Phonological Working Memory Research Articles

The Development of Left Hemisphere Lateralization for Sentence-Level Prosodic Processing.

The fine-tuning of linguistic prosody in later childhood is poorly understood, and its neurological processing is even less well studied. In particular, it is unknown if grammatical processing of prosody is left- or right-lateralized in childhood versus adulthood and how phonological working memory might modulate such lateralization. Furthermore, it is virtually unknown how prosody develops neurologically among children with cochlear implants (CIs). Normal-hearing (NH) children ages 6-12 years and NH adults ages 18-28 years completed a functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging task, during which they heard sentence pairs and judged whether the sentences did or did not differ in their overall prosody (declarative, question, with or without narrow focus). Children also completed standard measures of expressive and receptive language. Age group differences emerged; children exhibited stronger bilateral temporoparietal activity but reduced left frontal activation. Furthermore, children's performance on a nonword repetition test was significantly associated with activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus-an area that was generally more activated in adults than in children. The prosody-related findings are generally consistent with prior neurodevelopmental works on sentence comprehension, especially those involving syntax and semantics, which have also noted a developmental shift from bilateral temporal to left inferior frontal regions typically associated with increased sensitivity to sentence structure. The findings thus inform theoretical perspectives on brain and language development and have implications for studying the effects of CIs on neurodevelopmental processes for sentence prosody. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22255996.

The relationship between morphological awareness and word reading in Brazilian Portuguese: a longitudinal study

Studies have provided evidence that morphological awareness contributes to word reading in opaque languages such as English. However, this relationship is not yet established for Brazilian Portuguese, a much less opaque language. The present study performed a longitudinal investigation of the relationship between morphological awareness and word reading in 162 children from 2nd to 5th grades of elementary school. The children were evaluated in the final quarter of the respective school year (time 1) and 1 year later (time 2). Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for intelligence, phonological awareness, and phonological working memory were conducted. The hierarchical regression analyses were followed up by cross-lagged panel correlations, and both results converged to word reading measured in the 2nd and 3rd grades contributing to morphological awareness 1 year later. In addition, morphological awareness measured in the 4th grade contributed to word reading 1 year later. The greater transparency of Brazilian Portuguese may make morphological awareness less important for word reading in the early grades; however, in older children, morphological awareness is important for word reading performance.

Effectiveness of captioned videos for incidental vocabulary learning and retention: the role of working memory

Working memory (WM) may be an essential component of incidental vocabulary learning and retention from captioned videos. However, how WM affects young learners’ incidental vocabulary learning under different types of captions remains unclear. The present study employs a between-subject research design. The main purpose is to examine how two types of WM— phonological short-term memory and complex WM—impact vocabulary learning outcomes incidentally learned and retained from three types of captioning: (1) glossed captions (GCs), (2) full captions (FCs), and (3) keyword captions (KCs). A total of 125 young learners (M age = 12.17, SD = 1.06) watched four videos and completed two vocabulary tests administered as pretest, posttest, and delayed tests. After treatment, participants completed two WM tasks: (1) an operation span test for measuring complex WM, and (2) a nonword repetition test for measuring phonological short-term memory. The findings reveal that (1) captioning types, particularly GCs, led to the best outcome in incidental vocabulary learning and retention, and (2) phonological WM provided a more predictive effect on incidental vocabulary learning and retention than complex WM. Phonological and complex WM may have different predictive effects on incidental vocabulary learning and retention under different types of captioning. Relevant implications were discussed based on these results.

Identifying Linguistic Markers of French-Speaking Teenagers With Developmental Language Disorder: Which Tasks Matter?

This research aimed to identify reliable tasks discriminating French-speaking adolescents with developmental language disorder (DLD) from their peers with typical language (TL) and to assess which linguistic domains represent areas of particular weakness in DLD. Unlike English, morphosyntax has not been identified as a special area of weakness when compared with lexicosemantics in French preschoolers with DLD. Since there is evidence that subject-verb number agreement is consolidated in later childhood, one might expect morphosyntax to be a particular weakness and marker of French DLD only in (pre)adolescence. We administered 20 subtasks that assessed linguistic and phonological working memory skills of two groups: 17 adolescents clinically identified as having DLD (M = 14.1 years) and 20 (pre)teens with TL (M = 12.2 years). Using robust statistics that are less affected by outliers, we selected the most discriminating subtasks between our groups, calculated their optimal cutoff score, and derived diagnostic accuracy statistics. We combined these subtasks in a multivariable model to identify which subtasks contributed the most to the identification of DLD. Seven subtasks were selected as discriminating between our groups, and three showed outstanding diagnostic accuracy: Recalling Sentences, a multiword task assessing lexicosemantic skills, and a subject-verb number agreement production task. When combined, we found that the latter contributed the most to our multivariable model. This study provides evidence that the most relevant markers to identify DLD in French teenagers are tasks assessing lexicosemantics and morphosyntactic domains, and that morphosyntax should be considered an important area of weakness in French-speaking teenagers with DLD. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21753932.

