The impact of international videoconferencing among older adults and secondary students.

This study explores young adults' emotional affect and attitudes towards ageing, as well as older adults' emotional affect and self-esteem following participation in the intergenerational videoconferencing programme Smile Connect (SC). The sample consisted of 94 participants (46 older Spanish adults living in a care home in Spain and 48 young Italian adults -secondary students- learning Spanish at school in Italy). Each age group was divided into an intervention and control group. SC consists of twelve 30-minute chat sessions conducted via Skype between the target groups over six weeks. Pre and post evaluations were made to assess the affect level in both groups, self-esteem among older people, and the level of negative stereotypes about ageing among young adults. At the end of the SC, the intervention group of older adults recorded significantly improved scores in self-esteem compared to the control group. Young adults recorded a reduction in their negative stereotypes about old age after taking part in the SC programme compared to those who did not. These findings suggest that involvement in the SC programme helps to improve the emotional affect of older adults living in care homes, as well as change the negative stereotypes about ageing among young adults.

Speech rate in Parkinson's disease: A controlled study. / Estudio controlado del ritmo del habla en la enfermedad de Parkinson.

INTRODUCTION: Speech disturbances will affect most patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) over the course of the disease. The origin and severity of these symptoms are of clinical and diagnostic interest. PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical pattern of speech impairment in PD patients and identify significant differences in speech rate and articulation compared to control subjects. Speech rate and articulation in a reading task were measured using an automatic analytical method. PATIENTS: A total of 39 PD patients in the 'on' state and 45 age-and sex-matched asymptomatic controls participated in the study. None of the patients experienced dyskinesias or motor fluctuations during the test. RESULTS: The patients with PD displayed a significant reduction in speech and articulation rates; there were no significant correlations between the studied speech parameters and patient characteristics such as L-dopa dose, duration of the disorder, age, and UPDRS III scores and Hoehn & Yahr scales. CONCLUSION: Patients with PD show a characteristic pattern of declining speech rate. These results suggest that in PD, disfluencies are the result of the movement disorder affecting the physiology of speech production systems.

Análisis de la fluencia lectora en pacientes con la enfermedad de Alzheimer y controles asintomáticos / Oral reading fluency analysis in patients with Alzheimer disease and asymptomatic control subjects

Introducción: Numerosos estudios han puesto de manifiesto que la alteración en la capacidad comunicativa es uno de los síntomas característicos de la enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA). Objetivo: Estudiar la organización temporal del habla en una tarea de lectura en un grupo de pacientes con EA y otro de controles sanos, utilizando un procedimiento semiautomático, así como valorar su capacidad para discriminar entre ambos grupos. Sujetos y método: Se aplicó una prueba de lectura a 70 sujetos: 35 con EA y otros tantos controles. Antes del registro del habla, los sujetos fueron sometidos a una batería de pruebas neuropsicológicas. Los grupos no diferían en edad, sexo o nivel de estudios. Resultados: Todas las variables analizadas se mostraron alteradas en el grupo con EA. Los resultados señalan que la lectura de los pacientes con EA se caracteriza por una reducida velocidad de elocución y articulación, una baja efectividad del tiempo de fonación, así como en un incremento del número y la proporción de las pausas. Los algoritmos de procesamiento de la señal aplicados a las grabaciones de fluidez lectora demostraron su capacidad para discriminar entre ambos grupos con una precisión del 80% (especificidad 74,2%; sensibilidad 77,1%) mediante la velocidad de elocución. Conclusión: El análisis de la fluidez de lectura oral puede representar una herramienta potencial para el análisis objetivo y la cuantificación de los déficits del lenguaje en la EA (AU)

Introduction: Many studies highlight that an impaired ability to communicate is one of the key clinical features of Alzheimer disease (AD). Objective: To study temporal organisation of speech in an oral reading task in patients with AD and in matched healthy controls using a semi-automatic method, and evaluate that method's ability to discriminate between the 2 groups. Subjects and methods: A test with an oral reading task was administered to 70 subjects, comprising 35 AD patients and 35 controls. Before speech samples were recorded, participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. There were no differences between groups with regard to age, sex, or educational level. Results: All of the study variables showed impairment in the AD group. According to the results, AD patients’ oral reading was marked by reduced speech and articulation rates, low effectiveness of phonation time, and increases in the number and proportion of pauses. Signal processing algorithms applied to reading fluency recordings were shown to be capable of differentiating between AD patients and controls with an accuracy of 80% (specificity 74.2%, sensitivity 77.1%) based on speech rate. Conclusion: Analysis of oral reading fluency may be useful as a tool for the objective study and quantification of speech deficits in AD (AU)

Oral reading fluency analysis in patients with Alzheimer disease and asymptomatic control subjects.

INTRODUCTION: Many studies highlight that an impaired ability to communicate is one of the key clinical features of Alzheimer disease (AD). OBJECTIVE: To study temporal organisation of speech in an oral reading task in patients with AD and in matched healthy controls using a semi-automatic method, and evaluate that method's ability to discriminate between the 2 groups. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A test with an oral reading task was administered to 70 subjects, comprising 35 AD patients and 35 controls. Before speech samples were recorded, participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. There were no differences between groups with regard to age, sex, or educational level. RESULTS: All of the study variables showed impairment in the AD group. According to the results, AD patients' oral reading was marked by reduced speech and articulation rates, low effectiveness of phonation time, and increases in the number and proportion of pauses. Signal processing algorithms applied to reading fluency recordings were shown to be capable of differentiating between AD patients and controls with an accuracy of 80% (specificity 74.2%, sensitivity 77.1%) based on speech rate. CONCLUSION: Analysis of oral reading fluency may be useful as a tool for the objective study and quantification of speech deficits in AD.

Normas de ejecución del Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (R.B.M.T.) para una muestra española de personas mayores: importancia de la memoria intencional / The normative data of Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (R.B.M.T.) for a sample of Spanish old persons. The importance of intentional memory

El principal propósito de este estudio es establecer las normas de ejecución en el Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (Wilson, Cockburn y Baddeley, 1985) de un grupo de 81 personas mayores españolas no demenciadas que viven en su propia casa. Además, evaluamos los posibles déficits asociados a la edad en tareas de memoria similares a las de la vida diaria. Para ello, utilizamos un test objetivo de memoria como es el propio RBMT y el Cuestionario subjetivo de Memoria de Harris y Sunderland (1981). En él preguntamos a las personas mayores y a alguna persona cercana a ellos sobre la frecuencia de los errores de memoria que cometen en la vida diaria. De los resultados obtenidos nos centramos, especialmente, en el análisis de aquellos items relacionados con la memoria prospectiva. (AU)