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Martínez Castilla, Pastora

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Martínez Castilla
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2011 - 2019122020 - 202518
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Mostrando 1 - 10 de 30
  • Miniatura
    Publicación
    Temporal-sampling theory and language in Down syndrome: An empirical study
    (Elsevier, 2024-11) Martínez Castilla, Pastora; López Riobóo, Elena
    Background: Temporal-sampling theory argues that difficulties in the processing of syllable stress auditory markers and in lexical stress discrimination contribute to explaining the language problems of children with developmental language disorder and of those with dyslexia. The theory has not been tested in other developmental disabilities. Aims: This research sought to assess the potential of temporal-sampling theory as a framework to accounting for language difficulties in Down syndrome (DS). Methods and procedures: Thresholds for auditory markers of lexical stress, lexical stress discrimination, and receptive vocabulary were studied in teenagers and young adults with DS and in peers with other intellectual disability (ID) of unknown origin matched on chronological age and non-verbal cognition. Outcomes and results: Frequency and intensity thresholds were higher in participants with DS, and their lexical stress discrimination and receptive vocabulary skills were lower than those of the group with other ID. Lexical stress discrimination was predicted by intensity thresholds and group, while receptive vocabulary was only predicted by lexical stress discrimination. Conclusions and implications: The results suggest that temporal-sampling theory is useful to explain language difficulties in individuals with DS or with other ID. This opens up new window opportunities for the design of language intervention programs in such populations.
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    Exploring the Predictive Role of Lexical Stress Discrimination in the Phonological and Grammatical Skills of Teenagers With Down Syndrome
    (Wiley, 2025-10-02) Lopez-Rioboo Moreno, Elena Alfonsa; Martínez Castilla, Pastora
    Background Temporal-sampling theory suggests that lexical stress discrimination plays an important role in language disorders. This study explored whether this is also the case in Down syndrome (DS) and, particularly, whether lexical stress discrimination could contribute to accounting for the phonological and grammatical skills of teenagers with this syndrome. Method Lexical stress discrimination, along with a range of phonological and grammatical skills, was assessed in a group of 27 teenagers with DS. The differential predictive role of lexical stress discrimination in phonology and grammar was studied, taking into account the potential effect of other relevant variables, namely, hearing thresholds, verbal short-term memory, chronological age and non-verbal cognition. Results Regression models revealed that, for the phonological measurements, only verbal short-term memory emerged as a significant predictor. For grammatical integration and sentence repetition, both verbal short-term memory and lexical stress discrimination played a predictive role. For grammar comprehension, lexical stress discrimination was the only significant predictor. Conclusions The results regarding grammar are consistent with a temporal-sampling framework. Given the observed predictive role of lexical stress discrimination in the grammatical skills of teenagers with DS, this prosodic skill could potentially be examined and incorporated as a prospective target in intervention programmes.
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    PRAUTOCAL corpus: a corpus for the study of Down syndrome prosodic aspects
    (Springer, 2021-05-27) Escudero-Mancebo, David; Corrales-Astorgano, Mario; Cardeñoso-Payo, Valentín; Aguilar, Lourdes; González-Ferreras, César; Martínez Castilla, Pastora; Flores-Lucas, Valle; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León; BBVA Foundation
    Oral productions of speakers with Down syndrome exhibit special characteristics that have been the target of study for decades. In spite of this attention, the availability of rich resources for its analysis is still scarce. In this paper, we present the definition and compiling procedure of a corpus of semicontrolled oral productions of speakers with Down syndrome that aims to allow the analysis of how these speakers with these speakers produce functional and linguistic aspects of speech. The PRAUTOCAL corpus has been recorded while using a video game for training oral competences. Utterances are related to well defined communicative tasks recorded by both speakers with Down syndrome and typically developing speakers. We present the procedure for human experts to evaluate the recordings and the transcription criteria followed for enriching the utterances of the corpus. PRAUTOCAL permits the analysis of the clear contrast in voice and speech between individuals with Down syndrome and typically developing speakers, taking into account the high heterogeneity of the speech problems characteristic of the syndrome. This material allows the analysis of the speech problems in Down syndrome, with applications to the generation of knowledge that could be used in future works for therapists to prepare specific training or enriching diagnosis regarding possible speech and language disorders.
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    Let’s make music as we normally do: A systematic review of how early natural musical interactions between infant and caregiver have been studied in research
    (Elsevier, 2024-02-28) Cavero, Beatriz; Martínez Castilla, Pastora; Campos, Ruth
    Musical interactions between babies and their primary caregivers are very frequent during the early years of life and their impact on dyadic interaction and infants’ development has garnered significant attention in recent literature. However, the difficulties that natural observations entail have meant that research often carries out methodological manipulations that have a significant impact on the phenomenon studied. In order to clarify how to investigate best natural musical interactions and the information that these can provide, we have carried out a systematic review to analyze the proposed scenarios and the variables analyzed in the studies published on such interactions between main caregivers and babies under three years old. We have screened 971 articles and yielded 27. We have found a higher prevalence in the literature of studies on singing interactions, between mothers and babies under 12 months of age. We have also been able to identify two extremes in terms of methodological structuring of natural interactions. Regarding the analysis variables, a few behaviors are repeated throughout the studies, being emotions, rhythmic behaviors and characterizations of the vocal emissions common between parents and babies. Synchrony is the dyadic variable with the most weight and also one of the preferred focuses of interest in the most recent literature that has undergone a shift of focus from characterization of musical interactions to the search for the mechanisms that underlie and make them specific.
