Implicit Sequence Learning in Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究项目的目的是记录内隐序列学习在理解和解释聋儿人工耳蜗植入后的结果和收益的巨大差异中的作用。本项目的第一个目的是确定与正常听力儿童相比，植入人工耳蜗的聋儿（CIs）在内隐视觉序列学习能力方面的障碍程度。工作假设是，一些患有CIs的失聪儿童在复杂视觉序列模式的内隐学习方面存在障碍，这种学习障碍可以部分解释为什么许多患有CIs的儿童表现出语言迟缓。为了验证这一假设，我们将调查30名5-9岁的CIs聋儿和一个年龄匹配的NH聋儿的两种类型的内隐序列学习能力（固定模式和概率模式学习）。这个项目的第二个目的是评估内隐序列学习和口语处理能力之间的关系。我们建议评估一种假设，即内隐学习复杂视觉序列模式的能力的个体差异将与几种不同的口语处理措施显著相关。为了验证这一假设，我们将对这两组儿童进行一些传统的语言处理和结果测试（即PPVT、PBK、LNT、VABS和词汇控制句子），同时在12-18个月后对顺序学习进行测量。在这个项目的结论中，我们期望证明患有CIs的聋儿平均在非听觉内隐序列学习能力方面存在障碍，无论是固定的还是更复杂的概率视觉序列模式。我们还希望证明内隐视觉序列学习能力和语言结果之间的显著和强烈的联系，无论是在测试时还是12-18个月后，在NH儿童和患有CIs的聋儿中都是如此。这项工作在临床上和理论上都具有重要意义，因为它将首次表明患有CIs的聋儿在基本认知学习能力上受到损害，而这些能力反过来又与口语处理措施有关。我们的研究结果将为内隐序列学习能力对NH儿童和CIs聋儿的语言成绩都有很大贡献的假设提供支持。本项目的研究结果将为听觉剥夺对基本认知学习能力的影响提供新的理论视角，并为耳蜗植入不良儿童的康复提供一些新的途径。我们期望本研究项目的结果能够证明，基本和基本的认知学习能力对植入人工耳蜗的失聪儿童的语言成绩有很大的贡献。这些知识将提供理论和经验基础，以改善对聋儿的预测和治疗，这些聋儿可能对植入物表现不佳。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this research project is to document the role of implicit sequence learning in understanding and explaining the enormous variability in outcome and benefit in deaf children following cochlear implantation. The first aim of this project is to determine the extent to which deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) have a disturbance in implicit visual sequence learning abilities compared to normal-hearing (NH) children. The working hypothesis is that some deaf children with CIs have a disturbance in implicit learning of complex visual sequential patterns and it is this learning disturbance that can partly explain why many children with CIs show language delays. To test this hypothesis, we will investigate two types of implicit sequence learning abilities (fixed and probabilistic pattern learning) in a group of 30 5-9 year-old deaf children with CIs and an age-matched NH group. The second aim of this project is to assess the association between implicit sequence learning and spoken language processing abilities. We propose to assess the hypothesis that individual differences in the ability to implicitly learn complex visual sequential patterns will be significantly correlated with several different measures of spoken language processing. To test this hypothesis, we will assess the same two groups of children on a number of conventional tests of language processing and outcome (i.e., PPVT, PBK, LNT, VABS, and lexically-controlled sentences), at the same time that sequence learning is measured as well as 12-18 months later. At the conclusion of this project, we expect to demonstrate that deaf children with CIs on average have a disturbance in non-auditory implicit sequence learning abilities, for both fixed and more complex probabilistic visual sequential patterns. We also expect to demonstrate a significant and strong association between implicit visual sequence learning abilities and language outcomes as measured both at the time of testing and 12-18 months later, in both NH children and deaf children with CIs. This work is both clinically and theoretically significant because it will for the first time show that deaf children with CIs are impaired on fundamental cognitive learning abilities that are in turn associated with spoken language processing measures. Our findings will provide support for the hypothesis that implicit sequence learning abilities make a strong contribution to language outcomes in both NH children and deaf children with CIs. The results of this project will provide the foundation for new theoretical perspectives regarding the consequences of auditory deprivation on basic cognitive learning abilities and suggest several new avenues of habilitation for children who are doing poorly with their cochlear implants. We expect the findings from this research project to demonstrate that basic and fundamental cognitive learning abilities make a strong contribution to language outcomes in deaf children with cochlear implants. This knowledge will provide the theoretical and empirical foundation for improved prediction of and treatment for the deaf children who may be doing poorly with their implants.