hooshang dadgar

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) can safely influence brain activity, enhancing cognitive functions and offering potential benefits for learning disabilities like dyslexia. This paper aims to fill the current gap in comprehensive reviews on NIBS studies specifically targeting dyslexic individuals.

we conducted a systematic review across several databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and CENTRAL Cochrane. The initial search strategy was designed to be as comprehensive as possible to capture all pertinent studies. We did not impose any language restrictions or time constraints during our search. The strategy was initially created using MEDLINE MeSH terms and subsequently adapted for the other databases. Our search included the keywords “dyslexia” in combination with “NIBS”, “transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)”, “transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)”, and other NIBS types like repetitive TMS and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).

17 randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies were found to meet the eligibility criteria and are included in this review. Findings showed that repeated tDCS sessions, when paired with reading interventions, can effectively enhance reading abilities. Studies indicate that anodal tDCS applied to the left temporo‐parietal cortex (TPC) and cathodal tDCS to the right TPC, along with phonology-based reading training, have led to improvements in various reading metrics, including the reading of pseudo-words and low-frequency words. Notably, traditional reading areas appear to respond well to modulation through NIBS, and facilitative protocols can enhance various subprocesses related to reading.

Research indicates that tDCS, when used with reading interventions, enhances specific reading skills in individuals with dyslexia. Additionally, gamma-tACS applied to the left auditory cortex yields short-term improvements in neurophysiological responses to auditory stimuli. However, further randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-ups are necessary to establish the clinical effectiveness of these interventions.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unable to benefit from timely interventions. This research aimed to indirectly enhance play and communication skills in ASD children by providing a video educational package and distance education for their parents.  

In this clinical trial study, 32 parents and their children with ASD were randomly assigned to either the intervention or waitlist control groups. The intervention group received an educational video package along with 24 one-hour online sessions. The frequency of communication, engagement in functional games, and the use of conventional and unconventional gestures were assessed before, immediately after, and 3 months following the completion of the intervention in the participating children. The variables were analyzed within and between the two groups using a mixed between-within-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA).  

The intervention group achieved significantly higher scores than the control group in the frequency of communication (P = 0.003), functional play (P < 0.001), and conventional gestures (P < 0.001). Conversely, the intervention group had significantly lower scores than the control group in unconventional gestures (P < 0.001).   

The observed improvements in both parents and children within the intervention group provide compelling support for the effectiveness of telepractice in speech therapy. This suggests that incorporating remote training methods into speech therapy sessions could enhance access for children with ASD to these interventions.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between fine motor skills and reading components and compare the fine motor skills of normal children and children with dyslexia.

In this study, 47 children with dyslexia children and 47 normal children in the first to the third grade of elementary school in the age range of seven to nine years were examined with the Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and NEMA reading test. Data were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk, U Mann-Whitney methods, multiple linear regression, and Spearman correlation coefficient.

The results showed children with dyslexia were significantly weaker in fine motor skills than normal children (p <0.001). In addition, a relationship existed between the subtest of response speed and reading accuracy in normal children, but it was in normal children. A significant relationship was found between visual-motor control subtests and Upper-limb speed and dexterity with reading accuracy and speed. None of the motor subtests were related to reading comprehension. In children with dyslexia, no association was found between motor subtests and reading components.

Seemingly, fine motor skills can be used as an essential factor along with other effective factors in improving the reading skills of children with reading disabilities

