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Lalancette E, Charlebois-Poirier AR, Agbogba K, Knoth IS, Côté V, Perreault S, Lippé S. Time-frequency analyses of repetition suppression and change detection in children with neurofibromatosis type 1. Brain Res 2023; 1818:148512. [PMID: 37499730 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148512] [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: 04/01/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are at increased risk of developing cognitive problems, including attention deficits and learning difficulties. Alterations in brain response to repetition and change have been evidenced in other genetic conditions associated with cognitive dysfunctions. Whether the integrity of these fundamental neural responses is compromised in school-aged children with NF1 is still unknown. In this study, we examined the repetition suppression (RS) and change detection responses in children with NF1 (n = 36) and neurotypical controls (n = 41) aged from 4 to 13 years old, using a simple sequence of vowels. We performed time-frequency analyses to compare spectral power and phase synchronization between groups, in the theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. Correlational analyses were performed between the neural responses and the level of intellectual functioning, as well as with behavioral symptoms of comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders measured through parental questionnaires. Children with NF1 showed preserved RS, but increased spectral power in the change detection response. Correlational analyses performed with measures of change detection revealed a negative association between the alpha-band spectral power and symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. These findings suggest atypical neural response to change in children with NF1. Further studies should be conducted to clarify the interaction with comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders and the possible role of altered inhibitory mechanisms in this enhanced neural response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eve Lalancette
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Marie Victorin Building, 90 Vincent-D'Indy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H2V 2S9, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Qc. H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Audrey-Rose Charlebois-Poirier
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Marie Victorin Building, 90 Vincent-D'Indy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H2V 2S9, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Qc. H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Kristian Agbogba
- CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Qc. H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Inga Sophia Knoth
- CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Qc. H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Valérie Côté
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Marie Victorin Building, 90 Vincent-D'Indy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H2V 2S9, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Qc. H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Sébastien Perreault
- Department of Neurosciences, Division of Child Neurology, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Qc. H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Sarah Lippé
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Marie Victorin Building, 90 Vincent-D'Indy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H2V 2S9, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Qc. H3T 1C5, Canada.
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2
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Cheam C, Barisnikov K, Gentaz E, Lejeune F. Multisensory Texture Perception in Individuals with Williams Syndrome. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:1494. [PMID: 37761455 PMCID: PMC10528637 DOI: 10.3390/children10091494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
The sensory profile of people with Williams syndrome (WS) is characterised by atypical visual and auditory perceptions that affect their daily lives and learning. However, no research has been carried out on the haptic perception, in particular in multisensory (visual and haptic) situations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the communication of texture information from one modality to the other in people with WS. Children and adults with WS were included, as well as typically developing (TD) participants matched on chronological age (TD-CA), and TD children matched on mental age (TD-MA). All participants (N = 69) completed three matching tasks in which they had to compare two fabrics (same or different): visual, haptic and visuo-haptic. When the textures were different, the haptic and visual performances of people with WS were similar to those of TD-MA participants. Moreover, their visuo-haptic performances were lower than those of the two TD groups. These results suggest a delay in the acquisition of multisensory transfer abilities in individuals with WS. A positive link between MA and visual and visuo-haptic abilities only in people with WS suggests that they could benefit from an early intervention to develop their abilities to process and transfer multisensory information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Cheam
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; (C.C.); (K.B.)
| | - Koviljka Barisnikov
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; (C.C.); (K.B.)
