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Kautto A, Railo H, Mainela-Arnold E. Low-Level Auditory Processing Correlates With Language Abilities: An ERP Study Investigating Sequence Learning and Auditory Processing in School-Aged Children. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2024; 5:341-359. [PMID: 38832360 PMCID: PMC11093401 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Auditory processing and procedural learning deficits have been associated with language learning difficulties. We investigated the relationship of these skills and school-age language abilities in children with and without a history of late talking using auditory event related potentials (ERPs). Late talking (i.e., slow early language development) increases the risk of persistent language difficulties, but its causes remain unknown. Participants in this study were children with varying language abilities (n = 60). Half of the participants (n = 30) had a history of late talking. We measured procedural learning by manipulating the predictability of sine tone stimuli in a passive auditory ERP paradigm. Auditory processing was tested by examining how the presence of noise (increasing perceptual demands) affected the ERPs. Contrary to our hypotheses on auditory processing and language development, the effect of noise on ERPs did not correlate with school-age language abilities in children with or without a history of late talking. Our paradigm failed to reveal interpretable effects of predictability leaving us unable to assess the effects of procedural learning. However, better language abilities were related to weaker responses in a 75-175 ms time window, and stronger responses in a 150-250 ms time window. We suggest that the weak early responses in children with better language ability reflect efficient processing of low-level auditory information, allowing deeper processing of later, high-level auditory information. We assume that these differences reflect variation in brain maturation between individuals with varying language abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Kautto
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Henry Railo
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Elina Mainela-Arnold
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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Nora A, Rinkinen O, Renvall H, Service E, Arkkila E, Smolander S, Laasonen M, Salmelin R. Impaired Cortical Tracking of Speech in Children with Developmental Language Disorder. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e2048232024. [PMID: 38589232 PMCID: PMC11140678 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2048-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
In developmental language disorder (DLD), learning to comprehend and express oneself with spoken language is impaired, but the reason for this remains unknown. Using millisecond-scale magnetoencephalography recordings combined with machine learning models, we investigated whether the possible neural basis of this disruption lies in poor cortical tracking of speech. The stimuli were common spoken Finnish words (e.g., dog, car, hammer) and sounds with corresponding meanings (e.g., dog bark, car engine, hammering). In both children with DLD (10 boys and 7 girls) and typically developing (TD) control children (14 boys and 3 girls), aged 10-15 years, the cortical activation to spoken words was best modeled as time-locked to the unfolding speech input at ∼100 ms latency between sound and cortical activation. Amplitude envelope (amplitude changes) and spectrogram (detailed time-varying spectral content) of the spoken words, but not other sounds, were very successfully decoded based on time-locked brain responses in bilateral temporal areas; based on the cortical responses, the models could tell at ∼75-85% accuracy which of the two sounds had been presented to the participant. However, the cortical representation of the amplitude envelope information was poorer in children with DLD compared with TD children at longer latencies (at ∼200-300 ms lag). We interpret this effect as reflecting poorer retention of acoustic-phonetic information in short-term memory. This impaired tracking could potentially affect the processing and learning of words as well as continuous speech. The present results offer an explanation for the problems in language comprehension and acquisition in DLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni Nora
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
- Aalto NeuroImaging (ANI), Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
| | - Oona Rinkinen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
- Aalto NeuroImaging (ANI), Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
| | - Hanna Renvall
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
- Aalto NeuroImaging (ANI), Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
- BioMag Laboratory, HUS Diagnostic Center, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki FI-00029, Finland
| | - Elisabet Service
- Department of Linguistics and Languages, Centre for Advanced Research in Experimental and Applied Linguistics (ARiEAL), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
| | - Eva Arkkila
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
| | - Sini Smolander
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
- Research Unit of Logopedics, University of Oulu, Oulu FI-90014, Finland
- Department of Logopedics, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu FI-80101, Finland
| | - Marja Laasonen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
- Department of Logopedics, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu FI-80101, Finland
| | - Riitta Salmelin
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
- Aalto NeuroImaging (ANI), Aalto University, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
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Cantiani C, Dondena C, Molteni M, Riva V, Lorusso ML. Intergenerational longitudinal associations between parental reading/musical traits, infants' auditory processing, and later phonological awareness skills. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1201997. [PMID: 37539387 PMCID: PMC10394385 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1201997] [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: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The intergenerational transmission of language/reading skills has been demonstrated by evidence reporting that parental literacy abilities contribute to the prediction of their offspring's language and reading skills. According to the "Intergenerational Multiple Deficit Model," literacy abilities of both parents are viewed as indicators of offspring's liability for literacy difficulties, since parents provide offspring with genetic and environmental endowment. Recently, studies focusing on the heritability of musical traits reached similar conclusions. The "Musical Abilities, Pleiotropy, Language, and Environment (MAPLE)" framework proposed that language/reading and musical traits share a common genetic architecture, and such shared components have an influence on the heritable neural underpinnings of basic-level skills underlying musical and language traits. Here, we investigate the intergenerational transmission of parental musical and language-related (reading) abilities on their offspring's neural response to a basic auditory stimulation (neural intermediate phenotype) and later phonological awareness skills, including in this complex association pattern the mediating effect of home environment. One-hundred and seventy-six families were involved in this study. Through self-report questionnaires we assessed parental reading abilities and musicality, as well as home literacy and musical environment. Offspring were involved in a longitudinal study: auditory processing was measured at 6 months of age by means of a Rapid Auditory Processing electrophysiological paradigm, and phonological awareness was assessed behaviorally at 5 years of age. Results reveal significant correlations between parents' reading skills and musical traits. Intergenerational associations were investigated through mediation analyses using structural equation modeling. For reading traits, the results revealed that paternal reading was indirectly associated with children's phonological awareness skills via their electrophysiological MisMatch Response at 6 months, while maternal reading was directly associated with children's phonological awareness. For musical traits, we found again that paternal musicality, rather than maternal characteristics, was associated with children's phonological phenotypes: in this case, the association was mediated by musical environment. These results provide some insight about the intergenerational pathways linking parental reading and musical traits, neural underpinnings of infants' auditory processing and later phonological awareness skills. Besides shedding light on possible intergenerational transmission mechanisms, this study may open up new perspectives for early intervention based on environmental enrichment.
