Acquisition Of Signs Research Articles

Exposure to a dry environment induces strain-specific responses in mice

Most current animal models of dry eye have a single causative mechanism and do not take into consideration the influence of environmental conditions on tear secretion and associated ocular surface signs. Since immunity and inflammation have been implicated in dry eye pathogenesis, and different mouse strains are known to have differentially biased immune responses, we conducted the present study to test the hypothesis that strains with specifically polarized T cell responses (T helper-1 [Th1] vs. T helper-2 [Th2]) develop differential signs of dry eye when exposed to a controlled low humidity setting. Eight to 12-week-old BALB/c (Th2 biased) and C57BL/6 (Th1 biased) mice were placed in a controlled environment chamber (CEC) where relative humidity (RH), temperature (T), and air flow (AF) were continuously regulated and monitored. Mice were exposed to specific environmental controlled conditions (RH = 15.5 ± 3.8%, AF = 15 l/min, T = 21–23 °C) for 3 to 7 days. Aqueous tear production by means of the cotton thread test, corneal fluorescein staining (NEI grading scheme, score 0–15) and goblet cell density in the superior and inferior conjunctivae were measured by a masked observer. No statistically significant differences between the groups were found at baseline. Statistically significant decreases in tear secretion were seen after exposure to the CEC environment. Mean cotton thread wetting was 1.9 ± 0.2 (baseline), 1.4 ± 0.3 (day 3), and 0.9 ± 0.2 mm (day 7) for BALB/c mice, and 1.7 ± 0.3 (baseline), 0.9 ± 0.3 (day 3), and 0.4 ± 0.2 mm (day 7) for C57BL/6 mice. These mice showed reduced tear secretion as compared to BALB/C at each time point tested ( P < .005, t-test). Both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice showed a significant increase in corneal fluorescein staining at both day 3 and day 7 as compared to baseline. With exposure to the CEC goblet cell density significantly decreased in the superior and inferior conjunctivae in BALB/c mice, while it remained unchanged in C57BL/6 mice. This study indicates that exposure of non-pharmacologically modified mice to a low humidity environment in the CEC can lead to significant alterations in tear secretion, goblet cell density, and acquisition of dry eye-related ocular surface signs which are strain-specific.

Incremental acquisition of behaviors and signs based on a reinforcement learning schemata model and a spike timing-dependent plasticity network

A novel integrative learning architecture based on a reinforcement learning schemata model (RLSM) with a spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) network is described. This architecture models operant conditioning with discriminative stimuli in an autonomous agent engaged in multiple reinforcement learning tasks. The architecture consists of two constitutional learning architectures: RLSM and STDP. RLSM is an incremental modular reinforcement learning architecture, and it makes an autonomous agent acquire several behavioral concepts incrementally through continuous interactions with its environment and/or caregivers. STDP is a learning rule of neuronal plasticity found in cerebral cortices and the hippocampus of the human brain. STDP is a temporally asymmetric learning rule that contrasts with the Hebbian learning rule. We found that STDP enabled an autonomous robot to associate auditory input with its acquired behaviors and to select reinforcement learning modules more effectively. Auditory signals interpreted based on the acquired behaviors were revealed to correspond to 'signs' of required behaviors and incoming situations. This integrative learning architecture was evaluated in the context of on-line modular learning.

A comparison of two approaches for teaching VB functions: Total communication vs. vocal-alone.