Autism Spectrum Disorder children have problems with social interaction, and in producing and comprehending language structures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of telling social stories on the use of syntactic features of speech in children with autism.This was an Interventional, quasi-experimental single group study with a pretest-posttest design. The study subjects were selected by convenience sampling method which included 10 Persian-speaking (girls and boys) aged 7 to 15 years old with autism spectrum disorder (level 1: requiring support) from all autism population in Qazvin Autism Center (Sina), in 2019. The data was gathered through the book series of exceptional children's illustrated stories and pictorial flash cards which included syntactic components. It’s notable that in this level and before presenting social stories, descriptive speech (pictorial description) and spontaneous speech (that is used in everyday conversations) were taken from each autistic children in form of 50 language samples based on (Brown,1973) and considering to (Tek& Naigles, 2014) for a total of 1 hour, according to their syntactic features. Social stories were designed and written based on Gray (1993). The children received an interventional program (telling social stories) in 10 individual sessions 30 to 45 minutes. This study was done during 3 months. Syntactic problems in these children’s speech were analyzed after their spontaneous and pictorial speech was recorded. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze the data using SPSS, version 22. The results of analysis of Wilcoxon showed that telling social stories improved some syntactic features of children with autism (p˂0.05).Based on the present study findings, telling social stories improved some syntactic skills in the use of copula, compounds, intransitive verbs, transitive verbs, auxiliary verbs, the negative and simple present, continuous present and simple past.

Background and Aims:

 Dyslexia is a type of learning disorder that causes problems in reading. Children with dyslexia are affected by various problems, including executive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between executive functions and components of reading (comprehension, speed, and accuracy).

Methods:

 In this study, 22 normal students and 22 dyslexic students between the age of eight and nine years participated in order to evaluate their executive function and reading skills. Diagnosis of dyslexia was determined by reading and dyslexia test (NEMA). To evaluate the components of reading (speed, accuracy, and comprehension), the comprehension text of the test was used. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) for cognitive flexibility assessment, the Tower of London (TOL) test for the evaluation of planning, and the Color Trail Test (CTT) was used to evaluate attention transmission.

Results:

 The average score of dyslexic children in attention shifting, cognitive flexibility, planning, comprehension, speed, and reading accuracy was significantly lower than normal children (P<0.001). A significant correlation was observed between reading accuracy and speed and attention shifting (P<0.05). There was no significant correlation between reading components and other executive function factors (P<0.05).

Conclusion:

 Attention shifting, planning, cognitive flexibility, comprehension, speed, and accuracy of reading in dyslexic students are weaker than in normal students, and recovering these factors will lead to an overall improvement in reading. It seems that enhancing the ability of attention shifting in a particular way for students with a major weakness in reading speed or accuracy will be effective.

This study aimed to determine the communication profile of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and parents of typically developing children (TDC).

Broad autism phenotype and communication skills were measured using the broad autism phenotype questionnaire (BAPQ) and the Queendom communication skill test (QCST) in parents of children with ASD and parents of TDC. Participants included 346 parents of children with ASD and parents of TDC. In the ASD group, participants included 172 parents (76 fathers and 96 mothers) of children diagnosed with ASD. The TDC parent group included parents 174 (85 fathers and 89 mothers). In the autism group, at least one child had autism and in the opposite group, the child had no psychological problems. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to examine the effects of group (TDC, ASD) and gender (male, female) on study variables.

A significant group-gender interaction was observed for BAPQ total scores (F(1,342)=4.28, P=0.039); Mothers of children with ASD reported higher BAPQ total scores than mothers of TDC (P=0.006), and mothers of TDC reported lower BAPQ total scores than fathers of TDC (P<0.001). A significant group-gender interaction was also observed for QCST total scores (F(1,342)=11.66, P<0.001); Mothers of children with ASD reported lower QCST total scores than mothers of TDC (P<0.001), and among parents of TDC, mothers had higher levels of QCST total scores than fathers (P<0.001). A negative significant correlation was observed between BAPQ and QCST total scores (r=-0.499, P<0.001).

The results of this study showed a difference between parents’ communication skills in the two groups. Parents of children with ASD have more communication characteristics of autism than the control group, Fathers in the ASD group scored higher in the total scores of autism communication traits and some subtests which require further research in this area.

