Examining the impaired learning mechanism in children with developmental language disorder

项目摘要 语言障碍是最常见的言语-语言治疗的交流障碍之一 病理学家这种疾病的特点是口语发育受损， 由于听力损失、智力残疾或其他已知的神经功能缺损而导致的疾病（Benton，1964）。一个主要 为DLD制定有效干预措施的挑战是， 混乱还没有被理解。该项目的首要目标是填补这一关键空白，以便治疗可以 以最大化学习成功的方式交付。一个主要的理论表明， DLD儿童的语言学习困难是内隐提取能力的缺陷。 在这一理论框架内，外显学习策略应该被用来支持儿童的学习 这种紊乱。事实上，为学龄DLD儿童提供的治疗严重依赖于外显学习 通过将复杂的语言结构和句法结构分解为明确教授的小单元， 使用语言表达和记忆。然而，这些教学技巧可能并不有效，因为依赖于 基于语言的外显学习，这是已知的显着影响DLD儿童。拟议 该项目将测试一个新的假设，即DLD的学习缺陷是植根于无效的管理 外显和内隐学习之间的相互作用，由转移的执行功能受损引起。的 一项研究表明，DLD儿童表现出过度依赖外显学习， 在复杂的学习过程中，由于他们的转移执行功能受损，转向内隐学习。的 该项目将研究儿童在行为和神经生理水平上对复杂结构的学习 与他们的年龄和性别匹配的同龄人。学习成果、策略的使用，以及 内隐知识的电生理测量将根据儿童的转换能力进行评估， 使用两种学习范式。这两种学习范式在外显学习的程度上是不同的。 抑制，以评估是否消除需要克服显式偏见，并启动转变改善 DLD中的复杂学习。一种成熟的电生理测量（P600事件相关电位， 检测语法违规的内隐知识）将决定外显学习是否会阻碍 DLD中内隐知识的获取和/或表达。 了解DLD中复杂结构的学习是否受到外显学习抑制的促进 策略和消除从外显学习到内隐学习的需要将导致改善 对DLD儿童采用的教学技术，并制定有效的干预措施， 考虑到这些孩子独特的学习情况。

PROJECT SUMMARY Language Impairment is one of the most common communication disorders treated by speech-language pathologists. The disorder is characterized by impaired development of spoken language that cannot be attributed to hearing loss, intellectual disabilities, or other known neurological deficits (Benton, 1964). A major challenge in developing effective interventions for DLD is that the impaired learning mechanism underling the disorder is not yet understood. The project’s overarching goal is to fill this critical gap, so that treatment can be delivered in a manner that maximizes learning success. A leading theory suggests that the underlying cause for the language learning difficulties in children with DLD is a deficit in the ability to implicitly extract regularities. Within the framework of this theory, explicit learning strategies should be used to support learning in children with this disorder. Indeed, treatment provided to school-age children with DLD relies heavily on explicit learning by breaking down complex linguistic structures and syntactic regularities into small units that are taught explicitly, using verbalization and memorization. However, these teaching techniques may not be effective as rely on language-based explicit learning that is known to be significantly affected in children with DLD. The proposed project will test a novel hypothesis whereby that the learning deficit in DLD is rooted in an ineffective management of the interaction between explicit and implicit learning, caused by an impaired executive function of shifting. The project proposes that children with DLD demonstrate overreliance on explicit learning, and are failing to initiate a shift to implicit learning during complex learning, because of their impaired executive function of shifting. The project will examine behaviorally and at the neurophysiological level learning of complex structures by children with DLD and by their age and gender matched peers. Learning outcomes, use of strategies, and electrophysiological measured of implicit knowledge will be assessed in relation to the children’s shifting abilities, using two learning paradigms. The two learning paradigms will vary in the extent to which explicit learning is suppressed to evaluate whether eliminating the need to overcome the explicit bias and to initiate a shift improves complex learning in DLD. A well-established electrophysiological measure (the P600 event related potential that detects implicit knowledge of grammatical violations) will determine whether explicit learning hinders the acquisition and/or the expression of implicit knowledge in DLD. Understanding whether learning of complex structures in DLD is facilitated by the suppression of explicit learning strategies and by eliminating the need to shift from explicit to implicit learning will lead to improvement in the teaching techniques employed with children with DLD, and to the development of effective interventions that take into consideration these children’s unique learning profile.