scholarly journals Beyond the 30-Million-Word Gap: Children’s Conversational Exposure Is Associated With Language-Related Brain Function

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 700-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel R. Romeo ◽  
Julia A. Leonard ◽  
Sydney T. Robinson ◽  
Martin R. West ◽  
Allyson P. Mackey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Family Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Story Listening ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Word Gap ◽  
Conversational Turns

Children’s early language exposure impacts their later linguistic skills, cognitive abilities, and academic achievement, and large disparities in language exposure are associated with family socioeconomic status (SES). However, there is little evidence about the neural mechanisms underlying the relation between language experience and linguistic and cognitive development. Here, language experience was measured from home audio recordings of 36 SES-diverse 4- to 6-year-old children. During a story-listening functional MRI task, children who had experienced more conversational turns with adults—independently of SES, IQ, and adult-child utterances alone—exhibited greater left inferior frontal (Broca’s area) activation, which significantly explained the relation between children’s language exposure and verbal skill. This is the first evidence directly relating children’s language environments with neural language processing, specifying both an environmental and a neural mechanism underlying SES disparities in children’s language skills. Furthermore, results suggest that conversational experience impacts neural language processing over and above SES or the sheer quantity of words heard.

scholarly journals Language and categorization in monolinguals and bilinguals

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 618-630
Author(s):  
Sarah Fairchild ◽  
Anna Papafragou
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Baseline Condition ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Perceptual Evidence ◽  
Linguistic Labels

AbstractPeople assume that objects labelled alike belong to the same category. Here we asked whether the role of labels in categorization depends on individuals' language experience, linguistic abilities, and/or cognitive abilities. We compared monolinguals' and bilinguals' use of phonologically licit words (zeg), illicit words (gsz), and non-linguistic frames (in addition to a baseline condition with no additional cues) in forming novel categories. For both groups, licit words affected categorization more than frames, especially in the absence of perceptual evidence for category boundaries; illicit words also shifted categorization preferences compared to frames. Furthermore, linguistic abilities predicted reliance on both licit and illicit words, and bilingualism predicted reliance on illicit words in categorization. Thus, in both monolinguals and bilinguals, novel (and even unconventional) linguistic labels act as unique category markers but their use in categorization depends on individual language processing skills (and, in some cases, exposure to a second language).

scholarly journals Neuroplasticity associated with conversational turn-taking following a family-based intervention

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel R. Romeo ◽  
Julia A. Leonard ◽  
Hannah M. Grotzinger ◽  
Sydney T. Robinson ◽  
Megumi E. Takada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adult Child ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Turn Taking ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
Contact Control ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Family Based ◽  
And Function ◽  
Conversational Turns ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractChildren’s early language environments are associated with linguistic, cognitive, and academic development, as well as concurrent brain structure and function. This study investigated neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking language input and development by measuring neuroplasticity associated with an intervention designed to enhance language environments in lower-income families. Families of 52 4-to-6 year-old children were randomly assigned to a 9-week, interactive, family-based intervention or no-contact control group. Children completed pre- and post-assessments of verbal and nonverbal cognition, structural magnetic resonance imaging, and two days of auditory recordings to measure language exposure. Families who completed the intervention exhibited a greater increase in the number of adult-child conversational turns. Turn-taking changes correlated positively with changes in verbal, nonverbal, and executive functioning measures, as well as cortical thickening in left inferior frontal and supramarginal gyri, the latter of which mediated the relationship between changes in conversational turns and language scores. This is the first study to investigate longitudinal neuroplasticity in response to changes in children’s language environments and suggests that conversational turns support language development through cortical growth in language and social processing regions. This has implications for early interventions to enhance young children’s language environments, including family-support programs and addressing systemic barriers to family communication.

scholarly journals Bilingual language experience as a multidimensional spectrum: Associations with objective and subjective language proficiency

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Jason W. Gullifer ◽  
Shanna Kousaie ◽  
Annie C. Gilbert ◽  
Angela Grant ◽  
Nathalie Giroud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Native Language Proficiency

