5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Self-production facilitates acquisition of spoken words, signs, and characters from an unfamiliar second language. The proposed work investigates how motor cortex, a key part of the brain enabling body action, supports their acquisition via production as well as perception, providing insight into whether they are learned via mental simulation of the body actions used to produce them. It is hypothesized that activity in motor cortex will differ based on the body part used to produce lexical items (e.g., mouth vs. hands), will be greater for lexical items learned via production than observation, and will differentiate lexical items recognized successfully vs. unsuccessfully.
To investigate whether young children with isolated expressive language delay benefit from early intervention with a simple language toolkit and brief instructions provided to their caregivers. We hypothesize that children whose families are provided the language toolkit will develop more words over the subsequent 3 months.
The purpose of this study is to learn more about risk factors for autism by studying the behavior and brain functioning of toddlers with early communication delays and typically developing toddlers. Children 12 or 18 months of age with language delays (i.e., no words at 18 months, limited vocalizations at 12 months) and typically developing toddlers may be eligible to participate. This study will be conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. There will be an initial screening evaluation that will include behavioral assessment. Eligible participants will then complete a baseline visit that includes an overnight sleep study that includes Electroencephalogram (EEG) test to measure brain electrical activity, and an MRI scan. Follow-up visits that include behavioral assessment will occur every 6-12 months, depending on age at study entry. The final study visit will occur at 36 months of age and will include behavioral assessment, sleep/EEG study, and MRI. There is no cost for participation. Compensation will be provided. To find out if your child qualifies or for more information, please call 301-451-7822 (TTY: 1-866-411-1010) or e-mail NIMH-ASD@mail.nih.gov. National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health \& Human Services.
The study will evaluate Talk STEM Familia (TSF) effects on student and parent scientific academic vocabulary knowledge and usage, scientific academic vocabulary (SAV) learning behaviors, academic self efficacy, and satisfaction with the program, including acceptance of the technology and its usability.
This study will examine differences in how the brain processes English and Korean in native Korean speakers who are fluent and non-fluent in English as a second language. It is thought that people who are non-fluent in a second language process the second language differently from their native language-using different areas of the brain and requiring additional working memory. The study will increase understanding of language acquisition, brain plasticity and bilingualism. Native Korean speakers between 18 and 50 years of age with English as a second language may be eligible for this study. Three groups of individuals will be enrolled: 1) less fluent bilinguals - those who have lived in the United States for at least 1, but less than 2 years and studied English after age 12 and who have a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score above 550; 2) fluent bilinguals with early acquisition - those who were exposed to English before age 7 and lived in the United States after that; and 3) fluent bilinguals with late acquisition - those who were exposed to English after age 12 and lived in the United States after age 10. People with a history of head injury or neurological or thought disorder, left-handed people, and people who cannot read the material used in the study will be excluded from the study. Participants will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning while reading words in English or Korean; while translating from one language to the other; and while answering questions about the meaning of words in each language. MRI uses a strong magnetic field to image brain tissue. The patient lies on a table that slides into a narrow metal cylinder, which is the scanner. The head is restrained gently with foam padding to limit movement. The patient can see out of the scanner through a mirror and is in contact with the technician via an intercom at all times during the procedure. The scans measures blood flow to different parts of the brain, providing information about what brain regions are being used during the tasks performed. Another scan will be done to obtain a detailed picture of the brain's structure. This study will evaluate the usefulness of MRI in identifying brain areas involved in processing different languages and increase knowledge about how illness affects brain function. It may help plan treatment for bilingual patients who must undergo brain surgery for uncontrolled epilepsy or who have a neurological disorder affecting different languages with varying degrees.