Identifying The Role of Caregiver-Infant Coupling in Language Development

该项目将揭示行为和神经耦合如何出现，并通过研究照顾者和1周到2岁婴儿之间的互动来支持语言发展。耦合是指两个个体之间的协同一致状态，这使得建立共同理解成为可能。该项目的具体目标是：1）通过确定行为耦合（如相互凝视和情感镜像）何时首次出现，以及耦合率在此期间如何变化，记录1至9周龄的行为耦合的出现。2）记录9个月大时更复杂的耦合形式如何与单词学习相关（例如，声音模仿和联合注意）从镜像中出现。3）确定所有年龄段的语言使用与耦合频率和持续时间的关系。4）确定行为耦合如何与4个月大的神经耦合联系在一起，并使用功能性近红外光谱确定最常导致行为耦合的行为是否也导致最强大的神经耦合，或fNIRS。该项目将揭示婴儿和照顾者在互动过程中对齐的机制，以及语言使用如何从这个过程中出现。背景耦合是指与他人“在同一页面上”的能力，或个体成功协调注意力，建立共享知识状态和合作的状态（Stephens et al.，2010年）。语言是产生耦合的强大工具，因为它允许高度精确地共享抽象概念和计划。巧合的是，有证据表明，共享的符号语言首先需要通过耦合建立相互理解（Stolk et al.，然而，人们对语言驱动的耦合是如何出现的知之甚少。

This project will reveal how behavioural and neural coupling emerge and scaffold languagedevelopment by studying interactions between caregivers and infants across 1 week to 2years of age. Coupling refers to a state of synergetic alignment between two individuals thatmakes it possible to establish shared understanding. The specific aims of the project are to:1) document the emergence of behavioural coupling across 1- to 9-weeks of age bydetermining when behavioural coupling, such as mutual gaze and affect mirroring, firstappears, and how the rate of coupling changes across this period.2) document how more complex forms of coupling at 9 months of age relevant to wordlearning (e.g., vocal imitation and joint attention) emerge from mirroring.3) determine how language use at all ages relates to the frequency and duration ofcoupling.4) determine how behavioural coupling is linked to neural coupling at 4 months of age, andidentify whether the behaviours that most frequently lead to behavioural coupling also leadto the most robust neural coupling, using functional Near-Infra-Red Spectroscopy, or fNIRS.This project will reveal the mechanisms by which infants and caregivers become alignedduring interaction, and how language use emerges from this process.BackgroundCoupling refers to the ability to "get on the same page" with others, or to states in whichindividuals successfully coordinate their attention, establish shared knowledge states, andcooperate (Stephens et al., 2010). Language is a powerful tool for generating couplingbecause it allows sharing abstract concepts and planning with a high degree of precision.Paradoxically, there is evidence that a shared symbolic language requires establishingmutual understanding - via coupling - to emerge in the first place (Stolk et al., 2014).However, little is known about how language-driven coupling emerges.