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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
Published on: April 19, 2017
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Functional Connectivity in Infancy and Toddlerhood Predicts Long-Term Language and Preliteracy Outcomes.
Xi Yu1,2, Silvina L Ferradal3, Danielle D Sliva2,4
1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|August 4, 2021
Summary
Brain functional connectivity in infancy predicts later language and literacy skills. Early brain networks established within the first 18 months are crucial for developing complex cognitive functions, even independent of environment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Functional connectivity (FC) in infancy reveals early brain organization linked to later outcomes.
- Previous research identified infant functional networks associated with cognitive abilities and psychopathology.
- The contribution of early functional networks to school-age language and literacy remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal association between infant/toddler functional connectivity and school-age language/literacy skills.
- To determine if early emerged functional networks predict higher-order language and preliteracy abilities.
- To explore the role of emergent language skills in infancy and toddlerhood.
Main Methods:
- A 5-year longitudinal study using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) starting in infancy.
- Analysis of functional connectivity (FC) patterns in infants and toddlers.
- Assessment of language and foundational literacy skills at 6.5 years old.
Main Results:
- Prospective associations found between infant/toddler FC and language/literacy skills at 6.5 years.
- These associations were independent of environmental influences.
- Early functional networks (≤12 months) were specifically linked to high-order language and preliteracy skills.
- Infant and toddler language development mediated these associations, highlighting the role of early linguistic experiences.
Conclusions:
- Functional organization established in infancy and toddlerhood serves as a neural scaffold for complex cognitive functions.
- Early brain functional networks are critical predictors of long-term language and literacy development.
- Early linguistic experiences shape the functional connectivity underlying oral language skills.
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