Implicit sequence learning in deaf children with cochlear implants

Deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) represent an intriguing opportunity to study neurocognitive plasticity and reorganization when sound is introduced following a period of auditory deprivation early in development. Although it is common to consider deafness as affecting hearing alone, it may be the case that auditory deprivation leads to more global changes in neurocognitive function. In this paper, we investigate implicit sequence learning abilities in deaf children with CIs using a novel task that measured learning through improvement to immediate serial recall for statistically consistent visual sequences. The results demonstrated two key findings. First, the deaf children with CIs showed disturbances in their visual sequence learning abilities relative to the typically developing normal-hearing children. Second, sequence learning was significantly correlated with a standardized measure of language outcome in the CI children. These findings suggest that a period of auditory deprivation has secondary effects related to general sequencing deficits, and that disturbances in sequence learning may at least partially explain why some deaf children still struggle with language following cochlear implantation.     

Developmental fractionation of working memory and response inhibition during childhood

The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) plays a major role in both working memory (WM) and response inhibition (RI), which are fundamental for various cognitive abilities. We explored the relationship between these LPFC functions during childhood development by examining the performance of two groups of children in visuospatial and auditory WM tasks and a go/no-go RI task. In the younger children (59 5- and 6-year-olds), performance on the visuospatial WM task correlated significantly with that in the auditory WM task. Furthermore, accuracy in these tasks correlated significantly with performance on the RI task, particularly in the no-go trials. In contrast, there were no significant correlations among those tasks in older children (92 8- and 9-year-olds). These results suggest that functional neural systems for visuospatial WM, auditory WM, and RI, especially those in the LPFC, become fractionated during childhood, thereby enabling more efficient processing of these critical cognitive functions.     

The social foundation of executive function

In this study, we propose that infant social cognition may ‘bootstrap' the successive development of domain‐general cognition in line with the cultural intelligence hypothesis. Using a longitudinal design, 6‐month‐old infants (N = 118) were assessed on two basic social cognitive tasks targeting the abilities to share attention with others and understanding other peoples' actions. At 10 months, we measured the quality of the child's social learning environment, indexed by parent's abilities to provide scaffolding behaviors during a problem‐solving task. Eight months later, the children were followed up with a cognitive test‐battery, including tasks of inhibitory control and working memory. Our results showed that better infant social action understanding interacted with better parental scaffolding skills in predicting simple inhibitory control in toddlerhood. This suggests that infants' who are better at understanding other's actions are also better equipped to make the most of existing social learning opportunities, which in turn may benefit future non‐social cognitive outcomes.     

Transient sex differences during adolescence on auditory perceptual tasks

Many perceptual abilities differ between the sexes. Because these sex differences have been documented almost exclusively in adults, they have been attributed to sex‐specific neural circuitry that emerges during development and is maintained in the mature perceptual system. To investigate whether behavioral sex differences in perception can also have other origins, we compared performance between males and females ranging in age from 8 to 30 years on auditory temporal‐interval discrimination and tone‐in‐noise detection tasks on which there are no sex differences in adults. If sex differences in perception arise only from the establishment and subsequent maintenance of sex‐specific neural circuitry, there should be no sex differences during development on these tasks. In contrast, sex differences emerged in adolescence but resolved by adulthood on two of the six conditions, with signs of a similar pattern on a third condition. In each case, males reached mature performance earlier than females, resulting in a sex difference in the interim. These results suggest that sex differences in perception may arise from differences in the maturational timing of common circuitry used by both sexes. They also imply that sex differences in perceptual abilities may be more prevalent than previously thought based on adult data alone.     

Auditory space perception in left- and right-handers

Several studies have shown that handedness has an impact on visual spatial abilities. Here we investigated the effect of laterality on auditory space perception. Participants (33 right-handers, 20 left-handers) completed two tasks of sound localization. In a dark, anechoic, and sound-proof room, sound stimuli (broadband noise) were presented via 21 loudspeakers mounted horizontally (from 80° on the left to 80° on the right). Participants had to localize the target either by using a swivel hand-pointer or by head-pointing. Individual lateral preferences of eye, ear, hand, and foot were obtained using a questionnaire. With both pointing methods, participants showed a bias in sound localization that was to the side contralateral to the preferred hand, an effect that was unrelated to their overall precision. This partially parallels findings in the visual modality as left-handers typically have a more rightward bias in visual line bisection compared with right-handers. Despite the differences in neural processing of auditory and visual spatial information these findings show similar effects of lateral preference on auditory and visual spatial perception. This suggests that supramodal neural processes are involved in the mechanisms generating laterality in space perception.     

