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Updated: May 15, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Early gray-matter and white-matter concentration in infancy predict later language skills: a whole brain voxel-based
Dilara Deniz Can1, Todd Richards, Patricia K Kuhl
1Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, USA. dilara@u.washington.edu
Abstract:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans were obtained from 19 infants at 7 months. Expressive and receptive language performance was assessed at 12 months. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) identified brain regions where gray-matter and white-matter concentrations at 7 months correlated significantly with children's language scores at 12 months. Early gray-matter concentration in the right cerebellum, early white-matter concentration in the right cerebellum, and early white-matter concentration in the left posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC)/cerebral peduncle were positively and strongly associated with infants' receptive language ability at 12 months. Early gray-matter concentration in the right hippocampus was positively and strongly correlated with infants' expressive language ability at 12 months. Our results suggest that the cerebellum, PLIC/cerebral peduncle, and the hippocampus may be associated with early language development. Potential links between these structural predictors and infants' linguistic functions are discussed.
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