Touch to learn: How sensory cues impact word segmentation and learning

婴儿在一个丰富的多模态世界中体验语言，在这个世界中，声音，视觉，嗅觉，味觉， 和触摸一起发生。这些模式及其在输入中的存在如何做出贡献 词汇习得的基本方面我们探讨婴儿如何利用多种比较 当他们从连续的语音中分割单词形式并将含义映射到 词形我们假设，利用包括触摸在内的多模态信息的能力 （一种基本的社会信号）的输入有助于婴儿的语言学习， 与单词边界对齐和单词含义与 词形在目标1（实验1a-c）中，我们确定是否包含感觉输入， 更多的模态与语音输入对齐，导致改进的语音分割， 提高幼儿学习者对单词边缘的注意力。在目标2（实验2a和2b）中，我们 确定包含与对象相关联的更多模态的感觉输入是否 提高单词学习能力。该研究对临床和 理论上的影响。首先，由于探索多模态线索的作用， 语言学习可能会影响临床方法，因为目前的语言疗法或 关于输入的干预倾向于强调单独的听觉或听觉+视觉域， 但不是触觉的。因此，关于儿童使用多模态信息的发现， 包括触摸在语言学习中可能会为婴儿早期干预带来新的途径 以及语言习得延迟或有语言障碍风险的幼儿。 其次，这项工作具有理论意义，因为它探讨了多模态信息如何 帮助学习者在不同层次的表征（词形表征，语义 表示）的方式，可以限制语言学习的问题。 这一补充提供了一个扩大赠款范围和增加 研究人员的多样性在三个关键方面：首先，它将提供大量的 全面的培训，以个人谁来自一个社区的人谁继续 在言语、语言、听觉科学和心理学领域的代表性不足。 其次，它将培训受训者如何指导更多的低年级学生， 在这些领域也代表性不足，以促进代表性不足的学生的管道 在健康相关领域。第三，它将为受训者提供专业的机会。 发展，研究技能的发展，并有机会与高级教师谁网络 来自历史上代表性不足的群体，并投资于健康公平。

Infants experience language in a rich multimodal world in which sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and touches occur together. How do these modalities, and their presence in the input, contribute to fundamental aspects of lexical acquisition? We explore how infants exploit multi- compared with unimodal input as they segment wordforms from continuous speech and map meanings to wordforms. We hypothesize that the ability to make use of multimodal information including touch (a fundamental social signal) in the input facilitates infants' language learning by contributing information relevant to the alignment of word boundaries and the association of word meaning to wordforms. In Aim 1 (Experiments 1a-c) we determine whether sensory input that incorporates more modalities aligned with speech input, results in improved segmentation of the speech and improved attention to word edges for infant learners. In Aim 2 (Experiments 2a and 2b) we determine whether sensory input that incorporates more modalities associated with objects results in improved word learning. The proposed research is significant for its clinical and theoretical implications. First, it is clinically significant since exploring the role of multimodal cues on language learning may impact clinical approaches since current language therapies or interventions concerning the input tend to emphasize auditory alone or auditory+visual domains, but not tactile ones. Thus, discoveries concerning the child's use of multimodal information which includes touch in language learning could lead to new avenues for early intervention for infants and toddlers showing delayed language acquisition or who are at-risk of language disorders. Second, this work is theoretically significant since it explores how multimodal information may help the learner at different levels of representation (wordform representations, semantic representations) in ways that could constrain the language learning problem. This supplement provides an opportunity to expand the scope of the grant and increase diversity in the research workforce in three key ways: First, it will provide substantial comprehensive training to an individual who comes from a community of people who continue to be underrepresented in the fields of speech, language, and hearing sciences and psychology. Second, it will train the trainee on ways in which she can mentor more junior students who are also underrepresented in these fields in order to facilitate a pipeline for underrepresented students in health-related fields. Third, it will provide the trainee with opportunities for professional development, research skill development, and opportunities to network with senior faculty who come from historically underrepresented groups and are invested in health equity.