Neurocognitive basis of auditory-linguistic rule learning in infancy and adulthood: From rule extraction to memory storage

该建议建议利用最先进的电生理学方法评估婴幼儿和成人的听觉人工语言学习，以研究基本语言学习机制的神经认知发展。具体地说，它旨在阐明听觉语法学习与其潜在的知觉代码、记忆机制以及语言和认知功能之间的关系。处理远距离语音元素之间的依存关系是人类语言的核心(例如，他在唱歌)。行为研究报告了从生命的第二年开始学习这种所谓的非相邻依赖的证据。然而，最近的电生理学证据表明，婴儿在出生的前半年就已经能够察觉到不相邻音节之间的语法关系，而且这种能力与基本的听觉发育有关。然而，除了这第一个积极的证据外，人们对潜在学习机制的性质知之甚少。本提案针对三个紧迫的问题，这三个问题共同针对在感知、记忆和语言的更广泛背景下人工语法学习的基本机制。首先，目前还不清楚哪些言语成分携带着语法学习的知觉代码。改变编码规则的语言部分的实验将解决这个问题。其次，尚不清楚第一步中提取的规则是否以及在什么条件下存储在长期记忆中，这是自然语言习得中规则学习的关键因素。在学习和测试之间引入显著延迟以及改变睡眠因素的实验将解决这个问题。第三，人们对实验室学习任务对解释自然语言学习和加工以及认知功能的预测价值越来越感兴趣。评估在线人工语法学习中个体间差异的实验将与语言加工实验和认知功能标准化参数有关。为了解决这三个问题，该提案描述了一系列系统的EEG研究，重点是早期婴儿期和成年期。该项目的主要支柱将是根据最近提出的对经典古怪设计的修改对基本规则学习机制进行评估，该设计提供了学习语音要素之间不相邻依赖关系的可靠衡量标准。该项目的结果将是对听觉规则学习的神经基础及其发展变化的更准确的表征。这最终将有助于更好地理解终身语言学习，并为语言治疗和教学的研究提供信息基础。因此，该项目将填补基础研究的一个显著空白，为学生提供极好的培训机会，并提供与应用科学相关的新见解。

The proposal suggests to investigate the neurocognitive development of basic language learning mechanisms by utilizing state-of-the art electrophysiological methods to assess auditory artificial language learning in infants and adults. Specifically, it aims to specify the relation between auditory grammar learning and its underlying perceptual code, memory mechanisms and linguistic and cognitive functions. Processing dependencies between distant speech elements is central to human language (e.g. he is singing). Behavioral studies report evidence of learning such so-called non-adjacent dependencies starting from the second year of life. Recent electrophysiological evidence, however, suggests that infants detect grammatical relations between non-adjacent syllables already during their first half year of life and that this ability is related to basic auditory development. Yet, besides this first positive evidence not much is known about the nature of the underlying learning mechanism. The present proposal targets three pressing issues which together target the underlying mechanisms of artificial grammar learning in the wider context of perception, memory and language. First, it is yet unclear which speech elements carry the perceptual code for grammatical learning. Experiments varying the linguistic segments which code the rule will tackle this issue. Second, it is unknown whether and under which conditions the regularities extracted in the first step are stored in long-term memory, a crucial factor for rule learning in natural language acquisition. Experiments introducing a significant delay between learning and testing and varying the factor sleep will approach this question. Third, there is increasing interest in the predictive value of laboratory learning tasks for the explanation of natural language learning and processing as well as cognitive function in general. The experiments assessing interindividual variations in on-line artificial grammar learning will be related to experiments on language processing and to standardized parameters of cognitive function. To address these three questions, the proposal delineates a series of systematic EEG studies focusing on early infancy and adulthood. The main pillar of the project will be the assessment of basic rule learning mechanisms based on a recently proposed modification of the classic oddball-design which provides a reliable measure of the learning of non-adjacent dependencies between elements of speech. The outcome of the project will be a more precise characterization of the neural basis of auditory rule learning and its developmental changes. This will eventually contribute to a better understanding of language learning across the lifespan and provide an informative basis for research on language therapy and teaching. Thus, the project will fill a noticeable gap in basic research, provide excellent training opportunities for students and deliver new insights relevant for applied science.