Speech News and Research

RSS

Music training may offer benefits for literacy skills

Music training, with its pervasive effects on the nervous system's ability to process sight and sound, may be more important for enhancing verbal communication skills than learning phonics, according to a new Northwestern University study.

25 Sep 2007

Effects of tonsillectomy on speech spectrum

Although tonsillectomy is therapeutic for chronic tonsillitis, the procedure has the potential to affect speech quality, by altering the resonant characteristics of the vocal tract, and to modify velopharyngeal function (the closing off of the nose from the mouth during speech).

18 Sep 2007

Hearing aid trials in pediatric cochlear implantation

Children with severe to profound hearing loss under evaluation for cochlear implantation have traditionally been given a three to six month hearing aid trial to verify that they don't receive sufficient audiometric and speech benefit from hearing aids before proceeding with cochlear implantation.

18 Sep 2007

HPV infection and head and neck cancer

The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as a cause of cervical cancer in women, but there's another devastating form of cancer also linked to HPV infection - head and neck cancer - and almost no one is talking about it.

18 Sep 2007

World's longest-running study of the health effects of low levels of mercury exposure

The presence of mercury in dental amalgams, or fillings, is relatively common knowledge; however, whether its presence affects the neurological system is a debate that has been ongoing for 150 years.

13 Sep 2007

Health psychologists discuss latest research findings

Common physical symptoms such as fatigue, chest pain and lower back pain are related to the perception of everyday smells, University of Nottingham researchers will tell delegates at a health psychology conference on campus.

13 Sep 2007

Novel mechanism discovered that balances the sizes of functional areas in the brain

In the cerebral cortex, the brain's powerful central processing unit responsible for higher functions, specialized subdivisions known as areas are laid out like a map, but little is known about the genetic forces that shape the geography of our brains.

11 Sep 2007

New techniques to diagnose hearing loss

A Purdue University researcher is working on a new technique to diagnose hearing loss in a way that more accurately reflects real-world situations.

10 Sep 2007

Fruit flies have a taste for carbonated water

That fruit fly hovering over your kitchen counter may be attracted to more than the bananas that are going brown; it may also want a sip of your carbonated water.

4 Sep 2007

MRI helps find new abnormality related to disease progression and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis

Using magnetic resonance (MR) images of the brain, researchers have identified a new abnormality related to disease progression and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published in the August issue of Radiology.

28 Aug 2007

Breakthrough for Huntington's disease

A major breakthrough in the understanding and potential treatment of Huntington's disease has been made by scientists at the University of Leeds.

24 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

Natural protection provides possible new treatments for stroke

Two substances that occur naturally in the brain act to protect the brain during a stroke. This is the conclusion of a dissertation published at the Sahlgrenska Academy, and the discovery may lead to new treatments for stroke patients.

21 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

Variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with ADHD

A variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with thinner tissue in areas of the brain that handle attention, but also appears associated with better clinical outcomes among individuals with the disorder, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007