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Paillereau N, Chládková K. Infants' reliance on rhythm to distinguish languages: A critical review. INFANCY 2024; 29:842-876. [PMID: 39215603 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
This article reviews empirical methods and findings on early language discrimination, questioning rhythm-class based hypotheses on language discrimination in infancy, as well as the assumption that early language discrimination is driven primarily (or solely) by temporal prosodic cues. The present work argues that within-rhythm class discrimination which - according to the rhythmic hypothesis - is not applicable very early in life, has not been sufficiently tested with infants under 4 months of age, that familiarity with a language is not a prerequisite for its discrimination from another rhythmically similar language, and that the temporal rhythm properties may not universally be the primary cues to language discrimination. Although rhythm taxonomy is now by many understood as outdated, some developmental literature still draws on the assumption that rhythm classification determines infants' language discrimination; other studies consider rhythm along a continuous scale and only a few account for cues to language discrimination other than temporal ones. It is proposed that studies on early language discrimination systematically test the contribution of other than temporal rhythm cues, similarly to recent work on multidimensional psychoacoustic salience in the acquisition of segmental categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikola Paillereau
- Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Chládková
- Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Praha, Czech Republic
- Institute of Czech Language and Theory of Communication, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
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2
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Alanazi AA, Nicholson N. Incorporating Parents' Lived Experiences Into the Pediatric Audiology Course: A Qualitative Analysis of Student Reflections. Am J Audiol 2024; 33:905-931. [PMID: 39141886 DOI: 10.1044/2024_aja-23-00260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/16/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This study explores the underutilized pedagogical approach of incorporating lived experiences of parents with children possessing diverse hearing profiles and their family characteristics into the audiology curriculum for students. The aim was to investigate the impact of integrating such experiences into the classroom as an andragogical learning experience through the qualitative analysis of written student reflections. METHOD Twelve (N = 12) third-year female audiology students enrolled in a pediatric auditory (re)habilitation course attended a parent panel presentation during their regularly scheduled face-to-face class. Five parents of children with diverse hearing differences and diverse technology, communication, and educational choices participated on the panel as guest speakers via the Zoom platform. Students completed written reflections based on Rolfe's reflective framework. Written reflections were downloaded from Canvas and de-identified prior to uploading to NVivo software for coding, utilizing an inductive grounded theory coding strategy coupled with content analysis. FINDINGS This study underscores the effectiveness of written reflections as an effective andragogical learning model. Through reflective practice, students gained a deeper understanding of their experiences, values, and learning journeys, enhancing their competency in pediatric audiology and auditory (re)habilitation. Students articulated previous knowledge and learning experiences, utilized newfound insights from exposure to the parent panel of shared lived experiences, and connected this knowledge with future clinical applications. CONCLUSIONS Key findings underscore the effectiveness of reflective practice as an andragogical learning model, facilitating the integration of prior experiences with new knowledge. Moreover, it aids the transition of the professional journey from the familiar to the unfamiliar, demonstrating the impact of combining real-world lived experiences to reinforce and highlight classroom topics. Additionally, reflective practice enhances professional efficacy by valuing patient/parent perspectives regarding clinical care and aligning with evidence-based principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad A Alanazi
- Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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3
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Panneton R, Ostroff WL, Bhullar N, Netto M. Plasticity in older infants' perception of phonetic contrasts: The role of selective attention in context. INFANCY 2024. [PMID: 39192613 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Developmental plasticity refers to conditions and circumstances that increase phenotypic variability. In infancy, plasticity expands and contracts depending on domains of functioning, developmental history, and timing. In terms of language processing, infants attend to and discriminate both native and non-native phonetic contrasts, but selectively attune to their native phonemes by the end of the first postnatal year. However, relevant studies have excluded factors regarded as promoters of attention such as infant-directed (ID) speech, synchronous multimodal presentations, and female speakers. Here we investigated whether English-learning 11-month-olds would discriminate a non-native phonetic contrast while manipulating these factors. Results showed significant discrimination of the non-native contrast, regardless of speech register, provided that they were presented by a dynamic female speaker. Interestingly, when a static object or a dynamic male ID speaker replaced the female, no significant discrimination was found. These results show infants to be capable of discriminating non-native phonetic contrasts in an enhanced context at an age when they have been characterized as not being able to do so. Synchronized, multimodal information from female speakers allowed infants to perceive difficult non-native phonemes, highlighting the importance of an ecologically valid context for studying speech perception and language learning in early development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Panneton
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Wendy L Ostroff
- Hutchins School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, USA
| | | | - Madeline Netto
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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4
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Werker JF. Phonetic perceptual reorganization across the first year of life: Looking back. Infant Behav Dev 2024; 75:101935. [PMID: 38569416 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2024.101935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
This paper provides a selective overview of some of the research that has followed from the publication of Werker and Tees (1984a) "Cross-language speech perception: Evidence for Perceptual Reorganization During the First Year of Life." Specifically, I briefly present the original finding, our interpretation of its meaning, and some key replications and extensions. I then review some of the work that has followed, including work with different kinds of populations, different kinds of speech sound contrasts, as well as attunement (perceptual reorganization) to additional properties of language beyond phonetic contrasts. Included is the body of work that queries whether perceptual attunement is a critical period phenomenon. Potential learning mechanisms for how experience functions to guide phonetic perceptual development are also presented, as is work on the relation between speech perception and word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet F Werker
- Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Canada.
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5
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Gorina-Careta N, Arenillas-Alcón S, Puertollano M, Mondéjar-Segovia A, Ijjou-Kadiri S, Costa-Faidella J, Gómez-Roig MD, Escera C. Exposure to bilingual or monolingual maternal speech during pregnancy affects the neurophysiological encoding of speech sounds in neonates differently. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1379660. [PMID: 38841122 PMCID: PMC11150635 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1379660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Exposure to maternal speech during the prenatal period shapes speech perception and linguistic preferences, allowing neonates to recognize stories heard frequently in utero and demonstrating an enhanced preference for their mother's voice and native language. Yet, with a high prevalence of bilingualism worldwide, it remains an open question whether monolingual or bilingual maternal speech during pregnancy influence differently the fetus' neural mechanisms underlying speech sound encoding. Methods In the present study, the frequency-following response (FFR), an auditory evoked potential that reflects the complex spectrotemporal dynamics of speech sounds, was recorded to a two-vowel /oa/ stimulus in a sample of 129 healthy term neonates within 1 to 3 days after birth. Newborns were divided into two groups according to maternal language usage during the last trimester of gestation (monolingual; bilingual). Spectral amplitudes and spectral signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) at the stimulus fundamental (F0) and first formant (F1) frequencies of each vowel were, respectively, taken as measures of pitch and formant structure neural encoding. Results Our results reveal that while spectral amplitudes at F0 did not differ between groups, neonates from bilingual mothers exhibited a lower spectral SNR. Additionally, monolingually exposed neonates exhibited a higher spectral amplitude and SNR at F1 frequencies. Discussion We interpret our results under the consideration that bilingual maternal speech, as compared to monolingual, is characterized by a greater complexity in the speech sound signal, rendering newborns from bilingual mothers more sensitive to a wider range of speech frequencies without generating a particularly strong response at any of them. Our results contribute to an expanding body of research indicating the influence of prenatal experiences on language acquisition and underscore the necessity of including prenatal language exposure in developmental studies on language acquisition, a variable often overlooked yet capable of influencing research outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natàlia Gorina-Careta
- Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sonia Arenillas-Alcón
- Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Puertollano
- Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alejandro Mondéjar-Segovia
- Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Siham Ijjou-Kadiri
- Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Costa-Faidella
- Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - María Dolores Gómez-Roig
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- BCNatal – Barcelona Center for Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine (Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and Hospital Clínic), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Escera
- Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
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Kalashnikova M, Singh L, Tsui A, Altuntas E, Burnham D, Cannistraci R, Chin NB, Feng Y, Fernández-Merino L, Götz A, Gustavsson L, Hay J, Höhle B, Kager R, Lai R, Liu L, Marklund E, Nazzi T, Oliveira DS, Olstad AMH, Picaud A, Schwarz IC, Tsao FM, Wong PCM, Woo PJ. The development of tone discrimination in infancy: Evidence from a cross-linguistic, multi-lab report. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13459. [PMID: 37987377 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
We report the findings of a multi-language and multi-lab investigation of young infants' ability to discriminate lexical tones as a function of their native language, age and language experience, as well as of tone properties. Given the high prevalence of lexical tones across human languages, understanding lexical tone acquisition is fundamental for comprehensive theories of language learning. While there are some similarities between the developmental course of lexical tone perception and that of vowels and consonants, findings for lexical tones tend to vary greatly across different laboratories. To reconcile these differences and to assess the developmental trajectory of native and non-native perception of tone contrasts, this study employed a single experimental paradigm with the same two pairs of Cantonese tone contrasts (perceptually similar vs. distinct) across 13 laboratories in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North-America testing 5-, 10- and 17-month-old monolingual (tone, pitch-accent, non-tone) and bilingual (tone/non-tone, non-tone/non-tone) infants. Across the age range and language backgrounds, infants who were not exposed to Cantonese showed robust discrimination of the two non-native lexical tone contrasts. Contrary to this overall finding, the statistical model assessing native discrimination by Cantonese-learning infants failed to yield significant effects. These findings indicate that lexical tone sensitivity is maintained from 5 to 17 months in infants acquiring tone and non-tone languages, challenging the generalisability of the existing theoretical accounts of perceptual narrowing in the first months of life. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This is a multi-language and multi-lab investigation of young infants' ability to discriminate lexical tones. This study included data from 13 laboratories testing 5-, 10-, and 17-month-old monolingual (tone, pitch-accent, non-tone) and bilingual (tone/non-tone, non-tone/non-tone) infants. Overall, infants discriminated a perceptually similar and a distinct non-native tone contrast, although there was no evidence of a native tone-language advantage in discrimination. These results demonstrate maintenance of tone discrimination throughout development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Kalashnikova