Auditory temporal processing deficits in children with periventricular brain injury

The present study investigated whether auditory temporal processing deficits are related to the presence and/or the severity of periventricular brain injury and the reading difficulties experienced by extremely low birthweight (ELBW: birthweight <1000 g) children. Results indicate that ELBW children with mild or severe brain lesions obtained significantly lower scores on a test requiring auditory temporal order judgments than ELBW children without periventricular brain injury or children who were full-term. Structural equation modeling indicated that a model in which auditory temporal processing deficits predicted speech sound discrimination and phonological processing ability provided a better fit for the data than did a second model, which hypothesized that auditory temporal processing deficits are associated with poor reading abilities through a working memory deficit. These findings suggest that an impairment in auditory temporal processing may contribute to the reading difficulties experienced by ELBW children.     

Neurological basis of language and sequential cognition: evidence from simulation,aphasia, and ERP studies

The current research addresses the hypothesis that certain aspects of sequential cognition have made substantial contributions to the human language processing capability, from a functional neurophysiology perspective. We first describe a cognitive sequence processing model that was developed based on the functional neuroanatomy of primate cortex and basal ganglia. We demonstrate how this model is capable of simulating the behavior of human infants in extracting serial, temporal and abstract structure from language-like sound sequences as revealed in recent psycholinguistic experiments. We then demonstrate how, through training, this model can perform adult level syntactic comprehension, based on dissociated processing streams for open vs. closed class words. The model subsequently predicts: (1) that impaired syntactic processing (as in agrammatic aphasia) will be associated with impairments in corresponding non-linguistic cognitive sequencing tasks, and (2) that neurophysiological processes (as revealed by ERPs) involved in syntactic processing should also be involved in the corresponding non-linguistic cognitive sequencing tasks. Data confirming these predictions are reviewed. We conclude that the study of sequential cognition will provide a new paradigm for the investigation of the neurophysiological bases of language.     

The reading ability of good and poor temporal processors among a group of college students

In this study, we examined whether good auditory and good visual temporal processors were better than their poor counterparts on certain reading measures. Various visual and auditory temporal tasks were administered to 105 undergraduates. They read some phonologically regular pseudowords and irregular words that were presented sequentially in the same ("word" condition) and in different ("line" condition) locations. Results indicated that auditory temporal acuity was more relevant to reading, whereas visual temporal acuity was more relevant to spelling. Good auditory temporal processors did not have the advantage in processing pseudowords, even though pseudoword reading correlated significantly with auditory temporal processing. These results suggested that some higher cognitive or phonological processes mediated the relationship between auditory temporal processing and pseudoword reading. Good visual temporal processors did not have the advantage in processing irregular words. They also did not process the line condition more accurately than the word condition. The discrepancy might be attributed to the use of normal adults and the unnatural reading situation that did not fully capture the function of the visual temporal processes. The distributions of auditory and visual temporal processing abilities were co-occurring to some degree, but they maintained considerable independence. There was also a lack of a relationship between the type and severity of reading deficits and the type and number of temporal deficits.     

Learning and generalization on asynchrony and order tasks at sound offset: implications for underlying neural circuitry

Normal auditory perception relies on accurate judgments about the temporal relationships between sounds. Previously, we used a perceptual-learning paradigm to investigate the neural substrates of two such relative-timing judgments made at sound onset: detecting stimulus asynchrony and discriminating stimulus order. Here, we conducted parallel experiments at sound offset. Human adults practiced approximately 1 h/d for 6-8 d on either asynchrony detection or order discrimination at sound offset with tones at 0.25 and 4.0 kHz. As at sound onset, learning on order-offset discrimination did not generalize to the other task (asynchrony), an untrained temporal position (onset), or untrained frequency pairs, indicating that this training affected a quite specialized neural circuit. In contrast, learning on asynchrony-offset detection generalized to the other task (order) and temporal position (onset), though not to untrained frequency pairs, implying that the training on this condition influenced a less specialized, or more interdependent, circuit. Finally, the learning patterns induced by single-session exposure to asynchrony and order tasks differed depending on whether these tasks were performed primarily at sound onset or offset, suggesting that this exposure modified circuitry specialized to separately process relative-timing tasks at these two temporal positions. Overall, it appears that the neural processes underlying relative-timing judgments are malleable, and that the nature of the affected circuitry depends on the duration of exposure (multihour or single-session) and the parameters of the judgment(s) made during that exposure.     

More expertise for a better perspective: Task and strategy-driven adaptive neurofunctional reorganization for word production in high-performing older adults

The suggestion that neurofunctional reorganization may contribute to preserved language abilities is still emerging in aging studies. Some of these abilities, such as verbal fluency (VF), are not unitary but instead rely on different strategic processes that are differentially changed with age. Younger (n = 13) and older adults (n = 13) carried out an overt self-paced semantic and orthographic VF tasks within mixed fMRI design. Our results suggest that patterns of brain activation sustaining equivalent performances could be underpinned by different strategies facing brain changes during healthy aging. These main findings suggest that temporally mediated semantic clustering and frontally mediated orthographic switching were driven by evolutive neurofunctional resources in high-performing older adults. These age-related activation changes can appear to be compatible with the idea that unique neural patterns expressing distinctive cognitive strategies are necessary to support older adults’ performance on VF tasks.     