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Hernández D, Kärkkäinen S, Tulonen T, Helenius P, Salmelin R, Parviainen T. Attentional modulation of interhemispheric (a)symmetry in children with developmental language disorder. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17904. [PMID: 36284164 PMCID: PMC9596496 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22820-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The nature of auditory processing problems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) is still poorly understood. Much research has been devoted to determining the extent to which DLD is associated with general auditory versus language-specific dysfunction. However, less emphasis has been given to the role of different task conditions in these dysfunctions. We explored whether children with DLD demonstrate atypical interhemispheric asymmetry during the auditory processing of speech and non-speech sounds and whether this interhemispheric balance is modulated by attention. Magnetoencephalography was used to record auditory evoked fields in 18 children (9 to 10 years old), 9 with DLD and 9 with language typical development, during active or passive listening to speech and non-speech sounds. A linear mixed model analysis revealed a bilateral effect of attention in both groups. Participants with DLD demonstrated atypical interhemispheric asymmetry, specifically in the later (185-600 ms) time window but only during the passive listening condition. During the active task, the DLD group did not differ from the typically developed children in terms of hemispheric balance of activation. Our results support the idea of an altered interhemispheric balance in passive auditory response properties in DLD. We further suggest that an active task condition, or top-down attention, can help to regain leftward lateralization, particularly in a later stage of activation. Our study highlights the highly dynamic and interhemispheric nature of auditory processing, which may contribute to the variability in reports of auditory language processing deficits in DLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doris Hernández
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Kärki, Mattilanniemi 6, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland.
| | - Salme Kärkkäinen
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Terhi Tulonen
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Päivi Helenius
- Division of Child Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, HUS, P.O. Box 100, 00029, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Riitta Salmelin
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, 00076, Espoo, Finland
- Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15100, 00076, Espoo, Finland
| | - Tiina Parviainen
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Kärki, Mattilanniemi 6, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, 00076, Espoo, Finland
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Knowland VCP, Baker DH, Gaskell MG, van Rijn E, Walker SA, Norbury CF, Henderson LM. Neural Responses to Novel and Existing Words in Children with Autism Spectrum and Developmental Language Disorder. J Cogn 2022; 5:14. [PMID: 36072108 PMCID: PMC9400667 DOI: 10.5334/joc.204] [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: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The formation of new phonological representations is key in establishing items in the mental lexicon. Phonological forms become stable with repetition, time and sleep. Atypicality in the establishment of new word forms is characteristic of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet neural changes in response to novel word forms over time have not yet been directly compared in these groups. This study measured habituation of event-related-potentials (ERPs) to novel and known words within and between two sessions spaced 24 hours apart in typically developing (TD) children, and their peers with DLD or ASD. We hypothesised that modulation of the auditory N400 amplitude would mark real-time changes in lexical processing with habituation evident within and across sessions in the TD group, while the DLD group would show attenuated habituation within sessions, and the ASD group attenuated habituation between sessions. Twenty-one typically developing children, 19 children with ASD, and 16 children with DLD listened passively to known and novel words on two consecutive days, while ERPs were recorded using dry electrodes. Counter to our hypotheses, no habituation effect emerged within sessions. However, responses did habituate between sessions, with this effect being reduced in the DLD group, indicating less pre-activation of lexical representations in response to words encountered the previous day. No differences in change over time were observed between the TD and ASD groups. These data are in keeping with theories stressing the importance of sleep-related consolidation in word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel H. Baker
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | - Elaine van Rijn
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Sarah A. Walker
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
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Nora A, Renvall H, Ronimus M, Kere J, Lyytinen H, Salmelin R. Children at risk for dyslexia show deficient left-hemispheric memory representations for new spoken word forms. Neuroimage 2021; 229:117739. [PMID: 33454404 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117739] [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: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia is a specific learning disorder with impairments in reading and spelling acquisition. Apart from literacy problems, dyslexics show inefficient speech encoding and deficient novel word learning, with underlying problems in phonological processing and learning. These problems have been suggested to be related to deficient specialization of the left hemisphere for language processing. To examine this possibility, we tracked with magnetoencephalography (MEG) the activation of the bilateral temporal cortices during formation of neural memory traces for new spoken word forms in 7-8-year-old children with high familial dyslexia risk and in controls. The at-risk children improved equally to their peers in overt repetition of recurring new word forms, but were poorer in explicit recognition of the recurring word forms. Both groups showed reduced activation for the recurring word forms 400-1200 ms after word onset in the right auditory cortex, replicating the results of our previous study on typically developing children (Nora et al., 2017, Children show right-lateralized effects of spoken word-form learning. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0171034). However, only the control group consistently showed a similar reduction of activation for recurring word forms in the left temporal areas. The results highlight the importance of left-hemispheric phonological processing for efficient phonological representations and its disruption in dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Nora
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, and Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland.