Abstract Despite the multifactorial space of language experience in which people continuously vary, bilinguals are often dichotomized into ostensibly homogeneous groups. The timing of language exposure (age of acquisition) to a second language (L2) is one well-studied construct that is known to impact language processing, cognitive processing, and brain organization, but recent work shows that current language exposure is also a crucial determinant in these domains. Critically, many indices of bilingual experience are inherently subjective and based on self-report questionnaires. Such measures have been criticized in favor of objective measures of language ability (e.g., naming ability or verbal fluency). Here, we estimate the bilingual experience jointly as a function of multiple continuous aspects of experience, including the timing of language exposure, the amount of L2 exposure across communicative contexts, and language entropy (a flexible measure of language balance) across communicative contexts. The results suggest that current language exposure exhibits distinct but interrelated patterns depending on the socio-experiential context of language usage. They also suggest that, counterintuitively, our sample more accurately self-assesses L2 proficiency than native language proficiency. A precise quantification of the multidimensional nature of bilingualism will enhance the ability of future research to assess language processing, acquisition, and control.

scholarly journals Bilingual language experience as a multidimensional spectrum: Associations with objective and subjective language proficiency

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason William Gullifer ◽  
Shanna Kousaie ◽  
Annie C. Gilbert ◽  
Angela Marie Grant ◽  
Nathalie Giroud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Native Language Proficiency

Despite the multifactorial space of language experience in which people continuously vary, bilinguals are often dichotomized into ostensibly homogeneous groups. The timing of language exposure (age of acquisition; AoA) to a second language (L2) is one well-studied construct that is known to impact language processing, cognitive processing, and brain organization, but recent work shows that current language exposure is also a crucial determinant in these domains. Critically, many indices of bilingual experience are inherently subjective and based on self-report questionnaires. Such measures have been criticized in favor of objective measures of language ability (e.g., naming ability or verbal fluency). Here, we estimate the bilingual experience jointly as a function of multiple continuous aspects of experience, including the timing of language exposure, the amount of L2 exposure across communicative contexts, and language entropy (a flexible measure of language balance) across communicative contexts. The results suggest that current language exposure exhibits distinct but interrelated patterns depending on the socio-experiential context of language usage. They also suggest that, counterintuitively, our sample more accurately self-assesses L2 proficiency than native language proficiency. A precise quantification of the multidimensional nature of bilingualism will enhance the ability of future research to assess language processing, acquisition, and control.

scholarly journals Computer-Assisted Cognitive Re-Training as An Intervention for Children with Specific Learning Disability: A Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gargi Bansal ◽  
Anand Pratap Singh
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disability ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Manualized Intervention ◽  
Specific Learning

The review inspects the empirical literature on the efficacy of computer-assisted cognitive re-training of children with Specific learning disabilities (SLD). SLD children are characterized by an average and above-average IQ but there exist significant deficits in their language processing skills. Cognitive re-training is a training process that serves as remediation for people with underdeveloped cognitive abilities through intensive practice. It utilizes the principle of “brain plasticity” and is an endeavor to strengthen the deficit cognitive abilities of people by practicing various well-defined tasks and exercises. Cognitive re-training can be provided in both ways manualized or computerized. Computer-assisted re-training seems more interesting, innovative, is multisensory and motivating for children. This research review aims to put together the primary research done in the area and tries to evaluate the effectiveness of using such intervention on children with a specific learning disability. In a country like India which has a vast & widespread population reaching out to children with a specific learning disability by using manualized intervention seems a distant reality, together with a handful of trained therapists working in the field. Keeping in view such circumstances there is an urgent need to identify ways which can be used as an intervention for the mass population and in remote areas of the country. In doing so, this review also attempts to lay a base and explore the possibility of utilizing this novel way of providing interventions to children with Specific learning disability.

