Search

This study was aimed at studying the Verbal IQ in two groups of Spanish/English bilinguals: simultaneous and early sequential bilinguals. 48 Spanish/English bilinguals born in the U.S. or Latin American countries but moving to United States before the age of 10 were selected. The verbal subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (English and Spanish) - Third Edition (WAIS-III) was administered. Overall, performance was significantly better in English for both groups of bilinguals. Verbal IQ difference when tested in Spanish and English was about one standard deviation higher in English for simultaneous bilinguals, and about half standard deviation for early sequential bilinguals. In both groups, Verbal IQ in English was about 100; considering the level of education of our sample (bachelor degree, on average), it can be assumed that Verbal IQ in English was lower than expected, suggesting that bilinguals may be penalized even when evaluated in the dominant language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed private speech in a group of sixty Spanish-English bilinguals. A Private Speech Questionnaire including questions about seven different conditions, that is, spiritual thinking (e.g., praying, meditating), dreaming, thinking, problem-solving, recalling past events, recalling information, and dealing with stress, was designed. Furthermore, the sample was divided into two subgroups: born in the United States (simultaneous bilinguals) and born outside the United States but arriving to the country before the age of 10 (early successive bilinguals). In both groups and for all the seven conditions, English was more frequently used in private speech, and English was also the dominant language in our participants. Early bilinguals, however, more frequently used Spanish in different private speech situations. These findings suggest that the linguistic environment during early life has a significant impact on the language selected in different internal language situations, but the dominant language is more frequently used in private speech conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to analyze characteristics of individuals working in the profession of neuropsychology in Latin America in order to understand their background, professional training, current work situation, assessment and diagnostic procedures used, rehabilitation techniques employed, population targeted, teaching responsibilities, and research activities. A total of 808 professionals working in neuropsychology from 17 countries in Latin America completed an online survey between July 2013 and January 2014. The majority of participants were female and the mean age was 36.76 years (range 21–74 years). The majority of professionals working in neuropsychology in Latin America have a background in psychology, with some additional specialized training and supervised clinical practice. Over half work in private practice, universities, or private clinics and are quite satisfied with their work. Those who identify themselves as clinicians primarily work with individuals with learning problems, ADHD, mental retardation, TBI, dementia, and stroke. The majority respondents cite the top barrier in the use of neuropsychological instruments to be the lack of normative data for their countries. The top perceived barriers to the field include: lack of academic training programs, lack of clinical training opportunities, lack of willingness to collaborate between professionals, and lack of access to neuropsychological instruments. There is a need in Latin America to increase regulation, improve graduate curriculums, enhance existing clinical training, develop professional certification programs, validate existing neuropsychological tests, and create new, culturally-relevant instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite a population of close to 40 million Hispanics/Latinos in the USA who have at least some level of Spanish/English bilingualism, there are few neuropsychological tests and norms available for this group, especially when assessing Spanish/English bilingual children. The purpose of the present research was to provide preliminary normative data for a bilingual population on a comprehensive neuropsychological battery developed for Spanish-speaking children (Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil). Norms by age are presented on the performance of 108 Spanish/English bilingual children (ages 5–14 years) and are expected to be useful when testing other Spanish/English bilingual children in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The influence of bilingualism on cognitive test performance in older adults has received limited attention in the neuropsychology literature. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of bilingualism on verbal fluency and repetition tests in older Hispanic bilinguals. Eighty-two right-handed participants (28 men and 54 women) with a mean age of 61.76 years (SD = 9.30; range = 50-84) and a mean educational level of 14.8 years (SD = 3.6; range 2-23) were selected. Forty-five of the participants were English monolinguals, 18 were Spanish monolinguals, and 19 were Spanish-English bilinguals. Verbal fluency was tested by electing a verbal description of a picture and by asking participants to generate words within phonemic and semantic categories. Repetition was tested using a sentence-repetition test. The bilinguals' test scores were compared to English monolinguals' and Spanish monolinguals' test scores. Results demonstrated equal performance of bilingual and monolingual participants in all tests except that of semantic verbal fluency. Bilinguals who learned English before age 12 performed significantly better on the English repetition test and produced a higher number of words in the description of a picture than the bilinguals who learned English after age 12. Variables such as task demands, language interference, linguistic mode, and level of bilingualism are addressed in the Discussion section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the interfering effect of the second language (L2) on the first language (L1) in native Spanish speakers living in the United States. We examined 3 linguistic aspects: (a) syntactic comprehension, (b) verbal memory, and (c) calculation abilities. We carried out 2 different studies. In the 1st study, we studied syntactic understanding in 50 Spanish-English bilinguals. For all participants, L1 was Spanish and L2 was English, and all learned English early in life and had attended English schools. Results for the Spanish Syntactic Comprehension Test (Marcos & Ostrosky, 1995) were compared with the normative results obtained with 40 Spanish monolingual participants. We observed that the closer to the English syntax the sentences were, the easier it was for the participants to understand them. Participants who had been exposed to English between the ages of 5 and 12 outperformed participants exposed to English before 5 years of age. Language preference correlated with syntactic comprehension. Women outperformed men. In the 2nd study, verbal memory and calculation abilities were examined in L1 and L2 in a group of 85 Spanish-English bilinguals. Parallel versions of the different tests were administered in Spanish and English. The results indicated some significant differences between the 2 languages in several verbal learning and calculation ability subtests. Most of the verbal memory subtests were better performed in L1. Scores on tasks measuring speed and calculation accuracy were higher in the participant's native language. Best spoken language proved to be a significant variable in some verbal memory subtests performed in English but not in Spanish. We analyze implications of bilingualism in neuropsychological testing. We also present some suggestions to minimize the bilingualism effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper some of Benson's ideas about the role of the insula in language are developed. It is proposed that the insula is involved in two di erent aspects of language. On one hand, the insula should be regarded as a part of the brain language area. Damage to the insula frequently results in aphasia. Among the various language disturbances associated with damage in the left insula are Broca's aphasia, conduction aphasia, and the word deafness component of Wernicke's aphasia. Apraxia of speech and mutism have been also reported associated with insula damage. Then on the other hand, recent studies of anatomical connections of the insula point to an important viscero limbic role and it has been suggested that the insula may influence verbal motivation and verbal affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two training models in neuropsychology have been recently proposed (Guidelines of the INS-Division 40 Task Force on Education, Accreditation, and Credentialing, Clin. Neuropsychol. 1: 29-34, 1987; Hannay, H. J. et al., Anh. Clin. Neuropsychol. 13: 157-250,1998). When comparing both educational models, similarities but also differences are found. According to the Houston Conference model--but not to the former model--neuropsychology represents a specialty of psychology. In the Houston Conference training model, applied knowledge is overtly emphasized, whereas fundamental or basic knowledge in neuropsychology appears weak. The proposed program does not seem to provide sufficient emphasis and background knowledge in (1) History of neuropsychology, (2) Neuropsychological syndromes, and (3) Neuropsychology theory.