Precision of phonological errors in aphasia supports resource models of phonological working memory in language production

ABSTRACT Working memory (WM) is critical for many cognitive functions including language production. A key feature of WM is its capacity limitation. Two models have been proposed to account for such capacity limitation: slot models and resource models. In recent years, resource models have found support in both visual and auditory perception, but do they also extend to production? We investigate this by analyzing sublexical errors from four individuals with aphasia. Using tools from computational linguistics, we first define the concept of “precision” of sublexical errors. We then demonstrate that such precision decreases with increased working memory load, i.e., word length, as predicted by resource models. Finally, we rule out alternative accounts of this effect, such as articulatory simplification. These data provide the first evidence for the applicability of the resource model to production and further point to the generalizability of this account as a model of resource division in WM.

Desempenho cognitivo-linguístico de pré-escolares em diferentes contextos educacionais

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate preschoolers’ cognitive-linguistic performance in different educational settings. Methods: thirty-nine children aged 4:0 to 5:11 years, enrolled in two private preschools from different Brazilian regions, were assessed with the Protocol for the Early Identification of Reading Problems, in the version adapted to preschool - which includes the following tests: alphabet knowledge; metaphonological skills; phonological working memory; rapid automatized naming; silent word reading; and hearing sentence comprehension based on figures. The groups were compared with the Mann-Whitney statistical test, and significant differences were set at p < 0.05. Results: as expected, data revealed different performances between preschoolers from the two schools. The worse results in both were related to rhyme production and rhyme identification, which reveals that phonological awareness is probably not being stimulated in these groups. Participants performed as expected or “under attention” in the other skills. Conclusion: the performances of preschoolers from both schools were identified and classified, revealing differences in cognitive-linguistic performances between the different educational settings. These results ratify the importance of a teaching approach that helps develop cognitive-linguistic skills, early in preschool.

The effect of working memory and English proficiency on Chinese EFL learners’ vocabulary learning with background music

The effect of background music on verbal learning performance remains a contentious issue. In the current study, we investigated the effect of different types of background music on English vocabulary learning with regard to phonological working memory, executive working memory, and English proficiency. Thirty Chinese EFL learners participated in a vocabulary learning experiment under four conditions: silence, instrumental music, English songs, and Greek songs. The learning outcome was worse in the familiar language music than the silent, and was less affected in the unfamiliar language music than the familiar language music. No effect of instrumental music was observed in the current study. Further, rather than phonological working memory, working memory storage was significantly related to vocabulary learning in background music conditions but not in the silent condition. Finally, English proficiency is an important factor influencing vocabulary learning performance.

Towards the correlation of working memory and incidental vocabulary learning

Working memory means a lot in incidental vocabulary learning and retention. The present study examines the correlation between two types of working memory—complex working memory and phonological short-term memory—and incidental vocabulary learning from captioned videos. After conducting an empirical research to 125 young learners of English as a foreign language with two working memory tests: an operation span test, which measured complex working memory, and a non-word repetition test, which measured phonological short-term memory. It showed that complex working memory did not significantly predict the effects of captioning types on incidental vocabulary learning and retention. However, phonological working memory significantly affects incidental vocabulary learning and retention. The findings suggest that the role of working memory varies as a function of captioning types. Complex working memory and phonological short-term memory may have different predictive effects in incidental vocabulary learning and retention under different captioning types.

