Language News and Research

RSS

Language skills are essential to a child’s ability to communicate and develop. These skills enable children to engage with other people and learn from their surroundings and in the classroom.

Leading experts meet to help advance motor neurone research

World renowned experts on motor neurone disease will share their work at an international symposium hosted by the University of Edinburgh tomorrow (WED) to enable greater understanding of the condition.

28 Aug 2007

Insight into autism's origin in the brain

In the first study of its kind, researchers have discovered that in autistic individuals, connections between brain cells may be deficient within single regions, and not just between regions, as was previously believed.

23 Aug 2007

Baby talk is universal

A major function of speech is the communication of intentions. In everyday conversation between adults, intentions are conveyed through multiple channels, including the syntax and semantics of the language, but also through nonverbal vocal cues such as pitch, loudness, and rate of speech.

22 Aug 2007

Pronouns light up brain!

New research suggests that pronouns may play a far greater role than simply replacing a proper name in a sentence. A University of South Carolina study suggests that pronouns help keep the brain's complex circuitry and limited memory system from being overloaded.

17 Aug 2007

Memory storage molecule PKMzeta stores memories in neocortex

The memory storage molecule PKMzeta maintains long-term memories in the neocortex and its presence is continually required in order for the memory to endure, according to a finding by researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel and SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.

17 Aug 2007

Parents' depression impacts child's symptoms of depression

A parent's struggle with stress or depression can lower a child's quality of life -- and it could hinder an overweight youngster's attempts to lose weight, too, University of Florida researchers say.

8 Aug 2007

Congress takes major step toward equitable payment for nurse-midwifery services

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP)" (H.R.3162), which expands health care coverage to pregnant women and their children and addresses a long-standing inequity in reimbursement for services of certified nurse-midwives (CNMs).

7 Aug 2007

Can people mentally impose arbitrary spatial category boundaries?

When explorers like Magellan and Columbus sailed from Europe to the New World 500 years ago, they amazingly managed to navigate the open sea without terrestrial landmarks, natural boundaries or the navigational technology we have today.

6 Aug 2007

Autistic intelligence

Autistic children are doubly stigmatized. On the one hand, they are often dismissed as low functioning or mentally retarded, especially if they have poor speaking skills as many do.

6 Aug 2007

Short heart health programs improve life expectancy and reduce hospitalizations

Secondary prevention programs for coronary heart disease that contain less than 10 hours contact with health professionals and those provided by family doctors are just as effective in saving lives as more expensive, longer and more specialized hospital-based alternatives, according to cardiovascular researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

6 Aug 2007

Intuitive mind-reading in infants

One of the unique characteristics of humans that distinguish us from the animal kingdom is the ability to represent others, beliefs in our own minds.

6 Aug 2007

Be aware! whispering stroke all too common

Scientists in the U.S. say some people experience subtle symptoms which are suggestive of a stroke without an actual stroke being diagnosed.

6 Aug 2007

Aging adults have choices when confronting perceived mental declines

Aging adults may joke about memory lapses and early Alzheimer's. They may worry when they can't understand a drug plan or lose track of the characters in a novel.

3 Aug 2007

New pregnancy labeling rules should be approved without delay

Marks the tenth anniversary of a public hearing that was hoped to spark substantial changes in the way drugs are labeled for use during pregnancy.

2 Aug 2007

How language relates to use of mental health services for California Latinos

An examination of usage of publicly sponsored mental health services by Spanish-speaking Latinos in San Diego revealed significant differences from use patterns by either English-speaking Latinos or Caucasians.

2 Aug 2007

Link between increased white matter and poor motor skills in children with autism

A study published in the August issue of the journal Brain demonstrates, for the first time, an association between increased white matter volume and functional impairment in children with autism.

1 Aug 2007

donepezil improves symptoms of severe Alzheimer's

A drug initially used to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease improved the memory and global function of people with severe Alzheimer's disease and was safe and effective, according to a study published in the July 31, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

1 Aug 2007

New study on phonics

Reading specialists have often pitted phonics against holistic word recognition and whole language approaches in the war over how to teach children to read. However, a new study by researchers at New York University shows that the three reading processes do not conflict, but, rather, work together to determine speed.

31 Jul 2007

Study links brain anatomy to the ability to learn a second language in adulthood

Think you haven't got the aptitude to learn a foreign language, New research led by Northwestern University neuroscientists suggests that the problem, quite literally, could be in your head.

26 Jul 2007

New model for understanding how autism is acquired

A new model for understanding how autism is acquired has been developed by a team of researchers led by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

25 Jul 2007