| | - Edouard Gentaz
- Sensorimotor, Affective and Social Development Unit (SMAS), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland;
| | - Fleur Lejeune
- Sensorimotor, Affective and Social Development Unit (SMAS), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland;
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Pulliam G, Feldman JI, Woynaroski TG. Audiovisual multisensory integration in individuals with reading and language impairments: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 149:105130. [PMID: 36933815 PMCID: PMC10243286 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105130] [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: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Differences in sensory function have been documented for a number of neurodevelopmental conditions, including reading and language impairments. Prior studies have measured audiovisual multisensory integration (i.e., the ability to combine inputs from the auditory and visual modalities) in these populations. The present study sought to systematically review and quantitatively synthesize the extant literature on audiovisual multisensory integration in individuals with reading and language impairments. A comprehensive search strategy yielded 56 reports, of which 38 were used to extract 109 group difference and 68 correlational effect sizes. There was an overall difference between individuals with reading and language impairments and comparisons on audiovisual integration. There was a nonsignificant trend towards moderation according to sample type (i.e., reading versus language) and publication/small study bias for this model. Overall, there was a small but non-significant correlation between metrics of audiovisual integration and reading or language ability; this model was not moderated by sample or study characteristics, nor was there evidence of publication/small study bias. Limitations and future directions for primary and meta-analytic research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Pulliam
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1215 21st Ave S, MCE South Tower 8310, Nashville 37232, TN, USA
| | - Jacob I Feldman
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1215 21st Ave S, MCE South Tower 8310, Nashville 37232, TN, USA; Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Tiffany G Woynaroski
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1215 21st Ave S, MCE South Tower 8310, Nashville 37232, TN, USA; Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Manoa, HI, USA
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4
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Hsu CF. Contextual effects on the figurative processing of nouns and verbs in people with Williams syndrome. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2023; 134:104429. [PMID: 36701957 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with Williams syndrome (WS) are relatively proficient with lexical semantics; however, their contextual integration ability is impaired. Few studies have examined the cause of this deficiency. AIMS This study aimed to examine how people with WS process the integration of lexical words into contexts and determine whether this processing differs across syntactic categories. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Cross-modal tasks with pictures and aurally presented sentences were employed. The semantic appropriateness of target word meanings represented by pictures with context were determined. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS People with WS responded to the figurative and literal nouns as appropriate interpretations significantly less often than the chronological age (CA)-matched controls; however, they responded to the literal verbs significantly more often than the mental age (MA)-matched controls. Furthermore, our findings suggest that people with WS displayed weaker contextual integration and asymmetric processing of nouns and verbs. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS People with WS were not at the same lexical semantic knowledge developmental level as the CA controls and differed from the MA controls. They used less contextual information when processing syntactic categories compared to the typically developing controls. These might lead to the impaired integration of words into contexts. These findings confirm the neuroconstructivism theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching-Fen Hsu
- School of Foreign Languages, Laboratory for Language Pathology and Developmental Neurosciences, Hunan University, Lushan Road (S), Yuelu District, Changsha 410082, Hunan Province, China.
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Filipe MG, Cruz S, Veloso AS, Frota S. Early predictors of language outcomes in Down syndrome: A mini-review. Front Psychol 2022; 13:934490. [PMID: 36186340 PMCID: PMC9515620 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.934490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
As children with Down syndrome (DS) typically manifest significant delays in language development, the research has pointed out the predictors of later language skills for this clinical population. The purpose of this study was to systematically explore the evidence for early predictors of language outcomes in infants and toddlers with DS from studies published between 2012 and 2022. After the search, nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The results indicated that maternal educational level, adaptive level of functioning, cognitive function, attention skills, communicative intent of the child, early vocalizations, gestures, baby signs, parents' translation of their children's gestures into words, and vocabulary level are significant predictors of language outcomes in children with DS. These findings provide a timely and warranted summary of published work that contributes to current understanding of the development of language and communication in DS. They are therefore useful to researchers, clinicians, and families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marisa G. Filipe
- Center of Linguistics, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sara Cruz
- Universidade Lusófona do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Andreia S. Veloso
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Center for Psychology at University of Porto, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sónia Frota
- Center of Linguistics, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
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Early Visual Attention Abilities and Audiovisual Speech Processing in 5-7 Month-Old Down Syndrome and Typically Developing Infants. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11070939. [PMID: 34356172 PMCID: PMC8305093 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11070939] [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: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Communicative abilities in infants with Down syndrome (DS) are delayed in comparison to typically developing (TD) infants, possibly affecting language development in DS. Little is known about what abilities might underlie poor communication and language skills in DS, such as visual attention and audiovisual speech processing. This study compares DS and TD infants between 5–7 months of age in a visual orientation task, and an audiovisual speech processing task, which assessed infants’ looking pattern to communicative cues (i.e., face, eyes, mouth, and waving arm). Concurrent communicative abilities were also assessed via the CSBS-DP checklist. We observed that DS infants orient their visual attention slower than TD infants. Both groups attended more to the eyes than the mouth, and more to the face than the waving arm. However, DS infants attended less to the eyes than the background, and equally to the face and the background, suggesting their difficulty to assess linguistically relevant cues. Finally, communicative skills were related to attention to the eyes in TD, but not in DS infants. Our study showed that early attentional and audiovisual abilities are impaired in DS infants, and might underlie their communication skills, suggesting that early interventions in this population should emphasize those skills.
