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Bains A, Barber A, Nell T, Ripollés P, Krishnan S. The role of intrinsic reward in adolescent word learning. Dev Sci 2024:e13513. [PMID: 38685611 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Relatively little work has focused on why we are motivated to learn words. In adults, recent experiments have shown that intrinsic reward signals accompany successful word learning from context. In addition, the experience of reward facilitated long-term memory for words. In adolescence, developmental changes are seen in reward and motivation systems as well as in reading and language systems. Here, in the face of this developmental change, we ask whether adolescents experience reward from word learning, and how the reward and memory benefit seen in adults is modulated by age. We used a naturalistic reading paradigm, which involved extracting novel word meanings from sentence context without the need for explicit feedback. By exploring ratings of enjoyment during the learning phase, as well as recognition memory for words a day later, we assessed whether adolescents show the same reward and learning patterns as adults. We tested 345 children between the ages of 10-18 (N > 84 in each 2-year age-band) using this paradigm. We found evidence for our first prediction: children aged 10-18 report greater enjoyment for successful word learning. However, we did not find evidence for age-related change in this developmental period, or memory benefits. This work gives us greater insight into the process of language acquisition and sets the stage for further investigations of intrinsic reward in typical and atypical development. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We constantly learn words from context, even in the absence of explicit rewards or feedback. In adults, intrinsic reward experienced during word learning is linked to a dopaminergic circuit in the brain, which also fuels enhancements in memory for words. We find adolescents also report enhanced reward or enjoyment when they successfully learn words from sentence context. The relationship between reward and learning is maintained between the ages of 10 and 18. Unlike in adults, we did not observe ensuing memory benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amrita Bains
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, UK
| | - Annaliese Barber
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, UK
| | - Tau Nell
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, UK
| | - Pablo Ripollés
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Music and Audio Research Lab (MARL), New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Center for Language, Music and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, Max-Planck Institute, New York, New York, USA
| | - Saloni Krishnan
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, UK
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Bonte M, Brem S. Unraveling individual differences in learning potential: A dynamic framework for the case of reading development. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 66:101362. [PMID: 38447471 PMCID: PMC10925938 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101362] [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: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Children show an enormous capacity to learn during development, but with large individual differences in the time course and trajectory of learning and the achieved skill level. Recent progress in developmental sciences has shown the contribution of a multitude of factors including genetic variation, brain plasticity, socio-cultural context and learning experiences to individual development. These factors interact in a complex manner, producing children's idiosyncratic and heterogeneous learning paths. Despite an increasing recognition of these intricate dynamics, current research on the development of culturally acquired skills such as reading still has a typical focus on snapshots of children's performance at discrete points in time. Here we argue that this 'static' approach is often insufficient and limits advancements in the prediction and mechanistic understanding of individual differences in learning capacity. We present a dynamic framework which highlights the importance of capturing short-term trajectories during learning across multiple stages and processes as a proxy for long-term development on the example of reading. This framework will help explain relevant variability in children's learning paths and outcomes and fosters new perspectives and approaches to study how children develop and learn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milene Bonte
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
| | - Silvia Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; URPP Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning (AdaBD), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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van Rijn E, Gouws A, Walker SA, Knowland VCP, Cairney SA, Gaskell MG, Henderson LM. Do naps benefit novel word learning? Developmental differences and white matter correlates. Cortex 2023; 158:37-60. [PMID: 36434978 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.09.016] [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: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Memory representations of newly learned words undergo changes during nocturnal sleep, as evidenced by improvements in explicit recall and lexical integration (i.e., after sleep, novel words compete with existing words during online word recognition). Some studies have revealed larger sleep-benefits in children relative to adults. However, whether daytime naps play a similar facilitatory role is unclear. We investigated the effect of a daytime nap (relative to wake) on explicit memory (recall/recognition) and lexical integration (lexical competition) of newly learned novel words in young adults and children aged 10-12 years, also exploring white matter correlates of the pre- and post-nap effects of word learning in the child group with diffusion weighted MRI. In both age groups, a nap maintained explicit memory of novel words and wake led to forgetting. However, there was an age group interaction when comparing change in recall over the nap: children showed a slight improvement whereas adults showed a slight decline. There was no evidence of lexical integration at any point. Although children spent proportionally more time in slow-wave sleep (SWS) than adults, neither SWS nor spindle parameters correlated with over-nap changes in word learning. For children, increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the uncinate fasciculus and arcuate fasciculus were associated with the recognition of novel words immediately after learning, and FA in the right arcuate fasciculus was further associated with changes in recall of novel words over a nap, supporting the importance of these tracts in the word learning and consolidation process. These findings point to a protective role of naps in word learning (at least under the present conditions), and emphasize the need to better understand both the active and passive roles that sleep plays in supporting vocabulary consolidation over development.
