Neurocognitive basis of auditory-linguistic rule learning in infancy and adulthood: From rule extraction to memory storage

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The proposal suggests to investigate the neurocognitive development of basic language learning mechanisms by utilizing state-of-the art electrophysiological methods to assess auditory artificial language learning in infants and adults. Specifically, it aims to specify the relation between auditory grammar learning and its underlying perceptual code, memory mechanisms and linguistic and cognitive functions. Processing dependencies between distant speech elements is central to human language (e.g. he is singing). Behavioral studies report evidence of learning such so-called non-adjacent dependencies starting from the second year of life. Recent electrophysiological evidence, however, suggests that infants detect grammatical relations between non-adjacent syllables already during their first half year of life and that this ability is related to basic auditory development. Yet, besides this first positive evidence not much is known about the nature of the underlying learning mechanism. The present proposal targets three pressing issues which together target the underlying mechanisms of artificial grammar learning in the wider context of perception, memory and language. First, it is yet unclear which speech elements carry the perceptual code for grammatical learning. Experiments varying the linguistic segments which code the rule will tackle this issue. Second, it is unknown whether and under which conditions the regularities extracted in the first step are stored in long-term memory, a crucial factor for rule learning in natural language acquisition. Experiments introducing a significant delay between learning and testing and varying the factor sleep will approach this question. Third, there is increasing interest in the predictive value of laboratory learning tasks for the explanation of natural language learning and processing as well as cognitive function in general. The experiments assessing interindividual variations in on-line artificial grammar learning will be related to experiments on language processing and to standardized parameters of cognitive function. To address these three questions, the proposal delineates a series of systematic EEG studies focusing on early infancy and adulthood. The main pillar of the project will be the assessment of basic rule learning mechanisms based on a recently proposed modification of the classic oddball-design which provides a reliable measure of the learning of non-adjacent dependencies between elements of speech. The outcome of the project will be a more precise characterization of the neural basis of auditory rule learning and its developmental changes. This will eventually contribute to a better understanding of language learning across the lifespan and provide an informative basis for research on language therapy and teaching. Thus, the project will fill a noticeable gap in basic research, provide excellent training opportunities for students and deliver new insights relevant for applied science.