听觉障碍对聋人视觉功能影响的理论之争：缺陷还是补偿？

听觉通道受损,是否会影响聋人的视觉功能？有三种理论对此做出了解释。缺陷理论：聋人视觉功能存在缺陷,包括听觉脚手架假说和劳动分工假说。补偿理论：聋人视觉功能会表现出增强,包括响应增强假说、知觉增强假说、超通道功能假说和背侧通路假说。整合理论：聋人视觉功能既可能表现为缺陷,也可能表现为增强,与实验任务和被试年龄有关。本文评述了听觉障碍对聋人视觉功能影响的三种理论,并对其今后的发展趋势进行了展望。     

Serial recall of rhythms and verbal sequences: Impacts of concurrent tasks and irrelevant sound

Rhythmic grouping enhances verbal serial recall, yet very little is known about memory for rhythmic patterns. The aim of this study was to compare the cognitive processes supporting memory for rhythmic and verbal sequences using a range of concurrent tasks and irrelevant sounds. In Experiment 1, both concurrent articulation and paced finger tapping during presentation and during a retention interval impaired rhythm recall, while letter recall was only impaired by concurrent articulation. In Experiments 2 and 3, irrelevant sound consisted of irrelevant speech or tones, changing-state or steady-state sound, and syncopated or paced sound during presentation and during a retention interval. Irrelevant speech was more damaging to rhythm and letter recall than was irrelevant tone sound, but there was no effect of changing state on rhythm recall, while letter recall accuracy was disrupted by changing-state sound. Pacing of sound did not consistently affect either rhythm or letter recall. There are similarities in the way speech and rhythms are processed that appear to extend beyond reliance on temporal coding mechanisms involved in serial-order recall.     

Serial recall of rhythms and verbal sequences: Impacts of concurrent tasks and irrelevant sound

Rhythmic grouping enhances verbal serial recall, yet very little is known about memory for rhythmic patterns. The aim of this study was to compare the cognitive processes supporting memory for rhythmic and verbal sequences using a range of concurrent tasks and irrelevant sounds. In Experiment 1, both concurrent articulation and paced finger tapping during presentation and during a retention interval impaired rhythm recall, while letter recall was only impaired by concurrent articulation. In Experiments 2 and 3, irrelevant sound consisted of irrelevant speech or tones, changing-state or steady-state sound, and syncopated or paced sound during presentation and during a retention interval. Irrelevant speech was more damaging to rhythm and letter recall than was irrelevant tone sound, but there was no effect of changing state on rhythm recall, while letter recall accuracy was disrupted by changing-state sound. Pacing of sound did not consistently affect either rhythm or letter recall. There are similarities in the way speech and rhythms are processed that appear to extend beyond reliance on temporal coding mechanisms involved in serial-order recall.     

Cognitive correlates of medial temporal lobe development across adolescence: a magnetic resonance imaging study

Adolescent development involves progressive changes in brain structure and cognitive function, but relatively few studies have documented the cognitive correlates of differences in structural brain volumes in this age group. We examined the relations among age, cognitive processing, and mesial temporal lobe volume in 37 children and adolescents. Participants completed a brief cognitive assessment battery and underwent volumetric structural magnetic resonance imaging. For the sample as a whole, amygdala volume correlated positively with age, and larger volumes of both the left and right amygdala were significantly associated with better performance on several cognitive tasks assessing academic skills and acquired knowledge in long-term memory. In contrast, hippocampal volumes did not correlate with adolescents' age and were less frequently correlated with cognitive performance. Amygdala volumes were most predictive of cognitive abilities in boys, whereas for girls, the volume of the hippocampus contributed more frequently to the prediction of cognitive abilities. These data suggest that measurable differences in mesial temporal volumes during adolescence are reliably associated with long-term cognitive abilities, particularly academic skills and the acquisition of intellectual knowledge, and that these relationships may differ as a function of the sex of the child.     

Do deaf individuals have better visual skills in the periphery? Evidence from processing facial attributes

ABSTRACT

Studies examining visual abilities in individuals with early auditory deprivation have reached mixed conclusions, with some finding congenital auditory deprivation and/or lifelong use of a visuospatial language improves specific visual skills and others failing to find substantial differences. A more consistent finding is enhanced peripheral vision and an increased ability to efficiently distribute attention to the visual periphery following auditory deprivation. However, the extent to which this applies to visual skills in general or to certain conspicuous stimuli, such as faces, in particular is unknown. We examined the perceptual resolution of peripheral vision in the deaf, testing various facial attributes typically associated with high-resolution scrutiny of foveal information processing. We compared performance in face-identification tasks to performance using non-face control stimuli. Although we found no enhanced perceptual representations in face identification, gender categorization, or eye gaze direction recognition tasks, fearful expressions showed greater resilience than happy or neutral ones to increasing eccentricities. In the absence of an alerting sound, the visual system of auditory deprived individuals may develop greater sensitivity to specific conspicuous stimuli as a compensatory mechanism. The results also suggest neural reorganization in the deaf in their opposite advantage of the right visual field in face identification tasks.     