Changes in cortical excitability and neuroplasticity are important parts of the neuropathology and pathophysiology of many neuropsychiatric disorders. Noninvasive brain stimulation is a high-potential therapeutic approach to modify cortical activities. One of the most popular of these techniques is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). However, the biological and neurobiological effects of tDCS should be better clarified to enable its optimal use in clinical and therapeutic practices. In this paper, we summarize the neurophysiological and physiological effects and mechanisms of action of tDCS.

An update literature review was conducted on the biological responses of tDCS reported in human, in vitro and in vivo studies, with a focus on cellular cascades related to neuroplasticity, neuronal reorganization and inflammation caused by applied direct current electric fields.

The regulatory mechanisms of tDCS on motor and cognitive functions can be described by membrane polarization and transmembrane potential with a main subsequent effect on neurotransmission systems, neuronal excitability, synaptic microenvironment and neuronal connectivity to neuronal reorganization and neurogenesis in association with synaptic plasticity as well as inflammatory processes. In general, the effects of tDCS may include acute- or after-effects and direct or indirect effects and can be examined at different levels including the neurochemical, the neuroelectrical and the brain oscillatory levels.

A deep understanding of the molecular and cellular responses to tDCS is very important and crucial. This therapeutic technique can be utilized in various clinical trials with a perspective of being routinely suggested and presented to patients with different pathological conditions influencing the central or peripheral nervous system.

COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences highlighted the importance of using telerehabilitation systems and affected the professional’s attitude toward it. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility, satisfaction, and attitude of rehabilitation professionals toward telerehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. 

A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the feasibility, satisfaction, and attitude of rehabilitation professionals toward virtual training and telerehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 118 occupational therapists, speech therapists, audiologists, psychologists, and educators completed the study questionnaires.

The findings indicate that the correlations among satisfaction, feasibility, advantages, and compatibility were significant (r ranging from 0.418 to 0.717). There were significant but weak positive correlations between years of working experience and scores of feasibility and advantages. In addition, the mean scores of feasibility, advantages, compatibility, and complexity in participants who provided telerehabilitation before the COVID-19 pandemic were higher than other respondents.

Because of the positive role of telerehabilitation in a situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, health care systems should create mechanisms for its optimal use, protocol preparation, health professionals training, and infrastructure acquisition.

Musculoskeletal disorders in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) affect the general health of the mouth and teeth. This study aimed to determine periodontal and dental diseases in children with CP based on gross motor function level, manual ability level, and subtypes of CP.

This research was a cross-sectional study performed on 123 children (3-18 years old) with CP referred to dentistry and rehabilitation centers supervised by Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2019-2020. They were selected by the convenience sampling method. The children were classified according to the gross motor function classification system: expanded and revised (GMFCS-E&R) for their gross motor function level, according to the manual ability function classification system (MACS) and mini-MACS for the functioning of their hands in handling objects, and according to the quality and topographical pattern of motor impairment for subtypes of CP. The periodontal status of children with CP was evaluated according to the recommendation of the World Health Organization using the community periodontal index and for caries according to the decayed, missing, filled index. All statistical analyses were done by SPSS v. 16.

The results showed significant differences between periodontal disease and sex, age, GMFCS-E&R, MACS, mini-MACS levels, and subtypes of CP (P<0.05). But there were no significant differences between teeth diseases and oral motor skills with sex, age, MACS and mini-MACS, GMFCS-E&R levels, and subtypes of CP (P>0.05). 

Periodontal disease and decayed, missing, filled teeth are common problems in CP children, and the conditions worsen with age and level IV and V of GMFCS-E&R and MACS.

 Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common problem in stroke survivors. Dysphagia and its complications have negative effects on quality of life in stroke survivors.

 This study aimed to investigate the impacts of dysphagia on quality of life in Iranian stroke survivors and to determine potential relationships between demographic variables and the domains of quality of life.

 Sixty stroke survivors (aged 60 - 75 years old) with a diagnosis of dysphagia participated in this cross-sectional study. The swallowing function of patients was evaluated by Mann Assessment Swallowing Ability (MASA). The Persian version of the Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI) was used to determine the impacts of swallowing disorder on the quality of life.