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Affiliation(s)
- E van Rijn
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
| | - A Gouws
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
| | - S A Walker
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
| | - V C P Knowland
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
| | - S A Cairney
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
| | - M G Gaskell
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
| | - L M Henderson
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
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Gordon KR, Lowry SL, Ohlmann NB, Fitzpatrick D. Word Learning by Preschool-Age Children: Differences in Encoding, Re-Encoding, and Consolidation Across Learners During Slow Mapping. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2022; 65:1956-1977. [PMID: 35442754 PMCID: PMC9559666 DOI: 10.1044/2022_jslhr-21-00530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Children with typical development vary in how much experience they need to learn words. This could be due to differences in the amount of information encoded during periods of input, consolidated between periods of input, or both. Our primary purpose is to identify whether encoding, consolidation, or both, drive individual differences in the slow-mapping process. METHOD Four- to 6-year-old children (N = 43) were trained on nine form-referent pairs across consecutive days. Children's ability to name referents was assessed at the beginning and end of each session. Word learning was assessed 1 month after training to determine long-term retention. RESULTS Children with varying language knowledge and skills differed in their ability to encode words. Specifically, children varied in the number of words learned and the phonological precision of word forms at the end of the initial training session. Children demonstrated similarities in re-encoding in that they refined representations at a similar rate during subsequent sessions. Children did not differ in their ability to consolidate words between sessions, or in their ability to retain words over the 1-month delay. CONCLUSIONS The amount of experience children need to learn words is primarily driven by the amount of information encoded during the initial experience. When provided with high-quality instruction, children demonstrate a similar ability to consolidate and retain words. Critically, word learning instruction in educational settings must include repeated explicit instruction with the same words to support learning in children with typical development and varying language skills. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.19606150.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine R. Gordon
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
| | - Stephanie L. Lowry
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
| | - Nancy B. Ohlmann
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
| | - Denis Fitzpatrick
- Center for Childhood Deafness, Language and Learning, Boys Town National Research Hospital, NE
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Axelsson EL, Swinton J, Jiang IY, Parker EV, Horst JS. Prior Exposure and Toddlers' Sleep-Related Memory for Novel Words. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11101366. [PMID: 34679430 PMCID: PMC8534215 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101366] [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: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Children can easily link a novel word to a novel, unnamed object—something referred to as fast mapping. Despite the ease and speed with which children do this, their memories for novel fast-mapped words can be poor unless they receive memory supports such as further exposure to the words or sleep. Axelsson, Swinton, Winiger, and Horst (2018) found that 2.5-year-old children who napped after fast mapping had better retention of novel words than children who did not nap. Retention declined for those who did not nap. The children received no memory supports and determined the word-object mappings independently. Previous studies report enhanced memories after sleeping in children and adults, but the napping children’s retention in the Axelsson et al. study remained steady across time. We report a follow-up investigation where memory supports are provided after fast mapping to test whether memories would be enhanced following napping. Children’s retention of novel words improved and remained greater than chance; however, there was no nap effect with no significant difference between the children who napped and those who did not. These findings suggest that when memory supports are provided, retention improves, and the word–object mappings remain stable over time. When memory traces are weak and labile, such as after fast mapping, without further memory supports, sleeping soon after helps stabilise and prevent decay of word–object mappings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma L Axelsson
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia
| | - Jaclyn Swinton
- Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Isabel Y Jiang
- Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Emma V Parker
- Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Jessica S Horst
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
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Hulme RC, Rodd JM. Learning new word meanings from story reading: the benefit of immediate testing. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11693. [PMID: 34434641 PMCID: PMC8362668 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11693] [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: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated how word meanings can be learned from natural story reading. Three experiments with adult participants compared naturalistic incidental learning with intentional learning of new meanings for familiar words, and examined the role of immediate tests in maintaining memory of new word meanings. In Experiment 1, participants learned new meanings for familiar words through incidental (story reading) and intentional (definition training task) conditions. Memory was tested with cued recall of meanings and multiple-choice meaning-to-word matching immediately and 24 h later. Results for both measures showed higher accuracy for intentional learning, which was also more time efficient than incidental learning. However, there was reasonably good learning from both methods, and items learned incidentally through stories appeared less susceptible to forgetting over 24 h. It was possible that retrieval practice at the immediate test may have aided learning and improved memory of new word meanings 24 h later, especially for the incidental story reading condition. Two preregistered experiments then examined the role of immediate testing in long-term retention of new meanings for familiar words. There was a strong testing effect for word meanings learned through intentional and incidental conditions (Experiment 2), which was non-significantly larger for items learned incidentally through stories. Both cued recall and multiple-choice tests were each individually sufficient to enhance retention compared to having no immediate test (Experiment 3), with a larger learning boost from multiple-choice. This research emphasises (i) the resilience of word meanings learned incidentally through stories and (ii) the key role that testing can play in boosting vocabulary learning from story reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachael C Hulme
