Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025
08:05
Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
Published on: June 30, 2020
7.6K
Age-of-acquisition effects: A literature review
M M Elsherif1, E Preece1, J C Catling1
1School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham.
Summary
Early learned words are processed faster due to the age of acquisition (AoA) effect. This phenomenon impacts both word representations and their connections, influencing cognitive processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- The age of acquisition (AoA) effect describes faster processing of early-learned items.
- This phenomenon has been studied using diverse neuroscientific, behavioral, corpus, and computational methods.
Approach:
- This review synthesizes evidence from various methodologies investigating the AoA effect.
- It examines how and where the AoA effect manifests in cognitive and neural systems.
Key Points:
- The AoA effect is observed within representational levels and their interconnections.
- Distinct coding of early versus late acquired items contributes to the effect.
- The nature of representational connections plays a crucial role.
Conclusions:
- The AoA effect arises from the construction of perceptual-semantic representations.
- It is influenced by the mappings between different levels of representation.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Language Development
423
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
423
01:25Long-term Potentiation
2.9K
Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when...
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when...
2.9K
01:18Cognitive Development During Adolescence
106
During adolescence, individuals experience significant cognitive development that enhances their understanding of others' emotions and thoughts, known as cognitive empathy. This period is marked by an increased ability to adapt to others' perspectives and a more nuanced understanding of others' mental states, a skill that is foundational for social problem-solving and conflict avoidance. The development of cognitive empathy relies heavily on the theory of mind — the...
106