 The mean total and SD of DHI was 73.03 ± 10.16. There was no statistically significant relationship between sex; age, time post-onset of stroke, and DHI total score as well as its subscales (P > 0.05), whereas there was a relationship between the functional subscale of the DHI and the level of education (r = 0.27, P = 0.037) and also with severity of dysphagia on the base of MASA scores (r = 0.267, P = 0.039). Besides, the severity of dysphagia was positively correlated with DHI’s total scores (r = 0.312, P = 0.017); this means that the higher the severity of dysphagia, resulting in even greater the DHI total scores, which indicates a further reduction in the patient’s quality of life.

 Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that dysphagia in stroke survivors has negative impacts on the quality of life. The relationship between clinical measures of dysphagia severity and quality of life also indicates that the higher the dysphagia severity the lower the quality of life. Dysphagia’s negative impact on the quality of life does not depend on age and gender.

 

Studies have indicated that failure to eat breakfast did not affect children’s performance in general cognitive tests; however, skipping breakfast might have effects on the specific aspects of cognition such as memory. Hypothetically, language as a higher cognitive function may be influenced by breakfast consumption routines.

This study aimed to compare students’ verbal fluency and working memory according to their breakfast routines.

We selected 60 seven-year-old children from three primary schools in the central regions of Tehran in 2017. Their parents were invited to a structured interview to fill out questionnaires consisting of information related to the child, parent, and breakfast routines. Based on the family's breakfast habits, two groups were identified: Group 1 with a full, regular breakfast routine and Group 2 with no breakfast or incomplete breakfast routine. An experienced speech therapist administered the verbal fluency task (phonemic and semantic fluency) and verbal working memory task (forward and backward digit numbers) for each student.

The mean scores of students with a full breakfast routine on verbal fluency tasks were at least three units more than those of students without breakfast. These differences were all significant (P = 0.001). In working memory tasks, students with a full breakfast routine had seven digits and one digit in their responses more than students without breakfast in forward and backward digit tasks, in sequence. These differences were significant (P = 0.001).

The findings of the present study provide information on the positive effects of a regular breakfast routine on the specific cognitive functions related to language processing.

Objective Rapid naming is the ability of an individual to understand a visual symbol and retrieve it rapidly and accurately. When a person is naming, he/she may make a mistake or correct her/his mistake. Rapid naming tasks are the best tools for screening, assessment and early prevention of issues in this area. The rapid naming is important in reading skills, and there is a lack of basic information about rapid naming in Persian speaking children; thus, this study investigated the relationship between this skill, and age and gender, and compared the number of errors and self-correction in the 7- and 8-year-old age groups. Materials & Methods This cross-sectional and causal-comparative study was conducted on 203 normal male and female students in Autumn 2015 for 4 months. The study participants were selected using a multistage sampling method from 5 geographic regions (north, south, east, west, center) of Tehran City, Iran. The students had no hearing impairment, intelligence, learning, and visual deficiency. They enjoyed the natural growth of language and verbal fluency. Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) and Rapid Alternating Stimulus (RAS) tasks were performed. The children's voices were recorded during the test implementation; when we were listening to the recorded voices, the naming time of each task was separately measured and recorded using a stopwatch. In addition to naming time, the number of errors and self-correction were counted. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to investigate the relationship between naming speed and age. This test was also used to determine the relationship between naming speed and gender. The relationship between the number of errors and self-correction and age were analyzed by the Chi-squared test. Results The MANOVA results revealed a significant difference in the mean scores of the naming time between the two age groups (f(6, 196)=9.395, P<0.05). The lowest mean score of naming time in the two age groups related to the numbers; the highest mean score of the naming time belonged to the color task. The mean score of naming time for each of the 6 tasks significantly differed (P<0.05) between the two age groups; however, in all of the tasks, the mean score of naming time in the two groups of girls and boys was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The Chi-squared test results suggested no significant difference between the frequency of a number of errors in the two age groups (x2=16.564, df=13, P>0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference between the frequency of numbers of self-correction in the two age groups (x2=11.186, df=13, P>0.05). Conclusion With increasing age, the time of naming was reduced. However, gender has no effect on speed naming. Moreover, age has no effects on the number of errors and self-corrections. The significant difference in naming speed between the two age groups with narrow age interval indicates that this skill is very much affected by age. Thus, it is necessary to present the normative data of this skill in groups with narrow age intervals.