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    Analysis of atypical prosodic patterns in the speech of people with Down syndrome
    (Elsevier, 2021-07-02) Corrales-Astorgano, Mario; Escudero-Mancebo, David; González-Ferreras, César; Cardeñoso Payo, Valentín; Martínez Castilla, Pastora; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León
    The speech of people with Down syndrome (DS) shows prosodic features which are distinct from those observed in the oral productions of typically developing (TD) speakers. Although a different prosodic realization does not necessarily imply wrong expression of prosodic functions, atypical expression may hinder communication skills. The focus of this work is to ascertain whether this can be the case in individuals with DS. To do so, we analyze the acoustic features that better characterize the utterances of speakers with DS when expressing prosodic functions related to emotion, turn-end and phrasal chunking, comparing them with those used by TD speakers. An oral corpus of speech utterances has been recorded using the PEPS-C prosodic competence evaluation tool. We use automatic classifiers to prove that the prosodic features that better predict prosodic functions in TD speakers are less informative in speakers with DS. Although atypical features are observed in speakers with DS when producing prosodic functions, the intended prosodic function can be identified by listeners and, in most cases, the features correctly discriminate the function with analytical methods. However, a greater difference between the minimal pairs presented in the PEPS-C test is found for TD speakers in comparison with DS speakers. The proposed methodological approach provides, on the one hand, an identification of the set of features that distinguish the prosodic productions of DS and TD speakers and, on the other, a set of target features for therapy with speakers with DS.
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    “Help! I Need Somebody”: Music as a Global Resource for Obtaining Wellbeing Goals in Times of Crisis
    (Frontiers Media, 2021-04-14) Granot, Roni; Spitz, Daniel H.; Cherki, Boaz R.; Loui, Psyche; Timmers, Renee; Schaefer, Rebecca S.; Vuoskoski, Jonna K.; Cárdenas-Soler, Ruth-Nayibe; Soares-Quadros Jr., João F.; Li, Shen; Lega, Carlotta; Rocca, Stefania La; Martínez, Isabel Cecilia; Tanco, Matías; Marchiano, María; Martínez Castilla, Pastora; Pérez-Acosta, Gabriela; Martínez-Ezquerro, José Darío; Gutiérrez-Blasco, Isabel M.; Jiménez-Dabdoub, Lily; Coers, Marijn; Treider, John Melvin; Greenberg, David M.; Israel, Salomon
    Music can reduce stress and anxiety, enhance positive mood, and facilitate social bonding. However, little is known about the role of music and related personal or cultural (individualistic vs. collectivistic) variables in maintaining wellbeing during times of stress and social isolation as imposed by the COVID-19 crisis. In an online questionnaire, administered in 11 countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the UK, and USA, N = 5,619), participants rated the relevance of wellbeing goals during the pandemic, and the effectiveness of different activities in obtaining these goals. Music was found to be the most effective activity for three out of five wellbeing goals: enjoyment, venting negative emotions, and self-connection. For diversion, music was equally good as entertainment, while it was second best to create a sense of togetherness, after socialization. This result was evident across different countries and gender, with minor effects of age on specific goals, and a clear effect of the importance of music in people's lives. Cultural effects were generally small and surfaced mainly in the use of music to obtain a sense of togetherness. Interestingly, culture moderated the use of negatively valenced and nostalgic music for those higher in distress.
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    Prosodic Skills and Reading Acquisition in Spanish Primary School Children: Analysis Using the PEPS-C Test
    (Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos del Principado de Asturias, 2022-01-01) Calet, Nuria; López-Almazán, Juan; Martínez Castilla, Pastora; Junta de Andalucía; Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades
    Background: Although previous studies have considered the relationship between prosody skills and the acquisition of reading skills, few have performed comprehensive, simultaneous assessments of different oral language prosody skills and, to our knowledge, none have been carried out in Spanish. Our study analyses the relationship between prosody and reading skills. Method: Sixty-one second-grade Spanish schoolchildren participated in this study. Prosodic skills were assessed using the Spanish version of the Profi ling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication battery, available in different languages. Reading comprehension, word/non-word reading skills, phonological awareness and vocabulary were also evaluated. Results: The results show that prosody was signifi cantly related to word and non-word reading, but phonological awareness was the only signifi cant predictor of these reading outcomes. Prosodic skills contribute to explaining reading comprehension even after controlling for the effect of vocabulary and phonological awareness. Conclusions: The results highlight the role of prosodic skills in reading acquisition in Spanish. Comparison with previous studies in English-language populations demonstrates the existence of cross-linguistic differences.
