Matching Items (57)
Description
An increasing number of military veterans are enrolling in college, primarily due to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which provides educational benefits to veterans who served on active duty since September 11, 2001. With rigorous training, active combat situations, and exposure to unexpected situations, the veteran population is at a higher risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and depression. All of these conditions are associated with cognitive consequences, including attention deficits, working memory problems, and episodic memory impairments. Some conditions, particularly mild TBI, are not diagnosed or treated until long after the injury when the person realizes they have cognitive difficulties. Even mild cognitive problems can hinder learning in an academic setting, but there is little data on the frequency and severity of cognitive deficits in veteran college students. The current study examines self-reported cognitive symptoms in veteran students compared to civilian students and how those symptoms relate to service-related conditions. A better understanding of the pattern of self-reported symptoms will help researchers and clinicians determine the veterans who are at higher risk for cognitive and academic difficulties.
ContributorsAllen, Kelly Anne (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis director) / Gallagher, Karen (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Language, as an abstract, is one of the most sophisticated inventions even devised by human beings. Reading alone is a multi-faceted problem, and understanding how the brain solves it can offer enormous benefits for scientists and language-enthusiasts alike. In order to gain a more complete picture of how language and the brain relate, Chinese, an East Asian logographic language, and English, an alphabetic language, were compared and contrasted using all available scientific literature in both psychology and neuroimaging. Taken together, these findings are used to generalize the processing of written language. It was found that the hypothesis of a neuroplastically adaptable network that recruits brain areas based on the demands of a specific language has stronger support in current research than does the model of a fixed language network that is merely tuned for different languages. These findings reiterate the need for meticulous control of variables in order to reasonably compare language tasks and also demands more precise localization and labeling of brain regions for the purpose of determining function of individual areas.
ContributorsMcCann, Garrett (Author) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Thesis director) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The increase of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) cases in recent war history has increased the urgency of research regarding how veterans are affected by TBIs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of TBI on speech recognition in noise. The AzBio Sentence Test was completed for signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) from -10 dB to +15 dB for a control group of ten participants and one US military veteran with history of service-connected TBI. All participants had normal hearing sensitivity defined as thresholds of 20 dB or better at frequencies from 250-8000 Hz in addition to having tympanograms within normal limits. Comparison of the data collected on the control group versus the veteran suggested that the veteran performed worse than the majority of the control group on the AzBio Sentence Test. Further research with more participants would be beneficial to our understanding of how veterans with TBI perform on speech recognition tests in the presence of background noise.
ContributorsCorvasce, Erica Marie (Author) / Peterson, Kathleen (Thesis director) / Williams, Erica (Committee member) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Working memory and cognitive functions contribute to speech recognition in normal hearing and hearing impaired listeners. In this study, auditory and cognitive functions are measured in young adult normal hearing, elderly normal hearing, and elderly cochlear implant subjects. The effects of age and hearing on the different measures are investigated. The correlations between auditory/cognitive functions and speech/music recognition are examined. The results may demonstrate which factors can better explain the variable performance across elderly cochlear implant users.
ContributorsKolberg, Courtney Elizabeth (Author) / Luo, Xin (Thesis director) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a craft book used for stimulation therapy on the phonetic sounds /ŋ/, /r/, /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, and /θ/. The book is specifically geared toward children who do not qualify for speech remediation services but who may be at risk of a speech sound disorder. Four children participated in the study with ages ranging from 4;3-7;6. The study lasted for four weeks in which data was collected on a weekly basis via Likert Scale surveys in accordance with two conversational speech samples. The speech samples were phonetically transcribed with minimal differences pre and post use of the craft book. Data from the surveys give insight to the children’s favorite crafts, the level of difficulty of each craft, and the likelihood of the craft book to be used as part of a remediation program. The study had limitations in sample size, duration, and number of craft activities. Future revisions should include increasing the number of crafts available per chapter and incorporating into the introduction an educational component for parents.
ContributorsKolaz, Chloe Ann (Author) / Weinhold, Juliet (Thesis director) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
An increasing number of veterans are transitioning from military service to college. Critical to academic success is the process of decision-making, which previous research has found to be influenced by a variety of factors including anxiety and working memory (WM). Many service-related conditions often influence anxiety and WM, and given the high prevalence of these conditions among veterans, the present study aimed to analyze the effects of working memory and anxiety on decision-making behavior in U.S. Military Veterans. Participants completed a large test battery including tasks assessing WM skills (Symmetry Span Task), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory), and decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task). The study results indicated that WM and anxiety both play roles in decision-making performance in young military veterans. High anxiety is related to increased avoidance of adverse outcomes in decision-making for U.S. Military Veterans, while lower working memory span is associated with greater risk-taking behavior. This study provides both functional and clinical implications into areas of possible intervention that need to be assessed in military veterans, as well as modifications to these assessments that need to be made in order to appropriately measure decision-making behavior. Future work will be done in order to more effectively analyze the adverse impacts of service-related conditions and the ways in which intervention can be implemented in order to minimize these effects.