  Hearing loss is associated with poor cognitive performance. Using hearing aids reduces the impact of hearing loss on cognitive problems. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cochlear implant and hearing aid on the children's phonological working memory ability. In the current cross- sectional study, 63 Persian-speaking primary grade students (21 cochlear implant, 21 hearing aids, and 21 children with normal hearing) participated. The assessment tools used were Nonword repetition task of Sayyahi and forward and backward auditory digit spans from the Persian version of WISC-IV. The results showed that the means of scores for children with normal hearing in phonological working memory were significantly greater than those of children with severe-to-profound hearing loss with cochlear implants and hearing aids user (P<0/01). Mean scores of different skills in phonological working memory were not significantly different between the two groups of cochlear implant and hearing aid children (P>0/05). According to the results, a significant difference exists between children with hearing impairment and normal hearing children in phonological working memory. This represents the role hearing sense plays in the development of phonological working memory. So, it seems that in the present study, the type and use of hearing aids) hearing aids and cochlear implant (had no effect on working memory skills

Theory of Mind (TOM) refers to the ability for attributing mental states and beliefs to ourselves and others, and understanding that the others’ mental states can be different from ours. However, this ability seems to be delayed in children with the history of hearing impairment. Based on the evidence, there is a mutual association between language development and social experiences. The present study aimed to assess TOM and the effect of speech therapy in 8- to 9-year-old children with cochlear implants (CIs). The present study was descriptive and cross-sectional in design. A total of 18 Persian-speaking children with CIs and 18 normal children aged 8-9 years participated in the current study. Children with CIs were selected through convenience method from Amir Alam Hospital and normal peers from their play-ground. The participants had no history of sensory, anatomical, neuronal, and speech disorders. The basic and advanced TOM was assessed with Ghamarani TOM test and a comparison was done between normal children and children with CIs. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS 21. The performance of the two groups with regard to the basic and advanced TOM was significantly different (p<0.001). Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the duration of speech therapy and TOM abilities (r=0.46, p=0.041). Hearing impairment affects the ability of TOM in children with CIs. The duration of speech therapy has a positive effect on the development of TOM.

Reading skills play an important role in educational activities and appropriate employment. Various studies show that hearing impaired- children encounter difficulties in reading. Reading ability has been associated with children’s quality of phonological representations ability. The reading problems are due to lack of auditory input in hearing-impaired children. Use of sensory aids including cochlear implant and hearing aid improve the quality of the children's phonological representations. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of sensory aids including cochlear implant and hearing aid on the children's reading ability. This analytic study was performed as a Case-control research. The sample size was 63 Persian first grades students (21 cochlear implant, 21 hearing aids and 21 children with normal hearing) in Tehran-Iran. The assessment tool was ten subtests of Nama Test. The subtests are word reading, chain word, rhyme, picture naming, text comprehension, word comprehension, phoneme deletion, nonword reading, letter fluency and category fluency. Inclusion criteria for children with hearing impairment includes: severe-profound congenital bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, experience of using sensory aids for at least 3 years, studying in the first grade of primary school, no history of rejection, use of Persian language as the language of communication, lack of any structural problems and lack of clear speech and motor disabilities. Children with cochlear implants and hearing aids user chronological age ranged from 7 to 7 years and 11 months and 8 to 8 years and 11 months, respectively. Inclusion criteria for children with normal hearing include chronological age 7 to 7 years and 11 months, studying in the first grade of primary school, no history of rejection, to have normal hearing and no history of impairment in hearing, speech and language and learning. Scores of means in children with normal hearing in reading were significantly greater than children were with severe-to-profound hearing loss with cochlear implants and hearing aids user (p<0.01). Nevertheless, there were not significant differences between two groups of cochlear implant and hearing aid children in means scores of reading. This research was carried out to examine effectiveness of sensory aids including cochlear implant and hearing aid on the children's reading ability. The findings of the research did not indicate and prove difference in reading performance between children with hearing loss, who have had cochlear implants and those who used hearing aids user, which indicates that cochlear implantation was not significantly greater effective than hearing aid for improvement of reading abilities. Although use of sensory aids including cochlear implant and hearing aid improves the ability to read and academic success, many hearing-impaired children continue to find literacy challenging, and it appears that many will require specialist support throughout their time at school.

Mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have the lowest grade of quality of life compared with mothers of children with other disorders like mental retardation, learning disorders, or physical impairments. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study on the influence of severity of disorder and occupational performance of autistic child on mother’s quality of life. This study aims to determine the relationship between quality of life of these mothers with severity of disorder and occupational performance in their autistic children.
The participants included 35 mothers and their children with ASD (aged 3 to 7 years). They were selected by available sampling method from Tehran City, Iran. Severity of disorder and occupational performance were respectively measured by Gilliam Autism Rating Scale 2 and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure.
The relationship between mothers’ quality of life and severity of their children’s ASD was significant (except for two components of physical roles [P=0.276] and bodily pains [P=0.174]. Also correlation of mothers’ quality of life and occupational performance was significant (except for four dimensions of physical functioning [P=0.439] , physical roles [P=0.801], bodily pains [P=0.105] and role emotional [P=0.140]).
The results show that quality of life of mothers of autistic children is significantly associated with severity of disorder and occupational performance of children, but its relationship with severity of disorder is more pronounced than occupational performance. Therefore, in order to improve mother’s quality of life, the severity of symptoms of ASD should be decreased and child’s occupational performance increased.

Reading is defined as the ability to understand and use written language which is done via conversion of grapheme to phoneme. Morphological Awareness (MA) is the ability of conscious manipulation of morpheme which is the smallest meaningful language unit. The relationship between reading ability and MA is bidirectional. Many aspects of reading are predicted by MA. In Iran, one study has been conducted on this relationship. Regarding this issue, the main aim of the current study is to investigate the relationship between reading and MA. Because, the explicit MA (conscious use of morphemes) appears in the third and fourth graders, we studied the relationship between dyslexia and normal readers in these two graders.
In this cross-sectional study, 34 normally developed readers (22 boys and 12 girls) and 20 dyslexic students participated. Teacher questionnaire and NAMA test were used for dyslexia diagnosis. In addition, NAMA test for reading evaluation and MA test for assessment of morphological knowledge were used. Normal distribution of the data was examined by 1-sample Kolmogorov Smirnov test, while the data were analyzed by Pearson and Spearman Correlation Coefficient.
In normal students, there is a relationship between word comprehension task and total score of morphological awareness test (Correlation Coefficient=0.70), between word reading and construct formation task (CC=0.46), between text comprehension and dynamic morpheme production task (CC=0.57), and between phoneme deletion and total score of morphological awareness test (CC=0.63). In dyslexic children, the relationships exist between word comprehension and construct formation (CC=0.60), between dynamic morpheme production (CC=0.78), and total score of morphological awareness test (CC=0.67), between text comprehension and morphological awareness task (CC=0.64), and between word chain and morpheme identification task (CC=0.78).
According to statistical analyses, some tasks of MA were correlated with some reading tasks; we believe the tasks used for reading skills could have influenced these results. The tasks of the present study for reading skills assessment were different from the tasks of other studies.

