Audiovisual Processing in Specific Language Impairment. A growing body of literature strongly suggests that the ability to combine auditory and visual information plays a significant role in normal language acquisition. However, whether a breakdown in the merging of these senses may contribute to the development of language disorders, such as specific language impairment (SLI), is unknown. So far, only a few studies have evaluated audiovisual processing in SLI. All of them used the sensory conflict paradigm - the so-called McGurk illusion - in which the sound of pa is dubbed onto the visual articulation of ka typically leading to the perception of ta. These studies have reported a reduced susceptibility to this illusion in children with SLI and in adults with a history of SLI, concludin that their audiovisual integration is impaired. However, the inability to resolve a sensory conflic between auditory and visual modalities during syllable perception does not presuppose an impairment in audiovisual integration during other stages of linguistic processing, such as early sensory encoding of speech sounds or later lexical perception. Furthermore, how an impairment in audiovisual processing interacts with speech-language deficits of children with SLI is unknown. This project is designed to advance our understanding of audiovisual processing in SLI in multiple ways. First, we determine the effectiveness of audiovisual processing in SLI at the acoustic, phonemic, and lexical levels of speech perception by drawing on the strength of the event-related brain potentials (ERP) method, whose excellent temporal resolution makes it uniquely suited for evaluating the stage of information processing at which audiovisual perception falters in SLI. We also add more ecologically valid stimuli - syllables without a sensory conflict and words - to our paradigms in order to examine audiovisual processing in response to more realistic speech stimuli. Lastly, by evaluating correlations between, on the one hand, behavioral and ERP indices of audiovisual integration and, on the other hand, a range of cognitive and language skills in children with SLI, we strive to identify those cognitive and linguistic deficits of SLI that are most likely to be affected by audiovisual perception difficultis in this group.

Public Health Relevance

Specific language impairment affects more children than autism and stuttering combined and often has a life-long impact on individuals' well-being. The goal of this research is to identify the role of inefficient audiovisual processing in the development of specific language impairment and to help determine whether these children's language acquisition and speech perception difficulties may be alleviated by therapy techniques that focus on enhancing audio-visual perception skills.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
5R03DC013151-03
Application #
8793787
Study Section
Communication Disorders Review Committee (CDRC)
Program Officer
Cooper, Judith
Project Start
2013-02-15
Project End
2016-01-31
Budget Start
2015-02-01
Budget End
2016-01-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$147,624
Indirect Cost
$47,624
Name
Purdue University
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
072051394
City
West Lafayette
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
47907
Kaganovich, Natalya (2017) Sensitivity to Audiovisual Temporal Asynchrony in Children With a History of Specific Language Impairment and Their Peers With Typical Development: A Replication and Follow-Up Study. J Speech Lang Hear Res 60:2259-2270
Kaganovich, Natalya; Schumaker, Jennifer (2016) Electrophysiological correlates of individual differences in perception of audiovisual temporal asynchrony. Neuropsychologia 86:119-30
Kaganovich, Natalya; Schumaker, Jennifer; Rowland, Courtney (2016) Atypical audiovisual word processing in school-age children with a history of specific language impairment: an event-related potential study. J Neurodev Disord 8:33
Kaganovich, Natalya (2016) Development of sensitivity to audiovisual temporal asynchrony during midchildhood. Dev Psychol 52:232-41
Kaganovich, Natalya; Schumaker, Jennifer; Rowland, Courtney (2016) Matching heard and seen speech: An ERP study of audiovisual word recognition. Brain Lang 157-158:14-24
Kaganovich, Natalya; Schumaker, Jennifer; Macias, Danielle et al. (2015) Processing of audiovisually congruent and incongruent speech in school-age children with a history of specific language impairment: a behavioral and event-related potentials study. Dev Sci 18:751-70
Kaganovich, Natalya; Schumaker, Jennifer; Leonard, Laurence B et al. (2014) Children with a history of SLI show reduced sensitivity to audiovisual temporal asynchrony: an ERP study. J Speech Lang Hear Res 57:1480-502
Kaganovich, Natalya; Schumaker, Jennifer (2014) Audiovisual integration for speech during mid-childhood: electrophysiological evidence. Brain Lang 139:36-48