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Datathief download12/25/2023 Likewise, the overlap between the distributions of the autism and SLI groups is almost complete. On average, kids with SLI have lower than ‘normal’ fractional anisotropy, but looking at the spread of scores, you’d be hard pressed to conclude that this was a characteristic of SLI. On the y-axis is fractional anisotropy (FA) - the imaging measure used to assess the integrity of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus. On the x-axis is performance on a language test. The figure below is a scatterplot with each coloured shape representing a single child. Taken at face value, this is a pretty major blow to the idea that autism and SLI have anything more than a superficial resemblance. However, the same was not true of kids with autism, even though they had poorer language skills than those with SLI. reported that integrity of the superior longitudinal fasciculus was compromised in kids with specific language impairment (SLI) - that is, kids who have language difficulties for no obvious reason. In the study, Judith Verhoeven and colleagues used diffusion tensor MRI to examine the superior longitudinal fasciculus, a bundle of nerve fibres that is assumed (although see this paper) to connect two brain regions involved in language production and comprehension - Broca’s area (left front-ish) with Wernicke’s area (left and back a bit). The other week, for example, I came across an intriguing neuroimaging study reported on the SFARI website. Sometimes, this provides insights that really aren’t obvious from the original paper. Recently, I’ve discovered DataThief - an application that allows you to scan in a graph from a paper and extract the data points. Having spent much of the past week struggling to make sense of my data, it’s good to come home, pour a glass of wine, put on some Sharon Jones, and, er… play with somebody else’s data!
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