Abstract Total communication (TC) involves the use of manual signs with their corresponding spoken words simultaneously; and research indicates that TC facilitates vocal responding by children with autism. However, most of this previous research was conducted 20 years ago and did not consider vocal responding in relation to verbal behavior functions (Skinner, 1957). The present study used an alternating treatment design to compare the effects of TC vs. vocal-alone (VA) training on the vocal tact responses of a child with autism. Results indicated that the child produced nearly four times as many vocal tact responses during TC training than during VA training in less than half the number of teaching trials. The use of manual sign training is considered in relation to its advantages for supporting the production of vocal responses. Keywords: verbal behavior, sign language, tact, autism, total communication. Introduction The use of manual sign language as an alternative form of verbal behavior for persons with various language impairments has its roots in the experimental animal research of Gardner and Gardner (1969). They were the first researchers to use sign language to teach effective communication skills to an infant chimpanzee. The success of sign language training with primates prompted researchers in the applied fields to investigate the effects of sign language training on persons with various language impairments (Sundberg, 1996). Specifically, the profound language deficits presented by many children with autism and other developmental disabilities led early researchers to investigate the viability of sign language as an alternative mode of communication for this population and to examine the benefits that this form of verbal behavior could offer (Carr, Binkoff, Kologinsky, & Eddy, 1978). Subsequent research confirmed that children with developmental disabilities could not only be taught to use manual sign language, but that the manual sign acquisition could support the development of various verbal and nonverbal operants including, receptive discrimination, mands, and tacts (Miller & Miller, 1973; Bonvillian & Nelson, 1976; Carr et al., 1978; Carr, 1979; Carr & Kologinsky, 1983). Total communication (TC), the most commonly used training procedure to teach sign language to children with autism and other developmental disabilities, involves the simultaneous presentation of both a manual sign and an associated spoken word (Carr, 1979). Research has demonstrated that this form of language training may result in superior acquisition of verbal and nonverbal operants for children with autism and other developmental disabilities as compared with vocal-alone or sign-alone training (Brady & Smouse, 1978; Barrera et al., 1980; Barrera & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1983; Konstantareas, 1984; Sisson and Barrett, 1984). For example, Brady and Smouse (1978) compared the effectiveness of three language training methods (vocal-alone, sign-alone, and TC) on the acquisition of correct behavioral responses to an experimenter's vocal request. Compared to baseline levels of responding, the TC training condition produced significant gains in behavioral responses. Vocal-alone training actually produced a significant decrease in behavioral responses, and sign-alone training condition produced no significant difference in responses. Research has also suggests that a the use of TC for teaching sign language to non-vocal children may not only enhance communicative effectiveness but also facilitate the development of vocal responses (Fulwiler & Fouts, 1976; Schaeffer, Kollinzas, Musil, & MacDowell, 1977; Brady & Smouse, 1978; Casey, 1978; Carr, 1979; Konstantareas, Webster, & Oxman 1979; Barrera et al., 1980; Layton & Baker, 1981; Barrera & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1983; Konstantareas, 1984; Sisson and Barrett, 1984, Clarke, Remington, & Light, 1988; Goodwyn, Acredolo, & Brown, 2000; Tincani, 2004). …

Fadiga dos músculos eretores da espinha: um estudo eletromiográfico

The erector spinae muscles are important antigravity muscles, responsible for the physical and functional integrity of the spine. The study of these muscles fatigue is justified by its association to low-back pain. This study aimed at verifying the occurrence and behaviour of muscle fatigue by analysing electromyographic signs from the erector spinae muscles in an isometric test. Nine male volunteers aged in average 20,4±1,3 years old were submitted to a test of isometric contractions of the erector spinae muscles against loads of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of the maximum load. In order to record electromyographic signs a module was used for acquisition of biological signs with four channels, an analogic-digital circuit board and surface electrodes positioned bilaterally on the iliocostalis and multifidus muscles. Muscle fatigue was identified by the increase in electromyographic sign amplitude. The protocol here used proved effective in verifying the occurrence of fatigue in isometric contraction to exhaustion. Findings are that the iliocostalis showed predominantly more fatigue than the multifidus muscle. Bilateral comparison shows that right side erector spinae muscles evidenced predominantly more fatigue than the left side ones.

The Controlled-Environment Chamber: A New Mouse Model of Dry Eye

To develop a controlled-environment chamber (CEC) for mice and verify the effects of a low-humidity setting on ocular surface signs in normal mice. Eight- to 12-week-old BALB/c mice were used in a controlled-environment chamber (CEC) where relative humidity (RH), temperature (T), and airflow (AF) are regulated and monitored. Mice were placed into the CEC and exposed to specific environmentally controlled conditions (RH = 18.5% +/- 5.1%, AF = 15 L/min, T = 21-23 degrees C) for 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. Control mice were kept in a normal environment (RH = 50%-80%, no AF, T = 21-23 degrees C) for the same duration. Aqueous tear production by means of the cotton thread test, corneal fluorescein staining (score, 0-15), and goblet cell density in the superior and inferior conjunctiva were measured by a masked observer. No statistically significant differences between the groups were found at baseline. Decreased tear secretion and increased corneal fluorescein staining were significantly present on day 3, 7, 14, and 28 in animals kept in the CEC. Goblet cell density was significantly decreased in the superior conjunctiva on day 7, and on day 3, 7, and 14 in the inferior conjunctiva in the CEC-kept mice compared with control animals. This study indicates that exposure of normal mice to a low-humidity environment in a CEC can lead to significant alterations in tear secretion, goblet cell density, and acquisition of dry eye-related ocular surface signs.

The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Normative Data for American Sign Language.

