Sequential learning (SL) is believed to be an essential
component of language development. Despit... more Sequential learning (SL) is believed to be an essential component of language development. Despite support from behavioral studies, neural evidence of this relationship, especially in children, is scarce. The current study measured 7-12-year-olds’ ERPs to a visual SL task involving incidental learning of probabilistic relationships between predictors and targets presented within a serial input stream. Various aspects of language and cognitive development were assessed with standardized tests. Results on the SL task showed that children demonstrated SL as determined by differences in ERP amplitudes and response times for predictor conditions that varied with the probability of predicting the target. Crucially, the amplitude of ERP difference waveforms was positively correlated with language ability and cognitive control. These findings validate the use of a probabilistic visual predictor-target task to investigate SL in children and, most importantly, provide neural evidence of a close relationship between SL, language development and cognitive control.
Sequential learning (SL) is believed to be an essential
component of language development. Despit... more Sequential learning (SL) is believed to be an essential component of language development. Despite support from behavioral studies, neural evidence of this relationship, especially in children, is scarce. The current study measured 7-12-year-olds’ ERPs to a visual SL task involving incidental learning of probabilistic relationships between predictors and targets presented within a serial input stream. Various aspects of language and cognitive development were assessed with standardized tests. Results on the SL task showed that children demonstrated SL as determined by differences in ERP amplitudes and response times for predictor conditions that varied with the probability of predicting the target. Crucially, the amplitude of ERP difference waveforms was positively correlated with language ability and cognitive control. These findings validate the use of a probabilistic visual predictor-target task to investigate SL in children and, most importantly, provide neural evidence of a close relationship between SL, language development and cognitive control.
Uploads
Papers by Leyla Eghbalzad
component of language development. Despite support from
behavioral studies, neural evidence of this relationship,
especially in children, is scarce. The current study measured
7-12-year-olds’ ERPs to a visual SL task involving incidental
learning of probabilistic relationships between predictors and
targets presented within a serial input stream. Various aspects
of language and cognitive development were assessed with
standardized tests. Results on the SL task showed that
children demonstrated SL as determined by differences in
ERP amplitudes and response times for predictor conditions
that varied with the probability of predicting the target.
Crucially, the amplitude of ERP difference waveforms was
positively correlated with language ability and cognitive
control. These findings validate the use of a probabilistic
visual predictor-target task to investigate SL in children and,
most importantly, provide neural evidence of a close
relationship between SL, language development and cognitive
control.
component of language development. Despite support from
behavioral studies, neural evidence of this relationship,
especially in children, is scarce. The current study measured
7-12-year-olds’ ERPs to a visual SL task involving incidental
learning of probabilistic relationships between predictors and
targets presented within a serial input stream. Various aspects
of language and cognitive development were assessed with
standardized tests. Results on the SL task showed that
children demonstrated SL as determined by differences in
ERP amplitudes and response times for predictor conditions
that varied with the probability of predicting the target.
Crucially, the amplitude of ERP difference waveforms was
positively correlated with language ability and cognitive
control. These findings validate the use of a probabilistic
visual predictor-target task to investigate SL in children and,
most importantly, provide neural evidence of a close
relationship between SL, language development and cognitive
control.