The Relationship between Nonword Repetition and Speech Perception and Phonological Memory in Children with Speech Sound Disorders

Objectives: This study aimed to examine nonword repetition (NWR) performance of children with speech sound disorders (SSD) compared with children with typical development (TD) and investigate the relationship between NWR and speech perception, phonological short-term and phonological working memory, and percentage of consonants correct (PCC). Methods: Participants included 8 children with Pure SSD, 7 children with SSD accompanied by language disorders (LD) and 9 children with TD aged 5 to 6 years. Children completed NWR tasks, speech perception tests focusing on initial and final consonants in one-syllable words, and immediate memory tasks examining forward and reverse recall of familiar words. NWR performances were examined according to the entire, retrieval and sequencing accuracies and analyzed by 9 error types. Results: Children with SSD and LD performed significantly lower total and retrieval accuracies of NWR than children with TD. Substitution errors of articulation place were most frequent in all groups. Only children with SSD exhibited syllable structure errors. No significant group differences existed in speech perception. Children with SSD and LD showed lower phonological short-term memory than children with TD. Both children with SSD and LD and with Pure SSD performed significantly lower phonological working memory than children with TD. NWR showed significant relationship with speech perception, phonological memory, and PCC. The relationships between NWR and phonological short-term memory and PCC were striking. Conclusion: This study underlines that children with SSD and LD show remarkable difficulties in NWR and supports the close relationship of NWR with phonological short-term memory and speech accuracy.

Verbal working memory encodes phonological and semantic information differently

Working memory (WM) is often tested through immediate serial recall of word lists. Performance in such tasks is negatively influenced by phonological similarity: People more often get the order of words wrong when they are phonologically similar to each other (e.g., cat, fat, mat). This phonological-similarity effect shows that phonology plays an important role for the representation of serial order in these tasks. By contrast, semantic similarity usually does not impact performance negatively. To resolve and understand this discrepancy, we tested the effects of phonological and semantic similarity for the retention of positional information in WM. Across six experiments (all Ns = 60 young adults), we manipulated between-item semantic and phonological similarity in tasks requiring participants to form and maintain new item-context bindings in WM. Participants were asked to retrieve items from their context, or the contexts from their item. For both retrieval directions, phonological similarity impaired WM for item-context bindings across all experiments. Semantic similarity did not. These results demonstrate that WM encodes phonological and semantic information differently. We propose a WM model accounting for semantic-similarity effects in WM, in which semantic knowledge supports WM through activated long-term memory.

Altered engagement of the speech motor network is associated with reduced phonological working memory in autism

Nonword repetition, a common clinical measure of phonological working memory, involves component processes of speech perception, working memory, and speech production. Autistic children often show behavioral challenges in nonword repetition, as do many individuals with communication disorders. It is unknown which subprocesses of phonological working memory are vulnerable in autistic individuals, and whether the same brain processes underlie the transdiagnostic difficulty with nonword repetition. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the brain bases for nonword repetition challenges in autism. We compared activation during nonword repetition in functional brain networks subserving speech perception, working memory, and speech production between neurotypical and autistic children. Autistic children performed worse than neurotypical children on nonword repetition and had reduced activation in response to increasing phonological working memory load in the supplementary motor area. Multivoxel pattern analysis within the speech production network classified shorter vs longer nonword-repetition trials less accurately for autistic than neurotypical children. These speech production motor-specific differences were not observed in a group of children with reading disability who had similarly reduced nonword repetition behavior. These findings suggest that atypical function in speech production brain regions may contribute to nonword repetition difficulties in autism.

White Matter Correlates of Domain-Specific Working Memory.

Prior evidence suggests domain-specific working memory (WM) buffers for maintaining phonological (i.e., speech sound) and semantic (i.e., meaning) information. The phonological WM buffer's proposed location is in the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG), whereas semantic WM has been related to the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and the angular gyrus (AG). However, less is known about the white matter correlates of phonological and semantic WM. We tested 45 individuals with left hemisphere brain damage on single word processing, phonological WM, and semantic WM tasks and obtained T1 and diffusion weighted neuroimaging. Virtual dissections were performed for each participants' arcuate fasciculus (AF), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), middle longitudinal fasciculus (MLF), and uncinate fasciculus (UF), which connect the proposed domain-specific WM buffers with perceptual or processing regions. The results showed that the left ILF, MLF, IFOF, and the direct segment of the AF were related to semantic WM performance. Phonological WM was related to both the left ILF and the MLF. This work informs our understanding of the white matter correlates of WM, especially semantic WM, which has not previously been investigated. In addition, this work helps to adjudicate between theories of verbal WM, providing some evidence for separate pathways supporting phonological and semantic WM.

