1-208 - The Neural Basis of Word Learning

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Words are the foundation of knowledge and learning-- allowing us to create, differentiate, and reason about complex concepts. Given that young children acquire words with ease, the complexity and importance of this skill, especially in grade school and adulthood, are often underestimated. After age 5, the primary method of word learning is using linguistic contextual cues. This type of word learning requires the recruitment of multiple processes that can be difficult to capture with behavioral measures alone. By combining EEG with behavioral methods, we can gain more comprehensive insights into the strategies and process of word learning. This symposium will demonstrate how ERPs and EEG measures of neural oscillations can clarify aspects of the word learning process that cannot be observed with behavioral measures alone. The first two talks use EEG to uncover between-group differences in neural recruitment during word learning tasks focusing on populations that often struggle with vocabulary growth: children with Specific Language Impairment (paper 1) and children from low SES homes (paper 2). The third paper also addresses SES and vocabulary, using behavioral measures and resting state EEG to identify factors that contribute to vocabulary success in some children from low SES homes but not others. The final paper reveals that even when words are learned only using linguistic cues, ERPs can differentiate those that refer to concepts with sensorimotor aspects and those that do not. Combined, this symposium takes a comprehensive approach in providing new insights about the process of word learning.

Sub Unit

• Language, Communication

Chair

• Julie M. Schneider, University of Delaware

Individual Presentations

• Word Learning Differences in Children with Specific Language Impairment - Presenting Author: Alyson Abel, San Diego State University

• Using Behavioral and Brain Measures of Word Learning to Understand the SES Vocabulary gap in Grade School - Presenting Author: Mandy J Maguire, University of Texas at Dallas; Non-Presenting Author: Yvonne K Ralph, University of Texas at Dallas; Non-Presenting Author: Sonali Poudel, The University of Texas at Dallas

• Word Learning and Brain Maturation Contribute to Vocabulary Variability Amongst low SES Children - Presenting Author: Julie M. Schneider, University of Delaware; Non-Presenting Author: Mandy J Maguire, University of Texas at Dallas

• ERP Evidence for Rapid Meaning Access to Newly Learned Words - Presenting Author: Xiaoping Fang, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Charles A Perfetti, University of Pittsburgh