| | - H Renvall
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, and Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
| | - M Ronimus
- Niilo Mäki Instituutti, FI-40100 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - J Kere
- Department of Biosciences, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - H Lyytinen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - R Salmelin
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, and Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
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Auditory Mapping With MEG: An Update on the Current State of Clinical Research and Practice With Considerations for Clinical Practice Guidelines. J Clin Neurophysiol 2020; 37:574-584. [DOI: 10.1097/wnp.0000000000000518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
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Yoshimura Y, Hasegawa C, Ikeda T, Saito DN, Hiraishi H, Takahashi T, Kumazaki H, Kikuchi M. The maturation of the P1m component in response to voice from infancy to 3 years of age: A longitudinal study in young children. Brain Behav 2020; 10:e01706. [PMID: 32573987 PMCID: PMC7428512 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION In the early development of human infants and toddlers, remarkable changes in brain cortical function for auditory processing have been reported. Knowing the maturational trajectory of auditory cortex responses to human voice in typically developing young children is crucial for identifying voice processing abnormalities in children at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders and language impairment. An early prominent positive component in the cerebral auditory response in newborns has been reported in previous electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies. However, it is not clear whether this prominent component in infants less than 1 year of age corresponds to the auditory P1m component that has been reported in young children over 2 years of age. METHODS To test the hypothesis that the early prominent positive component in infants aged 0 years is an immature manifestation of P1m that we previously reported in children over 2 years of age, we performed a longitudinal MEG study that focused on this early component and examined the maturational changes over three years starting from age 0. Five infants participated in this 3-year longitudinal study. RESULTS This research revealed that the early prominent component in infants aged 3 month corresponded to the auditory P1m component in young children over 2 years old, which we had previously reported to be related to language development and/or autism spectrum disorders. CONCLUSION Our data revealed the development of the auditory-evoked field in the left and right hemispheres from 0- to 3-year-old children. These results contribute to the elucidation of the development of brain functions in infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Yoshimura
- Institute of Human and Social Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Chiaki Hasegawa
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Takashi Ikeda
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Daisuke N Saito
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Hirotoshi Hiraishi
- Institute for Medical Photonics research, Hamamatsu University school of medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | | | - Hirokazu Kumazaki
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Mitsuru Kikuchi
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.,Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Japan
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Left hemisphere enhancement of auditory activation in language impaired children. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9087. [PMID: 31235763 PMCID: PMC6591383 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45597-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Specific language impairment (SLI) is a developmental disorder linked to deficient auditory processing. In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study we investigated a specific prolonged auditory response (N250m) that has been reported predominantly in children and is associated with level of language skills. We recorded auditory responses evoked by sine-wave tones presented alternately to the right and left ear of 9-10-year-old children with SLI (n = 10) and children with typical language development (n = 10). Source analysis was used to isolate the N250m response in the left and right hemisphere. In children with language impairment left-hemisphere N250m responses were enhanced compared to those of controls, while no group difference was found in the right hemisphere. Consequently, language impaired children lacked the typical right-ward asymmetry that was found in control children. Furthermore, left but not right hemisphere N250m responses correlated positively with performance on a phonological processing task in the SLI group exclusively, possibly signifying a compensatory mechanism for delayed maturation of language processing. These results suggest that enhanced left-hemisphere auditory activation reflects a core neurophysiological manifestation of developmental language disorders, and emphasize the relevance of this developmentally specific activation pattern for competent language development.
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Nordt M, Hoehl S, Weigelt S. The use of repetition suppression paradigms in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Cortex 2016; 80:61-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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