Studies show that semantic effects may be task-specific, and thus, that semantic representations are flexible and dynamic. Such findings are critical to the development of a comprehensive theory of semantic processing in visual word recognition, which should arguably account for how semantic effects may vary by task. It has been suggested that semantic effects are more directly examined using tasks that explicitly require meaning processing relative to those for which meaning processing is not necessary (e.g., lexical decision task). The purpose of the present study was to chart the processing of concrete versus abstract words in the context of a global co-occurrence variable, semantic neighborhood density (SND), by comparing word recognition response times (RTs) across four tasks varying in explicit semantic demands: standard lexical decision task (with non-pronounceable non-words), go/no-go lexical decision task (with pronounceable non-words), progressive demasking task, and sentence relatedness task. The same experimental stimulus set was used across experiments and consisted of 44 concrete and 44 abstract words, with half of these being low SND, and half being high SND. In this way, concreteness and SND were manipulated in a factorial design using a number of visual word recognition tasks. A consistent RT pattern emerged across tasks, in which SND effects were found for abstract (but not necessarily concrete) words. Ultimately, these findings highlight the importance of studying interactive effects in word recognition, and suggest that linguistic associative information is particularly important for abstract words.
Objectives: Little is known about school-age functioning in children with intestinal failure (IF). This study examines neurocognitive outcomes of children with IF at ages 4 to 8 years treated at a single centre, along with relevant medical and demographic variables. Methods: Between 2012 and 2016, neurocognitive assessments were administered to 28 children receiving treatment in our IF rehabilitation program, and included measures of intelligence, academics, learning/memory, language, visual-motor integration, and fine-motor dexterity. DSM-IV/V criteria were used to diagnose Learning Disability, Intellectual Disability, and/or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Results: Intellectual functioning ranged from extremely low to superior (Full Scale IQ range 53–123, mean = 89). Forty-six percentage received a cognitive/learning DSM diagnosis. Total number of first-year septic episodes correlated with poorer outcomes on the most cognitive measures. Adjusting for gestational age (61% were born <37 weeks), number of first-year septic episodes negatively predicted working memory, visual-motor integration, and visual memory scores. Additional factors correlating with poorer outcomes on ≥2 cognitive measures included length of first-year admissions, necrotizing enterocolitis diagnosis, and first-year sustained conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Having ≥2 first-year septic episodes increased the likelihood of poorer outcome. Having a sibling was a significant positive predictor of working memory, processing speed, reading, and verbal learning skills. Conclusions: Our data provides preliminary evidence that children with IF are at risk of neurocognitive problems at early school age. Managing septic events during the first year is one strategy that may help reduce long-term neurocognitive risks in this population.
Background There are no validated screening measures for depressive or anxiety disorders in childhood Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (cSLE). We investigated cross-sectionally (1) the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorder in cSLE. (2) the validity of the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) and the Screen for Childhood Anxiety and Related Disorders (SCARED) measures in identifyingthese disorders. Methods Participants 8-18 years with cSLE/incipient cSLE completed CES-DC, SCARED, and Quality OfMy Life (QOML) measures. Parents completed the SCARED-Parent measure. Diagnosis was by gold-standard psychiatric interview and determined prevalence of psychiatric disorder. Receiver Operating Characteristics Area under the Curve (ROCAUC) evaluated screening measure diagnostic performance. Results Ofseventy-two parent-child dyads, 56 interviews were completed. Mean screen scores were: CES-DC = 15 (range 1-49, SD 12), SCARED-C = 22 (range 2-61, SD 14), SCARED-P = 13 (range 0-36, SD 8). Depressive disorder screen positivity (CES-DC ≥ 15) was 35% (vs. prevalence 5%). Anxiety disorder screen positivity (SCARED ≥ 25) was 39% (vs. prevalence 16%). CES-DC ROCAUC = 0.98 and SCARED-C ROCAUC = 0.7 (cut-points 38 and 32 respectively). Conclusions Diagnostic thresholds for depressive and anxiety disorderscreening measures are high for both CES-DC and SCARED-C in cSLE. Brief focused interview should follow to determine whether psychiatric evaluation is warranted.
Background Mental health disorders are common in youth with rheumatological disease yet optimal intervention strategies are understudied in this population. We examined patient and parent perspectives on mental health intervention for youth with rheumatological disease. Methods We conducted a mixed methods cross-sectional study, via anonymous online survey, developed by researchers together with patient/parent partners, to quantitatively and qualitatively examine youth experiences with mental health services and resources in North America. Patients ages 14–24 years with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositis, or systemic lupus erythematous, and parents of patients ages 8–24 with these diseases were eligible (not required to participate in pairs). Participants self-reported mental health problems (categorized into clinician-diagnosed disorders vs self-diagnosed symptoms) and treatments (e.g. therapy, medications) received for the youth. Multivariate linear regression models compared patient and parent mean Likert ratings for level of: i) comfort with mental health providers, and ii) barriers to seeking mental health services, adjusting for potential confounders (patient age, gender, disease duration, and patient/parent visual analog score for disease-related health). Participants indicated usefulness of mental health resources; text responses describing these experiences were analyzed by qualitative description. Results Participants included 123 patients and 324 parents. Patients reported clinician-diagnosed anxiety (39%) and depression (35%); another 27 and 18% endorsed self-diagnosed symptoms of these disorders, respectively. 80% of patients with clinician-diagnosed disorders reported receiving treatment, while 11% of those with self-diagnosed symptoms reported any treatment. Patients were less comfortable than parents with all mental health providers. The top two barriers to treatment for patients and parents were concerns about mental health providers not understanding the rheumatological disease, and inadequate insurance coverage. Over 60% had used patient mental health resources, and over 60% of these participants found them to be helpful, although text responses identified a desire for resources tailored to patients with rheumatological disease. Conclusion Self-reported mental health problems are prevalent for youth in this sample with rheumatological disease, and obstacles to mental health treatment include disease-related and logistic factors. Strategies are needed to improve acceptance and accessibility of mental health intervention, including routine mental health screening and availability of disease-specific mental health resources.
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