Lack of Neural Evidence for Implicit Language Learning in 9-Month-Old Infants at High Risk for Autism

Autor/inn/en	Liu, Janelle; Tsang, Tawny; Ponting, Carolyn; Jackson, Lisa; Jeste, Shafali S.; Bookheimer, Susan Y.; Dapretto, Mirella
Titel	Lack of Neural Evidence for Implicit Language Learning in 9-Month-Old Infants at High Risk for Autism
Quelle	In: Developmental Science, 24 (2021) 4, (23 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Liu, Janelle)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1467-7687
DOI	10.1111/desc.13078
Schlagwörter	Infants; At Risk Persons; Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Language Acquisition; Cues; Auditory Stimuli; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Screening Tests; Speech Communication; Correlation; Expressive Language; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Preschool Children; Severity (of Disability) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Infant; Toddler; Toddlers; Kleinkind; Risikogruppe; Autismus; Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Stichwort; Auditive Stimulation; Screening-Verfahren; Korrelation; Psychiatrische Symptomatik; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Schweregrad
Abstract	Word segmentation is a fundamental aspect of language learning, since identification of word boundaries in continuous speech must occur before the acquisition of word meanings can take place. We previously used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are less sensitive to statistical and speech cues that guide implicit word segmentation. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying this process during infancy and how this may be associated with ASD risk. Here, we examined early neural signatures of language-related learning in 9-month-old infants at high (HR) and low familial risk (LR) for ASD. During natural sleep, infants underwent fMRI while passively listening to three speech streams containing strong statistical and prosodic cues, strong statistical cues only, or minimal statistical cues to word boundaries. Compared to HR infants, LR infants showed greater activity in the left amygdala for the speech stream containing statistical and prosodic cues. While listening to this same speech stream, LR infants also showed more learning-related signal increases in left temporal regions as well as increasing functional connectivity between bilateral primary auditory cortex and right anterior insula. Importantly, learning-related signal increases at 9 months positively correlated with expressive language outcome at 36 months in both groups. In the HR group, greater signal increases were additionally associated with less severe ASD symptomatology at 36 months. These findings suggest that early differences in the neural networks underlying language learning may predict subsequent language development and altered trajectories associated with ASD risk. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01