Development of Speech Perception

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的研究检查了4至15岁之间言语感知神经基质的发育。虽然言语知觉在生命的第一年发展得非常快，但像母语一样的言语知觉的敏感期要晚得多。第一个目的，这个建议是研究第二语言的言语知觉在成年人不同的年龄收购（AOA），以指定的敏感期言语知觉。第二个目的是通过研究儿童在这个敏感期的不同时间点对母语语音、噪音中的语音和外语语音的辨别，来了解导致这种可塑性下降的变化。功能磁共振成像技术的使用，沿着与disabituation范例将提供有关的发展的神经基板的言语知觉的信息。此外，这些研究知觉的“无任务”范式也具有方法论上的优势，比其他用于研究言语知觉的行为范式。特别是，可以对儿童和成人参与者使用相同的任务，从而可以直接比较本提案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.