ContributorsTully, Mckayla Lynne (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis director) / Gallagher, Karen (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Objective
The objective of this study is to compare amyloid β (Aβ) PET positive and negative patients to their neuropsychological profiles. There is a definitive link between Aβ deposits and cognitive disorders such as MCI or Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but does its presence justify the costly imaging tests based on its clinical context?
Background
Amnestic MCI is largely considered prodromal to AD/dementia in a high majority of cases. [1] Many studies have shown a positive correlation between Aβ PET positive individuals and their likelihood to progress to AD. Aβ deposits in the brain are not always a sign of AD or even MCI, and many elderly people live normal lives with elevated levels. The presence of Aβ in the brain should be carefully considered alongside other tests before making a clinical diagnosis of MCI or AD.
Methods
130 subjects from Barrow Neurological Institute (Phoenix, AZ) were included in this study. Amyloid PET report data was pulled from Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center Outpatient Imaging. Amyloid PET scans obtained by using F-18 florbetapir compound and reviewed by an expert radiologist providing a qualitative status of amyloid-beta positive (+) or negative (-). All data was anonymized and categorized into positive amyloid PET, negative amyloid PET, and clinical diagnosis based on neuropsychological profiles.
Results
The demographic data indicated that 38.5% of the 91 patients diagnosed as amnestic MCI were amyloid PET negative while 61.5% were amyloid PET positive. Of the 39 patients diagnosed as Dementia or AD 15.4% were amyloid PET negative and 84.6% were amyloid PET positive. Correlational analysis between diagnosis and neuropsychological variables suggests that some variables correlate well while others do not. There is a significant correlation between diagnosis and dementia rating scale (DRS) r(24) = -.762, between diagnosis and TrailsB Test r(39) = .397, between diagnosis and phonetic fluency r(30) = -.383, between diagnosis and semantic fluency r(29) = -.369, and between diagnosis and the Boston Naming Test (BNT) r(36) = -.312. Comparing the PET positive and PET negative groups there is a marginal significance in the Boston Naming Test (T=1.945, P=.060) suggesting PET positive individuals test lower than PET negative.
Conclusion
Based on all the results of this study, amyloid PET is still a clinical indicator that an individual might be MCI or dementia/AD, but it has its exceptions. A small number of patients diagnosed as dementia/AD had a negative amyloid PET suggesting that beta amyloid plaques are not the only cause of the disease. There is a strong suggestion that amyloid plaques are a major factor in the progression of dementia or AD, however the results from an amyloid PET cannot be directly related to a diagnosis.
The objective of this study is to compare amyloid β (Aβ) PET positive and negative patients to their neuropsychological profiles. There is a definitive link between Aβ deposits and cognitive disorders such as MCI or Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but does its presence justify the costly imaging tests based on its clinical context?
Background
Amnestic MCI is largely considered prodromal to AD/dementia in a high majority of cases. [1] Many studies have shown a positive correlation between Aβ PET positive individuals and their likelihood to progress to AD. Aβ deposits in the brain are not always a sign of AD or even MCI, and many elderly people live normal lives with elevated levels. The presence of Aβ in the brain should be carefully considered alongside other tests before making a clinical diagnosis of MCI or AD.
Methods
130 subjects from Barrow Neurological Institute (Phoenix, AZ) were included in this study. Amyloid PET report data was pulled from Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center Outpatient Imaging. Amyloid PET scans obtained by using F-18 florbetapir compound and reviewed by an expert radiologist providing a qualitative status of amyloid-beta positive (+) or negative (-). All data was anonymized and categorized into positive amyloid PET, negative amyloid PET, and clinical diagnosis based on neuropsychological profiles.
Results
The demographic data indicated that 38.5% of the 91 patients diagnosed as amnestic MCI were amyloid PET negative while 61.5% were amyloid PET positive. Of the 39 patients diagnosed as Dementia or AD 15.4% were amyloid PET negative and 84.6% were amyloid PET positive. Correlational analysis between diagnosis and neuropsychological variables suggests that some variables correlate well while others do not. There is a significant correlation between diagnosis and dementia rating scale (DRS) r(24) = -.762, between diagnosis and TrailsB Test r(39) = .397, between diagnosis and phonetic fluency r(30) = -.383, between diagnosis and semantic fluency r(29) = -.369, and between diagnosis and the Boston Naming Test (BNT) r(36) = -.312. Comparing the PET positive and PET negative groups there is a marginal significance in the Boston Naming Test (T=1.945, P=.060) suggesting PET positive individuals test lower than PET negative.
Conclusion
Based on all the results of this study, amyloid PET is still a clinical indicator that an individual might be MCI or dementia/AD, but it has its exceptions. A small number of patients diagnosed as dementia/AD had a negative amyloid PET suggesting that beta amyloid plaques are not the only cause of the disease. There is a strong suggestion that amyloid plaques are a major factor in the progression of dementia or AD, however the results from an amyloid PET cannot be directly related to a diagnosis.
