First language acquisition is a hallmark of normative human development. A substantial body of research suggests that language learning is facilitated by the ability to track statistical regularities in linguistic input. Research during the current project period clearly demonstrates that infants are powerful statistical learners. However, the relevance of these abilities to the learning problems presented in infants' linguistic environments remains poorly understood. The research proposed in this application will test specific hypotheses concerning infant statistical language learning, focusing on how infants make use of statistical information.
Specific Aim One is to determine which surface statistics infants can use given natural language input.
Specific Aim Two is to determine how the statistics of sound sequences in real speech influence word learning.
Specific Aim Three is to determine whether infants' on-line language processing is affected by statistical information. The results of the research proposed in this competing continuation application will promote positive developmental outcomes by expanding our understanding of the learning mechanisms underlying normative development. Individuals who are less facile at statistical learning may be at risk for developmental language disorders. Subsequent research will use the outcome of these studies to motivate investigations including populations of young children at risk for atypical language development.

Public Health Relevance

These studies, which are focused on typical language development, provide an opportunity to test targeted hypotheses concerning the mechanisms underlying positive language acquisition outcomes. The results will inform subsequent studies of children at risk for atypical language development, a major public health concern. We are currently working with a number of relevant populations who are potential targets of future studies based on the experiments proposed in this application, including children with Specific Language Impairment (with Dr. Julia Evans, San Diego State University), deaf toddlers who use cochlear implants (with Dr. Ruth Litovsky, UW-Madison and Dr. Tina Grieco-Calub, Northern Illinois University), toddlers who are late-talkers (with Dr. Susan Ellis-Weismer, UW-Madison), children living in poverty (with Drs. Jan Edwards and Julie Washington, UW-Madison), toddlers with Williams Syndrome (with Drs. Carolyn Mervis and Cara Cashon, U. of Lousiville), and children with Cerebral Palsy (with Dr. Katie Hustad, UW-Madison).

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
4R37HD037466-15
Application #
8797383
Study Section
Language and Communication Study Section (LCOM)
Program Officer
Freund, Lisa S
Project Start
2000-08-01
Project End
2019-11-30
Budget Start
2014-12-01
Budget End
2015-11-30
Support Year
15
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$340,010
Indirect Cost
$115,010
Name
University of Wisconsin Madison
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
161202122
City
Madison
State
WI
Country
United States
Zip Code
53715
Venker, Courtney E; Edwards, Jan; Saffran, Jenny R et al. (2018) Thinking Ahead: Incremental Language Processing is Associated with Receptive Language Abilities in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord :
Benitez, Viridiana L; Saffran, Jenny R (2018) Predictable Events Enhance Word Learning in Toddlers. Curr Biol 28:2787-2793.e4
Zettersten, Martin; Wojcik, Erica; Benitez, Viridiana L et al. (2018) The company objects keep: Linking referents together during cross-situational word learning. J Mem Lang 99:62-73
Saffran, Jenny R; Kirkham, Natasha Z (2018) Infant Statistical Learning. Annu Rev Psychol 69:181-203
Pomper, Ron; Saffran, Jenny R (2018) Familiar Object Salience Affects Novel Word Learning. Child Dev :
Santolin, Chiara; Saffran, Jenny R (2018) Constraints on Statistical Learning Across Species. Trends Cogn Sci 22:52-63
Potter, Christine E; Saffran, Jenny R (2017) Exposure to multiple accents supports infants' understanding of novel accents. Cognition 166:67-72
Potter, Christine E; Wang, Tianlin; Saffran, Jenny R (2017) Second Language Experience Facilitates Statistical Learning of Novel Linguistic Materials. Cogn Sci 41 Suppl 4:913-927
Venker, Courtney E (2017) Spoken word recognition in children with autism spectrum disorder: The role of visual disengagement. Autism 21:821-829
Haebig, Eileen; Saffran, Jenny R; Ellis Weismer, Susan (2017) Statistical word learning in children with autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 58:1251-1263

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