auditory-verbal therapy

BACKGROUND: Recently a significant part of schizophrenia studies have been focused on the role of cytokines, especially interleukin-6 (IL-6). Some authors have suggested a pathogenetic role for IL-6 in schizophrenia and concluded that therapy that centers on suppressing IL-6 activity may prove beneficial for certain categories of patients with the disorder. However, many questions about whether the changes in IL-6 levels in schizophrenia are primary, related to symptoms or caused by therapy, are concomitant metabolic disorders, are related to smoking or other secondary factors remain unanswered...

BACKGROUND: Recently a significant part of schizophrenia studies have been focused on the role of cytokines, especially interleukin-6 (IL-6). Some authors have suggested a pathogenetic role for IL-6 in schizophrenia and concluded that therapy that centers on suppressing IL-6 activity may prove beneficial for certain categories of patients with the disorder. However, many questions about whether the changes in IL-6 levels in schizophrenia are primary, related to symptoms or caused by therapy, are concomitant metabolic disorders, are related to smoking or other secondary factors remain unanswered...

Nick is a 5-year-old boy who began displaying self-stimulating behaviors and decreased social interactions shortly before turning 3 years. At the age of 3.5 years, he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by a local developmental-behavioral pediatrician. His parents recall that the physician described Nick to be "high functioning" and encouraged them to expect that he would attend college and live independently as an adult. Upon receiving the diagnosis, intervention was initiated using an applied behavioral analysis (ABA) approach...

BACKGROUND: A broadened clinical spectrum of concomitant complications emerges among the escalating incidence of substance use, particularly within the 'chemsex' context. This case exemplifies the profound neurotoxic repercussions and neurological risk of chemsex in a young HIV-positive male and addresses the multifaceted challenges of such evolving paradigms in substance utilization. CLINICAL FINDING: After consuming cannabis, poppers, methamphetamine, and cocaine, a 28-year-old HIV-positive male exhibited significant neurological and cognitive impairment...

Brain-hemisphere asymmetry/laterality is a well-conserved biological feature of normal brain development. Several lines of evidence, confirmed by the meta-analysis of different studies, support the disruption of brain laterality in mental illnesses such as schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and autism. Furthermore, as abnormal brain lateralization in the planum temporale (a critical structure in auditory language processing) has been reported in patients with SCZ, it has been considered a major cause for the onset of auditory verbal hallucinations...

BACKGROUND: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a disabling symptom for people with schizophrenia (SCZ), and do not always respond to antipsychotics. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has shown efficacy for medication-refractory AVH, though the underlying neural mechanisms by which rTMS produces these effects remain unclear. This systematic review evaluated the structural and functional impact of rTMS for AVH in SCZ, and its association with clinical outcomes. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in Medline, PsychINFO, and PubMed using terms for four key concepts: AVH, SCZ, rTMS, neuroimaging...

PURPOSE: Motor deficits are widely documented among autistic individuals, and speech characteristics consistent with a motor speech disorder have been reported in prior literature. We conducted an auditory-perceptual analysis of speech production skills in low and minimally verbal autistic individuals as a step toward clarifying the nature of speech production impairments in this population and the potential link between oromotor functioning and language development. METHOD: Fifty-four low or minimally verbal autistic individuals aged 4-18 years were video-recorded performing nonspeech oromotor tasks and producing phonemes, syllables, and words in imitation...

BACKGROUND: A large group of psychiatric patients suffer from auditory hallucinations (AH) despite relevant treatment regimens. In mental health populations, AH tend to be verbal (AVH) and the content critical or abusive. Trials employing immersive virtual reality (VR) to treat mental health disorders are emerging. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this scoping review is to provide an overview of clinical trials utilizing VR in the treatment of AH and to document knowledge gaps in the literature...

Social participation can be defined as involvement in activities that provide a platform to interact with society and others. Untreated hearing loss effects communication skills, academic achievements, and peer-group interaction. Since a typical body structure and body functioning are essential to demonstrate day to day activities. Altogether these factors can influence the social participation in children with HL. The aim of this study is to systematically review the impact of hearing loss on social participation in children...

The development of language, memory and intellectual functions is linked to normal hearing and correct sounds interpretation. Hearing loss (HL), especially in its severe form, negatively affects the development of these functions. This prospective study aimed at comparing the Intelligent Quotients (IQ) of children with cochlear implants (CI) with the ones of people wearing hearing aids (HA) after one year of hearing rehabilitation. 21 subjects with severe/profound bilateral hearing loss (deafness) were included in this study...

