Language News and Research

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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.

Still a long way to go in diagnostic evaluation of all patients who suffer ischemic strokes

Women who survive a stroke are less likely than men to get crucial tests of their heart and neck arteries that can help improve their treatment and reduce their risk of a second stroke, a new University of Michigan study finds.

27 Sep 2005

Five-year-olds are able to grasp numeric abstractions and arithmetic concepts

Psychologists at Harvard University have found that five-year-olds are able to grasp numeric abstractions and arithmetic concepts even without the formal education or language to express this knowledge in words.

26 Sep 2005

Two recent studies may help clinicians and researchers better predict and understand dementia of the Alzheimer's type

Both studies appear in the September issue of Neuropsychology, which is published by the American Psychological Association (APA). Psychologists focus on early detection in part because current medications are useful only when given very early in the course of the disease.

26 Sep 2005

Need for more outdoor play spaces so that children could have more choice over materials, locations and playmates

Young children may be missing out on 'pretend' games like pirates and spacemen due to the demands of the school curriculum, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

12 Sep 2005

Human brain still evolving, who knows what the future has to offer!

According to a team of University of Chicago scientists they have found strong evidence that the human brain is still evolving.

10 Sep 2005

A quirky or socially awkward approach to life might be the key to becoming a great artist, composer or inventor

New research in individuals with schizotypal personalities - people characterized by odd behavior and language but who are not psychotic or schizophrenic - offers the first neurological evidence that these individuals are more creative than normal or fully schizophrenic people, and rely more heavily on the right sides of their brains than the general population to access their creativity.

7 Sep 2005

DNA research: learning the language of genes

Griffith University's Dr Christine Wells is one of just a handful of women scientists in the global FANTOM consortium which has announced a major breakthrough in unraveling the mammalian genome.

6 Sep 2005

Observation of adult behavior may influence preschool children to view smoking as normal

When pretending to shop for a social evening, children two to six years old were nearly four times as likely to choose cigarettes if their parents smoked and children who viewed PG-13- or R-rated movies were five times as likely to choose wine or beer, according to a study in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

6 Sep 2005

Attention doctors: Want patients to follow your advice? Treat them with dignity

In a national survey of more than 5,000 Americans, those who said they were treated with dignity during their last medical encounter were more likely to report higher levels of satisfaction with their care, adhere to therapy and get preventive services.

1 Sep 2005

BMA(NI) initial response to Appleby Report

"The BMA met with Professor Appleby as part of this independent review and early indications are that much of his report appears to be consistent with the evidence provided by the Association."

31 Aug 2005

Daydreaming linked to Alzheimer's disease

According to new research, Alzheimer's disease may be due to abnormalities in the regions of the brain that operate the "default state", a term used to describe the cognitive state people defer to when musing, daydreaming, or thinking to themselves.

30 Aug 2005

Subtle effects of hearing loss on memory and cognitive function in older adults

In a new study, Brandeis University researchers conclude that older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss may expend so much cognitive energy on hearing accurately that their ability to remember spoken language suffers as a result.

29 Aug 2005

Parts of the brain used in daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer's disease

Researchers who used five different medical imaging techniques to study the brain activity of 764 people, including those with Alzheimer's disease, those on the brink of dementia, and healthy individuals, have found that the areas of the brain that young, healthy people use when daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer's disease.

25 Aug 2005

Immigrant children still mastering the English language risk being shuffled into special education services they don't need

The study showed that the expressive language characteristics of typically developing children learning English as a second language are similar to the English spoken by monolingual children who have specific language impairment.

24 Aug 2005

No intervention is necessary for most children with fluid in their ears

A Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh study finds that prompt insertion of tympanostomy tubes (small ear tubes) does not improve developmental outcomes of children at 6 years of age as once thought.

24 Aug 2005

Health benefits of different types of language use and writing contexts now explored

Researchers have known for some time that expressive writing can have a positive effect on the writer's health, such as illness recovery.

22 Aug 2005

President Bush's No Child Left Behind act appears to be leaving children behind

The nation's main program for educating the disadvantaged, Title I, is hampered by loopholes that prevent it from fulfilling its mission, according to a new study.

18 Aug 2005

Babies recognize unfamiliar musical rhythms far more readily than adults can

Babies have us beat when it comes to picking up languages and distinguishing faces from foreign cultures. But babies also have the beat: Researchers at Cornell University and the University of Toronto find that babies also can recognize unfamiliar musical rhythms far more readily than adults can.

15 Aug 2005

There are subtle effects of hearing loss on memory and cognitive function in older adults

13 Aug 2005

Study queries value of ear tube surgery for childrens' speech and language development

After conducting a study of nearly 400 children in 2001, researchers at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, have come to the conclusion, that putting tubes in the eardrum to help drain a young child's middle ear infection does not guard against developmental problems later in life.

11 Aug 2005