Event Abstract Back to Event Language lateralisation and cognitive performance in young children: A functional transcranial doppler study. Amie Hartland1*, Mark Kohler1, Owen Churches1, Hannah Keage1, Nicholas Badcock2, Rachael Spooner1 and Scott Elliot1 1 University of South Australia, Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, Australia 2 Macquarie University, Department of Cognitive Science, Australia Introduction: Greater language ability has been associated with typical language lateralisation to the left hemisphere of the brain. However, it is unknown if lateralisation is present from birth or develops later in childhood. We aimed to examine if typical language lateralisation would be present in young children. Furthermore, we assessed the relationship between language lateralisation and cognitive performance. Method: Participants were 15 healthy children aged 12 to 54 months (mean age 36 ± 12.7; 8 males). Cerebral blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral arteries (MCA) was measured using functional Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (fTCD). A computer–based stimulus was presented to evoke expressive and receptive language functioning. Lateralization indexes (LI) were calculated by summing the greatest difference in left and right signal within a period of interest relative to baseline across trials. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Mullen Scale of Early Learning (MSEL). Results: fTCD demonstrated typical left lateralisation across the group (mean LI = 1.37). Children with typical lateralisation had significantly higher cognitive performance scores (M=138.5, SD=12.4) than children with atypical lateralisation (M=119.8, SD=9.5), t(13)=2.72, p<.05. After controlling for maternal IQ, the LI was predictive of child cognitive performance, β = 0.52, p<.05, with a positive relationship between typical language lateralisation and cognitive performance in early childhood. Discussion: We are able to non-invasively assess language lateralisation in the brain in children as early as 12 months. The early assessment of language lateralisation in very young children may provide a physiological indicator of cognitive developmental delays. Keywords: Language lateralisation, transcranial Doppler, Early Childhood, Atypical lateralisation, fTCD Conference: ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29 Nov - 2 Dec, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Language Citation: Hartland A, Kohler M, Churches O, Keage H, Badcock N, Spooner R and Elliot S (2012). Language lateralisation and cognitive performance in young children: A functional transcranial doppler study.. Conference Abstract: ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.208.00146 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 12 Oct 2012; Published Online: 17 Nov 2012. * Correspondence: Miss. Amie Hartland, University of South Australia, Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, Adelaide, Australia, harae003@mymail.unisa.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Amie Hartland Mark Kohler Owen Churches Hannah Keage Nicholas Badcock Rachael Spooner Scott Elliot Google Amie Hartland Mark Kohler Owen Churches Hannah Keage Nicholas Badcock Rachael Spooner Scott Elliot Google Scholar Amie Hartland Mark Kohler Owen Churches Hannah Keage Nicholas Badcock Rachael Spooner Scott Elliot PubMed Amie Hartland Mark Kohler Owen Churches Hannah Keage Nicholas Badcock Rachael Spooner Scott Elliot Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.