To This is a 1 test per thousand learn more about normal language development in deaf children, we have developed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for American Sign Language (ASL-CDI), a parent report that measures early sign production. The ASL-CDI is an inventory of sign glosses organized into semantic categories targeted to assess sign language skills in children ages 8 to 36 months. The ASL-CDI uses a recognition format in which parents check off signs that their child produces. The form has demonstrated excellent reliability and validity. To date, normative data have been collected from 69 deaf children with deaf parents who are learning sign language as a first language. We discuss the development of the ASl-CDI and preliminary cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from this early data collection with particular focus on parallels with spoken language acquisition. We also discuss the acquisition of first signs, negation, wh-questions, and fingerspelling with developmental patterns provided based on age, as well as vocabulary size.

The Signs of Language Revisited: An Anthology to Honor Ursula Bellugi and Edward Klima (review)

Contents: Preface. Part I: Reminiscences. L. Fant, Two Memorable Meals With Ursula and Ed. R.M. Battison, American Sign Language Linguistics 1970-1980: Memoir of a Renaissance. B. Bragg, A Fish Story for Ursula and Other Remembrances. Part II: Historical and Comparative Analyses of Sign Languages. J. Woodward, Sign Languages and Sign Language Families in Thailand and Vietnam. D. McKee, G. Kennedy, Lexical Comparisons of Signs From American, Australian, British, and New Zealand Sign Languages. H. Lane, R.C. Pillard, M. French, Origins of the American Deaf-World: Assimilating and Differentiating Societies and Their Relation to Genetic Patterning. Part III: Language in the Visual-Spatial Modality. E.L. Newport, T. Supalla, Sign Language Research at the Millennium. P. Siple, Attentional Resources and Working Memory: A New Framework for the Study of the Impact of Deafness on Cognition. M. Wilson, K. Emmorey, When Does Modality Matter? Evidence From ASL on the Nature of Working Memory. P.B. Braem, T. Bram, A Pilot Study of the Expressive Gestures Used by Classical Orchestra Conductors. N. Frishberg, An Interpreter Creates the Space. Part IV: Linguistic Analysis of Sign Languages. S.D. Fischer, More Than Just Handwaving: The Mutual Contributions of Sign Language and Linguistics. R.B. Wilbur, Phonological and Prosodic Layering of Nonmanuals in American Sign Language. R.C. Loew, C.T. Akamatsu, M. Lanaville, A Two-Handed Manual Alphabet in the United States. E. Pizzuto, V. Volterra, Iconicity and Transparency in Sign Languages: A Cross-Linguistic Cross-Cultural View. M. Kuntze, Codeswitching in ASL and Written English Language Contact. S.K. Liddell, Indicating Verbs and Pronouns: Pointing Away From Agreement. Part V: Language Acquisition. J.G. Bettger, Viewing Deaf Children in a New Way: Implications of Bellugi and Klima's Research for Education. R.P. Meier, Shared Motoric Factors in the Acquisition of Sign and Speech. A. Abrahamsen, Explorations of Enhanced Gestural Input to Children in the Bimodal Period. D. Lillo-Martin, Early and Late in Language Acquisition: Aspects of the Syntax and Acquisition of Wh-Questions in American Sign Language. J. Reilly, Bringing Affective Expression Into the Service of Language: Acquiring Perspective Marking in Narratives. C.A. Padden, V.L. Hanson, Search for the Missing Link: The Development of Skilled Reading in Deaf Children. L.A. Petitto, On the Biological Foundations of Human Language. Part VI: The Neural Organization of Sign Language. A.R. Damasio, H. Damasio, Language and the Brain. D.P. Corina, Some Observations Regarding Paraphasia in American Sign Language. H. Poizner, D. Brentari, M.E. Tyrone, J. Kegl, The Structure of Language as Motor Behavior: Clues From Signers With Parkinson's Disease. V.A. Fromkin, On the Uniqueness of Language.

Effects of Symbol, Referent, and Instructional Variables on the Acquisition of Aided and Unaided Symbols by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Individuals with little or no functional speech as a result of autism spectrum disorders frequently rely on aided and unaided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) symbols and signs to augment or replace natural speech. This has led investigators to identify the variables that are responsible for the acquisition and communicative use of graphic symbols and manual signs. The overall aim of this article is to evaluate the role of symbol, referent, and instructional variables on the acquisition of AAC symbols by individuals with autism and severe speech and language impairments.

An architecture for the automatic acquisition of vital signs by clinical information systems.