The Neurobiology of Sensory and Language Processing in Language-Impaired Children

1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen J. Neville ◽  
Sharon A. Coffey ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb ◽  
Paula Tallal
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Temporal Discrimination ◽  
Hemispheric Specialization ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Abnormal Performance

Clinical, behavioral, and neurophysiological studies of developmental language impairment (LI), including reading disability (RD), have variously emphasized different factors that may contribute to this disorder. These include abnormal sensory processing within both the auditory and visual modalities and deficits in linguistic skills and in general cognitive abilities. In this study we employed the event-related brain potential (ERP) technique in a series of studies to probe and compare Merent aspects of functioning within the same sample of LI/RD children. Within the group multiple aspects of processing were affected, but heterogeneously across the sample. ERP components linked to processing within the superior temporal gyrus were abnormal in a subset of children that displayed abnormal performance on an auditory temporal discrimination task. An early component of the visual ERP was reduced in amplitude in the group as a whole. The relevance of this effect to current conceptions of substreams within the visual system is discussed. During a sentence processing task abnormal hemispheric specialization was observed in a subset of children who scored poorly on tests of grammar. By contrast the group as a whole displayed abnormally large responses to words requiring contextual integration. The results imply that multiple factors can contribute to the profile of language impairment and that different and specific deficits occur heterogeneously across populations of LI/RD children.

scholarly journals The Connectionist Approach of Processing L2 Ambiguous English Sentences

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Hulin Ren
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Group 3 ◽  
Connectionist Approach ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Group 1

The connectionist approach to language processing is popular in second language (L2) study in recent years. The paper is to investigate the connectionist approach of Chinese learners’ individual differences in the comprehension of certain ambiguous English sentences. Comprehension accuracy and grammaticality judgment are carried out with three groups with different background of language experience, namely, well-experienced English natives (group 1), well-experienced non-native English learners (group 2) and semi-experienced non-native English learners (group 3) on four types of ambiguous English sentences such as The polite actor thanked the old man who carried the black umbrella. Results of the study are discussed and a number of conclusions based on the results are summarized with regard to L2 learners’ differences in the performance to comprehend ambiguous syntactic structures.

scholarly journals Language Use Across International Contexts: Shaping the Minds of L2 Speakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith F. Kroll ◽  
Paola E. Dussias ◽  
María Teresa Bajo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Language Usage ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Context Of Learning

ABSTRACTBilingualism is a complex life experience. Second language (L2) learning and bilingualism take place in many different contexts. To develop a comprehensive account of dual-language experience requires research that examines individuals who are learning and using two languages in both the first language (L1) and second language (L2) environments. In this article, we review studies that exploit the presence of an international research network on bilingualism to investigate the role of the environment and some the unique characteristics of L2 learning and bilingual language usage in different locations. We ask how the context of learning affects the acquisition of the L2 and the ability to control the use of each language, how language processing is changed by the patterns of language usage in different places (e.g., whether bilinguals have been immersed in the L2 environment for an extended period of time or whether they code-switch), and how the bilingualism of the community itself influences learning and language use.

scholarly journals A Neural Dynamic Model Based on Activation Diffusion and a Micro-Explanation for Cognitive Operations

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Hui Wei
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
Recall Rate ◽  
Neural Dynamic ◽  
Inference Problem ◽  
Neural Information ◽  
Intelligent Behavior

The neural mechanism of memory has a very close relation with the problem of representation in artificial intelligence. In this paper a computational model was proposed to simulate the network of neurons in brain and how they process information. The model refers to morphological and electrophysiological characteristics of neural information processing, and is based on the assumption that neurons encode their firing sequence. The network structure, functions for neural encoding at different stages, the representation of stimuli in memory, and an algorithm to form a memory were presented. It also analyzed the stability and recall rate for learning and the capacity of memory. Because neural dynamic processes, one succeeding another, achieve a neuron-level and coherent form by which information is represented and processed, it may facilitate examination of various branches of Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as inference, problem solving, pattern recognition, natural language processing and learning. The processes of cognitive manipulation occurring in intelligent behavior have a consistent representation while all being modeled from the perspective of computational neuroscience. Thus, the dynamics of neurons make it possible to explain the inner mechanisms of different intelligent behaviors by a unified model of cognitive architecture at a micro-level.

A neural mechanism for human language processing

2010 ◽  
Vol 74 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 104-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Borzenko
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Human Language
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