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastian, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Leher Singh
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Eylem Altuntas
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Denis Burnham
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Ryan Cannistraci
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Psychology, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ng Bee Chin
- Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ye Feng
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Department of Linguistics, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
| | - Laura Fernández-Merino
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastian, Spain
- University of Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Antonia Götz
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
- Linguistics Department, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Lisa Gustavsson
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jessica Hay
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Barbara Höhle
- Linguistics Department, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - René Kager
- Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Regine Lai
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Liquan Liu
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
- School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Canberra, Australia
- Center of Multilingualism across the Lifespan, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ellen Marklund
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Thierry Nazzi
- INCC, CNRS Paris, Paris, France
- Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Anthony Picaud
- INCC, CNRS Paris, Paris, France
- Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Iris-Corinna Schwarz
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Feng-Ming Tsao
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Imaging Center for Integrated Body, Mind and Culture Research, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Patrick C M Wong
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Pei Jun Woo
- Department of Psychology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia
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7
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Whitehead HL, Ball MC, Brice H, Wolf S, Kembou S, Ogan A, Jasińska KK. Variability in the age of schooling contributes to the link between literacy and numeracy in Côte d'Ivoire. Child Dev 2024; 95:e93-e109. [PMID: 38165003 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Literacy and numeracy are correlated throughout development, however, our understanding of this relation is limited. We explored the predictors of literacy and numeracy covariance (i.e., shared fluency between literacy and numeracy) in children (N = 1167, girls = 563) in rural Côte d'Ivoire, with specific focus on how developmental timing of instruction may relate to covariance. Many Ivorian children experience late enrollment and grade repetition, leading to variation in age-for-grade; participants were between grades 1 to 6, but their ages ranged from 5 to 15 (M = 9.19, SD = 2.07). Phonological awareness, numerical magnitude, ordinality, working memory, and inhibitory control were cognitive predictors of covariance. Age-for-grade was negatively related to covariance suggesting that covariance is related to timing of instruction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Henry Brice
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sharon Wolf
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Amy Ogan
- Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kaja K Jasińska
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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8
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Kobayashi K, Shiba Y, Honda S, Nakajima S, Fujii S, Mimura M, Noda Y. Short-Term Effect of Auditory Stimulation on Neural Activities: A Scoping Review of Longitudinal Electroencephalography and Magnetoencephalography Studies. Brain Sci 2024; 14:131. [PMID: 38391706 PMCID: PMC10887208 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14020131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 12/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Explored through EEG/MEG, auditory stimuli function as a suitable research probe to reveal various neural activities, including event-related potentials, brain oscillations and functional connectivity. Accumulating evidence in this field stems from studies investigating neuroplasticity induced by long-term auditory training, specifically cross-sectional studies comparing musicians and non-musicians as well as longitudinal studies with musicians. In contrast, studies that address the neural effects of short-term interventions whose duration lasts from minutes to hours are only beginning to be featured. Over the past decade, an increasing body of evidence has shown that short-term auditory interventions evoke rapid changes in neural activities, and oscillatory fluctuations can be observed even in the prestimulus period. In this scoping review, we divided the extracted neurophysiological studies into three groups to discuss neural activities with short-term auditory interventions: the pre-stimulus period, during stimulation, and a comparison of before and after stimulation. We show that oscillatory activities vary depending on the context of the stimuli and are greatly affected by the interplay of bottom-up and top-down modulational mechanisms, including attention. We conclude that the observed rapid changes in neural activitiesin the auditory cortex and the higher-order cognitive part of the brain are causally attributed to short-term auditory interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanon Kobayashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Yasushi Shiba
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
| | - Shiori Honda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Shinichiro Nakajima
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Shinya Fujii
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa 252-0816, Japan
| | - Masaru Mimura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Noda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
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9
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Nielsen AN, Kaplan S, Meyer D, Alexopoulos D, Kenley JK, Smyser TA, Wakschlag LS, Norton ES, Raghuraman N, Warner BB, Shimony JS, Luby JL, Neil JJ, Petersen SE, Barch DM, Rogers CE, Sylvester CM, Smyser CD. Maturation of large-scale brain systems over the first month of life. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2788-2803. [PMID: 35750056 PMCID: PMC10016041 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The period immediately after birth is a critical developmental window, capturing rapid maturation of brain structure and a child's earliest experiences. Large-scale brain systems are present at delivery, but how these brain systems mature during this narrow window (i.e. first weeks of life) marked by heightened neuroplasticity remains uncharted. Using multivariate pattern classification techniques and functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging, we detected robust differences in brain systems related to age in newborns (n = 262; R2 = 0.51). Development over the first month of life occurred brain-wide, but differed and was more pronounced in brain systems previously characterized as developing early (i.e. sensorimotor networks) than in those characterized as developing late (i.e. association networks). The cingulo-opercular network was the only exception to this organizing principle, illuminating its early role in brain development. This study represents a step towards a normative brain "growth curve" that could be used to identify atypical brain maturation in infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley N Nielsen
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Sydney Kaplan
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Dominique Meyer
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Dimitrios Alexopoulos
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Jeanette K Kenley
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Tara A Smyser
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Lauren S Wakschlag
- Institute for Innovations and Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- Institute for Innovations and Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Nandini Raghuraman
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Barbara B Warner
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Joshua S Shimony
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Joan L Luby
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Jeffery J Neil
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Steven E Petersen
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Cynthia E Rogers
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Chad M Sylvester
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Christopher D Smyser
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
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10
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Bochner J, Samar V, Prud'hommeaux E, Huenerfauth M. Phoneme Categorization in Prelingually Deaf Adult Cochlear Implant Users. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2022; 65:4429-4453. [PMID: 36279201 DOI: 10.1044/2022_jslhr-22-00038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Phoneme categorization (PC) for voice onset time and second formant transition was studied in adult cochlear implant (CI) users with early-onset deafness and hearing controls. METHOD Identification and discrimination tasks were administered to 30 participants implanted before 4 years of age, 21 participants implanted after 7 years of age, and 21 hearing individuals. RESULTS Distinctive identification and discrimination functions confirmed PC within all groups. Compared to hearing participants, the CI groups generally displayed longer/higher category boundaries, shallower identification function slopes, reduced identification consistency, and reduced discrimination performance. A principal component analysis revealed that identification consistency, discrimination accuracy, and identification function slope, but not boundary location, loaded on a single factor, reflecting general PC performance. Earlier implantation was associated with better PC performance within the early CI group, but not the late CI group. Within the early CI group, earlier implantation age but not PC performance was associated with better speech recognition. Conversely, within the late CI group, better PC performance but not earlier implantation age was associated with better speech recognition. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that implantation timing within the sensitive period before 4 years of age partly determines the level of PC performance. They also suggest that early implantation may promote development of higher level processes that can compensate for relatively poor PC performance, as can occur in challenging listening conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Bochner
- National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY
| | - Vincent Samar
- National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY
| | | | - Matt Huenerfauth
- Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY
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11
