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

婴儿期和成年期听觉语言规则学习的神经认知基础：从规则提取到记忆存储

• 批准号: 349971154
• 负责人: Professorin Dr. Jutta Mueller
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Kognitionswissenschaft
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2016-12-31 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/349971154?language=en
• 关键词: Neurocognitive; basis; auditory; linguistic; rule

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.

该提案建议通过利用最先进的电生理方法评估婴儿和成人的听觉人工语言学习来研究基本语言学习机制的神经认知发展。具体而言，它旨在阐明听觉语法学习与其潜在的知觉代码、记忆机制以及语言和认知功能之间的关系。处理遥远的语音元素之间的依赖关系是人类语言的核心（例如，他正在唱歌）。行为研究报告的证据表明，学习这种所谓的非相邻的依赖性开始从第二年的生活。然而，最近的电生理学证据表明，婴儿在出生后的前半年就已经能够检测到非相邻音节之间的语法关系，这种能力与基本的听觉发育有关。然而，除了这第一个积极的证据，我们对潜在的学习机制的性质知之甚少。目前的建议针对三个紧迫的问题，这三个问题共同针对人工语法学习在更广泛的感知，记忆和语言背景下的潜在机制。首先，我们还不清楚哪些语音成分携带着语法学习的感知代码。改变编码规则的语言段的实验将解决这个问题。第二，它是未知的，是否以及在何种条件下提取的第一步中的重复存储在长期记忆中，在自然语言习得的规则学习的一个关键因素。在学习和测试之间引入显著延迟并改变睡眠因素的实验将接近这个问题。第三，人们越来越关注实验室学习任务对解释自然语言学习和处理以及一般认知功能的预测价值。评估在线人工语法学习中个体间差异的实验将与语言处理实验和认知功能的标准化参数相关。为了解决这三个问题，该提案描述了一系列系统的脑电图研究，重点是婴儿早期和成年期。该项目的主要支柱将是评估基本规则学习机制的基础上，最近提出的修改经典的oddball设计，它提供了一个可靠的措施，学习语音元素之间的非相邻依赖关系。该项目的结果将是一个更精确的表征听觉规则学习的神经基础及其发展变化。这将最终有助于更好地理解整个生命周期的语言学习，并为语言治疗和教学研究提供信息基础。因此，该项目将填补基础研究中的一个明显空白，为学生提供良好的培训机会，并提供与应用科学相关的新见解。