Neural Systems For Infant Sensitivity to Phonological Rhythmic-Temporal Patterning

项目摘要 据了解，人类婴儿开始生命时具有复杂的大脑机制和对 环境和社会因素共同作用，似乎有助于我们人类学习语言的独特能力。 然而，我们才刚刚开始了解这些大脑机制和敏感性的本质和发展， 特别是当它们有助于这里提出的中心问题：婴儿如何发现有限的语音集合 从他们周围无限的感官刺激组合中获得母语的单位？ 一种假说认为，婴儿出生时对特定的节奏-时间模式敏感， 人类语言语音学的核心，包括口语和手语，它允许分割和 不断变化的语言流的分类。我们认为，上级颞回（STG）是一个关键 控制这种能力的神经部位，是使婴儿对节奏-时间敏感的大脑机制。 它将以此模式构建其母语的所有单词和句子。虽然有人认为， 婴儿出生时对最大对比度在1至1.5 Hz左右的节奏-时间模式敏感， 婴儿在生物学上被吸引的频率仍然未知。此外，我们不知道这种敏感性是否 仅与信号的纯定时（时间一般属性）相关联，或者还需要最大限度地交替 对比单位存在于符号和语音音位学（音位学特有的属性）。我们使用集成 功能性近红外光谱（fNIRS）和Tobii眼动追踪，以检查失聪和听力正常婴儿对 符号语音音节单位和移动点光场景呈现在不同的频率（0.5，1.5，3赫兹）在一个关键 发育年龄，5-6个月，以判断婴儿是否对时间-一般属性敏感，或者也对 节奏-时间模式中的语音学特性。 [[The拟议的研究解决了人类是否天生具有专门用于获得语音的神经组织，以及 在无模态水平上阐明了该组织如何与听觉或视觉功能相互作用。]]发现所述 婴儿在生物学上被吸引的节奏-时间模式的特性将推进我们对以下问题的认识： 婴儿如何发现他们语言的核心部分。使用符号语言刺激使我们能够确定 婴儿对一般的时间模式或特定的语言语音对比都很敏感， 语言习得共性。我们将深入了解经验依赖的大脑变化如何为婴儿提供 学习语言所需的神经回路，使我们能够支持临床医生， 识别处于基于语音的语言和阅读障碍风险中的婴儿。最后，这个有史以来第一次发展的 对手语知觉的神经生物学研究将使我们对早期认知的重要性有新的认识。 视觉语言体验对聋儿学习和阅读的影响，事实上，所有的孩子。

PROJECT SUMMARY Human infants are understood to begin life with a complex of brain mechanisms and sensitivities to environmental and social factors that, together, appear to contribute to our species' unique ability to learn language. However, we are only beginning to understand the nature and development of these brain mechanisms and sensitivities, especially as they contribute to the central question posed here: How does the infant discover the finite set of phonetic units in their native language from the infinite combinations of sensory stimuli around them? One hypothesis proposes that infants are born with sensitivities to specific rhythmic-temporal patterning at the nucleus of human language phonology in both spoken and signed language, which permits segmentation and categorization of the continuously varying linguistic stream. We suggest that the superior temporal gyrus (STG) is a key neural site that governs this capacity and is the brain mechanism that enables infants' sensitivity to the rhythmic-temporal patterning from which it will build all the words and sentences of its native languages. While it has been suggested that babies are born with sensitivity to rhythmic-temporal patterns in maximal contrasts at around 1 to 1.5 Hz, the precise frequencies to which babies are biologically attracted to remain unknown. In addition, we do not know if this sensitivity is linked to only the pure timing of the signal (the temporal-general property), or also requires the alternation of maximally contrastive units present in both signed and speech phonology (the phonology-specific property). We use integrated functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and Tobii eye tracking to examine deaf and hearing infants' response to sign phonetic-syllabic units and moving point-light scenes presented at different frequencies (.5, 1.5, 3 Hz) at a key developmental age, 5-6 months to adjudicate whether infants are sensitive to the temporal-general property or also to the phonology-specific property within rhythmic-temporal patterning. [[The proposed study addresses if humans are born with neural tissue dedicated to acquisition of phonology, and clarifies on a modality-free level how this tissue may interact with auditory or visual functions.]] Discovering the properties of rhythmic-temporal patterning to which babies are biologically attracted will advance our knowledge about how babies discover the core parts of their languages. The use of signed language stimuli allows us to determine whether infants are sensitive to general temporal patterns or to specific linguistic phonetic contrasts, [[advancing our knowledge of]] language acquisition universals. We will gain insight into how experience-dependent brain changes provide infants with the neural circuitry necessary for learning [[the phonology of their]] language(s), allowing us to support clinicians in identifying infants at risk for phonology-based language and reading disorders. Finally, this first-ever developmental neurobiological investigation of signed language perception will permit new understanding of the importance of early visual language experience for learning and reading outcomes in deaf children, and indeed, all children.