ContributorsSorenson, Keaton Andrew (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis director) / DeCourt, Boris (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Glottal fry is a vocal register characterized by low frequency and increased signal perturbation, and is perceptually identified by its popping, creaky quality. Recently, the use of the glottal fry vocal register has received growing awareness and attention in popular culture and media in the United States. The creaky quality that was originally associated with vocal pathologies is indeed becoming “trendy,” particularly among young women across the United States. But while existing studies have defined, quantified, and attempted to explain the use of glottal fry in conversational speech, there is currently no explanation for the increasing prevalence of the use of glottal fry amongst American women. This thesis, however, proposes that conversational entrainment—a communication phenomenon which describes the propensity to modify one’s behavior to align more closely with one’s communication partner—may provide a theoretical framework to explain the growing trend in the use of glottal fry amongst college-aged women in the United States. Female participants (n = 30) between the ages of 18 and 29 years (M = 20.6, SD = 2.95) had conversations with two conversation partners, one who used quantifiably more glottal fry than the other. The study utilized perceptual and quantifiable acoustic information to address the following key question: Does the amount of habitual glottal fry in a conversational partner influence one’s use of glottal fry in their own speech? Results yielded the following two findings: (1) according to perceptual annotations, the participants used a greater amount of glottal fry when speaking with the Fry conversation partner than with the Non Fry partner, (2) statistically significant differences were found in the acoustics of the participants’ vocal qualities based on conversation partner. While the current study demonstrates that young women are indeed speaking in glottal fry in everyday conversations, and that its use can be attributed in part to conversational entrainment, we still lack a clear explanation of the deeper motivations for women to speak in a lower vocal register. The current study opens avenues for continued analysis of the sociolinguistic functions of the glottal fry register.
ContributorsDelfino, Christine R (Author) / Liss, Julie M (Thesis advisor) / Borrie, Stephanie A (Thesis advisor) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Berisha, Visar (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Audiovisual (AV) integration is a fundamental component of face-to-face communication. Visual cues generally aid auditory comprehension of communicative intent through our innate ability to “fuse” auditory and visual information. However, our ability for multisensory integration can be affected by damage to the brain. Previous neuroimaging studies have indicated the superior temporal sulcus (STS) as the center for AV integration, while others suggest inferior frontal and motor regions. However, few studies have analyzed the effect of stroke or other brain damage on multisensory integration in humans. The present study examines the effect of lesion location on auditory and AV speech perception through behavioral and structural imaging methodologies in 41 left-hemisphere participants with chronic focal cerebral damage. Participants completed two behavioral tasks of speech perception: an auditory speech perception task and a classic McGurk paradigm measuring congruent (auditory and visual stimuli match) and incongruent (auditory and visual stimuli do not match, creating a “fused” percept of a novel stimulus) AV speech perception. Overall, participants performed well above chance on both tasks. Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) across all 41 participants identified several regions as critical for speech perception depending on trial type. Heschl’s gyrus and the supramarginal gyrus were identified as critical for auditory speech perception, the basal ganglia was critical for speech perception in AV congruent trials, and the middle temporal gyrus/STS were critical in AV incongruent trials. VLSM analyses of the AV incongruent trials were used to further clarify the origin of “errors”, i.e. lack of fusion. Auditory capture (auditory stimulus) responses were attributed to visual processing deficits caused by lesions in the posterior temporal lobe, whereas visual capture (visual stimulus) responses were attributed to lesions in the anterior temporal cortex, including the temporal pole, which is widely considered to be an amodal semantic hub. The implication of anterior temporal regions in AV integration is novel and warrants further study. The behavioral and VLSM results are discussed in relation to previous neuroimaging and case-study evidence; broadly, our findings coincide with previous work indicating that multisensory superior temporal cortex, not frontal motor circuits, are critical for AV integration.
ContributorsCai, Julia (Author) / Rogalsky, Corianne (Thesis advisor) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Liss, Julie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
The purpose of this study was to identify acoustic markers that correlate with accurate and inaccurate /r/ production in children ages 5-8 using signal processing. In addition, the researcher aimed to identify predictive acoustic markers that relate to changes in /r/ accuracy. A total of 35 children (23 accurate, 12 inaccurate, 8 longitudinal) were recorded. Computerized stimuli were presented on a PC laptop computer and the children were asked to do five tasks to elicit spontaneous and imitated /r/ production in all positions. Files were edited and analyzed using a filter bank approach centered at 40 frequencies based on the Mel-scale. T-tests were used to compare spectral energy of tokens between accurate and inaccurate groups and additional t-tests were used to compare duration of accurate and inaccurate files. Results included significant differences between the accurate and inaccurate productions of /r/, notable differences in the 24-26 mel bin range, and longer duration of inaccurate /r/ than accurate. Signal processing successfully identified acoustic features of accurate and inaccurate production of /r/ and candidate predictive markers that may be associated with acquisition of /r/.
ContributorsBecvar, Brittany Patricia (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis advisor) / Weinhold, Juliet (Committee member) / Berisha, Visar (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017