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    La teoría del muestreo temporal aplicada a los trastornos del lenguaje: análisis desde una perspectiva neuroconstructivista
    (IMR Press, 2021-12-01) Martínez Castilla, Pastora
    Introducción. De acuerdo con una perspectiva neuroconstructivista, la existencia de atipicidades sutiles en procesos de bajo nivel tiene un impacto en cascada sobre los dominios para los que tales procesos son relevantes. Diferentes alteraciones en un mismo proceso pueden dar cuenta del fenotipo de trastornos distintos. Según los criterios clasificatorios actuales, los trastornos del lenguaje pueden estar presentes en distintas condiciones evolutivas. La teoría del muestreo temporal se ha propuesto como posible marco explicativo de dichos trastornos. En este trabajo se revisa esta teoría, aplicando para ello los postulados neuroconstructivistas mencionados. Desarrollo. La teoría del muestreo temporal plantea cómo alteraciones en la percepción del parámetro acústico del tiempo de ascenso de la amplitud en la ventana temporal lenta de la señal auditiva y, ligado a ello, posibles alteraciones en el acoplamiento entre dicha señal y las oscilaciones neurales de la corteza auditiva acarrean dificultades para el desarrollo lingüístico y musical. Tales alteraciones se vinculan a experiencias distintas con la información estimular, derivadas de diferencias en los umbrales de discriminación del tiempo de ascenso de la amplitud y en el input recibido asociado a este parámetro. Conclusiones. La teoría analizada ofrece una explicación consistente con el marco neuroconstructivista. Existe evidencia acerca de las dificultades perceptivas del tiempo de ascenso de la amplitud y su relación con los dominios lingüístico y musical en niños con trastorno del desarrollo del lenguaje y/o con dislexia. Estudios futuros deberían analizar el alcance de esta teoría para explicar los trastornos del lenguaje en otras condiciones evolutivas.
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    Prosodic Skills of Spanish-Speaking Children with Developmental Language Disorder
    (WILEY, 2021-05-18) Calet, Nuria; Martín Peregrina, Manuel Ángel; Jiménez Fernández, Gracia; Martínez Castilla, Pastora; Universidad de Granada
    Background Phonological difficulties in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are well documented. However, abilities regarding prosody, the rhythmic and melodic characteristics of language, have been less widely studied, particularly in Spanish. Moreover, the scant research findings that have been reported are contradictory. These considerations justify our new research into the question, focusing on Spanish-speaking children with DLD. Aims To examine a wide range of prosodic skills among Spanish-speaking children with DLD. To analyse the relationships between prosody and other language measurements. Methods & Procedures Prosodic skills were assessed through the Spanish version of the Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C) battery. The performance of 19 children aged 5–11 years with DLD was compared with that of a chronological age-matched control group of 19 typically developing children. Language skills were also assessed. Outcomes & Results There were significant differences between the group with DLD and the control group in terms of skills involving prosody functions and forms: turn-end and chunking signalling, contrastive focus and affect expression and understanding, discriminating and the imitation of prosodic patterns in both words and phrases. Conclusions & Implications Spanish-speaking children with DLD present impairments not only when prosody interacts with language but also in the processing of prosody alone. The study results suggest that prosody is related to lexicon and grammar in children with DLD. The prosodic impairments of Spanish-speaking children with DLD could produce a negative impact on their language functioning and could also relate to their emotional and social difficulties. Consideration should therefore be given to focusing future interventions on prosodic skills in Spanish-speaking children with DLD.
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    Automatic Assessment of Prosodic Quality in Down Syndrome: Analysis of the Impact of Speaker Heterogeneity
    (WILEY, 2019-04-19) Corrales Astorgano, Mario; Martínez Castilla, Pastora; Escudero Mancebo, David; Aguilar, Lourdes; González Ferreras, César; Cardeñoso Payo, Valentín; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; European Regional Development Fund FEDER; Junta de Castilla y León; BBVA Foundation (2015-2017)
    Prosody is a fundamental speech element responsible for communicative functions such as intonation, accent and phrasing, and prosodic impairments of individuals with intellectual disabilities reduce their communication skills. Yet, technological resources have paid little attention to prosody. This study aims to develop an automatic classifier to predict the prosodic quality of utterances produced by individuals with Down syndrome, and to analyse how inter-individual heterogeneity affects assessment results. A therapist and an expert in prosody judged the prosodic appropriateness of a corpus of Down syndrome’ utterances collected through a video game. The judgments of the expert were used to train an automatic classifier that predicts prosodic quality by using a set of fundamental frequency, duration and intensity features. The classifier accuracy was 79.3% and its true positive rate 89.9%. We analyzed how informative each of the features was for the assessment and studied relationships between participants’ developmental level and results: interspeaker variability conditioned the relative weight of prosodic features for automatic classification and participants’ developmental level was related to the prosodic quality of their productions. Therefore, since speaker variability is an intrinsic feature of individuals with Down syndrome, it should be considered to attain an effective automatic prosodic assessment system.