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证明内隐序列学习在理解和解释耳聋儿童人工耳蜗术后结果和益处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的聋儿相比，植入人工耳蜗的聋儿在内隐视觉序列学习能力方面的障碍程度。我们的工作假设是，一些顺式耳聋儿童在复杂视觉序列模式的内隐学习中存在障碍，正是这种学习障碍可以部分解释为什么许多顺式耳聋儿童表现出语言延迟。为了验证这一假说，我们将考察30名5-9岁聋儿的两种内隐序列学习能力(固定模式学习和概率模式学习)。这个项目的第二个目标是评估内隐序列学习和口语处理能力之间的联系。我们建议评估这一假设，即个体在内隐学习复杂视觉序列模式的能力上的差异将与几种不同的口语处理措施显著相关。为了验证这一假设，我们将评估相同的两组儿童的语言处理和结果的一些常规测试(即，pPVT，PBK，LNT，VABs，和词汇控制的句子)，同时测量顺序学习以及12-18个月后。在本项目结束时，我们期望证明，对于固定的和更复杂的概率视觉序列模式，患有顺应性听力障碍的聋儿在非听觉内隐序列学习能力方面存在障碍。我们还期望在测试时和12-18个月后测量的内隐视觉序列学习能力和语言结果之间存在显著和强烈的关联，无论是在NH儿童还是患有顺式听力障碍的聋儿中。这项工作具有临床和理论意义，因为它将首次表明，患有顺式耳聋的儿童的基本认知学习能力受到损害，而认知学习能力反过来又与口语处理措施有关。我们的研究结果将支持内隐序列学习能力对听力障碍儿童和非智力障碍儿童的语言输出都有很大贡献的假说。该项目的结果将为有关听觉剥夺对基本认知学习能力的影响的新的理论观点提供基础，并为人工耳蜗术中表现不佳的儿童提供几种新的康复途径。我们期望这项研究项目的发现能够证明，基本的认知学习能力对植入人工耳蜗的聋儿的语言结果有很大的贡献。这一认识将为改进对耳聋儿童的预测和治疗提供理论和经验基础，这些儿童可能在植入物方面做得不好。

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.