An architecture is presented which provides clinical information systems with access to vital sign information from medical devices. Middleware components encapsulate details of communicating with devices whilst adoption of de facto and international standards maximizes interoperability with client software. An application in routine clinical use is described.

Application of stimulus equivalence to language intervention for individuals with severe linguistic disabilities

Over the past decade, theoretical advances in our understanding of stimulus equivalence have highlighted a close relationship between the formation of equivalence classes and language. This paper highlights these theoretical concepts and describes studies which have applied an equivalence framework to different aspects of language formation in persons with intellectual and linguistic disabilities. The findings in these studies have contributed substantially to an understanding of fundamental processes that appear to underlie language development. Additionally, they have yielded some promising results in beginning to overcome problems that have beleaguered language intervention for individuals with severe linguistic disabilties. On the basis of this literature, it is suggested that an equivalence framework could have a wide range of applications in current language intervention programmes, including identification of specific linguistic defects in individuals, establishing, expanding and integrating receptive and expressive vocabularies, acquisition and use of signs or graphic symbols and promoting more sophisticated linguistic concepts, e.g. syntax and categorisation.

Acquisition and generalization of manual signs by hearing-impaired adults with mental retardation

Behavioral procedures have been used to teach manual communication skills to individuals with mental retardation, although few studies have examined the assessment of generalization of such skills beyond the teaching environment. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of directed rehearsal for teaching and facilitating the generalization of manual signs by six hearing-impaired adults with mental retardation. The effects of directed rehearsal, alone and combined with positive reinforcement for correct responses, were compared to a no-training control condition in an alternating treatments design. Although directed rehearsal was superior to the no-training control condition in teaching manual signs, the procedure was more effective when combined with positive reinforcement. The combined procedure was used to facilitate the generalization of learned signs across a number of variables. The results showed that there were high levels of generalization by all participants across novel phrases, settings, and trainers but variable levels of generalization to another response mode by some subjects. Further, increased levels in overall vocal communication were found for most participants.

Acquisition of signs from American sign language in hearing individuals following left hemisphere damage and aphasia

Three severely aphasic hearing patients with no prior knowledge of sign language were able to acquire competency in aspects of American Sign Language (ASL) lexicon and finger spelling, in contrast to a near complete inability to speak the English counterparts of these visuo-gestural signs. Two patients with damage in left postero-lateral temporal and inferior parietal cortices mastered production and comprehension of single signs and short meaningful sign sequences, but the one patient with damage to virtually all left temporal cortices was less accurate in single sign processing and was unable to produce sequences of signs at all. These findings suggest that conceptual knowledge is represented independently of the auditory-vocal records for the corresponding lexical entries, and that left anterior temporal cortices outside of traditional “language areas” are part of the neural network which supports the linkage between conceptual knowledge and linguistic signs, especially as they are used in the sequenced activations required for production or comprehension of meaningful sentences.

Augmentative communication systems taught to cerebral-palsied children-a longitudinal study. III. Teaching practices and exposure to sign and symbol use in schools and homes

A longitudinal study of augmentative communication training with 40 language-impaired, cerebral-palsied children examined the teaching practices adopted in schools, and the extent to which teachers and parents used the augmentative systems with the children. The study found limited exposure to sign and symbol training in formal teaching sessions and in other school settings, and teachers made relatively few attempts to foster spontaneous use of the systems and generalisation outside of formal training settings. Exposure to augmentative communication in the children's homes was equally limited, and a significant number of parents expressed reservations about the value of the systems for their children. These findings may at least partly account for the children's limited progress in sign and symbol acquisition and use over an 18-month period, which was documented in two earlier reports.

Augmentative communication systems taught to cerebral palsied children — A longitudinal study. I. The acquisition of signs and symbols, and syntactic aspects of their use over time

A longitudinal study of augmentative communication training with 40 language-impaired, cerebral palsied children examined the acquisition of Blissymbols and Makaton Vocabulary signs and syntactic aspects of their use over an 18-month period. The children made measurable gains in these areas over time, but progress was very slow and they continued to show severe limitations in the repertoires of signs/symbols they acquired and in the average number, length and complexity of utterances they produced in semi-structured conversational settings. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed with reference to subject and system characteristics, and the teaching practices adopted in the schools. Comparisons between the Bliss and signing groups suggest that neither augmentative system facilitated greater progress in sign/symbol acquisition and use than the other. However, there was wide variability in performance among the children within each group.