The aim of this study was investigation the association of motor skills and imitation ability with early social communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Twenty children with ASD aged 3-5 years (M=4.05, SD=0.55) were tested with Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2), the Motor Imitation Scale (MIS) and, the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS).
There was significant and strong correlation between TGMD total score and imitation total score(r =.776; p 0.05). A significant correlation was found between MIS and TGMD total scores with ESCS subscales except social interaction and responding to behavioral requests subscales.
The results support previous studies that indicated both imitation ability and motor function have association with some early social communication skills. However, these results showed the needs for clinicians to target imitation and motor skills in early intervention programs in ASD.

Progress in understanding dyslexia has led to the discovery of abnormal brain waves in the areas related to reading skill. It seems that improving the function of these areas by regulating their waves is helpful for reading process. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of neurofeedback training (NFT) in improving children’s reading difficulties.
Material and This was a single-subject experiment with A-B-A design. Four dyslexic boys (age range 8-12 years) received twenty 30-minute sessions of NFT three times a week to reduce their theta and delta waves at F7 and increase their beta wave at T3. Their accuracy, speed, reading comprehension, and spelling skill were assessed using Name reading test before, during, and one month after treatment. Data analysis was done by reliable change index, mean percentage improvement, and effect size. Also results were displayed by graphs.
The results showed clinically significant improvement regarding the accuracy and comprehension reading as well as spelling after NFT. Reliable changes (P2.87) refer to significant improvement of these skills. However speed reading increased in two subjects, but the effect size for the first and second participant was negative (Cohen’s d The results suggest that 20 sessions of NFT improves the spelling, accuracy, and comprehension reading. It seems that the increased attention (due to the reduction of theta and delta waves) and performance tuning at T3 was effective in improving these skills. However, increase in speed reading may require more sessions.

Many researchers are focusing on different medication and intervention methods to treat problems associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is one of the novel techniques that currently have been investigated as a treatment for certain symptoms of autism. The aim of this study was to review the available evidence to determine the efficacy of TMS in autism. Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, Wiley, Ovid and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant controlled clinical trials. The terms “autism, autism spectrum disorders combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation” were used as text words. Most of these studies targeted the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and used low-frequency stimulation. These studies had some limitations; however, the results of all of them showed that TMS is effective in improvement of ASD symptoms. Moreover, repetitive TMS might become useful in the rehabilitation of ASD patients. Finally, integrated approaches utilizing TMS together with other rehabilitation techniques, as well as using TMS to target the objective problems in ASD are proposed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the presence of abnormal oral reflexes and speech sound production in children with severe cerebral palsy.
Seven oral reflexes such as, rooting, mouth-opening, biting, chewing, lip, tongue, and suckling were examined in 52Persian-speaking monolingual children with spastic cerebral palsy (ages 5-10 yr).Phonetic information tests were administered to investigate their ability for articulation of the speech sounds.
A significant relationship between three (i.e. the chewing, lip, and biting reflexes) out of the seven abnormal oral reflexes and the speech articulation was noticed. The presence of the chewing reflex was associated with deficits in production of /s, z, š,č/ sounds. The lip reflex was associated with deficits in the production of /p, m, r, j, f, č/ sounds. The biting reflex was associated with deficits in the production of /z, l, y and š/ sounds. No significant relationship was found between the rooting, mouth-opening, tongue, and suckling reflexes and sound articulation.
The presence of abnormal reflexes in the children with spastic cerebral palsy would suggest a correlation between these reflexes and sound articulation in Iranian children with spastic cerebral palsy. Hence, these observations might suggest some disturbances in normal speech development.

