Biology subjects

Newman, S. D.

Publications and source records attributed to Newman, S. D..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Late-Talking Children Talk More? A Machine Learning Approach to Speech Act Analysis in Early Childhood

Speech acts shape early language development and social cognition, yet little is known about how late-talking (LT) children use them to achieve communicative goals. We compared LT and typically developing (TD) preschoolers (1;09-6;00) across nine dyadic English corpora, using a Conditional Random Field model to annotate speech acts. We analyzed speech act distributions, hierarchical relations, and contingent responses to assess production and comprehension. TD children produced more declarative statements and wh-questions, whereas LT children produced more unclear word-like utterances and showed reduced comprehension ability (1;09-2;07). Speech acts classified LT and TD groups with 72.3% accuracy, improving to 76.6% with linguistic and demographic features. Classification was driven by co-occurring patterns of speech act frequencies. LT children showed delayed onset of speech acts but employed more speech acts after 3;09, focusing on speaker-centered goals, whereas TD children favored collaborative use of speech acts, revealing complex dynamics in the development of communicative skills.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2025

Theory of Mind and Discourse Production in Schizotypy: An fMRI Study

BackgroundSchizotypy (ST) reflects subclinical traits linked to schizophrenia spectrum disorders and associated cognitive and social impairments. Theory of Mind (ToM) and discourse production deficits are well-documented in schizophrenia (SZ), yet the neural basis of discourse-related ToM processes in ST remains unclear. This study investigated brain activation during narrative planning and production in individuals with schizotypal traits. MethodsThirty young adults (mean age = 18.8 years) completed standardized assessments, including the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Revised (SPQ-BR), adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), depression (PHQ-9), and dissociation (DES-B). Participants performed a discourse task in an fMRI scanner, describing nine-panel cartoons requiring inference of character intentions. Behavioral discourse metrics included total and inferred events. fMRI analyses examined activation during planning and production phases, with SPQ-BR positive, negative, and disorganized traits entered as regressors. ResultsSchizotypal traits correlated with multiple psychosocial risk factors, including elevated depression, ACEs, and dissociation (r = .48-.82, p < .01). During planning, canonical ToM/self-referential regions (vmPFC, precuneus, insula) were recruited. Positive traits correlated with increased activation in the right temporo-parietal junction, precuneus, and lingual gyrus, whereas disorganized traits were associated with reduced activation in the precuneus and lingual gyri. During production, networks spanning vmPFC, hippocampus, right TPJ, and basal ganglia were engaged. Negative traits correlated with increased motor/premotor activation, while disorganized traits correlated with reduced activation in lingual gyrus, SMA, and cerebellum. ConclusionsFindings demonstrate distinct neural correlates of schizotypal traits during discourse planning and production, supporting models of schizophrenia-spectrum risk emphasizing disrupted inference and integration processes.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Network dynamics for sensory prioritization: Functional connectivity related to individual sensory weighting of vision versus proprioception during upper limb control

Precise control of the hand requires the dynamic integration of visual and proprioceptive (body position sense) sensory cues with internal models, task goals, and motor plans. Individual differences in how visual and proprioceptive cues are weighted have been related to neural substrates, such as posterior parietal regions, yet the underlying neural dynamics are unclear. This study investigated the relationship between visuo-proprioceptive perception during a bimanual pointing task and the whole-brain network dynamics using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) with both atlas-based and individually-localized ROI seeds. Our results confirm the existence of individual sensory biases, and find they have systematic influences on functional connectivity. Activity between sensorimotor regions and default mode network (DMN) nodes was related to sensory weighting (e.g. individual degree of reliance on vision versus proprioception) and may reflect updating of internal models. The ventral premotor cortex (PMv) emerged as an important node with functional connections suggesting its role for integrating motor plans, internal models, and sensory percepts. Connections from multisensory integration regions like the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and the superior parietal lobule (SPL), and motor coordination regions in the cerebellum, were related to increased reliance on visual versus proprioceptive information. These findings suggest that individual sensory biases during sensorimotor behavior may be characterized by specific and specialized patterns of neural activity. This research establishes a foundational exploration of the neural systems underlying sensorimotor processing, supporting theories suggesting that learning in either the sensory or motor system may also cause plasticity in the other.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Association between proteomic blood biomarkers and DTI/NODDI metrics in adolescent football players

The objective of the study was to examine the association between diffusion MRI techniques [diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation/dispersion density imaging (NODDI)] and brain-injury blood biomarker levels [Tau, neurofilament-light (NfL), glial-fibrillary-acidic-protein (GFAP)] in high-school football and cross-country runners at their baseline, aiming to detect cumulative neuronal damage from prior seasons. Twenty-five football players and 8 cross-country runners underwent MRI and blood biomarker measures during preseason data collection. The whole-brain, tract-based spatial statistics was conducted for six diffusion metrics: fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial/radial diffusivity (AD, RD), neurite density index (NDI), and orientation dispersion index (ODI). Diffusion metrics and blood biomarker levels were compared between groups and associated within each group. The football group showed lower AD and MD than the cross-country group in various axonal tracts of the right hemisphere. Elevated ODI was observed in the football group in the right hemisphere of the corticospinal tract. Blood biomarker levels were consistent between groups except for elevated Tau levels in the cross-country group. Tau level was positively associated with MD and negatively associated with NDI in the corpus callosum of football players, but not in cross-country runners. Our data suggest that football players may develop axonal microstructural abnormality. Levels of MD and NDI in the corpus callosum were associated with serum Tau levels, highlighting the vulnerability of the corpus callosum against cumulative head impacts. Despite observing multimodal associations in some brain areas, neuroimaging and blood biomarkers may not strongly correlate to reflect the severity of brain damage.

neuroscience↗