Effects of healthy aging and left hemisphere stroke on statistical language learning.

MedStar author(s):
Citation: Language Cognition & Neuroscience. 37(8):984-999, 2022.PMID: 36419749Institution: MedStar National Rehabilitation NetworkForm of publication: Journal ArticleMedline article type(s): Journal ArticleSubject headings: IN PROCESS -- NOT YET INDEXEDYear: 2022ISSN:
  • 2327-3798
Name of journal: Language, cognition and neuroscienceAbstract: Spoken sentences are continuous streams of sound, without reliable acoustic cues to word boundaries. We have previously proposed that language learners identify words via an implicit statistical learning mechanism that computes transitional probabilities between syllables. Neuroimaging studies in healthy young adults associate this learning with left inferior frontal gyrus, left arcuate fasciculus, and bilateral striatum. Here, we test the effects of healthy aging and left hemisphere (LH) injury on statistical learning. Following 10-minute exposure to an artificial language, participants rated familiarity of Words, Part-words (sequences spanning word boundaries), and Non-words (unfamiliar sequences). Young controls (N=14) showed robust learning, rating Words>Part-words>Non-words. Older controls (N=28) showed this pattern to a weaker degree. Stroke survivors (N=24) as a group showed no learning. A lesion comparison examining individual differences revealed that "non-learners" are more likely to have anterior lesions. Together, these findings demonstrate that word segmentation is sensitive to healthy aging and LH injury.All authors: Fama ME, Newport EL, Schuler KD, Turkeltaub PEFiscal year: FY2023Digital Object Identifier: Date added to catalog: 2022-12-13
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Journal Article MedStar Authors Catalog Article 36419749 Available 36419749

Spoken sentences are continuous streams of sound, without reliable acoustic cues to word boundaries. We have previously proposed that language learners identify words via an implicit statistical learning mechanism that computes transitional probabilities between syllables. Neuroimaging studies in healthy young adults associate this learning with left inferior frontal gyrus, left arcuate fasciculus, and bilateral striatum. Here, we test the effects of healthy aging and left hemisphere (LH) injury on statistical learning. Following 10-minute exposure to an artificial language, participants rated familiarity of Words, Part-words (sequences spanning word boundaries), and Non-words (unfamiliar sequences). Young controls (N=14) showed robust learning, rating Words>Part-words>Non-words. Older controls (N=28) showed this pattern to a weaker degree. Stroke survivors (N=24) as a group showed no learning. A lesion comparison examining individual differences revealed that "non-learners" are more likely to have anterior lesions. Together, these findings demonstrate that word segmentation is sensitive to healthy aging and LH injury.

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