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Cheung S, Babel M. The own-voice benefit for word recognition in early bilinguals. Front Psychol 2022; 13:901326. [PMID: 36118470 PMCID: PMC9478475 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.901326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The current study examines the self-voice benefit in an early bilingual population. Female Cantonese-English bilinguals produced words containing Cantonese contrasts. A subset of these minimal pairs was selected as stimuli for a perception task. Speakers' productions were grouped according to how acoustically contrastive their pronunciation of each minimal pair was and these groupings were used to design personalized experiments for each participant, featuring their own voice and the voices of others' similarly-contrastive tokens. The perception task was a two-alternative forced-choice word identification paradigm in which participants heard isolated Cantonese words, which had undergone synthesis to mask the original talker identity. Listeners were more accurate in recognizing minimal pairs produced in their own (disguised) voice than recognizing the realizations of speakers who maintain similar degrees of phonetic contrast for the same minimal pairs. Generally, individuals with larger phonetic contrasts were also more accurate in word identification for self and other voices overall. These results provide evidence for an own-voice benefit for early bilinguals. These results suggest that the phonetic distributions that undergird phonological contrasts are heavily shaped by one's own phonetic realizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Cheung
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Molly Babel
- Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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12
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Individual Differences in Singing Behavior during Childhood Predicts Language Performance during Adulthood. LANGUAGES 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/languages7020072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Research on singing and language abilities has gained considerable interest in the past decade. While several studies about singing ability and language capacity have been published, investigations on individual differences in singing behavior during childhood and its relationship to language capacity in adulthood have largely been neglected. We wanted to focus our study on whether individuals who had sung more often during childhood than their peers were also better in language and music capacity during adulthood. We used questionnaires to assess singing behavior of adults during childhood and tested them for their singing ability, their music perception skills, and their ability to perceive and pronounce unfamiliar languages. The results have revealed that the more often individuals had sung during childhood, the better their singing ability and language pronunciation skills were, while the amount of childhood singing was less predictive on music and language perception skills. We suggest that the amount of singing during childhood seems to influence the ability to sing and the ability to acquire foreign language pronunciation later in adulthood.
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13
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Fibla L, Kosie JE, Kircher R, Lew-Williams C, Byers-Heinlein K. Bilingual Language Development in Infancy: What Can We Do to Support Bilingual Families? POLICY INSIGHTS FROM THE BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES 2022; 9:35-43. [PMID: 35224184 PMCID: PMC8866745 DOI: 10.1177/23727322211069312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Many infants and children around the world grow up exposed to two or more languages. Their success in learning each of their languages is a direct consequence of the quantity and quality of their everyday language experience, including at home, in daycare and preschools, and in the broader community context. Here, we discuss how research on early language learning can inform policies that promote successful bilingual development across the varied contexts in which infants and children live and learn. Throughout our discussions, we highlight that each individual child's experience is unique. In fact, it seems that there are as many ways to grow up bilingual as there are bilingual children. To promote successful bilingual development, we need policies that acknowledge this variability and support frequent exposure to high-quality experience in each of a child's languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laia Fibla
- Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Ruth Kircher
- Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning
Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
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14
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Sanchez-Alonso S, Aslin RN. Towards a model of language neurobiology in early development. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 224:105047. [PMID: 34894429 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.105047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding language neurobiology in early childhood is essential for characterizing the developmental structural and functional changes that lead to the mature adult language network. In the last two decades, the field of language neurodevelopment has received increasing attention, particularly given the rapid advances in the implementation of neuroimaging techniques and analytic approaches that allow detailed investigations into the developing brain across a variety of cognitive domains. These methodological and analytical advances hold the promise of developing early markers of language outcomes that allow diagnosis and clinical interventions at the earliest stages of development. Here, we argue that findings in language neurobiology need to be integrated within an approach that captures the dynamic nature and inherent variability that characterizes the developing brain and the interplay between behavior and (structural and functional) neural patterns. Accordingly, we describe a framework for understanding language neurobiology in early development, which minimally requires an explicit characterization of the following core domains: i) computations underlying language learning mechanisms, ii) developmental patterns of change across neural and behavioral measures, iii) environmental variables that reinforce language learning (e.g., the social context), and iv) brain maturational constraints for optimal neural plasticity, which determine the infant's sensitivity to learning from the environment. We discuss each of these domains in the context of recent behavioral and neuroimaging findings and consider the need for quantitatively modeling two main sources of variation: individual differences or trait-like patterns of variation and within-subject differences or state-like patterns of variation. The goal is to enable models that allow prediction of language outcomes from neural measures that take into account these two types of variation. Finally, we examine how future methodological approaches would benefit from the inclusion of more ecologically valid paradigms that complement and allow generalization of traditional controlled laboratory methods.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Richard N Aslin
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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15
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Martin KC, Ketchabaw WT, Turkeltaub PE. Plasticity of the language system in children and adults. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 184:397-414. [PMID: 35034751 PMCID: PMC10149040 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-819410-2.00021-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The language system is perhaps the most unique feature of the human brain's cognitive architecture. It has long been a quest of cognitive neuroscience to understand the neural components that contribute to the hierarchical pattern processing and advanced rule learning required for language. The most important goal of this research is to understand how language becomes impaired when these neural components malfunction or are lost to stroke, and ultimately how we might recover language abilities under these circumstances. Additionally, understanding how the language system develops and how it can reorganize in the face of brain injury or dysfunction could help us to understand brain plasticity in cognitive networks more broadly. In this chapter we will discuss the earliest features of language organization in infants, and how deviations in typical development can-but in some cases, do not-lead to disordered language. We will then survey findings from adult stroke and aphasia research on the potential for recovering language processing in both the remaining left hemisphere tissue and in the non-dominant right hemisphere. Altogether, we hope to present a clear picture of what is known about the capacity for plastic change in the neurobiology of the human language system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly C Martin
- Department of Neurology, Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
| | - W Tyler Ketchabaw
- Department of Neurology, Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Peter E Turkeltaub
- Department of Neurology, Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States; Research Division, MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, Washington, DC, United States.
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16
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Norrman G, Bylund E, Thierry G. Irreversible Specialization for Speech Perception in Early International Adoptees. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:3777-3785. [PMID: 34952538 PMCID: PMC9433419 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
In early childhood, the human brain goes through a period of tuning to native speech sounds but retains remarkable flexibility, allowing the learning of new languages throughout life. However, little is known about the stability over time of early neural specialization for speech and its influence on the formation of novel language representations. Here, we provide evidence that early international adoptees, who lose contact with their native language environment after adoption, retain enhanced sensitivity to a native lexical tone contrast more than 15 years after being adopted to Sweden from China, in the absence of any pretest familiarization with the stimuli. Changes in oscillatory brain activity showed how adoptees resort to inhibiting the processing of defunct phonological representations, rather than forgetting or replacing them with new ones. Furthermore, neurophysiological responses to native and nonnative contrasts were not negatively correlated, suggesting that native language retention does not interfere with the acquisition of adoptive phonology acquisition. These results suggest that early language experience provides strikingly resilient specialization for speech which is compensated for through inhibitory control mechanisms as learning conditions change later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunnar Norrman
- Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emanuel Bylund
- Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of General Linguistics, Stellenbosch University, 7602 Matieland, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Guillaume Thierry
- School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DG, United Kingdom.,Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Collegium Heliodori, ul. Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780, Poznań, Poland
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17
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Kremin LV, Byers-Heinlein K. Why not both? Rethinking categorical and continuous approaches to bilingualism. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUALISM : CROSS-DISCIPLINARY, CROSS-LINGUISTIC STUDIES OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR 2021; 25:1560-1575. [PMID: 34867070 PMCID: PMC8637352 DOI: 10.1177/13670069211031986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Bilingualism is a complex construct, and it can be difficult to define and model. This paper proposes that the field of bilingualism can draw from other fields of psychology, by integrating advanced psychometric models that incorporate both categorical and continuous properties. These models can unify the widespread use of bilingual and monolingual groups that exist in the literature with recent proposals that bilingualism should be viewed as a continuous variable. APPROACH In the paper, we highlight two models of potential interest: the factor mixture model and the grade-of-membership model. These models simultaneously allow for the formation of different categories of speakers and for continuous variation to exist within these categories. We discuss how these models could be implemented in bilingualism research, including how to develop these models. When using either of the two models, researchers can conduct their analyses on either the categorical or continuous information, or a combination of the two, depending on which is most appropriate to address their research question. CONCLUSIONS The field of bilingualism research could benefit from incorporating more complex models into definitions of bilingualism. To help various subfields of bilingualism research converge on appropriate models, we encourage researchers to pre-register their model selection and planned analyses, as well as to share their data and analysis scripts. ORIGINALITY The paper uniquely proposes the incorporation of advanced statistical psychometric methods for defining and modeling bilingualism. SIGNIFICANCE Conceptualizing bilingualism within the context of these more flexible models will allow a wide variety of research questions to be addressed. Ultimately, this will help to advance theory and lead to a fuller and deeper understanding of bilingualism.
