Acquiring language with a cochlear implant: The role of sequential learning

描述（由申请人提供）：学习和记忆的基本机制在语言结果中的作用是人工耳蜗植入领域进展的一个关键障碍。长期目标是更好地理解和帮助治疗许多植入人工耳蜗的失聪儿童所表现出的语言迟缓。这个特殊的研究项目的总体目标是了解语言延迟在这一群体方面的困难与潜在的认知序列学习能力。我们的中心假设是，这些儿童的语言延迟部分是由于顺序学习的干扰造成的——由于发育早期的听觉和/或语言剥夺——通过加强顺序学习，语言功能可以得到改善。推动这项研究的基本原理是，我们期望在这个项目的结论中，不仅确定了这个人群中语言延迟的主要原因，而且还制定了一个新的和有前途的干预措施，专门针对顺序学习技能的发展。我们计划通过以下三个具体目标来检验中心假设并实现本应用的目标：1)确定先天性耳聋对顺序学习的神经机制的影响；2)识别顺序学习技能与语言结果之间的关系；3)通过增强序贯学习能力来改善耳蜗植入后聋儿的语言效果。第一个目的，我们将比较植入人工耳蜗的失聪儿童与年龄匹配的正常听力儿童视觉顺序学习的神经生理学（事件相关电位，ERP）相关性。对于第二个目标，我们将比较正常听力组和聋人组在语言处理方面的两项指标，这两项指标被认为依赖于顺序技能——对单词可预测性和句法的了解——然后根据经验确定与顺序学习能力的关系。第三个目标是，植入人工耳蜗的失聪儿童将接受计算机视觉序列训练方案；培训和迁移效果将通过比较训练组和对照组在学习和语言方面的非训练措施来评估。在我们看来，这项研究是创新的，因为它提供了一种完全不同的方法，专注于非听觉的、领域通用的学习能力，而这些能力在以前的研究中被忽视了。这项研究计划的贡献是证明顺序学习能力的障碍解释了为什么许多耳蜗植入的失聪儿童在学习语言方面存在困难。此外，我们期望通过计算机化训练技术来增强这些学习能力，从而改善语言和沟通功能。这一贡献将是重要的，因为它有可能改善成千上万的聋儿的生活质量，这些儿童由于基本和关键的学习能力困难，目前从植入物中获益甚微。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A critical barrier to progress in the field of cochlear implantation understands the role that fundamental mechanisms of learning and memory play in language outcomes. The long-term goal is to better understand and help treat the language delays exhibited by many deaf children with cochlear implants. The overall objective of this particular research project is to understand language delays in this population in terms of difficulties with underlying cognitive sequence learning abilities. Our central hypothesis is that language delays in these children are caused in part by disturbances to sequential learning- due to auditory and/or linguistic deprivation early in development -- and that by enhancing sequential learning, language function can be improved. The rationale that motivates the proposed research is that we expect at the conclusion of this project to have not only identified a major cause of language delays in this population but to also have formulated a new and promising intervention that specifically targets the development of sequential learning skills. We plan to test the central hypothesis and attain the objective of this application by pursuing the following three specific aims: 1) Determine the effects that congenital deafness has on the neural mechanisms of sequential learning; 2) Identify the relation between sequential learning skill and language outcomes; 3) Improve language outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implants by enhancing sequential learning abilities. For the first aim, we will compare the neurophysiologic (event-related potential, ERP) correlates of visual sequential learning in deaf children with cochlear implants to those of age-matched normal-hearing children. For the second aim, we will compare normal-hearing and deaf groups on two measures of language processing that are thought to rely on sequencing skills -- knowledge of word predictability and syntax -- and then empirically determine the association with sequential learning abilities. For the third aim, deaf children with cochlear implants will receive a computerized visual sequence training regimen; training and transfer effects will be assessed by comparing the training group to a control group on non-trained measures of learning and language. The proposed research is innovative, in our opinion, because it offers an entirely different approach that focuses on non- auditory, domain-general learning abilities that have been neglected in previous research with this population. The contribution of the proposed research project is expected to be the demonstration that disturbances to sequential learning abilities explain why many deaf children with cochlear implants struggle with acquiring language. Furthermore, we expect that by enhancing these learning abilities through computerized training techniques, language and communication function can be improved. This contribution will be significant because it has the potential to improve the quality of life for thousands of deaf children who currently exhibit minimum benefit from their implants because of difficulties with fundamental and crucial learning abilities.