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Junttila K, Smolander AR, Karhila R, Kurimo M, Ylinen S. Non-game like training benefits spoken foreign-language processing in children with dyslexia. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1122886. [PMID: 36968782 PMCID: PMC10036584 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1122886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Children with dyslexia often face difficulties in learning foreign languages, which is reflected as weaker neural activation. However, digital language-learning applications could support learning-induced plastic changes in the brain. Here we aimed to investigate whether plastic changes occur in children with dyslexia more readily after targeted training with a digital language-learning game or similar training without game-like elements. We used auditory event-related potentials (ERPs), specifically, the mismatch negativity (MMN), to study learning-induced changes in the brain responses. Participants were 24 school-aged Finnish-speaking children with dyslexia and 24 age-matched typically reading control children. They trained English speech sounds and words with “Say it again, kid!” (SIAK) language-learning game for 5 weeks between ERP measurements. During the game, the players explored game boards and produced English words aloud to score stars as feedback from an automatic speech recognizer. To compare the effectiveness of the training type (game vs. non-game), we embedded in the game some non-game levels stripped of all game-like elements. In the dyslexia group, the non-game training increased the MMN amplitude more than the game training, whereas in the control group the game training increased the MMN response more than the non-game training. In the dyslexia group, the MMN increase with the non-game training correlated with phonological awareness: the children with poorer phonological awareness showed a larger increase in the MMN response. Improved neural processing of foreign speech sounds as indicated by the MMN increase suggests that targeted training with a simple application could alleviate some spoken foreign-language learning difficulties that are related to phonological processing in children with dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Junttila
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- *Correspondence: Katja Junttila,
| | - Anna-Riikka Smolander
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Logopedics, Welfare Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Reima Karhila
- Department of Signal Processing and Acoustics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Mikko Kurimo
- Department of Signal Processing and Acoustics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Sari Ylinen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Logopedics, Welfare Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
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Højlund A, Horn NT, Sørensen SD, McGregor WB, Wallentin M. Foreign language learning and the mismatch negativity (MMN): A longitudinal ERP study. NEUROIMAGE: REPORTS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2022.100138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
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Eberhard-Moscicka AK, Jost LB, Daum MM, Maurer U. Predicting Reading From Behavioral and Neural Measures - A Longitudinal Event-Related Potential Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:733494. [PMID: 34916991 PMCID: PMC8669350 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.733494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluent reading is characterized by fast and effortless decoding of visual and phonological information. Here we used event-related potentials (ERPs) and neuropsychological testing to probe the neurocognitive basis of reading in a sample of children with a wide range of reading skills. We report data of 51 children who were measured at two time points, i.e., at the end of first grade (mean age 7.6 years) and at the end of fourth grade (mean age 10.5 years). The aim of this study was to clarify whether next to behavioral measures also basic unimodal and bimodal neural measures help explaining the variance in the later reading outcome. Specifically, we addressed the question of whether next to the so far investigated unimodal measures of N1 print tuning and mismatch negativity (MMN), a bimodal measure of audiovisual integration (AV) contributes and possibly enhances prediction of the later reading outcome. We found that the largest variance in reading was explained by the behavioral measures of rapid automatized naming (RAN), block design and vocabulary (46%). Furthermore, we demonstrated that both unimodal measures of N1 print tuning (16%) and filtered MMN (7%) predicted reading, suggesting that N1 print tuning at the early stage of reading acquisition is a particularly good predictor of the later reading outcome. Beyond the behavioral measures, the two unimodal neural measures explained 7.2% additional variance in reading, indicating that basic neural measures can improve prediction of the later reading outcome over behavioral measures alone. In this study, the AV congruency effect did not significantly predict reading. It is therefore possible that audiovisual congruency effects reflect higher levels of multisensory integration that may be less important for reading acquisition in the first year of learning to read, and that they may potentially gain on relevance later on.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra K. Eberhard-Moscicka
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Department of Neurology and BioMedical Research, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Lea B. Jost
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Moritz M. Daum
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Urs Maurer
