FastMap-IMPACT: Brain mechanisms of rapid language learning: an Investigation of Memory in Patients and Ageing with Consolidation Theory

今天，成年人在语言学习者中占很大比例。在一个全球化的世界里，有创纪录数量的成年人有动力学习一门新语言;而且中风、痴呆甚至正常衰老的病理学往往要求成年人重新学习特定的语言技能。不幸的是，成年人的语言学习结果令人沮丧。然而，有证据表明，成年人是优秀的学习者，甚至在语言网络中显示出大量的大脑可塑性，这表明我们在理解为什么语言特别困难方面存在重大差距。该提案的目标是通过统一记忆，心理学和语言研究的理论来发展对成人语言学习的机械理解，并测试我们对衰老和病理学中促进语言学习的预测。我将使用基于心理语言学理论的语言学习范式，对成年人语言学习的记忆过程进行系统研究，并收集行为和功能磁共振成像数据，以（i）测试记忆的神经科学模型及其对健康年轻人更好的语言学习的预测和潜在的神经机制，（ii）测试其对健康老年人的特定变化模式和最佳学习条件的预测，（iii）测试其对不同类型记忆缺陷患者的更好保留的预测。这种综合方法也将回答记忆研究核心的一个悬而未决的问题，即海马体在记忆中的关键作用，即它是否可以在特定条件下的学习中被绕过（“快速映射”）。因此，该项目将弥合两个领域之间的重要理论差距，回答语言和记忆研究领域的关键问题，并为翻译应用提供概念验证，以改善健康老年人和不同类型记忆缺陷患者的学习。

Adults today make up a very large percentage of language learners. In a globalised world, record numbers of adults are motivated to learn a new language; and far too often, pathology from stroke, dementia or even normal ageing can require adults to re-learn specific language skills. Unfortunately, language learning outcomes are dismal in adults. Yet evidence suggests that adults are excellent learners, and even display a substantial amount of brain plasticity in the language networks, pointing to a critical gap in our understanding of why language in particular presents such difficulty. The goal of this proposal is to develop a mechanistic understanding of language learning in adults by unifying theories from memory, psychology and language research, and to test our predictions for facilitated language learning in ageing and pathology. I will perform a systematic study of the memory processes underlying language learning in adults by using a language-learning paradigm grounded in psycholinguistic theories, and collect behavioural and fMRI data to (i) test a neuroscientific model of memory and its predictions for better language learning in healthy young adults and the underlying neural mechanisms, (ii) test its predictions of specific patterns of change and optimal learning conditions for healthy older adults, and (iii) test its predictions for better retention in patients with different types of memory deficits. This comprehensive approach will also answer an open question at the heart of memory research about the pivotal role of the hippocampus in memory, i.e. whether it can in fact be by-passed in learning under specific conditions ("fast-mapping"). Thus this project will bridge an important theoretical gap between two fields, answer critical questions in the fields of both language and memory research, and provide proof-of-concept for translational applications in improving learning in healthy older adults and patients with different types of memory deficits.