Sign acquisition in two aphasic subjects with limb apraxia

Abstract Two aphasic subjects with moderate-severe limb apraxia were enrolled in a sign/gesture training programme to investigate the effect of limb apraxia on the acquisition of manual signals. Both subjects were able to acquire all of the single signs/gestures and some or all of the sign combinations (e.g. agent-action-object; action-object) presented during the training programme. Results indicate that limb apraxia does not appear to be a significant impediment in the acquisition of signs/gestures by aphasic subjects. Severity of aphasia would seem to be a more important factor in predicting success in the development of a manual communication system.

Early signs of language in cross-fostered chimpanzees

In cross-fostering the young of one species are reared by adults of another, as in the classical ethological studies of imprinting and song-learning. In our laboratory, infant chimpanzees were reared under human conditions that included two-way communication in American Sign Language (ASL) the gestural language of the deaf in North America. Here we describe the cross-fostering conditions of this laboratory and the contrast with operant conditioning. We also review the uses and the shapes of the signs in the vocabularies of five cross-fostered chimpanzees, tests demonstrating that the cross-fostered chimpanzees could use signs of ASL to communicate conceptual information to human observers whose only source of information was the signs of the chimpanzees, early development of inflections that resemble the early inflections of deaf human children, evidence based on errors and on inflections for duality of patterning, the continued use of sign language among the chimpanzees even when deprived of human input and the acquisition of signs by the infant Loulis from the cross-fostered chimpanzees.

Acquisition of American sign language versus Amerind signs in a mentally handicapped sample

The differential acquisition of American Sign Language versus Amerind signs was investigated in a moderately to severely mentally handicapped sample. The subjects ( n = 10) were selected from a residential training facility and each had a mental age within the range 3;0–5;0 years. Twenty signs were taught to each subject, 10 American Sign Language signs and 10 Amerind signs. An Alternating Treatments Design was selected to facilitate comparison of the relative efficacy of the two sign systems across single subjects. Five signs were presented per week (2 weeks) in each sign system. Results showed that a significantly greater ( p < .001) number of Amerind as compared to American Sign Language signs were acquired during Week 1, Week 2, and across both weeks. Retention results, after 1- and 2- week delays, showed that subjects continued to reproduce significantly more Amerind than American Sign Language signs. The results were thought to be due to the more concrete and less complex nature of the Amerind system. Implications of these results for this and similar samples are discussed.

How Manual Sign Acquisition Relates to the Development of Spoken Language

Existing evidence is unclear as to how manual sign acquisition relates to the early development of spoken language. The relationship between signed and spoken word productions was examined in a young girl with Down Syndrome during a treatment regimen utilizing simultaneous input. All of her words were recorded over an 8-month period and classified according to the manner and modality of production (i.e., spontaneous/imitated; signed and/or spoken). Certain analyses revealed that most of the words that the subject initially signed were later spontaneously spoken and that most of her signed productions evolved into spontaneous spoken productions. Various patterns were demonstrated with respect to specific word evolutions (e.g., signed to spoken productions), and sign/spoken production tendencies during the first versus last four months of the investigation. It was concluded that use of simultaneous input supports the production of spoken language.

THE ROLE OF REFERENTIAL SPEECH IN SIGN LEARNING BY MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN: A COMPARISON OF TOTAL COMMUNICATION AND SIGN‐ALONE TRAINING

We conducted two experiments to assess the role of referential speech during sign training in which the spoken words corresponding to signs were receptively known to the participants. An alternating treatments design was used to compare sign acquisition across two teaching conditions in which referents were presented either with or without the corresponding verbal label. During the first experiment, signs were taught concurrently; during the second experiment, signs within each of the respective conditions were taught in a serial fashion. In both experiments, signs taught by total communication were acquired faster than those taught by sign-alone training.

How to build a baby: On the development of an accessible representational system

The notion of a sensorimotor stage in infancy is called into question. First, some of the recent experimental literature on cognitive development in infancy is examined to determine the kinds of representational capacity that these data require. It is concluded that most of the recent work on perceptual development and the object concept in infancy is compatible with the notion of a sensorimotor stage but that other work showing imitation, motor recognition, the acquisition of manual signs, and recall of absent objects is not, requiring, instead, a conceptual form of representation. Such a system is apparent early in development. It is suggested that there is a viable alternative to Piaget's theory that conceptual representation consists of a transformation of sensorimotor schemas into a new, more advanced code. It is proposed that an accessible conceptual system develops simultaneously and in parallel with the sensorimotor system, with neither system being derivative from the other. It is further proposed that the mechanism by which infants encode information into an accessible system consists of a process of perceptual analysis.