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18
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Papadimitriou A, Smyth C, Politimou N, Franco F, Stewart L. The impact of the home musical environment on infants' language development. Infant Behav Dev 2021; 65:101651. [PMID: 34784522 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
There is strong evidence that musical engagement influences children's language development but little research has been carried out on the relationship between the home musical environment and language development in infancy. The current study assessed musical exposure at home (including parental singing) and language development in 64 infants (8.5-18 months). Results showed that the home musical environment significantly predicted gesture development. For a subgroup of infants' below 12 months, both parental singing and overall home musical environment score significantly predicted word comprehension. These findings represent the first demonstration that an enriched musical environment in infancy can promote development of communication skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aspasia Papadimitriou
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, 8 Lewisham Way, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine Smyth
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, 8 Lewisham Way, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, United Kingdom
| | - Nina Politimou
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom.
| | - Fabia Franco
- Department of Psychology, Middlesex University London, The Burroughs, Hendon, London, NW4 4BT, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren Stewart
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, 8 Lewisham Way, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, United Kingdom
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19
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Benassi E, Boria S, Berghenti MT, Camia M, Scorza M, Cossu G. Morpho-Syntactic Deficit in Children with Cochlear Implant: Consequence of Hearing Loss or Concomitant Impairment to the Language System? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:9475. [PMID: 34574401 PMCID: PMC8471606 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18189475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Among implanted children with similar duration of auditory deprivation and clinical history, the morpho-syntactic skills remain highly variable, suggesting that other fundamental factors may determine the linguistic outcomes of these children, beyond their auditory recovery. The present study analyzed the morpho-syntactic discrepancies among three children with cochlear implant (CI), with the aim of understanding if morpho-syntactic deficits may be characterized as a domain-specific language disorder. METHOD The three children (mean age = 7.2; SD = 0.4) received their CI at 2.7, 3.7, and 5.9 years of age. Their morpho-syntactic skills were evaluated in both comprehension and production and compared with 15 age-matched normal-hearing children (mean age = 6.6; SD = 0.3). RESULTS Cases 1 and 2 displayed a marked impairment across morphology and syntax, whereas Case 3, the late-implanted child, showed a morpho-syntactic profile well within the normal boundaries. A qualitative analysis showed, in Cases 1 and 2, language deficits similar to those of normal hearing children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). CONCLUSIONS We suggest that a severe grammatical deficit may be, in some implanted children, the final outcome of a concomitant impairment to the language system. Clinical implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Benassi
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.C.); (M.S.)
| | - Sonia Boria
- Center for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Study of Communication and Socialization Disorders, NPIA, AUSL of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy;
| | | | - Michela Camia
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.C.); (M.S.)
| | - Maristella Scorza
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.C.); (M.S.)
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20
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Ortiz-Mantilla S, Roesler CP, Realpe-Bonilla T, Benasich AA. Modulation of Theta Phase Synchrony during Syllable Processing as a Function of Interactive Acoustic Experience in Infancy. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:919-932. [PMID: 34403462 PMCID: PMC8889996 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasticity, a prominent characteristic of the infant brain, supports formation of cortical representations as infants begin to interact with and adapt to environmental sensory events. Enhanced acoustic processing efficiency along with improved allocation of attentional resources at 7 months and establishment of well-defined phonemic maps at 9 months have been shown to be facilitated by early interactive acoustic experience (IAE). In this study, using an oddball paradigm and measures of theta phase synchrony at source level, we examined short- and long-term effects of nonspeech IAE on syllable processing. Results demonstrated that beyond maturation alone, IAE increased the efficiency of syllabic representation and discrimination, an effect that endured well beyond the immediate training period. As compared with naive controls, the IAE-trained group at 7, 9, and 18 months showed less theta phase synchrony for the standard syllable and at 7 and 18 months for the deviant syllable. The decreased theta phase synchrony exhibited by the trained group suggests more mature, efficient, acoustic processing, and thus, better cortical representation and discrimination of syllabic content. Further, the IAE modulatory effect observed on theta phase synchrony in left auditory cortex at 7 and 9 months was differentially associated with receptive and expressive language scores at 12 and 18 months of age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Ortiz-Mantilla
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Cynthia P Roesler
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Teresa Realpe-Bonilla
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - April A Benasich
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
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21
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Heidlmayr K, Ferragne E, Isel F. Neuroplasticity in the phonological system: The PMN and the N400 as markers for the perception of non-native phonemic contrasts by late second language learners. Neuropsychologia 2021; 156:107831. [PMID: 33753084 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Second language (L2) learners frequently encounter persistent difficulty in perceiving certain non-native sound contrasts, i.e., a phenomenon called "phonological deafness". However, if extensive L2 experience leads to neuroplastic changes in the phonological system, then the capacity to discriminate non-native phonemic contrasts should progressively improve. Such perceptual changes should be attested by modifications at the neurophysiological level. We designed an EEG experiment in which the listeners' perceptual capacities to discriminate second language phonemic contrasts influence the processing of lexical-semantic violations. Semantic congruency of critical words in a sentence context was driven by a phonemic contrast that was unique to the L2, English (e.g.,/ɪ/-/i:/, ship - sheep). Twenty-eight young adult native speakers of French with intermediate proficiency in English listened to sentences that contained either a semantically congruent or incongruent critical word (e.g., The anchor of theship/*sheepwas let down) while EEG was recorded. Three ERP effects were found to relate to increasing L2 proficiency: (1) a left frontal auditory N100 effect, (2) a smaller fronto-central phonological mismatch negativity (PMN) effect and (3) a semantic N400 effect. No effect of proficiency was found on oscillatory markers. The current findings suggest that neuronal plasticity in the human brain allows for the late acquisition of even hard-wired linguistic features such as the discrimination of phonemic contrasts in a second language. This is the first time that behavioral and neurophysiological evidence for the critical role of neural plasticity underlying L2 phonological processing and its interdependence with semantic processing has been provided. Our data strongly support the idea that pieces of information from different levels of linguistic processing (e.g., phonological, semantic) strongly interact and influence each other during online language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Heidlmayr
- UMR 1253, iBrain, University of Tours, Inserm, Tours, France; Max-Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Laboratory CLILLAC-ARP - URP3967, Université de Paris, Paris, France; Laboratory Models, Dynamics, Corpus, CNRS/University Paris Nanterre, Paris Lumières, France.