听觉信息掩蔽的亚成分：基于行为和脑成像研究的证明

听觉掩蔽的机制是解决嘈杂声学环境下对特定目标声音进行加工, 即“鸡尾酒会”问题的关键。听觉掩蔽可以分为能量掩蔽和信息掩蔽两种类型。前者是因为目标和掩蔽声音在听觉外周在时间和频率上的重叠所造成的, 而后者被认为是掩蔽声音在听觉中枢和目标声音竞争加工资源所造成的。长久以来, 信息掩蔽一直被当作一种单一成分的现象, 这一概念框架已经成为制约对其机制进行深入研究的一个瓶颈。信息掩蔽中至少包含有知觉信息掩蔽和认知信息掩蔽两种亚成分, 它们源于不同的中枢机制。多个说话人声音掩蔽的条件下, 总体掩蔽量是能量掩蔽、知觉信息掩蔽和认知信息掩蔽等成分总和的结果。操纵掩蔽和目标声音的知觉空间分离、掩蔽声音的可懂度以及掩蔽和目标声音的知觉相似度, 可以实现对两种信息掩蔽亚成分的双重分离。应用功能性核磁共振成像技术可以发现两者有不同的神经机制。     

Audiospatial and visuospatial working memory in 6-13 year old school children

The neural processes subserving working memory, and brain structures underlying this system, continue to develop during childhood. We investigated the effects of age and gender on audiospatial and visuospatial working memory in a nonclinical sample of school-aged children using n-back tasks. The results showed that auditory and visual working memory performance improves with age, suggesting functional maturation of underlying cognitive processes and brain areas. The gender differences found in the performance of working memory tasks suggest a larger degree of immaturity in boys than girls at the age period of 6–10 yr. The differences observed between the mastering of auditory and visual working memory tasks may indicate that visual working memory reaches functional maturity earlier than the corresponding auditory system.     

Children’s Memory for Temporal Information: The Roles of Temporal Language and Executive Function

Abstract

The ability to recall the temporal order of events develops much more slowly than the ability to recall facts about events. To explore what processes facilitate memory for temporal information, we tested 3- to 6-year-old children (N?=?40) for immediate memory of the temporal order of events from a storybook, using a visual timeline task and a yes/no recognition task. In addition, children completed tasks assessing their understanding of before and after and the executive functions of inhibition using the Day/Night Stroop task and cognitive shifting using the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. Older children (Mage?=?69.25?months) outperformed younger children (Mage?=?52.35?months) on all measures; however, the only significant predictor of memory for the temporal ordering of events was cognitive shifting. The findings suggest that the difficulty in memory for temporal information is related to development of a general cognitive ability, as indexed by the DCCS, rather than specific temporal abilities.     

Planning in young children: A review and synthesis

Research on the development of planning is reviewed in the context of a framework that considers the role of three types of cognitive flexibility in planning development: event-independent temporal representation, executive function, and self-projection. It is argued that the emergence of planning abilities in the preschool period is dependent upon the development of event-independent temporal representation. Research on the development of executive function suggests that its sub-components, in particular inhibitory control, may be linked to developmental improvements on planning tasks. Recently, new paradigms have established that self-projection to the future appears to develop over the preschool period. We consider how these different forms of cognitive flexibility may themselves be related in development.     

Functional neuroimaging of speech perception during a pivotal period in language acquisition

A pivotal period in the development of language occurs in the second year of life, when language comprehension undergoes rapid acceleration. However, the brain bases of these advances remain speculative as there is currently no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from healthy, typically developing toddlers at this age. We investigated the neural basis of speech comprehension in this critical age period by measuring fMRI activity during passive speech comprehension in 10 toddlers (mean +/- SD; 21 +/- 4 mo) and 10 3-year-old children (39 +/- 3 mo) during natural sleep. During sleep, the children were presented passages of forward and backward speech in 20-second blocks separated by 20-second periods of no sound presentation. Toddlers produced significantly greater activation in frontal, occipital, and cerebellar regions than 3-year-old children in response to forward speech. Our results suggest that rapid language acquisition during the second year of life may require the utilization of frontal, cerebellar, and occipital regions in addition to classical superior temporal language areas. These findings are consistent with the interactive specialization hypothesis, which proposes that cognitive abilities develop from the interaction of brain regions that include and extend beyond those used in the adult brain.