Development of Speech Perception

描述(由申请人提供)：这项拟议的研究考察了4至15岁儿童言语感知的神经底物的发展。虽然言语知觉在生命的第一年发展非常迅速，但本土化的言语知觉敏感期要晚得多。这项建议的第一个目的是研究不同习得年龄(AOA)的成年人的第二语言言语感知，以确定言语感知的敏感期。第二个目的是通过研究儿童在这一敏感时期的不同时间点对母语语音、噪声中的语音和外语语音的辨别，来了解导致可塑性下降的变化。功能磁共振成像技术的使用，以及去习惯化范例，将提供有关语音感知神经底物发展的信息。此外，与其他用于研究言语感知的行为范式相比，这些研究知觉的“无任务”范式也具有方法论上的优势。特别是，同样的任务可以用于儿童和成人参与者，允许直接比较这项提案的两个具体目标的数据。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study examines the development of the neural substrate for speech perception between the ages of 4 and 15 years. Although speech perception develops very rapidly during the first year of life, the sensitive period for native-like speech perception closes much later. The first aim, of this proposal is to study second-language speech perception in adults varying in their age of acquisition (AOA) in order to specify the sensitive period for speech perception. The second aim is to understand the changes that result in this decline in plasticity by studying the discrimination of native-language speech sounds, speech in noise, and foreign-language speech sound in children at various points of this sensitive period. The use of fMRI techniques, along with dishabituation paradigms will provide information about the development of the neural substrate for speech perception. Furthermore, these "task-free" paradigms for studying perception also have methodological advantages over other behavioral paradigms used to study speech perception. In particular, the same tasks can be used with child and adult participants, allowing for direct comparison of data from the two specific aims of this proposal.