Short-Term Memory for Serial Order Moderates Aspects of Language Acquisition in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Findings From the HelSLI Study

Frontiers in Psychology

Eva Arkkila¹  Pekka Lahti-Nuuttila²  Marja Laasonen³  Sini Smolander⁴  Elisabet Service⁵  Sari Kunnari⁶ 

[1] Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Logopedics, School of Humanities, Philosophical Faculty, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland;Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Research Unit of Logopedics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Department of Linguistics and Languages, Centre for Advanced Research in Experimental and Applied Linguistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada;Research Unit of Logopedics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;

关键词: non-verbal;    serial short-term memory;    developmental language disorder;    specific language impairment;    language acquisition;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.608069

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Previous studies of verbal short-term memory (STM) indicate that STM for serial order may be linked to language development and developmental language disorder (DLD). To clarify whether a domain-general mechanism is impaired in DLD, we studied the relations between age, non-verbal serial STM, and language competence (expressive language, receptive language, and language reasoning). We hypothesized that non-verbal serial STM differences between groups of children with DLD and typically developing (TD) children are linked to their language acquisition differences. Fifty-one children with DLD and sixty-six TD children participated as part of the HelSLI project in this cross-sectional study. The children were 4–6-year-old monolingual native Finnish speakers. They completed several tests of language and cognitive functioning, as well as new game-like tests of visual and auditory non-verbal serial STM. We used regression analyses to examine how serial STM moderates the effect of age on language. A non-verbal composite measure of serial visual and auditory STM moderated cross-sectional development of receptive language in the children with DLD. This moderation was not observed in the TD children. However, we found more rapid cross-sectional development of non-verbal serial STM in the TD children than in the children with DLD. The results suggest that children with DLD may be more likely to have compromised general serial STM processing and that superior non-verbal serial STM may be associated with better language acquisition in children with DLD.

【 授权许可】

CC BY