Age of acquisition: Its neural and computational mechanisms.

The acquisition of new skills over a life span is a remarkable human ability. This ability, however, is constrained by age of acquisition (AoA); that is, the age at which learning occurs significantly affects the outcome. This is most clearly reflected in domains such as language, music, and athletics. This article provides a perspective on the neural and computational mechanisms underlying AoA in language acquisition. The authors show how AoA modulates both monolingual lexical processing and bilingual language acquisition. They consider the conditions under which syntactic processing and semantic processing may be differentially sensitive to AoA effects in second-language acquisition. The authors conclude that AoA effects are pervasive and that the neural and computational mechanisms underlying learning and sensorimotor integration provide a general account of these effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-language computational investigation of the length effect in reading aloud.

The authors examined whether 2 computational models of reading, the dual-route cascaded model (M. Coltheart, K. Rastle, C. Perry, R. Langdon, and J. C. Ziegler, 2001) and the connectionist 2-layer model (M. Zorzi, G. Houghton, and B. Butterworth, 1998), were able to predict the pattern that the length effect found in reading aloud is larger in German than in English (J. C. Ziegler, C. Perry, A. M. Jacobs, and M. Braun, 2001). The results showed that the dual-route cascaded model, which uses a serial mechanism for assembling phonology, successfully predicted this cross-language difference. In contrast, the connectionist model of Zorzi et al. (1998) predicted the opposite: a larger length effect in English than in German. Both the success of one model and the failure of the other highlight fundamental differences between 2 major classes of computational models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of type and token frequency on the acquisition of affixation patterns: Implications for language processing.

Rules, and exceptions to such rules, are ubiquitous in many domains, including language. Here we used simple artificial grammars to investigate the influence of 2 factors on the acquisition of rules and their exceptions, namely type frequency (the relative numbers of different exceptions to different regular items) and token frequency (the number of exception tokens relative to the number of regular tokens). We familiarized participants to either a prefixation pattern (where regulars started with /ZaI/ and exceptions ended with /ZaI/) or a suffixation pattern (where regulars ended with /ZaI/ and exceptions started with /ZaI/). We show that the type and the token frequency of regular items and exceptions influence in different ways what participants can learn. For the exceptions to be learned, they have to occur sufficiently often so that participants can memorize them; this can be achieved by a high token frequency. However, a high token frequency of the exceptions also impaired the acquisition of the regular pattern. In contrast, the type frequency of the patterns seemed to determine whether the regular pattern could be learned: When the type frequency of the regular items was sufficiently high, participants successfully learned the regular pattern even when the exceptions were played so often that 66% of the familiarization items were exceptions. We discuss these findings in the context of general learning mechanisms and the role they may play in language acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical regularities in vocabulary guide language acquisition in connectionist models and 15-20-month-olds.

This research tested the hypothesis that young children's bias to generalize names for solid objects by shape is the product of statistical regularities among nouns in the early productive vocabulary. Data from a 4-layer Hopfield network suggested that the statistical regularities in the early noun vocabulary are strong enough to create a shape bias, and that the shape bias is overgeneralized to nonsolid stimuli. A 2nd simulation suggested that this overgeneralization is due to the dominance of names for shape-based categories in the early noun vocabulary. Two subsequent longitudinal experiments tested whether it is possible to create word learning biases in children. Children 15-20 months old were given intensive naming experiences with 12 noun categories typical of the types of categories children learn to name early. The children developed a precocious shape bias that was overgeneralized to naming nonsolid substances; they also showed accelerated vocabulary development. Children taught an atypical set of nouns or no new nouns did not develop a shape bias and did not show accelerated vocabulary development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Videogames and young people with developmental disorders.

Young people with developmental disorders experience difficulties with many cognitive and perceptual tasks, and often suffer social impairments. Yet, like typical youth, many appear to enjoy playing videogames. This review considers the appeal of videogames to individuals with autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and specific language impairment. It examines how they respond to the various challenges that play entails with particular reference to sensory, cognitive, and social dimensions. It is argued that research into how these young people engage voluntarily with this dynamic and challenging medium offers great potential to extend our empirical and theoretical understanding of the disorders. Many gaps in our current knowledge are identified and several additional themes for possible future research are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of language in the development of the self I: Language acquisition.

The present essay discusses the aspects of the process of language acquisition in relation to the development of the self. Methodological issues are discussed; particularly the integration of maturational and environmental factors in the development of language. Theories of the development of transformational generative grammars point toward maturational aspects, but must be complemented by and integrated with the experience of evolving communication between child and caregivers. Progressive steps in the acquisition of language are discussed with specific reference to the influence of such developments on the concept of the self. Rudiments of a functional self are extant even from within the womb, and develop a conceptual and communicative capacity well before the onset of language. The functional and developmental gains acquired through the emergence of language are indicated in expanding and elaborating the scope and depth of preexistent capacities, and adding new and powerful dimensions to the experiential and expressive capacity of the self, especially in relation to self-awareness and a sense of identity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of language on the development of concept formation in deaf children.

To isolate the effect of language development on the development of thinking, children between 7 and 12 who had been deaf since an early age were presented with 3 tasks assessing conceptual functioning. Their performance was compared to that of a relatively comparable group of "hearers." The results indicated that the lack of a capacity to verbalize did not, in itself, interfere with a general capacity for abstract conceptualization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relevance of audio-visual feedback mechanisms in the acquisition of reading skills.