| | - Emmanuel Ferragne
- Laboratory CLILLAC-ARP - URP3967, Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Frédéric Isel
- Laboratory Models, Dynamics, Corpus, CNRS/University Paris Nanterre, Paris Lumières, France
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22
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Dorn K, Cauvet E, Weinert S. A cross‐linguistic study of multisensory perceptual narrowing in German and Swedish infants during the first year of life. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Dorn
- Department of Developmental Psychology Otto‐Friedrich University Bamberg Germany
| | - Elodie Cauvet
- Department of Women's and Children's health Karolinska Institute of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND) Stockholm Sweden
| | - Sabine Weinert
- Department of Developmental Psychology Otto‐Friedrich University Bamberg Germany
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23
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Paillereau N, Podlipský VJ, Smolík F, Šimáčková Š, Chládková K. The development of infants’ sensitivity to native versus non‐native rhythm. INFANCY 2021; 26:423-441. [DOI: 10.1111/infa.12395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nikola Paillereau
- Institute of Psychology Czech Academy of Sciences Praha Czech Republic
- Institute of Phonetics Faculty of Arts Charles University Praha Czech Republic
| | - Václav Jonáš Podlipský
- Department of English and American Studies Faculty of Arts Palacký University Olomouc Czech Republic
| | - Filip Smolík
- Institute of Psychology Czech Academy of Sciences Praha Czech Republic
- Department of Linguistics Faculty of Arts Charles University Praha Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Šimáčková
- Department of English and American Studies Faculty of Arts Palacký University Olomouc Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Chládková
- Institute of Psychology Czech Academy of Sciences Praha Czech Republic
- Institute of Czech Language and Theory of Communication Faculty of Arts Charles University Praha Czech Republic
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24
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Mersad K, Kabdebon C, Dehaene-Lambertz G. Explicit access to phonetic representations in 3-month-old infants. Cognition 2021; 213:104613. [PMID: 33568329 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Preverbal infants are particularly good at discriminating syllables that differ by a single phoneme but do they perceive syllables as a whole unit or can they become aware of the underlying phonemes if their attention is attracted to the relevant level of analysis? We trained 3-month-old infants to pair two consonants, co-articulated with different vowels, with two visual shapes. Using event-related potentials, we showed that infants generalize the learned associations to new syllables with respect to the training phase. The systematic pairing of a visual label with a phonetic category is rapidly learned in a few trials, suggesting that phonemes are natural categories for infants but also that phonetic representations are accessible to internal operations outside the linguistic system. Hence, the possibility of an explicit access to the phonetic level, which is the main process underlying alphabetic reading system, is grounded in the early faculties of the human infant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karima Mersad
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CNRS, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France.
| | - Claire Kabdebon
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CNRS, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CNRS, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
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25
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Falk S, Fasolo M, Genovese G, Romero‐Lauro L, Franco F. Sing for me, Mama! Infants' discrimination of novel vowels in song. INFANCY 2021; 26:248-270. [DOI: 10.1111/infa.12387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Simone Falk
- Department of Linguistics and Translation University of Montreal, Montreal Quebec Canada
- Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS) University of Montreal, Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Mirco Fasolo
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti‐Pescara Chieti Italy
| | | | - Leonor Romero‐Lauro
- Department of Psychology University of Milan‐Bicocca Milano Italy
- Neuromi Milan Center for Neuroscience Milano Italy
| | - Fabia Franco
- Department of Psychology Faculty of Science and Technology Middlesex University London London UK
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Backer KC, Bortfeld H. Characterizing Bilingual Effects on Cognition: The Search for Meaningful Individual Differences. Brain Sci 2021; 11:81. [PMID: 33435472 PMCID: PMC7827854 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11010081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A debate over the past decade has focused on the so-called bilingual advantage-the idea that bilingual and multilingual individuals have enhanced domain-general executive functions, relative to monolinguals, due to competition-induced monitoring of both processing and representation from the task-irrelevant language(s). In this commentary, we consider a recent study by Pot, Keijzer, and de Bot (2018), which focused on the relationship between individual differences in language usage and performance on an executive function task among multilingual older adults. We discuss their approach and findings in light of a more general movement towards embracing complexity in this domain of research, including individuals' sociocultural context and position in the lifespan. The field increasingly considers interactions between bilingualism/multilingualism and cognition, employing measures of language use well beyond the early dichotomous perspectives on language background. Moreover, new measures of bilingualism and analytical approaches are helping researchers interrogate the complexities of specific processing issues. Indeed, our review of the bilingualism/multilingualism literature confirms the increased appreciation researchers have for the range of factors-beyond whether someone speaks one, two, or more languages-that impact specific cognitive processes. Here, we highlight some of the most salient of these, and incorporate suggestions for a way forward that likewise encompasses neural perspectives on the topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina C. Backer
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Heather Bortfeld
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
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Purcell PL, Deep NL, Waltzman SB, Roland JT, Cushing SL, Papsin BC, Gordon KA. Cochlear Implantation in Infants: Why and How. Trends Hear 2021; 25:23312165211031751. [PMID: 34281434 PMCID: PMC8295935 DOI: 10.1177/23312165211031751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In children with congenital deafness, cochlear implantation (CI) prior to 12 months of age offers the opportunity to foster more typical auditory development during late infancy and early childhood. Recent studies have found a positive association between early implantation and expressive and receptive language outcomes, with some children able to achieve normal language skills by the time of school entry. Universal newborn hearing screening improved early detection and diagnosis of congenital hearing loss, allowing for earlier intervention, including decision-making regarding cochlear implant (CI) candidacy. It can be more challenging to confirm CI candidacy in infants; therefore, a multidisciplinary approach, including objective audiometric testing, is recommended to not only confirm the diagnosis but also to counsel families regarding expectations and long-term management. Surgeons performing CI surgery in young children should consider both the anesthetic risks of surgery in infancy and the ways in which mastoid anatomy may differ between infants and older children or adults. Multiple studies have found CI surgery in infants can be performed safely and effectively. This article reviews current evidence regarding indications for implantation in children younger than 12 months of age and discusses perioperative considerations and surgical technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia L. Purcell
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nicholas L. Deep
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
| | - Susan B. Waltzman
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
| | - J. Thomas Roland
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
| | - Sharon L. Cushing
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Blake C. Papsin
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Karen A. Gordon
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Sharer K, Thothathiri M. Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Dynamic Updating of Native Language. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2020; 1:492-522. [PMID: 37215586 PMCID: PMC10158591 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Language users encounter different sentence structures from different people in different contexts. Although syntactic variability and adults' ability to adapt to it are both widely acknowledged, the relevant mechanisms and neural substrates are unknown. We hypothesized that syntactic updating might rely on cognitive control, which can help detect and resolve mismatch between prior linguistic expectations and new language experiences that countervail those expectations and thereby assist in accurately encoding new input. Using functional neuroimaging (fMRI), we investigated updating in garden-path sentence comprehension to test the prediction that regions within the left inferior frontal cortex might be relevant neural substrates, and additionally, explored the role of regions within the multiple demand network. Participants read ambiguous and unambiguous main-verb and relative-clause sentences. Ambiguous relative-clause sentences led to a garden-path effect in the left pars opercularis within the lateral frontal cortex and the left anterior insula/frontal operculum within the multiple demand network. This effect decreased upon repeated exposure to relative-clause sentences, consistent with updating. The two regions showed several contrastive patterns, including different activation relative to baseline, correlation with performance in a cognitive control task (the Stroop task), and verb-specificity versus generality in adaptation. Together, these results offer new insight into how the brain updates native language. They demonstrate the involvement of left frontal brain regions in helping the language system adjust to new experiences, with different areas playing distinct functional roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Sharer
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Malathi Thothathiri
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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Ortiz-Mantilla S, Realpe-Bonilla T, Benasich AA. Early Interactive Acoustic Experience with Non-speech Generalizes to Speech and Confers a Syllabic Processing Advantage at 9 Months. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:1789-1801. [PMID: 30722000 PMCID: PMC6418390 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
During early development, the infant brain is highly plastic and sensory experiences modulate emerging cortical maps, enhancing processing efficiency as infants set up key linguistic precursors. Early interactive acoustic experience (IAE) with spectrotemporally-modulated non-speech has been shown to facilitate optimal acoustic processing and generalizes to novel non-speech sounds at 7-months-of-age. Here we demonstrate that effects of non-speech IAE endure well beyond the immediate training period and robustly generalize to speech processing. Infants who received non-speech IAE differed at 9-months-of-age from both naïve controls and those with only passive acoustic exposure, demonstrating broad modulation of oscillatory dynamics. For the standard syllable, increased high-gamma (>70 Hz) power within auditory cortices indicates that IAE fosters native speech processing, facilitating establishment of phonemic representations. The higher left beta power seen may reflect increased linking of sensory information and corresponding articulatory patterns, while bilateral decreases in theta power suggest more mature automatized speech processing, as less neuronal resources were allocated to process syllabic information. For the deviant syllable, left-lateralized gamma (<70 Hz) enhancement suggests IAE promotes phonemic-related discrimination abilities. Theta power increases in right auditory cortex, known for favoring slow-rate decoding, implies IAE facilitates the more demanding processing of the sporadic deviant syllable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Ortiz-Mantilla
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Teresa Realpe-Bonilla
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - April A Benasich
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, USA
