Bilingualism and Autism Spectrum Disorder

openBilingualism has widely been studied in the last decade and it has been found to enhance the individual’s cognitive and social skills. Despite initial skepticism from teachers and caregivers, bilingualism is no longer a phenomenon associated to language minorities only as it has achieved consensus in many Eastern and Western societies. The advantages of bilingualism has been studied in relation to several disorders such as Down syndrome and SLS but not many research studies have examined the effect of bilingualism on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This research aims to fill this gap and analyses the consequences of raising an autistic child in a multilingual environment. To do so, strengths and weakness of bilinguals in the spectrum will be examined in relation to the five language dimensions and the executive functions. Overal, literature findings show that bilingualism does not further impair the language and cognitive development of individuals with ASD, instead it boots it in certain cases.Bilingualism has widely been studied in the last decade and it has been found to enhance the individual’s cognitive and social skills. Despite initial skepticism from teachers and caregivers, bilingualism is no longer a phenomenon associated to language minorities only as it has achieved consensus in many Eastern and Western societies. The advantages of bilingualism has been studied in relation to several disorders such as Down syndrome and SLS but not many research studies have examined the effect of bilingualism on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This research aims to fill this gap and analyses the consequences of raising an autistic child in a multilingual environment. To do so, strengths and weakness of bilinguals in the spectrum will be examined in relation to the five language dimensions and the executive functions. Overal, literature findings show that bilingualism does not further impair the language and cognitive development of individuals with ASD, instead it boots it in certain cases

Oxidative Stress and NO Signalling in the Root Apex as an Early Response to Changes in Gravity Conditions.

Oxygen influx showed an asymmetry in the transition zone of the root apex when roots were placed horizontally on ground. The influx increased only in the upper side, while no changes were detected in the division and in the elongation zone. Nitric oxide (NO) was also monitored after gravistimulation, revealing a sudden burst only in the transition zone. In order to confirm these results in real microgravity conditions, experiments have been set up by using parabolic flights and drop tower. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was also monitored. Oxygen, NO, and ROS were continuously monitored during normal and hyper- and microgravity conditions in roots of maize seedlings. A distinct signal in oxygen and NO fluxes was clearly detected only in the apex zone during microgravity, with no significant changes in normal and in hypergravity conditions. The same results were obtained by ROS measurement. The detrimental effect of D’orenone, disrupting the polarised auxin transport, on the onset of the oxygen peaks during the microgravity period was also evaluated. Results indicates an active role of NO and ROS as messengers during the gravitropic response, with probable implications in the auxin redistribution

The electrical network of maize root apex is gravity dependent

Investigations carried out on maize roots under microgravity and hypergravity revealed that gravity conditions have strong effects on the network of plant electrical activity. Both the duration of action potentials (APs) and their propagation velocities were significantly affected by gravity. Similarly to what was reported for animals, increased gravity forces speed-up APs and enhance synchronized electrical events also in plants. The root apex transition zone emerges as the most active, as well as the most sensitive, root region in this respect

Stem electrical properties associated with water stress conditions in olive tree

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