|
|
Preschoolers with and without SLI completed standardized cognitive and language measures, executive function tasks, and an artificial grammar learning paradigm. Participants were exposed to an aX grammar in which a was constant (e.g., poe) and X varied across 24 exemplars (e.g., zibkoe, jabsa) and were then tested on generalization of the language rules. Subsequently, participants learned a more complex, abX grammar in which both a and b were constant (e.g., poe koo) and X varied across 24 exemplars. Children with and without SLI performed equally on the grammar learning tasks, but the skills that correlated with performance differed. In the SLI group, receptive vocabulary and cognitive shifting were negatively correlated with aX grammar performance, whereas short term verbal memory was negatively correlated with abX outcomes. Conversely, among the typical language group, there were positive correlations between short term verbal memory and aX grammar learning and cognitive shifting and abX learning. These findings suggest that although children with and without SLI achieve similar learning outcomes in the artificial grammar paradigm, the underlying skills involved in learning differ between the two groups.
Research supported by NIDCD F32DC014188
|
|