Verbal Working Memory and Sentence Comprehension in Children With Specific Language Impairment

2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Physical Size ◽  
Comprehension Task

In this study we examined the influence of verbal working memory on sentence comprehension in children with SLI. Twelve children with SLI, 12 normally developing children matched for age (CA), and 12 children matched for receptive vocabulary (VM) completed two tasks. In the verbal working memory task, children recalled as many real words as possible under three processing load conditions (i.e., no-load condition; single-load condition, where words were recalled according to physical size of word referents; and dual-load condition, where words were recalled by semantic category and physical size of word referents). In the sentence comprehension task, children listened to linguistically nonredundant (shorter) and linguistically redundant (longer) sentences. Results of the memory task showed that the children with SLI recalled fewer words in the dual-load condition than their CA peers, who showed no condition effect. The SLI and VM groups performed similarly overall, but both groups showed poorer recall in the dual-load condition than in the other conditions. On the sentence comprehension task, children with SLI comprehended fewer sentences of both types than the CA children and fewer redundant sentences relative to themselves and to the VM children. Results were interpreted to suggest that children with SLI (a) have less functional verbal working memory capacity (i.e., ability to coordinate both storage and processing functions) than their CA peers and (b) have greater difficulty managing both their working memory abilities and general processing resources than both age peers and younger children when performing a "complex" off-line sentence processing task.

Relation of working memory to off-line and real-time sentence processing in children with specific language impairment

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES W. MONTGOMERY
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Processing Task

In this study we examined the influence of working memory on the off-line and real-time sentence comprehension/processing of children with specific language impairment (SLI). A total of 12 children with SLI, 12 normally developing children matched for chronological age (CA), and 12 children matched for receptive syntax (RS) completed three tasks. In the working memory task, children recalled as many words as possible under three processing load conditions varying in the number of mental operations (i.e., no load, single load, dual load). In the off-line comprehension task, children listened to linguistically nonredundant and redundant sentences. In the real-time sentence processing task, children monitored sentences for the occurrence of a target word appearing at the beginning, middle, or end of a test sentence and pushed a response pad as quickly as possible upon hearing the target. In the memory task, SLI children recalled fewer words in the dual-load condition relative to CA peers, who showed no condition effect. The SLI and RS groups performed similarly overall; however, both groups recalled fewer words in the dual-load condition than in the other conditions. In the off-line task, the SLI group comprehended fewer sentences of both types relative to the CA controls and fewer redundant sentences relative to themselves and to the RS controls. A significant correlation between working memory and sentence comprehension was found for the SLI group and control groups. For the on-line task, between-group analyses revealed that the SLI group yielded an overall slower word recognition reaction time than the CA and RS groups. Working memory and sentence processing were not correlated for any group. Results were interpreted to suggest that SLI children have a more limited functional working memory capacity than their CA peers. Children with SLI also appear to have greater difficulty managing their working memory resources relative to both age peers and younger children when performing a conventional off-line sentence comprehension task but not a real-time sentence processing task.

Children's Comprehension of Object Relative Sentences: It's Extant Language Knowledge That Matters, Not Domain-General Working Memory

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 2865-2878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yazmin Ahmad Rusli ◽  
James W. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Linear Modeling ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
Agent Selection ◽  
Object Relative

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine whether extant language (lexical) knowledge or domain-general working memory is the better predictor of comprehension of object relative sentences for children with typical development. We hypothesized that extant language knowledge, not domain-general working memory, is the better predictor. Method Fifty-three children (ages 9–11 years) completed a word-level verbal working-memory task, indexing extant language (lexical) knowledge; an analog nonverbal working-memory task, representing domain-general working memory; and a hybrid sentence comprehension task incorporating elements of both agent selection and cross-modal picture-priming paradigms. Images of the agent and patient were displayed at the syntactic gap in the object relative sentences, and the children were asked to select the agent of the sentence. Results Results of general linear modeling revealed that extant language knowledge accounted for a unique 21.3% of variance in the children's object relative sentence comprehension over and above age (8.3%). Domain-general working memory accounted for a nonsignificant 1.6% of variance. Conclusions We interpret the results to suggest that extant language knowledge and not domain-general working memory is a critically important contributor to children's object relative sentence comprehension. Results support a connectionist view of the association between working memory and object relative sentence comprehension. Supplemental Materials https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5404573