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7
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Côté V, Lalancette È, Knoth IS, Côté L, Agbogba K, Vannasing P, Major P, Barlaam F, Michaud J, Lippé S. Distinct patterns of repetition suppression in Fragile X syndrome, down syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex and mutations in SYNGAP1. Brain Res 2020; 1751:147205. [PMID: 33189692 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.147205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Sensory processing is the gateway to information processing and more complex processes such as learning. Alterations in sensory processing is a common phenotype of many genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability (ID). It is currently unknown whether sensory processing alterations converge or diverge on brain responses between syndromes. Here, we compare for the first time four genetic conditions with ID using the same basic sensory learning paradigm. One hundred and five participants, aged between 3 and 30 years old, composing four clinical ID groups and one control group, were recruited: Fragile X syndrome (FXS; n = 14), tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC; n = 9), Down syndrome (DS; n = 19), SYNGAP1 mutations (n = 8) and Neurotypical controls (NT; n = 55)). All groups included female and male participants. Brain responses were recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) during an audio-visual task that involved three repetitions of the pronunciation of the phoneme /a/. Event Related Potentials (ERP) were used to: 1) compare peak-to-peak amplitudes between groups, 2) evaluate the presence of repetition suppression within each group and 3) compare the relative repetition suppression between groups. Our results revealed larger overall amplitudes in FXS. A repetition suppression (RS) pattern was found in the NT group, FXS and DS, suggesting spared repetition suppression in a multimodal task in these two ID syndromes. Interestingly, FXS presented a stronger RS on one peak-to-peak value in comparison with the NT. The results of our study reveal the distinctiveness of ERP and RS brain responses in ID syndromes. Further studies should be conducted to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in these patterns of responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valérie Côté
- Psychology Departement, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marie-Victorin, 90, Avenue Vincent d'Indy, Montréal, QC H2V 2S9, Canada; NED Laboratory, Office 5.2.43, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Ève Lalancette
- Psychology Departement, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marie-Victorin, 90, Avenue Vincent d'Indy, Montréal, QC H2V 2S9, Canada; NED Laboratory, Office 5.2.43, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Inga S Knoth
- NED Laboratory, Office 5.2.43, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Lucie Côté
- Neurology Program, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Kristian Agbogba
- NED Laboratory, Office 5.2.43, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Phetsamone Vannasing
- Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Philippe Major
- Neurology Program, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Fanny Barlaam
- NED Laboratory, Office 5.2.43, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Jacques Michaud
- Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
| | - Sarah Lippé
- Psychology Departement, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marie-Victorin, 90, Avenue Vincent d'Indy, Montréal, QC H2V 2S9, Canada; NED Laboratory, Office 5.2.43, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Research Center UHC Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
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Ha OR, Cashon CH, Holt NA, Mervis CB. Development of rapid word-object associations in relation to expressive vocabulary: Shared commonalities in infants and toddlers with and without Williams syndrome. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12966. [PMID: 32196857 PMCID: PMC7502509 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Associative word learning, i.e., associating a word with an object, is an important building block of early word learning for TD infants. This study investigated the development of word-object associations by TD infants and infants and toddlers with Williams syndrome (WS), a rare genetic disorder associated with delayed language and cognitive development. The specific reasons for the language delays remain unknown. We investigated whether their early language delay could be related to differences in how word-object associations are formed. Fifty-nine 11- to 14-month-old TD infants and thirty-one 12- to 35-month-olds with WS were tested on a modified version of the "switch" task (Werker, Cohen, Lloyd, Casasola, & Stager, 1998) using phonetically dissimilar