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Romeo RR. Socioeconomic and experiential influences on the neurobiology of language development. PERSPECTIVES OF THE ASHA SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 2019; 4:1229-1238. [PMID: 34013041 PMCID: PMC8130857 DOI: 10.1044/2019_persp-19-00073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The process by which young children acquire language is an incredible feat subserved by neurobiological language circuitry. While the foundations of brain structure and function are genetically determined, children's experiences during sensitive periods in early life have a significant influence on the development of language systems. The purpose of this review is to provide practitioners with a comprehensive summary of foundational and recent research on the ways that children's early experiences-both favorable and adverse-may influence the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology underlying language development. A specific focus is given to the burgeoning neuroimaging evidence of relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and brain development, as well as to emerging research on proximal experiences that may serve as the direct mechanisms by which SES influences language development. CONCLUSION Findings from the neuroscience field have direct implications for practice in speech language pathology. Specifically, clinicians can have immense influence on crafting supportive language environments during windows of maximal neural influence, both via direct intervention and parent coaching. Practical suggestions are provided for translating research findings to practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel R. Romeo
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital; Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, MA
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Escudero P, Kalashnikova M. Infants use phonetic detail in speech perception and word learning when detail is easy to perceive. J Exp Child Psychol 2019; 190:104714. [PMID: 31734323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Revised: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Infants successfully discriminate speech sound contrasts that belong to their native language's phonemic inventory in auditory-only paradigms, but they encounter difficulties in distinguishing the same contrasts in the context of word learning. These difficulties are usually attributed to the fact that infants' attention to the phonetic detail in novel words is attenuated when they must allocate additional cognitive resources demanded by word-learning tasks. The current study investigated 15-month-old infants' ability to distinguish novel words that differ by a single vowel in an auditory discrimination paradigm (Experiment 1) and a word-learning paradigm (Experiment 2). These experiments aimed to tease apart whether infants' performance is dependent solely on the specific acoustic properties of the target vowels or on the context of the task. Experiment 1 showed that infants were able to discriminate only a contrast marked by a large difference along a static dimension (the vowels' second formant), whereas they were not able to discriminate a contrast with a small phonetic distance between its vowels, due to the dynamic nature of the vowels. In Experiment 2, infants did not succeed at learning words containing the same contrast they were able to discriminate in Experiment 1. The current findings demonstrate that both the specific acoustic properties of vowels in infants' native language and the task presented continue to play a significant role in early speech perception well into the second year of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Escudero
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
| | - Marina Kalashnikova
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, 20009 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
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Kalashnikova M, Goswami U, Burnham D. Delayed development of phonological constancy in toddlers at family risk for dyslexia. Infant Behav Dev 2019; 57:101327. [PMID: 31207365 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Phonological constancy refers to infants' ability to disregard variations in the phonetic realisation of speech sounds that do not indicate lexical contrast, e.g., when listening to accented speech. In typically-developing infants, this ability develops between 15- and 19-months of age, coinciding with the consolidation of infants' native phonological competence and vocabulary growth. Here we investigated the developmental time course of phonological constancy in infants at family risk for developmental dyslexia, using a longitudinal design. Developmental dyslexia is a disorder affecting the acquisition of reading and spelling skills, and it also affects early auditory processing, speech perception, and lexical acquisition. Infants at-risk and not at-risk for dyslexia, based on a family history of dyslexia, participated when they were 15-, 19-, and 26-months of age. Phonological constancy was indexed by comparing at-risk and not at-risk infants' ability to recognise familiar words in two preferential looking tasks: (1) a task using words presented in their native accent, and (2) a task using words presented in a non-native accent. We expected a delay in phonological constancy for the at-risk infants. As predicted, in the non-native accent task, not at-risk infants recognised familiar words by 19 months, but at-risk infants did not. The control infants thus exhibited phonological constancy. By 26 months, at-risk toddlers did show successful word recognition in the native accent task. However, for the non-native accent task at 26 months, neither at-risk nor control infants showed familiar word recognition. These findings are discussed in terms of the impact of family risk for dyslexia on toddlers' consolidation of early phonological and lexical skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Kalashnikova
- BCBL. Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Donostia, Spain; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia.
| | - Usha Goswami
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Denis Burnham
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
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How Early Experience Shapes Human Development: The Case of Psychosocial Deprivation. Neural Plast 2019; 2019:1676285. [PMID: 30774652 PMCID: PMC6350537 DOI: 10.1155/2019/1676285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Experience plays an essential role in building brain architecture after birth. The question we address in this paper is what happens to brain and behavior when a young child is deprived of key experiences during critical periods of brain development. We focus in particular on the consequences of institutional rearing, with implication for the tens of millions of children around the world who from an early age experience profound psychosocial deprivation. Evidence is clear that deprivation can lead to a host of both short- and long-term consequences, including perturbations in brain structure and function, changes at cellular and molecular levels, and a plethora of psychological and behavioral impairments.
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Facon B, Magis D. Does the Development of Syntax Comprehension Show a Premature Asymptote Among Persons With Down Syndrome? A Cross-Sectional Analysis. AMERICAN JOURNAL ON INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2019; 124:131-144. [PMID: 30835529 DOI: 10.1352/1944-7558-124.2.131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Uncertainty persists regarding the post-childhood trajectory of syntactic acquisition of persons with Down syndrome (DS). In some studies, asymptote is reached in the early teens, whereas others find syntax continuing to develop at least into early adulthood. This study addressed the issue using a cross-sectional approach. Receptive syntax and vocabulary were tested in 62 children, adolescents and young adults with DS matched on chronological age and cognitive level with 62 participants with intellectual disability (ID) of undifferentiated etiology. On both tests there were significant effects of chronological age and diagnosis, but the chronological age × diagnosis interactions were nonsignificant. We concluded that comprehension of vocabulary and syntax does not asymptote prematurely in individuals with DS relative to those with other forms of ID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Facon
- Bruno Facon, Univ. de Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000 Lille, France; and David Magis, Department of Education, University of Liège, Belgium
| | - David Magis
- Bruno Facon, Univ. de Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000 Lille, France; and David Magis, Department of Education, University of Liège, Belgium
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Musacchia G, Ortiz-Mantilla S, Roesler CP, Rajendran S, Morgan-Byrne J, Benasich AA. Effects of noise and age on the infant brainstem response to speech. Clin Neurophysiol 2018; 129:2623-2634. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Revised: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Mayberry RI, Kluender R. Rethinking the critical period for language: New insights into an old question from American Sign Language. BILINGUALISM (CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND) 2018; 21:886-905. [PMID: 30643489 PMCID: PMC6329394 DOI: 10.1017/s1366728917000724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The hypothesis that children surpass adults in long-term second-language proficiency is accepted as evidence for a critical period for language. However, the scope and nature of a critical period for language has been the subject of considerable debate. The controversy centers on whether the age-related decline in ultimate second-language proficiency is evidence for a critical period or something else. Here we argue that age-onset effects for first vs. second language outcome are largely different. We show this by examining psycholinguistic studies of ultimate attainment in L2 vs. L1 learners, longitudinal studies of adolescent L1 acquisition, and neurolinguistic studies of late L2 and L1 learners. This research indicates that L1 acquisition arises from post-natal brain development interacting with environmental linguistic experience. By contrast, L2 learning after early childhood is scaffolded by prior childhood L1 acquisition, both linguistically and neurally, making it a less clear test of the critical period for language.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert Kluender
- Department of Linguistics, University of California San Diego
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Zheng A, Hirata Y, Kelly SD. Exploring the Effects of Imitating Hand Gestures and Head Nods on L1 and L2 Mandarin Tone Production. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2018; 61:2179-2195. [PMID: 30193334 DOI: 10.1044/2018_jslhr-s-17-0481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2017] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study investigated the impact of metaphoric actions-head nods and hand gestures-in producing Mandarin tones for first language (L1) and second language (L2) speakers. METHOD In 2 experiments, participants imitated videos of Mandarin tones produced under 3 conditions: (a) speech alone, (b) speech + head nods, and (c) speech + hand gestures. Fundamental frequency was recorded for both L1 (Experiment 1) and L2 (Experiment 2a) speakers, and the output of the L2 speakers was rated for tonal accuracy by 7 native Mandarin judges (Experiment 2b). RESULTS Experiment 1 showed that 12 L1 speakers' fundamental frequency spectral data did not differ among the 3 conditions. In Experiment 2a, the conditions did not affect the production of 24 English speakers for the most part, but there was some evidence that hand gestures helped Tone 4. In Experiment 2b, native Mandarin judges found limited conditional differences in L2 productions, with Tone 3 showing a slight head nods benefit in a subset of "correct" L2 tokens. CONCLUSION Results suggest that metaphoric bodily actions do not influence the lowest levels of L1 speech production in a tonal language and may play a very modest role during preliminary L2 learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annie Zheng
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
- Center for Language and Brain, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
| | - Yukari Hirata
- Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
- Center for Language and Brain, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
| | - Spencer D Kelly
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Neuroscience Program, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
- Center for Language and Brain, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
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Bylund E, Abrahamsson N, Hyltenstam K, Norrman G. Revisiting the bilingual lexical deficit: The impact of age of acquisition. Cognition 2018; 182:45-49. [PMID: 30216899 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Whereas the cognitive advantages brought about by bilingualism have recently been called into question, the so-called 'lexical deficit' in bilinguals is still largely taken for granted. Here, we argue that, in analogy with cognitive advantages, the lexical deficit does not apply across the board of bilinguals, but varies as a function of acquisition trajectory. To test this, we implement a novel methodological design, where the variables of bilingualism and first/second language status have been fully crossed in four different groups. While the results confirm effects of bilingualism on lexical proficiency and processing, they show more robust effects of age of acquisition. We conclude that the traditional view of the linguistic costs of bilingualism need to give way to a new understanding of lexical development in which age of acquisition is seen as a major determinant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Bylund
- Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Stockholm University, Sweden.