Theory of mind as a cognitive component is the foundation of our ability to explain or predict the behavior of ourselves and others which is done through the attribution of mental status. This ability damaged in deaf children and its development is fast in girls. The aim of this study was to study theory of mind in 5-6 years cochlear implant children and its relation with gender and age of cochlear implant (CI).
This study is descriptive and cross-sectional. Eighteen Farsi speaking children CI children and 18 normal development children aged 5-6 were participated in this study. The normal children were selected from living area of CI children. They were selected through available and easy sampling method. These children had no sensory or speech disorders. The basic theory of mind was tested in these children.
Theory of mind was significantly different in both groups (p = 0.00). The comparison between girls and boys did not show significant difference in normal (p= 0.321) and CI children (p =0.231). There was no significant relationship between the age at CI and theory of mind scores (p=0.100).
Hearing impairment has influence on basic theory development in CI children. Age of implantation and gender had no effect on development of theory of mind.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric features of the Persian version of the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). The International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) approach was used to translate the English ABC into Persian. A total sample of 184 parents of children including 114 children with autism disorder (mean age =7.21, SD =1.65) and 70 typically developing children (mean age = 6.82, SD =1.75) completed the ABC. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity, and cut-off score were assessed. The results of this study revealed that the Persian version of the ABC has an acceptable degree of internal consistency (.73). Test–retest comparisons using interclass correlation confirmed the instrument’s time stability (.83). The instrument’s concurrent validity with Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) was verified; the correlation between total scores was. 94. In the discriminant validity, the autism group had significantly higher scores compared to the normal group. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that individuals with total scores below 25 are less likely to be in the autism group. The Persian version of the ABC can be used as an initial screening tool in clinical contexts.

Aphasia is a language disorder caused by left hemisphere damage. For treatment of aphasia, in some of therapeutic approaches, the right hemisphere (RH) abilities, such as, emotional perception, is used for stimulation of the language process in the left hemisphere. The aim of this study is to investigate emotional word repetition in aphasia after a stroke, in Persian language patients.

Fifteen aphasic patients (eleven male and four female) between 45 and 65 (58/4 ± 7/8) years of age, participated in this cross-sectional study. A list of 20 emotional words and a list of 20 neutral words as stimuli were prepared and the patients were asked to repeat each word after five seconds; if a patient needed to repeat a word again, it was repeated for him/her again, and the total score for each subject was calculated. The paired t-test was used to test group mean differences and the significant level was 0.05.

The mean and standard deviation for emotional word repetitions were 6.93 ± 1.72 and for non-emotional word repetition was 7.10 ± 2.23, and the P value = 0.892, thus, no significant difference between emotional and non-emotional word repetitions was noticed. The mean and standard deviation for the positive emotional word repetitions were 3.53 ± 3.29 and for negative word repetitions were 3.40 ± 3.56, (P = 0.751), with no significant difference between positive and negative emotional word repetitions.

Despite the main hypothesis that the right hemisphere is involved in the processing of emotions, it can be stated that both hemispheres are involved in the processing of emotional words, albeit in a different and probably complementary manner.

Naming is a simple and basic skill of the language which involves semantic, lexical, and phonological levels. There are many different factors affecting the speed and convenience of naming. One of these factors is the word Age of Acquisition (AoA) and since language processing occurs at an extremely fast rate, psycholinguistics needs a method that has very good temporal resolution. The Event-related Brain Potentials (ERP) method is almost ideal among the imaging techniques of studying a language.

The current study aimed to investigate the electroencephalograph signals related to the time period of phonological encoding during immediate picture naming through the analysis of AoA effect.

In this cross-sectional study 15 male, native Farsi speakers, aged 18 - 25 years participated. The test involved naming 80 pictures including 40 early-acquired words and 40 late-acquired words, presented by a monitor screen. EEG (electroencephalogram) was recorded continuously from 64 electrodes mounted on an electrode cap. The waves related to early and late-acquired groups were investigated in terms of amplitude, latency, and scalp distribution within a 300 millisecond time range linked to phonological encoding process.

The results showed that the pictures of the early-acquired words were named 40 millisecond faster than those of late-acquired words (P = 0.022). The difference between the two groups was significant on the latency and scalp distribution, but not significant on amplitude.

According to the results of the study, AoA modulated response latencies (early acquired words were produced faster than late-acquired ones), indicating increased processing time-cost for late acquired words, which happens during the phonological encoding period (phonological code retrieval and syllabification). Furthermore, the results seem to support a phonological encoding locus for the main AoA effects