BACKGROUND: There are systematic differences in clinical features between women and men with schizophrenia (SCZ). The regulation of sex hormones may play a potential role in abnormal neurodevelopment in SCZ. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and sex hormones have complex interacting actions that contribute to the etiology of SCZ. AIM: To investigate the influence of BDNF and sex hormones on cognition and clinical symptomatology in chronic antipsychotic-treated male SCZ patients...

BACKGROUND: Disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease highlight the need for early detection of cognitive decline. However, at present, most primary care providers do not perform routine cognitive testing, in part due to a lack of access to practical cognitive assessments, as well as time and resources to administer and interpret the tests. Brief and sensitive digital cognitive assessments, such as the Digital Clock and Recall (DCR™), have the potential to address this need...

OBJECTIVE: Essential vocal tremor (EVT) manifests as nearly rhythmic modulations of fundamental frequency (fo ) and intensity and causes a shaky voice. Although research on behavioral therapy for EVT is limited, previous studies have shown that a breathy voice reduces the perception of simulated EVT and might be an effective compensatory strategy. The current study aimed to measure the acoustical and perceptual effects of a breathy voice strategy in speakers with EVT. STUDY DESIGN: A single-case experimental design (SCED) was used to investigate acoustical effects, and a pair comparison listening task was used to investigate perceptual effects...

INTRODUCTION: Interventions at the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage prevent or delay the progression of cognitive decline. In recent years, several studies have shown that physical exercise combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effectively delays the disease and promotes cognitive recovery in patients with MCI. This study aims to determine whether Tai Chi (TC) combined with tDCS can significantly improve memory in patients with MCI compared with TC or tDCS alone...

OBJECTIVES: In older adults, PTSD is associated with decreased verbal learning and executive dysfunction. Therefore, feasibility of EMDR-treatment to improve cognitive performance in older adults with PTSD was examined. Additionally, we investigated pre-treatment correlation with often co-occurring risk factors for cognitive decline (sleep problems, depressive disorder, physical inactivity, childhood traumatic events). DESIGN: Multicenter design with pre-post measurements...

OBJECTIVES: Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation has shown promising results in improving cognitive and motor function after stroke. However, to our knowledge, there have been no studies in the modulation of the cervical vagus nerve using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with cognitive dysfunction. Thus, we conducted a single-arm feasibility trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of rTMS of the vagus nerve in patients with TBI...

OBJECTIVE: We present a case in which intersecting linguistic and disability factors necessitated a flexible, qualitative approach to clinical decision making in the context of pre-deep brain stimulation (DBS) evaluation. METHOD: LZ is a 70-year-old, right-handed, cisgender, Chinese male with history of Parkinson disease (PD) presenting for DBS evaluation. Symptoms included right extremity tremor with decreased effectiveness from dopamine therapy. Cognitive, behavioral, personality, or functional changes were denied...

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial radiation therapy (IRT) for pediatric brain tumors is associated with late delayed brain injury due to cerebrovascular abnormality, white matter necrosis, demyelination, and gliosis which are irreversible. As a result, persistent cognitive deficits in adulthood emerge which are aggravated by younger age at diagnosis, higher radiation dose, whole brain radiation (WBR), and concurrent chemotherapy. The case is a childhood brain tumor survivor seen 18 years post treatment who displayed cognitive deficits reflecting the cognitive sequela of WBR that overlapped with the anatomical distribution of white matter damage sustained...

OBJECTIVE: Olfactory dysfunction is well-documented in epilepsy. We recently found that olfactory assessment may have clinical utility in identifying surgical candidates with intractable epilepsy who benefit from magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLiTT). However, the demographic, clinical, and cognitive correlates of olfaction in epilepsy remain unclear and could aid in understanding its potential utility in clinical examinations. METHOD: We identified 60 outpatients with epilepsy (mean age = 38...

Bartter's syndrome (BS) is a rare group of hereditary salt losing tubulopathies due to impairment of renal transport mechanism. Herein, we report a boy in early childhood who was diagnosed to have infantile Bartter's syndrome. Laboratory investigations revealed hypokalaemia and metabolic alkalosis which was managed with oral potassium chloride supplementation. The inner ear showed no anatomical abnormalities. Sequential cochlear implantation was performed 4 months apart. Postoperative electrical stimulation yielded good response and a symmetric mapping...