Auditory cortical potentials indices in phonological awareness: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Speech and Language Pathology

Background:

• Phonological awareness is crucial for reading development.
• Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) reflect auditory processing in the brain.
• The relationship between specific AEP components (N1, P2, N2) and phonological awareness is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the literature on whether N1, P2, and N2 auditory evoked potentials reflect performance in phonological awareness tasks.
• To explore the predictive value of these AEP components for phonological processing abilities.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases and gray literature.
• Included studies analyzed N1, P2, and/or N2 components in relation to phonological awareness tasks.
• Methods included correlation of AEPs with task performance and group comparisons based on phonological awareness levels.

Main Results:

• Seven studies published between 2004 and 2021 were selected.
• Five studies indicated that N1, P2, and N2 components can predict phonological awareness performance.
• Phonological priming tasks, particularly rhyme and alliteration, were found to modulate N1 and N2 components.

Conclusions:

• The N1, N2, and P2 components show potential as predictors of phonological processing.
• The P2 component appears sensitive to alliteration, though it requires further study.
• Further research is needed to elucidate these relationships for potential clinical applications in speech and language pathology.