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Speech production is studied from both psycholinguistic and motor-control perspectives, with little interaction between the approaches. We assessed the explanatory value of integrating psycholinguistic and motor-control concepts for theories of speech production. By augmenting a popular psycholinguistic model of lexical retrieval with a motor-control-inspired architecture, we created a new computational model to explain speech errors in the context of aphasia. Comparing the model fits to picture-naming data from 255 aphasic patients, we found that our new model improves fits for a theoretically predictable subtype of aphasia: conduction. We discovered that the improved fits for this group were a result of strong auditory–lexical feedback activation, combined with weaker auditory–motor feedforward activation, leading to increased competition from phonologically related neighbors during lexical selection. We discuss the implications of our findings with respect to other extant models of lexical retrieval.

It is thought that semantic memory represents taxonomic information differently from thematic information. This study investigated the neural basis for the taxonomic-thematic distinction in a unique way. We gathered picture-naming errors from 86 individuals with poststroke language impairment (aphasia). Error rates were determined separately for taxonomic errors (\"pear\" in response to apple) and thematic errors (\"worm\" in response to apple), and their shared variance was regressed out of each measure. With the segmented lesions normalized to a common template, we carried out voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping on each error type separately. We found that taxonomic errors localized to the left anterior temporal lobe and thematic errors localized to the left temporoparietal junction. This is an indication that the contribution of these regions to semantic memory cleaves along taxonomic-thematic lines. Our findings show that a distinction long recognized in the psychological sciences is grounded in the structure and function of the human brain.

Purpose: Meaningful changes in picture naming responses may be obscured when measuring accuracy instead of quality. A statistic that incorporates information about the severity and nature of impairments may be more sensitive to the effects of treatment. Method: We analyzed data from repeated administrations of a naming test to 72 participants with stroke aphasia in a clinical trial for anomia therapy. Participants were divided into two groups for analysis to demonstrate replicability. We assessed reliability among response type scores from five raters. We then derived four summary statistics of naming ability and their changes over time for each participant: (a) the standard accuracy measure, (b) an accuracy measure adjusted for item difficulty, (c) an accuracy measure adjusted for item difficulty for specific response types, and (d) a distance measure adjusted for item difficulty for specific response types. While accuracy measures address the likelihood of a correct response, the distance measure reflects that different response types range in their similarity to the target. Model fit was assessed. The frequency of significant improvements and the average magnitude of improvements for each summary statistic were compared between treatment groups and a control group. Effect sizes for each model-based statistic were compared with the effect size for the standard accuracy measure. Results: Interrater and intrarater reliability were near perfect, on average, though compromised somewhat by phonological-level errors. The effects of treatment were more evident, in terms of both frequency and magnitude, when using the distance measure versus the other accuracy statistics. Conclusions: Consideration of item difficulty and response types revealed additional effects of treatment on naming scores beyond those observed for the standard accuracy measure. The results support theories that assume naming ability is decomposable into subabilities rather than being monolithic, suggesting new opportunities for measuring treatment outcomes.

The impact of a range of different threats has resulted in the listing of six out of seven sea turtle species on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Disease risk analysis (DRA) tools are designed to provide objective, repeatable and documented assessment of the disease risks for a population and measures to reduce these risks through management options. To the best of our knowledge, DRAs have not previously been published for sea turtles, although disease is reported to contribute to sea turtle population decline. Here, a comprehensive list of health hazards is provided for all seven species of sea turtles. The possible risk these hazards pose to the health of sea turtles were assessed and \"One Health\" aspects of interacting with sea turtles were also investigated. The risk assessment was undertaken in collaboration with more than 30 experts in the field including veterinarians, microbiologists, social scientists, epidemiologists and stakeholders, in the form of two international workshops and one local workshop. The general finding of the DRA was the distinct lack of knowledge regarding a link between the presence of pathogens and diseases manifestation in sea turtles. A higher rate of disease in immunocompromised individuals was repeatedly reported and a possible link between immunosuppression and environmental contaminants as a result of anthropogenic influences was suggested. Society based conservation initiatives and as a result the cultural and social aspect of interacting with sea turtles appeared to need more attention and research. A risk management workshop was carried out to acquire the insights of local policy makers about management options for the risks relevant to Queensland and the options were evaluated considering their feasibility and effectiveness. The sea turtle DRA presented here, is a structured guide for future risk assessments to be used in specific scenarios such as translocation and head-starting programs.

