Neuromaturation of auditory integration and its relation to language development

人声处理依赖于听觉系统随着时间推移整合信息的能力。声学信号不断变化，但有一个窗口，在这个窗口上，声能被“块化”，形成我们所感知的声音。该积分窗口越小，信号的分辨率就越好。在感知语音时，较大的窗口可能会限制语言输入的质量，从而影响语言的发展。目前尚不清楚的是，听觉整合是否与语言发展特别相关。 这笔探索基金将资助西安大略大学的Janis Oram Cardy博士和她的研究团队使用事件相关脑电位(ERP)来研究儿童听觉整合和语言发展之间的具体关系。具体目标是：1)研究听觉整合如何随着年龄的增长而变化，以及与语言和认知功能的关系；2)确定直接记录儿童的大脑反应是否会产生与让他们完成计算机任务不同的关于听觉整合的信息；以及3)确定语言发育受损的儿童是否表现出一种不成熟的听觉整合模式。在项目1中，180名年龄从4岁到9岁的儿童将在三年内接受测试。每年都会测量他们的语言、思维和处理速度，以及他们对快速声音的大脑反应。在项目2中，60名儿童将完成类似的测试，他们要么有发展问题，包括语言发育受损，要么有发展问题而没有语言障碍。 这项研究将丰富我们对语言发育和障碍背后的正常和异常大脑活动的理解，以及较高水平的认知过程(如语言)如何与较低水平的听觉和语音处理相互作用。最终，这项工作将进一步加深我们对语言发展这一迷人而复杂过程的贡献者的理解。

Human sound processing relies on the auditory system's ability to integrate information over time. The acoustic signal changes continuously, but there is a window over which acoustic energy is "chunked" to form the sound we perceive. The smaller this window of integration, the better the resolution of the signal. When perceiving speech, it is possible that a larger window limits the quality of the linguistic input, thus impacting language development. What remains unknown is whether auditory integration is specifically related to language development. This Discovery Grant will fund Dr. Janis Oram Cardy and her research team at the University of Western Ontario as they use event-related brain potentials (ERP) to examine the specific relation between auditory integration and language development in children. Specific objectives are: 1) to study how auditory integration changes with age and relates to language and cognitive functioning, 2) to determine if directly recording children's brain responses yields different information about auditory integration than having them complete a computer task, and 3) to determine if children with impaired language development show a pattern of immature auditory integration. In Project 1, 180 children ranging in age from 4 to 9 years will be tested over three years. Each year, their language, thinking and speed of processing will be measured, along with their brain responses to rapid sounds. In Project 2, 60 children who have either a developmental problem that includes impaired language development or a developmental problem without language impairment will complete similar tests. This research will enrich our understanding of normal and abnormal brain activity underlying language development and disorders, and of how higher-level cognitive processes such as language interact with lower-level auditory and speech processing. Ultimately, this work will further our understanding of the contributors to the fascinating and complex process that is language development.