Development of Speech Perception

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究旨在探讨4至15岁儿童言语知觉的神经基础发展。虽然语音感知在生命的第一年发展得非常迅速，但对母语语音感知的敏感期要晚得多。本研究的第一个目的是研究不同习得年龄成人的二语语音感知，以确定语音感知的敏感期。第二个目的是通过研究儿童在这个敏感时期的不同时间点对母语语音、噪音语音和外语语音的辨别，来了解导致这种可塑性下降的变化。功能磁共振成像技术的使用，以及不适应范式将提供有关语音感知的神经基质发展的信息。此外，这些研究感知的“无任务”范式也比其他用于研究言语感知的行为范式具有方法论上的优势。特别是，儿童和成人参与者可以使用相同的任务，从而可以直接比较本提案的两个具体目标的数据。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study examines the development of the neural substrate for speech perception between the ages of 4 and 15 years. Although speech perception develops very rapidly during the first year of life, the sensitive period for native-like speech perception closes much later. The first aim, of this proposal is to study second-language speech perception in adults varying in their age of acquisition (AOA) in order to specify the sensitive period for speech perception. The second aim is to understand the changes that result in this decline in plasticity by studying the discrimination of native-language speech sounds, speech in noise, and foreign-language speech sound in children at various points of this sensitive period. The use of fMRI techniques, along with dishabituation paradigms will provide information about the development of the neural substrate for speech perception. Furthermore, these "task-free" paradigms for studying perception also have methodological advantages over other behavioral paradigms used to study speech perception. In particular, the same tasks can be used with child and adult participants, allowing for direct comparison of data from the two specific aims of this proposal.