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK.,Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment and School of Psychology, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - Jennifer M Rodd
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
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Garvin B, Krishnan S. Curiosity-driven learning in adults with and without dyslexia. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:156-168. [PMID: 34293988 PMCID: PMC8600593 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211037474] [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] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
People are willing to spend time and money to receive information and
content they are curious about, such as answers to trivia questions,
suggesting they find information rewarding. In neurotypical adults,
states of high curiosity satisfaction are also known to enhance the
learning and memory of information encountered in that state. Here, we
investigated whether the relationship between curiosity, satisfaction,
and learning was altered in a group with specific learning difficulty
(dyslexia). Using a willingness-to-wait paradigm, we observed that
adults with and without dyslexia are willing to spend time waiting for
verbal and visual information. This indicates that the same “wanting”
mechanisms are seen in individuals with dyslexia for information. We
then examined whether information that was desirable was also
associated with enhanced memory. Our findings indicate that
information does function like a reward, with the gap between expected
and received information driving memory. However, this memory effect
was attenuated in individuals with dyslexia. These findings point to
the need to understand how reward drives learning and why this
relationship might differ in dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethany Garvin
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Surrey, UK
| | - Saloni Krishnan
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Surrey, UK
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Timing storytime to maximize children's ability to retain new vocabulary. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 210:105207. [PMID: 34157497 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Shared storybook reading is a key aid to vocabulary acquisition during childhood. However, word learning research has tended to use unnaturalistic (explicit) training regimes. Using a storybook paradigm, we examined whether children (particularly those with weaker vocabularies) are more likely to retain new words if they learn them closer to sleep. Parents read their children (5- to 7-year-olds; N = 237) an alien adventure story that contained 12 novel words with illustrations at one of two training times: at bedtime or 3-5 h before bedtime. Using online tasks, parents tested their children's ability to recall the new words (production) and associate them with pictures (comprehension) immediately after hearing the story and again the following morning. As hypothesized, we replicated two findings. First, children showed overnight improvements in their ability to produce and comprehend new words when tested again the next day. Second, children with better existing vocabulary knowledge showed larger overnight gains in new word comprehension. Counter to expectations, overnight gains in comprehension were larger if the story was read 3-5 h before bedtime rather than at bedtime. These ecologically valid findings are consistent with theories that characterize word learning as a prolonged process supported by mechanisms such as consolidation and retrieval practice, with existing vocabulary knowledge acting as an important source of variability in retention. The findings provide preliminary evidence that encountering new words in stories later in the day (but not too close to sleep) may help to harness vocabulary growth and may be more beneficial than leaving shared storybook reading just for bedtime.
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Mason GM, Lokhandwala S, Riggins T, Spencer RMC. Sleep and human cognitive development. Sleep Med Rev 2021; 57:101472. [PMID: 33827030 DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Emerging studies across learning domains have shed light on mechanisms underlying sleep's benefits during numerous developmental periods. In this conceptual review, we survey recent studies of sleep and cognition across infancy, childhood, and adolescence. By summarizing recent findings and integrating across studies with disparate approaches, we provide a novel understanding of sleep's role in human cognitive function. Collectively, these studies point to an interrelation between brain development, sleep, and cognition. Moreover, we point to gaps in our understanding, which inform the agenda for future research in developmental and sleep science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina M Mason
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
| | | | - Tracy Riggins
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Rebecca M C Spencer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA; Institute for Applied Life Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
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Abstract
Abstract
Purpose of Review
This short review article aims at emphasizing interesting and important new insights about investigating sleep and memory in children aged between 6 and 13 years (middle childhood).
Recent Findings
That sleep in comparison to wakefulness benefits the consolidation of memories is well established—especially for the adult population. However, the underlying theoretical frameworks trying to explain the benefits of sleep for memory still strive for more substantiate findings including biological and physiological correlates.
Summary
Based on the most recent literature about sleep-related memory consolidation and its physiological markers during middle childhood, this article provides a review and highlights recent updates in this field.
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