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Marques PM, Mattiazzi ÂL, Ferreira L, Oppitz SJ, Biaggio EPV. The Effect of Learning English on P300 in Children. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2021; 25:e284-e288. [PMID: 33968234 PMCID: PMC8096498 DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1710304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2019] [Accepted: 03/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Learning a second language is an essential task in today's world, and is experienced by many children. The cognitive auditory-evoked potential (P300) is related to cognitive activity, attention and concentration, enabling the investigation of the effect of a second language on the central auditory pathway. Objective To analyze the effects of learning English on P300 latency and amplitude in children and to correlate them with age, time of exposure to English, and time in class. Method An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study, in which 33 children, aged between 5 and 9 years and 11 months, of both genders participated, 14 of them in the process of learning English (study group) and 19 without this experience (control group). All subjects had their P300 evaluated using the Intelligent Hearing Systems (IHS, Miami, FL, US) Smart EP equipment. A total of 300 binaural stimuli were used in 75 dBnHL, as well as 240 frequent and 60 rare stimuli, using the pairs /ba/ and /di/ respectively. Results There was a statistically significant difference regarding P300 latency between the groups, and children exposed to English classes had lower latency in this component. No statistical difference was found between P300 amplitudes. No correlation was observed regarding age, time of exposure to English, time in class, and electrophysiological responses. Conclusion The Children exposed to English classes had the most stimulating auditory pathway, because their P300 had lower latency, being a resource for the speech therapy clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ângela Leusin Mattiazzi
- Post-graduate Program in Human Communication Disorders, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Laís Ferreira
- Post-graduate Program in Human Communication Disorders, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Sheila Jacques Oppitz
- Post-graduate Program in Human Communication Disorders, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Eliara Pinto Vieira Biaggio
- Post-graduate Program in Human Communication Disorders, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
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Goriot C, McQueen JM, Unsworth S, van Hout R, Broersma M. Perception of English phonetic contrasts by Dutch children: How bilingual are early-English learners? PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229902. [PMID: 32160213 PMCID: PMC7065789 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate whether early-English education benefits the perception of English phonetic contrasts that are known to be perceptually confusable for Dutch native speakers, comparing Dutch pupils who were enrolled in an early-English programme at school from the age of four with pupils in a mainstream programme with English instruction from the age of 11, and English-Dutch early bilingual children. Children were 4-5-year-olds (start of primary school), 8-9-year-olds, or 11-12-year-olds (end of primary school). Children were tested on four contrasts that varied in difficulty: /b/-/s/ (easy), /k/-/ɡ/ (intermediate), /f/-/θ/ (difficult), /ɛ/-/æ/ (very difficult). Bilingual children outperformed the two other groups on all contrasts except /b/-/s/. Early-English pupils did not outperform mainstream pupils on any of the contrasts. This shows that early-English education as it is currently implemented is not beneficial for pupils' perception of non-native contrasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Goriot
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - James M. McQueen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Cognition, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sharon Unsworth
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roeland van Hout
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Mirjam Broersma
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Temporal dynamics of early visual word processing – Early versus late N1 sensitivity in children and adults. Neuropsychologia 2016; 91:509-518. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Revised: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 09/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Ghazi-Saidi L, Dash T, Ansaldo AI. How native-like can you possibly get: fMRI evidence for processing accent. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:587. [PMID: 26578931 PMCID: PMC4626569 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION If ever attained, adopting native-like accent is achieved late in the learning process. Resemblance between L2 and mother tongue can facilitate L2 learning. In particular, cognates (phonologically and semantically similar words across languages), offer the opportunity to examine the issue of foreign accent in quite a unique manner. METHODS Twelve Spanish speaking (L1) adults learnt French (L2) cognates and practiced their native-like pronunciation by means of a computerized method. After consolidation, they were tested on L1 and L2 oral picture- naming during fMRI scanning. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results of the present study show that there is a specific impact of accent on brain activation, even if L2 words are cognates, and belong to a pair of closely related languages. Results point that the insula is a key component of accent processing, which is in line with reports from patients with foreign accent syndrome following damage to the insula (e.g., Katz et al., 2012; Moreno-Torres et al., 2013; Tomasino et al., 2013), and healthy L2 learners (Chee et al., 2004). Thus, the left insula has been consistently related to the integration of attentional and working memory abilities, together with fine-tuning of motor programming to achieve optimal articulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ladan Ghazi-Saidi
- Centre de Recherche de I’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, University of MontrealMontreal, QC, Canada
| | - Tanya Dash
- Centre de Recherche de I’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, University of MontrealMontreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ana I. Ansaldo
- Centre de Recherche de I’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, University of MontrealMontreal, QC, Canada
- Faculté de Médecine, Université de MontréalMontreal, QC, Canada
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