| | | | | | - Gunnar Norrman
- Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Stockholm University, Sweden
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Boudelaa S. Non-Selective Lexical Access in Late Arabic-English Bilinguals: Evidence from Gating. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2018; 47:913-930. [PMID: 29417453 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-018-9564-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Previous research suggests that late bilinguals who speak typologically distant languages are the least likely to show evidence of non-selective lexical access processes. This study puts this claim to test by using the gating task to determine whether words beginning with speech sounds that are phonetically similar in Arabic and English (e.g., [b,d,m,n]) give rise to selective or non-selective lexical access processes in late Arabic-English bilinguals. The results show that an acoustic-phonetic input (e.g., [bæ]) that is consistent with words in Arabic (e.g., [bædrun] "moon") and English (e.g., [bæd] "bad") activates lexical representations in both languages of the bilingual. This non-selective activation holds equally well for mixed lists with words from both Arabic and English and blocked lists consisting only of Arabic or English words. These results suggest that non-selective lexical access processes are the default mechanism even in late bilinguals of typologically distant languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sami Boudelaa
- Department of Linguistics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, 15551, UAE.
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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Shen G, Smyk NJ, Meltzoff AN, Marshall PJ. Neuropsychology of Human Body Parts: Exploring Categorical Boundaries of Tactile Perception Using Somatosensory Mismatch Responses. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:1858-1869. [PMID: 30024330 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The focus of the current study is on a particular aspect of tactile perception: categorical segmentation on the body surface into discrete body parts. The MMN has been shown to be sensitive to categorical boundaries and language experience in the auditory modality. Here we recorded the somatosensory MMN (sMMN) using two tactile oddball protocols and compared sMMN amplitudes elicited by within- and across-boundary oddball pairs. Both protocols employed the identity MMN method that controls for responsivity at each body location. In the first protocol, we investigated the categorical segmentation of tactile space at the wrist by presenting pairs of tactile oddball stimuli across equal spatial distances, either across the wrist or within the forearm. Amplitude of the sMMN elicited by stimuli presented across the wrist boundary was significantly greater than for stimuli presented within the forearm, suggesting a categorical effect at an early stage of somatosensory processing. The second protocol was designed to investigate the generality of this MMN effect, and involved three digits on one hand. Amplitude of the sMMN elicited by a contrast of the third digit and the thumb was significantly larger than a contrast between the third and fifth digits, suggesting a functional boundary effect that may derive from the way that objects are typically grasped. These findings demonstrate that the sMMN is a useful index of processing of somatosensory spatial discrimination that can be used to study body part categories.
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Gagner C, Landry-Roy C, Bernier A, Gravel J, Beauchamp MH. Behavioral consequences of mild traumatic brain injury in preschoolers. Psychol Med 2018; 48:1551-1559. [PMID: 29173217 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717003221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of long-term disability in children and adolescents worldwide. Amongst the wide array of consequences known to occur after pediatric TBI, behavioral impairments are among the most widespread and may particularly affect children who sustain injury early in the course of development. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems 6 months after preschool (i.e. 18-60 months old) mild TBI. METHODS This work is part of a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of preschool TBI. Participants (N = 229) were recruited to one of three groups: children with mild TBI, typically developing children and orthopedic injured (OI) children. Mothers of children in all three groups completed the Child Behavior Checklist as a measure of behavioral outcomes 6-month post-injury. Demographics, injury-related characteristics, level of parental distress, and estimates of pre-injury behavioral problems were also documented. RESULTS The three groups did not differ on baseline characteristics (e.g. demographics and pre-injury behavioral problems for the mild TBI and OI groups) and level of parental distress. Mothers' ratings of internalizing and externalizing behaviors were higher in the mild TBI group compared with the two control groups. Pre-injury behavioral problems and maternal distress were found to be significant predictors of outcome. CONCLUSION Our results show that even in its mildest form, preschool TBI may cause disruption to the immature brain serious enough to result in behavioral changes, which persist for several months post-injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Gagner
- Department of Psychology,University of Montreal,Montreal,Quebec,Canada
| | | | - Annie Bernier
- Department of Psychology,University of Montreal,Montreal,Quebec,Canada
| | - Jocelyn Gravel
- Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center,Montreal,Quebec,Canada
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Liu L, Kager R. Monolingual and Bilingual Infants' Ability to Use Non-native Tone for Word Learning Deteriorates by the Second Year After Birth. Front Psychol 2018; 9:117. [PMID: 29599730 PMCID: PMC5862817 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies reported a non-native word learning advantage for bilingual infants at around 18 months. We investigated developmental changes in infant interpretation of sounds that aid in object mapping. Dutch monolingual and bilingual (exposed to Dutch and a second non-tone-language) infants' word learning ability was examined on two novel label-object pairings using syllables differing in Mandarin tones as labels (flat vs. falling). Infants aged 14-15 months, regardless of language backgrounds, were sensitive to violations in the label-objects pairings when lexical tones were switched compared to when they were the same as habituated. Conversely at 17-18 months, neither monolingual nor bilingual infants demonstrated learning. Linking with existing literature, infants' ability to associate non-native tones with meanings may be related to tonal acoustic properties and/or perceptual assimilation to native prosodic categories. These findings provide new insights into the relation between infant tone perception, learning, and interpretative narrowing from a developmental perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liquan Liu
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Utrecht Institute of Linguistics-OTS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - René Kager
- Utrecht Institute of Linguistics-OTS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
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Perszyk DR, Ferguson B, Waxman SR. Maturation constrains the effect of exposure in linking language and thought: evidence from healthy preterm infants. Dev Sci 2018; 21:10.1111/desc.12522. [PMID: 28032433 PMCID: PMC5519447 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The power of human language rests upon its intricate links to human cognition. By 3 months of age, listening to language supports infants' ability to form object categories, a building block of cognition. Moreover, infants display a systematic shift between 3 and 4 months - a shift from familiarity to novelty preferences - in their expression of this link between language and core cognitive processes. Here, we capitalize on this tightly-timed developmental shift in fullterm infants to assess (a) whether it also appears in preterm infants and (b) whether it reflects infants' maturational status or the duration of their postnatal experience. Healthy late preterm infants (N = 22) participated in an object categorization task while listening to language. Their performance, coupled with that of fullterm infants, reveals that this developmental shift is evident in preterm infants and unfolds on the same maturational timetable as in their fullterm counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brock Ferguson
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Sandra R Waxman
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Institue for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
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Abstract
Over the last 30 years a wide range of manipulations of auditory input and experience have been shown to result in plasticity in auditory cortical and subcortical structures. The time course of plasticity ranges from very rapid stimulus-specific adaptation to longer-term changes associated with, for example, partial hearing loss or perceptual learning. Evidence for plasticity as a consequence of these and a range of other manipulations of auditory input and/or its significance is reviewed, with an emphasis on plasticity in adults and in the auditory cortex. The nature of the changes in auditory cortex associated with attention, memory and perceptual learning depend critically on task structure, reward contingencies, and learning strategy. Most forms of auditory system plasticity are adaptive, in that they serve to optimize auditory performance, prompting attempts to harness this plasticity for therapeutic purposes. However, plasticity associated with cochlear trauma and partial hearing loss appears to be maladaptive, and has been linked to tinnitus. Three important forms of human learning-related auditory system plasticity are those associated with language development, musical training, and improvement in performance with a cochlear implant. Almost all forms of plasticity involve changes in synaptic excitatory - inhibitory balance within existing patterns of connectivity. An attractive model applicable to a number of forms of learning-related plasticity is dynamic multiplexing by individual neurons, such that learning involving a particular stimulus attribute reflects a particular subset of the diverse inputs to a given neuron being gated by top-down influences. The plasticity evidence indicates that auditory cortex is a component of complex distributed networks that integrate the representation of auditory stimuli with attention, decision and reward processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dexter R F Irvine
- Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002, Australia; School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia.