In a previous publication, we presented a new computational model called SLAM (Walker & Hickok, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review doi: 10.3758/s13423-015-0903 ), based on the hierarchical state feedback control (HSFC) theory (Hickok Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13 (2), 135–145, 2012 ). In his commentary, Goldrick ( Psychonomic Bulletin & Review doi: 10.3758/s13423-015-0946-9 ) claims that SLAM does not represent a theoretical advancement, because it cannot be distinguished from an alternative lexical + postlexical (LPL) theory proposed by Goldrick and Rapp ( Cognition, 102 (2), 219–260, 2007 ). First, we point out that SLAM implements a portion of a conceptual model (HSFC) that encompasses LPL. Second, we show that SLAM accounts for a lexical bias present in sound-related errors that LPL does not explain. Third, we show that SLAM’s explanatory advantage is not a result of approximating the architectural or computational assumptions of LPL, since an implemented version of LPL fails to provide the same fit improvements as SLAM. Finally, we show that incorporating a mechanism that violates some core theoretical assumptions of LPL—making it more like SLAM in terms of interactivity—allows the model to capture some of the same effects as SLAM. SLAM therefore provides new modeling constraints regarding interactions among processing levels, while also elaborating on the structure of the phonological level. We view this as evidence that an integration of psycholinguistic, neuroscience, and motor control approaches to speech production is feasible and may lead to substantial new insights.

Purpose: To create two matched short forms of the Philadelphia Naming Test (PNT; Roach, Schwartz, Martin, Grewal, & Brecher, 1996) that yield similar results to the PNT for measuring anomia. Method: In Study 1, archived naming data from 94 individuals with aphasia were used to identify which PNT items should be included in the short forms. The 2 constructed sets of 30 items, PNT30-A and PNT30-B, were validated using archived data from a separate group of 56 individuals with aphasia. In Study 2, the reliability of the PNT, PNT30-A, and PNT30-B across independent test administrations was evaluated with a new group of 25 individuals with aphasia who were selected to represent the full range of naming impairment. Results: In Study 1, PNT30-A and PNT30-B were found to be internally consistent, and accuracy scores on these subsets of items were highly correlated with the full PNT. In Study 2, PNT accuracy was extremely reliable over the span of 1 week, and independent administrations of PNT30-A and PNT30-B produced similar results to the PNT and to each other. Conclusion: The short forms of the PNT can be used to reliably estimate PNT performance, and the results can be compared to the provided norms. The 2 matched tests allow for the measurement of change in an individual's naming ability. (Contains 5 tables, 5 figures and 6 footnotes.)

Purpose This study investigated the relationship between word production rates (WPRs) and phonological error rates (PERs) in generative and responsive tasks in logopenic progressive aphasia (lvPPA). We examined whether a portion of the reduced WPR during generative tasks related directly to phonological impairments affecting PER on all tasks, irrespective of other task differences that contributed to WPR. Method Two cognitive psychometric models were hypothesized and fit to the total number of words produced and the number of phonological errors produced by 22 participants on 10 tasks. Bayesian inference was used to construct posterior distributions of participant ability and task difficulty parameters. Model fit statistics were compared. Association strengths for average generative WPR and average responsive PER were also evaluated with linear least-squares regression. Results Average generative WPR and average responsive PER were significantly associated ( = -.77, = .00002). A cognitive psychometric model that assumed reduced WPR on generative tasks reflects a portion of general phonological impairment yielded better fit than a model that ignored performance differences between generative and responsive tasks. Generative fluency tasks that elicited few phonological errors still reflected phonological impairment, via suppression. Individual participants were estimated to suppress between 62% and 93% of phonological errors on generative tasks that would have emerged on responsive tasks. Conclusions Suppression of phonological errors may present as decreased WPR on generative tasks in lvPPA. Failure to account for this suppression tendency may lead to overestimation of phonological ability. The findings indicate the need to account for task demands in assessing lvPPA.

Speech perception ability and structural neuroimaging were investigated in two cases of bilateral opercular syndrome. Due to bilateral ablation of the motor control center for the lower face and surrounds, these rare cases provide an opportunity to evaluate the necessity of cortical motor representations for speech perception, a cornerstone of some neurocomputational theories of language processing. Speech perception, including audiovisual integration (i.e., the McGurk effect), was mostly unaffected in these cases, although verbal short-term memory impairment hindered performance on several tasks that are traditionally used to evaluate speech perception. The results suggest that the role of the cortical motor system in speech perception is context-dependent and supplementary, not inherent or necessary.

The study of decision making in complex naturalistic environments poses several challenges. In response to these, video-stimulated cued-recall-debrief was developed. It involves an individual wearing a head-mounted camera which records a task from their point of view. Afterwards, footage captured is reviewed along with a facilitated debrief to help externalise cognitive processes. In theory, motion, audio and visual cues generate a high level of experiential immersion which helps the expert to articulate previously hidden thoughts and actions. To examine the current evidence for video-stimulated cued-recall-debrief as a means of explicating expert thoughts and feelings in complex tasks in a range of environments. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Education Resources Information Center, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were searched for articles containing the key terms 'cued-recall (debrief)', 'decision making', 'skills' and 'video recording'. Studies were included if they examined the following outcomes: (1) feasibility, (2) extent of experiential immersion, (3) ability to generate unique insight into decision-making processes and (4) current applications. 1831 articles were identified initially, and 9 studies were included in the final review. Video-stimulated cued-recall-debrief is associated with a high level of experiential immersion and generates between two and four times the number of recollections compared with free recall. It can be used to build models of cognitive activity and to characterise the way in which more and less skilled individuals tend to think and feel. The technique could be used to explicate expertise within medicine: these insights into performance could be used as a training tool for other practitioners. CRD42017057484.