words and novel objects. Infants were classified as word learners or novice word learners based on their expressive vocabularies (greater than 10 words vs. 10 words or fewer). We found similar developmental patterns across both populations: Expressive vocabulary size classification was an important index of the development of word-object associations. Moreover, the development of word-object associations evidenced a domain-general progression from independent (processing objects separately from words) to integrated (processing associations between words and objects). As a group, word learners formed word-object associations, but novice word learners did not; instead, they focused primarily on the objects. Findings build on previous research suggesting that although early language acquisition is delayed in infants with WS, infants and toddlers with and without WS share a common developmental pattern and set of mechanisms in early word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oh-Ryeong Ha
- Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Kansas City
| | - Cara H. Cashon
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville
| | - Nicholas A. Holt
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville
| | - Carolyn B. Mervis
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville
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Wallace MT, Woynaroski TG, Stevenson RA. Multisensory Integration as a Window into Orderly and Disrupted Cognition and Communication. Annu Rev Psychol 2020; 71:193-219. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-051112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
During our everyday lives, we are confronted with a vast amount of information from several sensory modalities. This multisensory information needs to be appropriately integrated for us to effectively engage with and learn from our world. Research carried out over the last half century has provided new insights into the way such multisensory processing improves human performance and perception; the neurophysiological foundations of multisensory function; the time course for its development; how multisensory abilities differ in clinical populations; and, most recently, the links between multisensory processing and cognitive abilities. This review summarizes the extant literature on multisensory function in typical and atypical circumstances, discusses the implications of the work carried out to date for theory and research, and points toward next steps for advancing the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark T. Wallace
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA;,
- Departments of Psychology and Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA
| | - Tiffany G. Woynaroski
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA;,
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA
| | - Ryan A. Stevenson
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
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D'Souza D, D'Souza H, Karmiloff-Smith A. Precursors to language development in typically and atypically developing infants and toddlers: the importance of embracing complexity. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2017; 44:591-627. [PMID: 28393740 DOI: 10.1017/s030500091700006x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
In order to understand how language abilities emerge in typically and atypically developing infants and toddlers, it is important to embrace complexity in development. In this paper, we describe evidence that early language development is an experience-dependent process, shaped by diverse, interconnected, interdependent developmental mechanisms, processes, and abilities (e.g. statistical learning, sampling, functional specialization, visual attention, social interaction, motor ability). We also present evidence from our studies on neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Williams syndrome) that variations in these factors significantly contribute to language delay. Finally, we discuss how embracing complexity, which involves integrating data from different domains and levels of description across developmental time, may lead to a better understanding of language development and, critically, lead to more effective interventions for cases when language develops atypically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean D'Souza
- Centre for Brain & Cognitive Development,Birkbeck,University of London,London,UK, andUCL Institute of Education,University College London,London,UK
| | - Hana D'Souza
- Centre for Brain & Cognitive Development,Birkbeck,University of London,London,UK, andLondon Down Syndrome Consortium,University College London,London,UK
| | - Annette Karmiloff-Smith
- Centre for Brain & Cognitive Development,Birkbeck,University of London,London,UK, andLondon Down Syndrome Consortium,University College London,London,UK
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