Neurophysiological correlates of the extraction of linguistically relevant rules from the auditory input during the course of development

本文建议使用失配否定(MMN)范式来研究从语音输入中提取音节之间的非相邻依存关系。MMN是一种事件相关电位(Event-Related Potential，ERP)，与高频标准刺激中罕见变异的听觉辨别有关。已有研究表明，MMN成分反映了跟踪重复的听觉记忆过程以及具体和抽象刺激特征之间更复杂的关系。由于这些性质，MMN是研究语言规则习得的一个有趣的工具。作为语言相关规则的测试案例，该项目建议使用MMN范式调查音节之间不相邻依存关系的提取。因此，计划了六项ERP研究和一项MEG研究，包括成年参与者和六名婴儿在生命的前六个月进行的ERP研究。这些研究将揭示大脑中非相邻依赖学习的时间和空间特征，重点关注自动性、在可变声学环境中的稳健性、语音影响以及婴儿早期的发展时间进程等特性。此外，心理测量测试将被用来捕捉与跟踪语音输入中的非相邻依赖关系的能力有关的潜在的个体间差异。通过这种方法，该项目将促进对基本语言学习过程的神经认知基础的理解--这是一个仍处于初级阶段的研究领域。

The present proposal suggests to investigate the extraction of non-adjacent dependencies between syllables from speech input using the mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm. The MMN is an event-related potential (ERP) related to the auditory discrimination of rare deviant from highly frequent standard stimuli. It has been shown that auditory memory processes tracking repetitions and more complex relations between concrete and abstract stimulus features are reflected in the MMN component. Due to these properties the MMN is an interesting tool for the study of the acquisition of linguistic rules. As a test case for a linguistically relevant rule, the project proposes to investigate the extraction of non-adjacent dependencies between syllables using the MMN paradigm. Therefore, six ERP studies and one MEG study with adult participants and six ERP studies with infants in the first six months of life are planned. The studies will shed new light on temporal and spatial characteristics of non-adjacent dependency learning in the brain with a specific focus on properties such as automaticity, robustness in a variable acoustic environment, phonological influences and the developmental time course in early infancy. Further, psychometric tests will be used to capture potential interindividual differences concerning the ability to track non-adjacent dependencies in speech input. With this approach, the project will advance the understanding of the neurocognitive basis of basic language learning processes - a research field which is still in its infancy.