptive vocabulary) completed immediate serial recall tasks incorporating a Hebb repetition paradigm in either verbal or visuospatial conditions. Results Both groups demonstrated equivalent benefit from Hebb repetition, despite individuals with Down syndrome showing significantly lower verbal short-term memory spans. The resultant Hebb effect was equivalent across verbal and visuospatial domains. Conclusions These studies suggest that the Hebb effect is essentially preserved within Down syndrome, implying that explicit verbal short-term memory is dissociable from potentially more implicit Hebb learning. The relative strength in receptive vocabulary observed in Down syndrome may therefore be supported by largely intact long-term as opposed to short-term serial order learning. This in turn may have implications for teaching methods and interventions that present new phonological material to individuals with Down syndrome. [source]

Cognitive variables and depressed mood in adults with intellectual disability

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 7 2005
A. J. Esbensen
Abstract Background Cognitive theory forms the foundation for cognitive therapy. There has been little research on cognitive theories and cognitive variables associated with depression in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). The current study examined cognitive variables of automatic thoughts, cognitive triad, hopelessness, attributions and self-esteem associated with two cognitive theories of depression: Beck's Cognitive Triad theory and the Hopelessness theory of depression. Methods Seventy-three adults with ID screened for adequate receptive vocabulary were interviewed as part of a larger study. They reported on cognitive constructs relating to depressed mood. In addition, comparisons were made between 12 adults with ID and diagnosed major depression and a matched group of 12 adults with ID and no psychiatric diagnoses in order to determine if these groups differed on the cognitive constructs associated with the two cognitive theories of depression. Results The cognitive variables examined were all significantly correlated with depressed mood in the direction predicted by their respective cognitive theory. Internal consistencies were good or excellent for most instruments, with the exception of those measuring hopelessness and attributions. In addition, significant differences were obtained between groups of individuals with and without co-morbid major depression on all variables except for hopelessness. Conclusions The results indicate that adults with ID screened for adequate receptive vocabulary are capable of reporting on subjective feelings of depressed mood and associated cognition constructs. The instruments used may be suitable for this population as they generally possessed sound internal consistencies. The results support the further examination of cognitive theories of depression among individuals with ID in order to assess the appropriateness of cognitive therapies for this population. Discrepant findings regarding hopelessness are discussed. [source]

Phonological memory as a predictor of language comprehension in Down syndrome: a five-year follow-up study

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 2 2004
Glynis Laws
Background:, This study reports the language and memory progress over five years of 30 adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome, and investigates the relationship of earlier phonological memory abilities to later language development. Methods:, Tests of nonverbal ability, receptive vocabulary, grammar comprehension, digit span and nonword repetition were administered at two points in time. Results:, For the sample as a whole, there were significant gains in nonverbal ability, receptive vocabulary and grammar comprehension, but no increases in phonological memory measured by nonword repetition or digit span. However, there were considerable individual differences in progress which, in part, were related to chronological age. Phonological memory improved in many younger participants but there were signs of decline in some older ones. Partial correlations between earlier nonword repetition scores and later language scores, controlling for nonverbal ability and earlier language scores, indicated a significant role for phonological memory in the acquisition of vocabulary knowledge. There was similar evidence of a role for phonological memory in grammar comprehension, but only for younger participants. Earlier receptive vocabulary also predicted later nonword repetition scores, particularly for participants with higher levels of vocabulary knowledge. Conclusion:, Relationships among the processes involved in language and memory development in Down syndrome may be similar to those established for typical development. [source]

Cortisol Reactivity Is Positively Related to Executive Function in Preschool Children Attending Head Start

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2005
Clancy Blair
This study examined relations among cortisol reactivity and measures of cognitive function and social behavior in 4- to 5-year-old children (N=169) attending Head Start. Saliva samples for the assay of cortisol were collected at the beginning, middle, and end of an approximately 45-min testing session. Moderate increase in cortisol followed by down-regulation of this increase was positively associated with measures of executive function, self-regulation, and letter knowledge but not with measures of receptive vocabulary, emotion knowledge, or false belief understanding. Regression analysis indicates that executive function accounted for the association between cortisol reactivity and self-regulation and letter knowledge. [source]