Implicit Sequence Learning in Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究项目的目的是记录内隐序列学习在理解和解释失聪儿童人工耳蜗植入术后结局和获益的巨大差异方面的作用。本项目的第一个目的是确定与听力正常（NH）儿童相比，人工耳蜗植入（CI）的聋儿内隐视觉序列学习能力的障碍程度。工作假设是，一些聋儿CI有障碍，在复杂的视觉序列模式的内隐学习，这是学习障碍，可以部分解释为什么许多儿童CI显示语言延迟。为了验证这一假设，我们将调查两种类型的内隐序列学习能力（固定和概率模式学习）在一组30名5-9岁的聋哑儿童与CI和年龄匹配的NH组。本研究的第二个目的是评估内隐序列学习和口语处理能力之间的关系。我们建议评估的假设，即在隐式学习复杂的视觉序列模式的能力的个体差异将显着相关的几个不同的措施，口语处理。为了验证这一假设，我们将对同样的两组儿童进行一些常规的语言处理和结果测试（即，PPVT，PBK，LNT，VABS和词汇控制的句子），同时测量序列学习以及12-18个月后。在这个项目的结论，我们希望证明，平均而言，与CI的聋儿有干扰的非听觉内隐序列学习能力，固定和更复杂的概率视觉序列模式。我们还希望证明显着和强大的关联内隐视觉序列学习能力和语言的结果，无论是在测试时和12-18个月后，在NH儿童和聋哑儿童CI。这项工作是临床和理论上的重要意义，因为它将首次表明，与CI的聋儿受损的基本认知学习能力，反过来与口语处理措施。我们的研究结果将提供支持的假设，即内隐序列学习能力作出了很大的贡献，在NH儿童和聋儿的CI语言的结果。该项目的结果将为关于听觉剥夺对基本认知学习能力的后果的新理论观点提供基础，并为人工耳蜗植入效果不佳的儿童提出几种新的障碍途径。我们希望本研究项目的结果能够证明，基本的认知学习能力对植入人工耳蜗的聋儿的语言效果有很大的贡献。这些知识将提供理论和经验的基础，改善预测和治疗的聋儿谁可能做不好他们的植入物。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this research project is to document the role of implicit sequence learning in understanding and explaining the enormous variability in outcome and benefit in deaf children following cochlear implantation. The first aim of this project is to determine the extent to which deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) have a disturbance in implicit visual sequence learning abilities compared to normal-hearing (NH) children. The working hypothesis is that some deaf children with CIs have a disturbance in implicit learning of complex visual sequential patterns and it is this learning disturbance that can partly explain why many children with CIs show language delays. To test this hypothesis, we will investigate two types of implicit sequence learning abilities (fixed and probabilistic pattern learning) in a group of 30 5-9 year-old deaf children with CIs and an age-matched NH group. The second aim of this project is to assess the association between implicit sequence learning and spoken language processing abilities. We propose to assess the hypothesis that individual differences in the ability to implicitly learn complex visual sequential patterns will be significantly correlated with several different measures of spoken language processing. To test this hypothesis, we will assess the same two groups of children on a number of conventional tests of language processing and outcome (i.e., PPVT, PBK, LNT, VABS, and lexically-controlled sentences), at the same time that sequence learning is measured as well as 12-18 months later. At the conclusion of this project, we expect to demonstrate that deaf children with CIs on average have a disturbance in non-auditory implicit sequence learning abilities, for both fixed and more complex probabilistic visual sequential patterns. We also expect to demonstrate a significant and strong association between implicit visual sequence learning abilities and language outcomes as measured both at the time of testing and 12-18 months later, in both NH children and deaf children with CIs. This work is both clinically and theoretically significant because it will for the first time show that deaf children with CIs are impaired on fundamental cognitive learning abilities that are in turn associated with spoken language processing measures. Our findings will provide support for the hypothesis that implicit sequence learning abilities make a strong contribution to language outcomes in both NH children and deaf children with CIs. The results of this project will provide the foundation for new theoretical perspectives regarding the consequences of auditory deprivation on basic cognitive learning abilities and suggest several new avenues of habilitation for children who are doing poorly with their cochlear implants. We expect the findings from this research project to demonstrate that basic and fundamental cognitive learning abilities make a strong contribution to language outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implants. This knowledge will provide the theoretical and empirical foundation for improved prediction of and treatment for the deaf children who may be doing poorly with their implants.