Language Input as a Mechanism Underlying Socioeconomic Disparities in Neurocognitive Development

语言输入作为神经认知发展社会经济差异的机制

• 批准号: 10561707
• 负责人: Rachel Rene Romeo
• 金额: $ 24.06万
• 依托单位: UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-02-03 至 2025-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10561707
• 关键词: Academic achievement; Achievement; Affect; Affective; Age; Area; Award; Brain; Child; Child Language; Childhood; Cognitive; Complex; Data; Data Collection; Development; Disparity; Environmental Risk Factor; Exhibits; Exposure to; Home; Income; Inferior; Intervention; Investigation; Knowledge; Language; Language Development; Left; Linguistics; Link; Longitudinal Studies; Mediating; Methodology; Mind; Modeling; Neurocognitive; Neuronal Plasticity; Nursery Schools; Outcome; Phase; Play; Positioning Attribute; Readiness; Research; Role; Sampling; Schools; Shapes; Short-Term Memory; Social Development; Socioeconomic Status; Structure; Support System; Surface; System; Techniques; Testing; Thick; Time; Training; Work; career; cognitive development; cognitive neuroscience; cognitive skill; cohort; critical period; disadvantaged background; early adolescence; early experience; elementary school; executive function; flexibility; improved; innovation; kindergarten; low socioeconomic status; multimodal neuroimaging; multimodality; neural; neural network; neurodevelopment; neuromechanism; novel; peer; prevent; research faculty; scaffold; skills; social; social cognition; social factors; socioeconomic disparity; success; support network; syntax; theories; white matter

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Children’s socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly associated with disparities in cognitive, linguistic, and academic development. Understanding the precise environmental and neurodevelopmental mechanisms that underlie these disparities is critical for developing maximally impactful interventions to reduce and ultimately ameliorate achievement gaps. This proposal will test an innovative developmental model in which specific features of children’s early language input engage the development of cascading frontotemporal neural networks that ultimately scaffold multiple aspects of social-cognitive development, including children’s language abilities as well as executive functioning and social cognition—critical school readiness skills that are known to contribute to SES achievement gaps in school. Two multimodal longitudinal studies will evaluate evidence for this hypothesis at multiple time scales, while also providing the candidate with crucial training to promote transition to research independence. Study 1 (K99 phase) will conduct novel analyses on existing data from a densely sampled longitudinal study of over 300 SES-diverse children across 10 years from preschool through late childhood/early adolescence. Aim 1 will investigate the role of specific features of early language input (linguistic vs. interactive) on SES differences in developmental trajectories of executive functioning and social cognition as they emerge across the preschool years (ages 3-5 years). Aim 2 will extend this investigation into long-term neurocognitive outcomes by evaluating whether early language input acts as a long-range mechanism influencing brain structure and functioning later in childhood that supports continued cognitive and social development, which may ultimately underlie SES disparities in academic achievement. Study 2 (R00 phase) will deepen the specific investigation of the dynamic development of these neurocognitive mechanisms in preschool through longitudinal study of a new cohort of children at ages 3 and 4 years. Aim 3 will specifically examine the influence of features of early language input on plasticity of interactive frontotemporal neural systems supporting linguistic, executive, and social cognition through preschool and the transition to Kindergarten. Results from both studies will help identify the precise components of early linguistic stimulation that drive development across multiple neurocognitive domains during a critical period of brain development, and determine the mechanisms by which exposures to specific social and environmental factors affect long-term neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity, and cognitive outcomes. Further, this work has direct translational implications to inform interventions that may help close and ultimately prevent income-achievement gaps and provide optimal neurodevelopmental outcomes for children from all backgrounds. This award will also provide the candidate, who has a strong background in the cognitive neuroscience of language development, with critical training in other domains of cognitive development and advanced analysis techniques to promote a successful transition to an independent research career.

项目概要/摘要 儿童的社会经济地位（SES）与认知、语言和认知方面的差异密切相关。 学术发展。了解精确的环境和神经发育机制 找出这些差异的根源对于制定最有影响力的干预措施以减少并最终 缩小成就差距。该提案将测试一种创新的发展模式，其中具体 儿童早期语言输入的特征涉及级联额颞神经网络的发展 最终支撑社会认知发展的多个方面，包括儿童的语言能力 以及执行功能和社会认知——已知有助于提高入学准备能力的关键技能 学校中社会经济地位 (SES) 成绩的差距。两项多模式纵向研究将评估这方面的证据 多个时间尺度的假设，同时还为候选人提供关键的培训以促进过渡 研究独立性。研究 1（K99 阶段）将对密集数据集的现有数据进行新颖的分析 对 300 多名社会经济地位多样化的儿童进行了为期 10 年（从学前班到晚期）的抽样纵向研究 童年/青春期早期。目标 1 将研究早期语言输入的特定特征的作用（语言学） 与互动）关于SES在执行功能和社会认知的发展轨迹上的差异 他们在学龄前阶段（3-5岁）出现。目标 2 将把这项调查延伸到长期 通过评估早期语言输入是否充当长期机制来评估神经认知结果 影响童年后期的大脑结构和功能，支持持续的认知和社交 发展，这最终可能是社会经济地位在学术成就方面差异的基础。研究 2（R00 阶段）将 深化对学龄前这些神经认知机制动态发展的具体研究 通过对一组新的 3 岁和 4 岁儿童进行纵向研究。目标 3 将专门检查 早期语言输入特征对交互式额颞叶神经系统可塑性的影响 学前班和幼儿园过渡期间的语言、执行和社会认知。两者的结果 研究将有助于确定早期语言刺激的精确组成部分，这些刺激推动了各个方面的发展 大脑发育关键时期的多个神经认知领域，并确定其机制 暴露于特定的社会和环境因素会影响长期的神经发育， 神经可塑性和认知结果。此外，这项工作具有直接的翻译意义，可以告知 可能有助于缩小并最终防止收入成就差距并提供最佳的干预措施 来自不同背景的儿童的神经发育结果。该奖项还将为候选人提供， 他在语言发展的认知神经科学方面拥有深厚的背景，并接受过关键的培训 认知发展的其他领域和先进的分析技术，以促进成功的转变 走向独立的研究生涯。