There has been much confusion in the past on the topic of reading disabilities. The distinction is made between acquired cases of dyslexia where a previously acquired language skill is lost as the result of injury, disease or trauma to the central nervous system and cases of a more congenital nature where children seem to find it very difficult to acquire the normal reading skills. The study of acquired dyslexia has thrown much light on the various brain centra involved in all the complex language skills of which reading and writing is but one aspect. The cases of congenital dyslexia which are encountered frequently in all schools more than likely have little evidence of brain damage. Rather, a development lag or neurological disorganization seems to be at the root of such troubles. The importance of cerebral laterality for speech and language skills is being realized. In particular it appears that auditory dominance, an aspect of laterality that is still being investigated, is extremely important in the acquisition and execution of language skills. When a subject's voice is picked up by a microphone, delayed for .2" and then fed back to the subject via earphones the subject begins to stutter. Under certain conditions it is possible to demonstrate that the subject's speech will be more impaired when this delayed feedback is on his dominant ear than when it is on his non-dominant ear suggesting an assymetry of the monitoring functions of the two ears. This finding, if further investigated and validated, may have far reaching consequences in the remediation of language disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of language in the development of the self III: The significance of pronouns.

The present essay traces the development of personal pronouns, especially the first person pronouns, as an important aspect of the acquisition of language (discussed in Part I) and its implication for the understanding of the nature and functioning of the self. The use of pronouns is analyzed as a special case of the complex relationship of thought and word. The antecedent preverbal development of the capacity for thinking in relation to the acquisition of the capacity to express thoughts in suitable words (in Part II) comes into play with specific reference to the self in the use of first person pronouns. Thus the thought content of the self concept precedes the emergence of the pronoun that specifies, concretizes, and names the subjective self. This perspective opposes concepts of thought-word connection that admit the existence of the self only in the process of naming or as a byproduct of interlocutary exchange. The self is able not only to name itself as an autonomous and independent entity, but can synonymously identify itself as participant in dialogue with other I's who are named you. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Language in Italian children with Down syndrome and with specific language impairment.

This article compares lexical and grammatical abilities of a mental-age-matched sample of Italian preschoolers with Down syndrome (DS), specific language impairment (SLI), or typical development. Results showed that the children with DS or with SLI performed significantly worse than did the typically developing children. Although no significant differences emerged in lexical abilities and morphosyntactic comprehension abilities between the children with DS or with SLI, significant differences did emerge in morphosyntactic production capacities. Qualitative analysis of the morphosyntactic errors revealed strong similarities between the two groups. The results are discussed in terms of the role of verbal memory abilities and the linguistic features of Italian. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grounding spatial language in perception: An empirical and computational investigation.

The present paper grounds the linguistic categorization of space in aspects of visual perception; specifically, the structure of projective spatial terms such as above are grounded in the process of attention and in vector-sum coding of overall direction. This is formalized in the attentional vector-sum (AVS) model. This computational model accurately predicts linguistic acceptability judgments for spatial terms, under a variety of spatial configurations. In 7 experiments, the predictions of the AVS model are tested against those of 3 competing models. The results support the AVS model and disconfirm its competitors. The authors conclude that the structure of linguistic spatial categories can be partially explained in terms of independently motivated perceptual processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intact implicit learning of spatial context and temporal sequences in childhood autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by atypicalities in domains that are posited to rely on implicit learning processes such as social communication, language, and motor behavior. The authors examined 2 forms of implicit learning in 14 children with high-functioning ASD (10 of whom were diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome) and 14 control children, learning of spatial context known to be mediated by the medial temporal lobes (using the contextual cueing task) and of sequences known to be mediated by frontal-striatal and frontal-cerebellar circuits (using the alternating serial reaction time task). Both forms of learning were unimpaired in ASD. Spatial contextual implicit learning was spared in ASD despite slower visual search of spatial displays. The present findings provide evidence for the integrity of learning processes dependent on integration of spatial and sequential contextual information in high-functioning children with ASD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling longitudinal change in the language abilities of children with autism: Parent behaviors and child characteristics as predictors of change.

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the patterns of longitudinal change in the language abilities of 28 children with autism during early and middle childhood. Results from fitting a series of multilevel models showed that children's rate of language growth was independently predicted by (a) children's responsiveness to others' bids for joint attention and (b) parents' responsiveness to their children's attention and activity during play. Both predictive relations could not be explained by initial variation in global developmental characteristics, such as IQ, mental age, or language abilities. These findings support a social?pragmatic view on language acquisition, which emphasizes the collaborative process through which children and their parents negotiate shared meaning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of slight to moderate risk for birth hypoxia on acquisition of cognitive and language function in the preterm infant: A cross-sectional comparison with preterm-birth controls.

The cognitive and language performance of a group of 26 preterm-birth preschool and early school-age children with slight to moderate risk for perinatal hypoxia was compared with the performance of a preterm-birth comparison group of 26 children. Despite the relatively small discrepancy in degree of risk, the cognitive performance of the 2 groups diverged significantly. When data for children with known perinatal arterial pH were combined, a curvilinear (quadratic) regression model provided the best fit. Increasing acidosis was linearly related to decreases in cognitive skills, with the bend in the curve occurring well within the normal range of pH values. Hence, in the preterm infant, even minor risk for birth hypoxia may result in discernible deviation from the expected developmental trajectory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)