Abstract
Segmenting word units from running speech is a fundamental skill infants must develop in order to acquire language. Despite ample behavioral evidence of this skill, its neurocognitive basis remains unclear. Using behavioral testing and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we aimed to uncover the neurocognitive substrates of word segmentation and its development. Of three age-groups of Japanese infants (5–6, 7–8, and 9–10 months of age), the two older age-groups showed significantly larger temporo-parietal (particularly supramarginal gyrus) responses to target words repeatedly presented for training, than to control words. After the training, they also exhibited stronger inferior frontal responses to target words embedded in sentences. These findings suggest that word segmentation largely involves a cerebral circuit of phonological (phonetic) short-term memory. The dorsal pathway involved in encoding and decoding phonological representation may start to function stably at around 7 months of age to facilitate the growth of the infant's vocabulary.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 39-49 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Brain and Language |
| Volume | 170 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 Jul 1 |
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Keywords
- Dorsal pathway
- Inferior frontal gyrus
- NIRS
- Phonological short-term memory
- Supra marginal gyrus
- Word segmentation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics and Language
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Speech and Hearing
Cite this
Infant word segmentation recruits the cerebral network of phonological short-term memory. / Minagawa, Yasuyo; Hakuno, Yoko; Kobayashi, Ai; Naoi, Nozomi; Kojima, Shozo.
In: Brain and Language, Vol. 170, 01.07.2017, p. 39-49.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Infant word segmentation recruits the cerebral network of phonological short-term memory
AU - Minagawa, Yasuyo
AU - Hakuno, Yoko
AU - Kobayashi, Ai
AU - Naoi, Nozomi
AU - Kojima, Shozo
PY - 2017/7/1
Y1 - 2017/7/1
N2 - Segmenting word units from running speech is a fundamental skill infants must develop in order to acquire language. Despite ample behavioral evidence of this skill, its neurocognitive basis remains unclear. Using behavioral testing and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we aimed to uncover the neurocognitive substrates of word segmentation and its development. Of three age-groups of Japanese infants (5–6, 7–8, and 9–10 months of age), the two older age-groups showed significantly larger temporo-parietal (particularly supramarginal gyrus) responses to target words repeatedly presented for training, than to control words. After the training, they also exhibited stronger inferior frontal responses to target words embedded in sentences. These findings suggest that word segmentation largely involves a cerebral circuit of phonological (phonetic) short-term memory. The dorsal pathway involved in encoding and decoding phonological representation may start to function stably at around 7 months of age to facilitate the growth of the infant's vocabulary.
AB - Segmenting word units from running speech is a fundamental skill infants must develop in order to acquire language. Despite ample behavioral evidence of this skill, its neurocognitive basis remains unclear. Using behavioral testing and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we aimed to uncover the neurocognitive substrates of word segmentation and its development. Of three age-groups of Japanese infants (5–6, 7–8, and 9–10 months of age), the two older age-groups showed significantly larger temporo-parietal (particularly supramarginal gyrus) responses to target words repeatedly presented for training, than to control words. After the training, they also exhibited stronger inferior frontal responses to target words embedded in sentences. These findings suggest that word segmentation largely involves a cerebral circuit of phonological (phonetic) short-term memory. The dorsal pathway involved in encoding and decoding phonological representation may start to function stably at around 7 months of age to facilitate the growth of the infant's vocabulary.
KW - Dorsal pathway
KW - Inferior frontal gyrus
KW - NIRS
KW - Phonological short-term memory
KW - Supra marginal gyrus
KW - Word segmentation
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85017195853&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bandl.2017.03.005
DO - 10.1016/j.bandl.2017.03.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 28407509
AN - SCOPUS:85017195853
VL - 170
SP - 39
EP - 49
JO - Brain and Language
JF - Brain and Language
SN - 0093-934X
ER -