Children's Verbal Working Memory: Role of Processing Complexity in Predicting Spoken Sentence Comprehension

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beula M. Magimairaj ◽  
James W. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Simple Sentences

Purpose This study investigated the role of processing complexity of verbal working memory tasks in predicting spoken sentence comprehension in typically developing children. Of interest was whether simple and more complex working memory tasks have similar or different power in predicting sentence comprehension. Method Sixty-five children (6- to 12-year-olds) completed a verbal working memory (listening) span task that varied in syntactic processing difficulty (simple sentences representing a “simple working memory task,” complex sentences representing a “complex working memory task”) and a standardized sentence comprehension test. Results Word recall on the simple and complex working memory tasks correlated with each other. Both memory tasks also correlated with children's sentence comprehension. Regression analyses showed that the simple working memory task remained a significant predictor of comprehension even after accounting for variance associated with age and performance on the complex working memory task. Conclusions Results were interpreted to suggest that relative to more complex verbal working memory tasks, simple tasks are more robust predictors of children's sentence comprehension because they represent a basic yet robust index of working memory that sufficiently captures controlled attentional focus.

The Role of Broca's Area in Sentence Comprehension

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1664-1680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corianne Rogalsky ◽  
Gregory Hickok
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
General Function ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area

The role of Broca's area in sentence processing has been debated for the last 30 years. A central and still unresolved issue is whether Broca's area plays a specific role in some aspect of syntactic processing (e.g., syntactic movement, hierarchical structure building) or whether it serves a more general function on which sentence processing relies (e.g., working memory). This review examines the functional organization of Broca's area in regard to its contributions to sentence comprehension, verbal working memory, and other multimodal cognitive processes. We suggest that the data are consistent with the view that at least a portion of the contribution of Broca's area to sentence comprehension can be attributed to its role as a phonological short-term memory resource. Furthermore, our review leads us to conclude that there is no compelling evidence that there are sentence-specific processing regions within Broca's area.

Understanding the Language Difficulties of Children With Specific Language Impairments

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Language Impairments ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Clinical Marker ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Specific Language Impairments

Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate deficits in both verbal working memory (VWM) and language. Among child language researchers, the debate continues whether these two deficits are related. In this article, I take the position that there is indeed a connection between SLI and VWM. I review evidence suggesting that the lexical/morphological learning and sentence comprehension problems of many of these children are associated with deficient VWM abilities. Evidence is also reviewed for the possibility that deficient VWM provides a clinical marker of SLI. I end by offering various assessment and intervention techniques that may prove useful in SLI.

Sentence Comprehension in Children With Specific Language Impairment: The Role of Phonological Working Memory

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Nonsense Word ◽  
Phonological Working Memory ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Comprehension Task ◽  
Word Repetition ◽  
Repetition Task

This study examined the influence of phonological working memory on sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Fourteen children with SLI and 13 with normal language (NL) participated in two tasks. In the first, a nonsense word repetition task (index of phonological working memory), subjects repeated nonsense words varying in length from one syllable to four. In a sentence comprehension task, subjects listened to sentences under two conditions varying in linguistic redundancy (redundant, nonredundant). On the nonsense word repetition task, between- and within-group analyses revealed that subjects with SLI repeated significantly fewer 3-syllable and 4-syllable nonsense words. On the sentence comprehension task, between- and within-group analyses determined that subjects with SLI comprehended significantly fewer redundant (longer) sentences than nonredundant (shorter) sentences. A positive correlation was found between subjects' performance on the nonsense word repetition and sentence comprehension tasks. Results were interpreted to suggest that children with SLI have diminished phonological working memory capacity and that this capacity deficit compromises their sentence comprehension efforts.

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