Understanding Novel Metaphors: A Milestone in the Developmental Trajectory of Children with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum?
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Instrument and Measures
2.3. Procedure
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Glass, H.C.; Shaw, G.M.; Ma, C.; Sherr, E.H. Agenesis of the corpus callosum in California 1983-2003: A population-based study. Am. J. Med. Genet. Part A 2008, 146A, 2495–2500. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Bedeschi, M.F.; Bonaglia, M.C.; Grasso, R.; Pellegri, A.; Garghentino, R.R.; Battaglia, M.A.; Panarisi, A.M.; Di Rocco, M.; Balottin, U.; Bresolin, N.; et al. Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum: Clinical and Genetic Study in 63 Young Patients. Pediatr. Neurol. 2006, 34, 186–193. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Lund, C.; Striano, P.; Sorte, H.S.; Parisi, P.; Iacomino, M.; Sheng, Y.; Vigeland, M.D.; Øye, A.-M.; Møller, R.S.; Selmer, K.K.; et al. Exome Sequencing Fails to Identify the Genetic Cause of Aicardi Syndrome. Mol. Syndr. 2016, 7, 234–238. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- D’Antonio, F.; Pagani, G.; Familiari, A.; Khalil, A.; Sagies, T.-L.; Malinger, G.; Leibovitz, Z.; Garel, C.; Moutard, M.L.; Pilu, G.; et al. Outcomes Associated With Isolated Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum: A Meta-analysis. Pediatrics 2016, 138, e20160445. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Paul, L.K.; Brown, W.S.; Adolphs, R.; Tyszka, J.M.; Richards, L.J.; Mukherjee, P.; Sherr, E.H. Agenesis of the corpus callosum: Genetic, developmental and functional aspects of connectivity. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 2007, 8, 287–299. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Brown, W.S.; Paul, L.K. The Neuropsychological Syndrome of Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. J. Int. Neuropsychol. Soc. 2019, 25, 324–330. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Brown, W.S.; Paul, L.K.; Symington, M.; Dietrich, R. Comprehension of humor in primary agenesis of the corpus callosum. Neuropsychologia 2005, 43, 906–916. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Paul, L.K.; Van Lancker-Sidtis, D.; Schieffer, B.; Dietrich, R.; Brown, W.S. Communicative deficits in agenesis of the corpus callosum: Nonliteral language and affective prosody. Brain Lang. 2003, 85, 313–324. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rehmel, J.L.; Brown, W.S.; Paul, L.K. Proverb comprehension in individuals with agenesis of the corpus callosum. Brain Lang. 2016, 160, 21–29. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Siffredi, V.; Anderson, V.; McIlroy, A.; Wood, A.G.; Leventer, R.J.; Spencer-Smith, M. A Neuropsychological Profile for Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum? Cognitive, Academic, Executive, Social, and Behavioral Functioning in School-Age Children. J. Int. Neuropsychol. Soc. 2018, 24, 445–455. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Bowdle, B.F.; Gentner, D. The Career of Metaphor. Psychol. Rev. 2005, 112, 193–216. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Rapp, A.M.; Mutschler, D.E.; Erb, M. Where in the brain is nonliteral language? A coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. NeuroImage 2012, 63, 600–610. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bambini, V.; Gentili, C.; Ricciardi, E.; Bertinetto, P.M.; Pietrini, P. Decomposing metaphor processing at the cognitive and neural level through functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain Res. Bull. 2011, 86, 203–216. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Menenti, L.; Petersson, K.M.; Scheeringa, R.; Hagoort, P. When Elephants Fly: Differential Sensitivity of Right and Left Inferior Frontal Gyri to Discourse and World Knowledge. J. Cogn. Neurosci. 2009, 21, 2358–2368. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Winner, E. The Points of Words: Children’s Understanding of Metaphor and Irony; Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1997. [Google Scholar]
- Melogno, S.; Pinto, M.A.; Levi, G. Metaphor and metonymy comprehension in ASD children: A critical review from a developmental perspective. Res. Autism Spectr. Disord. 2012, 6, 1289–1296. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vulchanova, M.; Saldaña, D.; Chahboun, S.; Vulchanov, V. Figurative language processing in atypical populations: The ASD perspective. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 2015, 9, 24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Raven, J.; Raven, J.C.; Court, J.H. Raven Manual, Section 1 (General over-View), Section 2 (Coloured Progressive Matrices) and Section 6 (The Crichton Vocabulary Scale); Oxford Psychologists Press: Oxford, UK, 1998. [Google Scholar]
- Pezzuti, L.; Orsini, A. Are there sex differences in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Forth Edition? Learn. Individ. Differ. 2016, 45, 307–312. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Booth, R.; Wallace, G.L.; Happé, F. Insights from comparison of autism and callosal agenesis. In Progress in Brain Research 189: Gene Expression to Neurobiology and Behavior: Human Brain Development and Developmental Disorders; Braddick, O., Atkinson, J., Innocenti, G., Eds.; Academic Press: Burlington, MA, USA, 2011; pp. 303–317. [Google Scholar]
- Luiz, D.; Barnard, A.; Knoesen, N.; Kotras, N.; Horrocks, S.; McAlinden, P.; O’Connell, R. Griffith Mental Development Scales–Extended Revised: 2–8 Years; Hogrefe: Oxford, UK, 2004. [Google Scholar]
- Marini, A.; Marotta, L.; Bulgheroni, S.; Fabbro, F. BVL_4-12. Batteria per la Valutazione del Linguaggio in Bambini dai 4 ai 12 Anni; Giunti OS: Firenze, Italy, 2015. [Google Scholar]
