Executive Function in Children with Typical and Atypical Language Abilities

描述(由申请者提供)：执行职能(EF)在社会、情感、学术和职业领域的重要性是公认的。这项研究的目的是调查具有典型和非典型发展的学龄儿童的语言和EF能力之间的关系。有两种不同的研究为语言和英孚之间的关系的存在提供了实证支持。首先，有关双语能力的研究表明，掌握两种语言的经验有助于提高英孚技能。其次，残疾文献集中在执行控制功能障碍是否可能是与特定语言障碍(SLI)和自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)相关的缺陷的潜在因素之一。在这两种描述中，都有一些相互矛盾的证据，而且两种方法都没有充分说明EF的特定组成部分和可能联系在一起的特定语言功能。这项拟议的项目将通过研究典型发育的双语和单语儿童、SLI儿童和ASD儿童的语言和执行功能之间的关系，在双语和障碍文献之间架起桥梁。探索语言和执行控制之间关系的理论动机来自于Zelazo和他的同事提出的执行控制的领先发展理论。通过调查不同语言能力群体的EF表现，我们的目标是测试这个模型的一个关键假设，该假设与使用语言管理执行控制有关。共有160名儿童(每组40名)将参加四项研究，旨在解决以下三个具体目标：1)比较在年龄和非语言认知方面匹配的双语、单语、SLI和ASD组在一系列EF测量上的表现；2)检查EF的特定组成部分与语言知识、加工和学习之间的并行和纵向关系；以及3)直接评估语言中介在EF中的作用，跨越这些具有典型和非典型语言能力的组。拟议的项目是建立一个全面的概念框架的创新方法，该框架涵盖了从语言/教育能力增强到语言/教育能力受损的个体差异程度。该项目的发现也对语言障碍儿童的有针对性的干预具有潜在的影响。 公共卫生相关性：拟议项目的目标是检查具有典型和非典型发育的学龄儿童的语言和执行功能之间的联系--执行功能被定义为构成目标导向行为的认知过程。执行功能对学习和学业成就、自我调节和社交能力至关重要。这项研究将通过考察儿童语言能力的广泛个体差异，深入了解儿童的语言技能与执行功能能力之间的关系。 包括发育正常的双语和单语儿童、特殊语言障碍(SLI)儿童和自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童。该项目的结果将进一步加深我们对SLI和ASD本质的理解，并可能对这些人群进行有针对性的干预。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The importance of executive function (EF) in social, emotional, academic and career domains is well established. The goal of the proposed research is to investigate the association between language and EF abilities in school-age children with typical and atypical development. There are two separate lines of research that provide empirical support for the existence of a relationship between language and EF. First, research on bilingualism suggests that experience with two languages facilitates EF skills. Second, the disabilities literature has focused on whether dysfunction in executive control may be one of the factors underlying deficits associated with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In both accounts, there is some conflicting evidence and both approaches are underspecified in terms of the particular components of EF and specific language functions that may be linked. The proposed project will bridge the bilingualism and the disorders literatures by examining the relationship between language and executive function in typically-developing bilingual and monolingual children, children with SLI, and children with ASD. The theoretical motivation for exploring the relationship between language and EF stems from a leading developmental theory of executive control proposed by Zelazo and colleagues. By investigating EF performance across groups with varying language abilities we aim to test a critical assumption of this model related to the use of language to manage executive control. A total of 160 children (40 per group) will participate in four studies designed to address the following three specific aims: 1) Compare the performance of bilingual, monolingual, SLI, and ASD groups matched on age and nonverbal cognition on a range of EF measures; 2) Examine the concurrent and longitudinal relationship between specific components of EF and language knowledge, processing, and learning across the groups; and 3) Directly assess the role of verbal mediation in EF across these groups with typical and atypical language abilities. The proposed project represents an innovative approach to establishing a comprehensive conceptual framework that spans the extent of individual variation from enhanced abilities in language/EF to impairments in language/EF. Findings from this project also have potential implications for targeted interventions for children with language disorders. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of the proposed project is to examine the association between language and executive function - defined as the cognitive processes that underlie goal-directed behavior - in school-age children with typical and atypical development. Executive function is critical for learning and academic achievement, self- regulation, and social competence. This research will provide insights into how children's linguistic skills relate to ther executive function abilities by examining a wide range of individual variation in language ability, including bilingual and monolingual children with typical development, children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), and children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Results from this project will further our understanding of the nature of SLI and ASD and could have implications for targeted interventions with these populations.