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45
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DE Clerck I, Pettinato M, Verhoeven JO, Gillis S. Is prosodic production driven by lexical development? Longitudinal evidence from babble and words. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2017; 44:1248-1273. [PMID: 27846920 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000916000532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the relation between lexical development and the production of prosodic prominence in disyllabic babble and words. Monthly recordings from nine typically developing Belgian-Dutch-speaking infants were analyzed from the onset of babbling until a cumulative vocabulary of 200 words was reached. The differentiation between the two syllables of isolated disyllabic utterances was computed for f0, intensity, and duration measurements. Results showed that the ambient trochaic pattern emerged in babble, but became enhanced in words. Words showed more prosodic differentiation in terms of f0 and intensity and a more even duration ratio. Age or vocabulary size did not predict the expansion of f0 or intensity in words, whereas vocabulary size was related to the production of more even-timed syllables. The findings are discussed in terms of lexicalist accounts of phonetic development and a potential phonetic highlighting function of first words.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilke DE Clerck
- University of Antwerp,Department of Linguistics,CLiPS Computational Linguistics and Psycholinguistics Research Centre,Antwerp,Belgium
| | - Michèle Pettinato
- University of Antwerp,Department of Linguistics,CLiPS Computational Linguistics and Psycholinguistics Research Centre,Antwerp,Belgium
| | - J O Verhoeven
- University of Antwerp,Department of Linguistics,CLiPS Computational Linguistics and Psycholinguistics Research Centre,Antwerp,Belgium, and City University London,Division of Language and Communication Science,London,UK
| | - Steven Gillis
- University of Antwerp,Department of Linguistics,CLiPS Computational Linguistics and Psycholinguistics Research Centre,Antwerp,Belgium
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Liu L, Kager R. Statistical learning of speech sounds is most robust during the period of perceptual attunement. J Exp Child Psychol 2017; 164:192-208. [PMID: 28687119 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Revised: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Although statistical learning has been shown to be a domain-general mechanism, its constraints, such as its interactions with perceptual development, are less well understood and discussed. This study is among the first to investigate the distributional learning of lexical pitch in non-tone-language-learning infants, exploring its interaction with language-specific perceptual attunement during the first 2years after birth. A total of 88 normally developing Dutch infants of 5, 11, and 14months were tested via a distributional learning paradigm and were familiarized on a unimodal or bimodal distribution of high-level versus high-falling tones in Mandarin Chinese. After familiarization, they were tested on a tonal contrast that shared equal distributional information in either modality. At 5months, infants in both conditions discriminated the contrast, whereas 11-month-olds showed discrimination only in the bimodal condition. By 14months, infants failed to discriminate the contrast in either condition. Results indicate interplay between infants' long-term linguistic experience throughout development and short-term distributional learning during the experiment, and they suggest that the influence of tonal distributional learning varies along the perceptual attunement trajectory, such that opportunities for distributional learning effects appear to be constrained in the beginning and at the end of perceptual attunement. The current study contributes to previous research by demonstrating an effect of age on learning from distributional cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liquan Liu
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, Utrecht University, 3512 JK Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - René Kager
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
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Expansion of Prosodic Abilities at the Transition From Babble to Words: A Comparison Between Children With Cochlear Implants and Normally Hearing Children. Ear Hear 2017; 38:475-486. [DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000000406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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48
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de Boisferon AH, Tift AH, Minar NJ, Lewkowicz DJ. Selective attention to a talker's mouth in infancy: role of audiovisual temporal synchrony and linguistic experience. Dev Sci 2017; 20:10.1111/desc.12381. [PMID: 26743437 PMCID: PMC6340138 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have found that infants shift their attention from the eyes to the mouth of a talker when they enter the canonical babbling phase after 6 months of age. Here, we investigated whether this increased attentional focus on the mouth is mediated by audio-visual synchrony and linguistic experience. To do so, we tracked eye gaze in 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-month-old infants while they were exposed either to desynchronized native or desynchronized non-native audiovisual fluent speech. Results indicated that, regardless of language, desynchronization disrupted the usual pattern of relative attention to the eyes and mouth found in response to synchronized speech at 10 months but not at any other age. These findings show that audio-visual synchrony mediates selective attention to a talker's mouth just prior to the emergence of initial language expertise and that it declines in importance once infants become native-language experts.
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Allen AP, Dinan TG, Clarke G, Cryan JF. A psychology of the human brain-gut-microbiome axis. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2017; 11:e12309. [PMID: 28804508 PMCID: PMC5530613 DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 01/25/2017] [Accepted: 02/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, we have seen increasing research within neuroscience and biopsychology on the interactions between the brain, the gastrointestinal tract, the bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract, and the bidirectional relationship between these systems: the brain-gut-microbiome axis. Although research has demonstrated that the gut microbiota can impact upon cognition and a variety of stress-related behaviours, including those relevant to anxiety and depression, we still do not know how this occurs. A deeper understanding of how psychological development as well as social and cultural factors impact upon the brain-gut-microbiome axis will contextualise the role of the axis in humans and inform psychological interventions that improve health within the brain-gut-microbiome axis. Interventions ostensibly aimed at ameliorating disorders in one part of the brain-gut-microbiome axis (e.g., psychotherapy for depression) may nonetheless impact upon other parts of the axis (e.g., microbiome composition and function), and functional gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome represent a disorder of the axis, rather than an isolated problem either of psychology or of gastrointestinal function. The discipline of psychology needs to be cognisant of these interactions and can help to inform the future research agenda in this emerging field of research. In this review, we outline the role psychology has to play in understanding the brain-gut-microbiome axis, with a focus on human psychology and the use of research in laboratory animals to model human psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew P. Allen
- Dept Psychiatry & Behavioural Neuroscience/APC Microbiome InstituteUniversity College CorkCorkIreland
| | - Timothy G. Dinan
- Dept Psychiatry & Behavioural Neuroscience/APC Microbiome InstituteUniversity College CorkCorkIreland
| | - Gerard Clarke
- Dept Psychiatry & Behavioural Neuroscience/APC Microbiome InstituteUniversity College CorkCorkIreland
| | - John F. Cryan
- Dept Anatomy & Neuroscience/APC Microbiome InstituteUniversity College CorkCorkIreland
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50
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Barbeau EB, Chai XJ, Chen JK, Soles J, Berken J, Baum S, Watkins KE, Klein D. The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 2017; 98:169-176. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2016] [Revised: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 10/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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