- Pinto, M.A.; Melogno, S.; Iliceto, P. Test di Comprensione di Metafore Junior (4–6 Anni); Carocci: Roma, Italy, 2008. [Google Scholar]
- Crawford, J.R.; Howell, D.C. Comparing an Individual’s Test Score Against Norms Derived from Small Samples. Clin. Neuropsychol. 1998, 12, 482–486. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Melogno, S.; Pinto, M.A.; Orsolini, M. Novel Metaphors Comprehension in a Child with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Study on Assessment and Treatment. Front Psychol. 2017, 7, 2004. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Melogno, S.; Pinto, M.A.; Di Filippo, G. Sensory and Physico-Psychological Metaphor Comprehension in Children with ASD: A Preliminary Study on the Outcomes of a Treatment. Brain Sci. 2017, 7, 85. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Melogno, S.; Pinto, M.A. Un programme d’intervention pour améliorer la compréhension des métaphores dans le Trouble du Spectre de l’Autisme. Enfance 2019, 223–239. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Beaty, R.E.; Silvia, P.J.; Benedek, M. Brain networks underlying novel metaphor production. Brain Cogn. 2017, 111, 163–170. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
DATA | ||
---|---|---|
PHASES | ASS. TOOLS | |
Born at the 42nd week with eutocic birth. Apgar Index: 8/10, 1st and 5th minute. Absence of perinatal complications. Weight at birth: 4000 gr, length: 55 cm; head circumference: 36.5 cm. Normal pregnancy; no exposure to teratogenic agents nor infections. Negative TORCH screening (Serum testing); fetal echocardiography within the norm. Negative expanded newborn metabolic screening. Family anamnesis reveals no syndromic picture nor nervous system pathology. ACC was identified with morphology ultrasound at the second pregnancy trimester, then confirmed at birth. Brain Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) performed at 1 month of age and brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at 2 months. No other malformation nor anatomic alteration suggestive of a genetic syndrome appeared at clinical exam. To exclude possible hereditary forms, a genetic study was performed on RJ and his parents, which did not highlight significant alteration (Del Giudice et al., 2020, submitted). No alteration of visual or auditive functions were found. Electroencephalogram (EEG), repeated several times until the age of 7, awake and during sleep, was always within the norm. | ||
From birth to preschool age | RJ did not follow any pharmacological treatment. Stature and ponderal growth were always within the norm for his age, while motor and language development were slightly delayed (first steps at 18 months and first words at 17 months). Both delays were caught up. The Griffith Mental Development Scales [21], administered at age 3, revealed a relatively homogeneous cognitive profile except a weakness in the visuo-perceptual area, on the basis of which a visuo-spatial treatment was undertaken. An assessment performed at age 4.4 highlighted an IQ of 95, within the norm, and a mental age of 45 months for a chronological age of 48 months. | Griffith Mental Development Scales |
The general intellectual child’s profile was based on the WISC IV [19], from which an IQ of 88 was drawn, that positioned RJ in the average range. This IQ was representative of the child’s intellectual ability, as well as the WISC IV’s indices. Verbal Comprehension Index: 86 (average); Perceptual Reasoning Index: 93 (average); Working Memory Index: 79 (below); Speed Processing Index: 109 (average). The Working Memory Index is a weakness from both the normative and individual points of view. | Wechsler Intelligence Scale IVth Edition (WISC IV) | |
Current cognitive and linguistic profile | The assessment [22] explored linguistic abilities showing many strengths and one deficient performance. On the production side: denomination within the norm (z: 0); semantic and phonological fluence (z: +1.5), sentence completion (z: -1). On the comprehension side: phonological discrimination, lexical and grammatical comprehension, linguistic and emotional prosody comprehension within the norm (z: 0). Word and non-word repetition: also within the norm (z: 0); Sentence repetition: deficient (z: -2). Speech was good, based on the clinical assessment and parents’ report. | Language Assessment Battery for Children_4-12 |
Rep | Dec Met | Cont Met | Tot Met | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Raw Score | Raw Score | Raw Score | (Raw score) T Score | |
Child RJ | 50 | (2) | (6) | (8) T: 25 |
Control 1 | 50 | (11) | (13) | (24) T: 54 |
Control 2 | 50 | (13) | (13) | (26) T: 58 |
Control 3 | 50 | (16) | (17) | (33) T: 71 |
Control 4 | 50 | (14) | (15) | (29) T:63 |
Control 5 | 50 | (13) | (18) | (31) T: 67 |
Control 6 | 50 | (18) | (18) | (36) T: 76 |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Melogno, S.; Pinto, M.A.; Pollice, C.; Badolato, F.; Trasimeni, G.; Parisi, P. Understanding Novel Metaphors: A Milestone in the Developmental Trajectory of Children with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum? Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 753. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100753
Melogno S, Pinto MA, Pollice C, Badolato F, Trasimeni G, Parisi P. Understanding Novel Metaphors: A Milestone in the Developmental Trajectory of Children with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum? Brain Sciences. 2020; 10(10):753. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100753
Chicago/Turabian StyleMelogno, Sergio, Maria Antonietta Pinto, Chiara Pollice, Fausto Badolato, Guido Trasimeni, and Pasquale Parisi. 2020. "Understanding Novel Metaphors: A Milestone in the Developmental Trajectory of Children with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum?" Brain Sciences 10, no. 10: 753. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100753