语音加工的发展、老化及其神经机制

作为人类语言活动的重要组成成分,语音加工经历着“习得-发展-老化”的变化过程。本文首先综述了婴儿、儿童、成年人及老年人在语音意识、语音提取,语音工作记忆等方面的表现及相应加工机制。其次,分析了不同年龄段个体语音加工发展变化的神经基础。最后,通过比较不同时期个体语音加工发展进程,围绕语音加工发展过程、语音老化有无关键年龄以及如何干预等问题进行展望。     

不同母语环境下16个月婴儿词汇表征中声调的语义特性

采用跨通道注视偏好范式(IPLP)下的声调错读任务, 探究16个月中英婴儿熟悉词汇表征中普通话声调的音位语义特性(phonological specificity)。结果发现在先正确命名再声调错读的任务顺序下, 中英婴儿均在正确命名时表现出命名效应, 在错读时不能再认目标图片, 表现出错读效应, 说明普通话声调对16个月中英婴儿而言都具备语义特性。     

家庭文化环境对幼儿语音意识的作用

本研究用结构方程模型,检验幼儿家庭文化环境的结构及其与语音意识的关系。结果证实:家庭文化环境包括家庭文化资源和家庭文化活动,其中家庭文化活动又可以划分为,正式的家庭文化活动及非正式的家庭文化活动。家庭文化资源通过家庭文化活动影响幼儿的语音意识,只有非正式的家庭文化活动对语音意识的作用显著。     

语音意识、语素意识和快速命名在儿童言语发展中的作用

以130名幼儿园小、中、大班儿童为研究对象,通过分层回归,系统比较了语音意识、语素意识和快速命名三种认知技能在学前儿童口语词汇、汉字识别和阅读理解等言语能力发展中的作用和相对重要性,结果发现:(1)学前儿童的各项能力随着年龄的增加而显著提高;(2)除了年龄因素之外,语音意识和语素意识是解释口语词汇的重要变量;(3)在控制了年龄和口语词汇量之后,语音意识、语素意识和快速命名能力都分别对汉字识别成绩具有独立的预测作用;(4)在控制了年龄、口语词汇量、汉字识别和其他两种认知技能之后,只有语素意识仍然能够独立预测阅读理解成绩,表明语素意识对于汉语阅读能力的发展具有独特的作用.     

The relationship between phonological processing and arithmetic in children with learning disabilities

Phonological processing skills have not only been shown to be important for reading skills, but also for arithmetic skills. Specifically, previous research in typically developing children has suggested that phonological processing skills may be more closely related to arithmetic problems that are solved through fact retrieval (e.g., remembering the solution from memory) than procedural computation (e.g., counting). However, the relationship between phonological processing and arithmetic in children with learning disabilities (LDs) has not been investigated. Yet, understanding these relationships in children with LDs is especially important because it can help elucidate the cognitive underpinnings of math difficulties, explain why reading and math disabilities frequently co-occur, and provide information on which cognitive skills to target for interventions. In 63 children with LDs, we examined the relationship between different phonological processing skills (phonemic awareness, phonological memory, and rapid serial naming) and arithmetic. We distinguished between arithmetic problems that tend to be solved with fact retrieval versus procedural computation to determine whether phonological processing skills are differentially related to these two arithmetic processes. We found that phonemic awareness, but not phonological memory or rapid serial naming, was related to arithmetic fact retrieval. We also found no association between any phonological processing skills and procedural computation. These results converge with prior research in typically developing children and suggest that phonemic awareness is also related to arithmetic fact retrieval in children with LD. These results raise the possibility that phonemic awareness training might improve both reading and arithmetic fact retrieval skills.

Research Highlights

• Relationships between phonological processing and various arithmetic skills were investigated in children with learning disabilities (LDs) for the first time.
• We found phonemic awareness was related to arithmetic involving fact retrieval, but not to arithmetic involving procedural computation in LDs.
• The results suggest that phonemic awareness is not only important to skilled reading, but also to some aspects of arithmetic.
• These results raise the question of whether intervention in phonemic awareness might improve arithmetic fact retrieval skills.

     

New Insights into the role of the phonological loop in task switching: evidence from three different age groups

ABSTRACT

The phonological loop plays an important role in task switching. Until now, however, it has been unclear whether it is the maintenance of the task sequence or the retrieval of the task goal that requires phonological processing. In the present study, 60 participants (20 children, 20 adolescents, 20 young adults) performed three phonological working-memory tests before they switched between two tasks in a cue-present condition (random task sequence) and in a cue-absent condition (predictable task sequence). Results revealed that better phonological and central-executive working-memory performance predicted lower switch costs. In line with age-differentiation of cognitive abilities switching was less coupled with working memory in adults compared to children and adolescents. Interestingly, however, relations were only demonstrated in the cue-present but not in the cue-absent condition, indicating that it is more the retrieval of the task goal than the maintenance of the task sequence that requires the involvement of phonological processing.     

Predicting Reading Comprehension in Arabic-Speaking Middle Schoolers Using Linguistic Measures

Abstract

This study aimed at examining the contribution of various linguistic components to reading comprehension (RC) in the seventh and ninth grades and to compare this contribution between two groups: children with typical development and those with reading disorders (RD). This was done by testing the relative contribution of phonological awareness, morphological knowledge, vocabulary, and syntactic knowledge to RC in both groups. The regression analysis indicated that the linguistic components explain between 60 and 56% of the variance in RC in the seventh and ninth grades among the typical group and between 74 and 79% in the same grades among those with RD. While phonological awareness and morphological knowledge contribute to RC only among the RD group, the contributions of vocabulary and syntactic knowledge were found to be significant in both groups. The results are discussed in light of previous findings in the literature with theoretical and pedagogical implications.     

12个月中国婴儿熟悉词表征中声调的语义特性

12个月婴儿能否表征母语的音位语义特性(phonological specificity)是资源有限理论和表征不连续理论争议的焦点。本研究通过跨通道注视偏好范式(IPLP),对熟悉词进行正确命名和声调错读2种任务,发现不论任务以何种先后顺序呈现,12个月中国婴儿都在正确命名时出现命名效应,在声调错读时出现错读效应。这表明12个月中国婴儿能表征普通话声调的语义特性,资源有限理论适用于声调。