Incidental vocabulary learning from captioned videos: Learners' prior vocabulary knowledge and working memory

AbstractBackgroundDespite the potential of captioned videos, limited attention has been paid to the role of vocabulary knowledge (VK) and working memory (WM) in incidental vocabulary learning under different captioning conditions.ObjectivesThe present study aimed to bridge this gap by assessing VK and WM in incidental vocabulary learning under different captioning conditions.MethodsA total of 101 Chinese primary school students were assigned to one of the three conditions: watch fully captioned videos (n = 33), watch keyword captioned videos (n = 35), and watch videos without captions (n = 33). A vocabulary test measuring recognition and recall of form and meaning served as a pretest, posttest and delayed posttest. The learners also completed tests for VK and WM.Results and ConclusionsThe findings supported that both full captions and keyword captions made significant contributions to the incidental learning of form recognition and initial meaning recall and to the retention of form recognition but not of delayed meaning recall. The parameters of breadth and depth of VK and phonological WM impacted incidental vocabulary learning outcomes. The findings emphasized the important role of full captioning and keyword captioning for incidental vocabulary learning and the need to consider the role of VK and WM in incidental vocabulary learning from captioned videos.TakeawaysCaptioning is a promising tool for vocabulary learning, but individual differences in VK and WM should be considered to maximize the benefits of captioning on vocabulary learning.

Spelling problems after early oral language difficulties.

Recent research has stated that early oral language acquisition difficulties are related to reading and writing difficulties. Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience difficulties with several dimensions of language. In this study we focus on the specific difficulties of children with DLD in spelling. We examine the impact of lexicality and length in written production of Spanish-speaking children with DLD. A total of 18 children with language difficulties (Mage = 8;4) were compared with age-matched children (Mage = 8;2). Participants completed a spelling-to-dictation task of words and pseudo-words, where length was manipulated. A digital tablet was used to collect data and obtain measures of accuracy, latencies and total writing durations. Results showed that children with DLD produced more errors, longer latencies and longer writing durations than age-matched children. Regarding accuracy, analysis of the errors shows that children in the control group produce few errors, most being substitutions, while children with DLD made more errors and of more varied categories. Moreover, they were more affected by length on writing accuracy than the control group. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject Children with language difficulties are more likely to present reading difficulties. There are fewer studies analysing the impact of oral language difficulties in writing skills. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The study suggests that children with oral language difficulties also have impairments in spelling, impacting on accuracy, duration and reaction time, possibly related to poor phonological working memory. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study highlights the need to emphasize early oral intervention and language-related processing skills to help prevent written language difficulties.

Contributions of semantic and phonological working memory to narrative language independent of single word production: Evidence from acute stroke

ABSTRACT Neuropsychological case studies have provided evidence that individuals with semantic, but not phonological, working memory (WM) deficits have difficulty producing phrases containing several content words. These findings supported the claim of a phrasal scope of planning at the grammatical formulation stage of production, where semantic WM supports the maintenance of lexical-semantic representations as they are inserted into slots in phrasal constituents. Recent narrative production results for individuals at the acute stage of stroke supported the role for semantic WM in phrasal elaboration while suggesting a role for phonological WM at a subsequent phonological encoding stage in supporting fluent, rapid speech. In the present study, we employed a larger participant sample while controlling for single word production abilities at semantic and phonological levels. Results confirmed the relations between semantic WM and phrasal elaboration whereas the relation between phonological WM and speech rate was eliminated. There was, however, evidence that both impaired phonological retrieval and restricted phonological WM were related to the tendency to produce short, highly frequent words such as pronouns rather than longer, less frequent words. Future research is needed to address whether the results relating to phonological WM depend on damage specific to an output rather than an input phonological capacity.

Phonological Working Memory and Sentence Production in School-Age Children with Typical Language, Dyslexia, and Comorbid Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder.

Little is known about the relationship between sentence production and phonological working memory in school-age children. To fill this gap, we examined how strongly these constructs correlate. We also compared diagnostic groups' working memory abilities to see if differences co-occurred with qualitative differences in their sentences. We conducted Bayesian analyses on data from seven- to nine-year-old children (n = 165 typical language, n = 81 dyslexia-only, n = 43 comorbid dyslexia and developmental language disorder). We correlated sentence production and working memory scores and conducted t tests between groups' working memory scores and sentence length, lexical diversity, and complexity. Correlations were positive but weak. The dyslexic and typical groups had dissimilar working memory and comparable sentence quality. The dyslexic and comorbid groups had comparable working memory but dissimilar sentence quality. Contrary to literature-based predictions, phonological working memory and sentence production are weakly related in school-age children.

The P300 event related potential predicts phonological working memory skills in school-aged children.

The P300 event related potential (ERP) has been cited as a marker of phonological working memory (PWM); however, little is known regarding its relationship to behavioral PWM skills in early school-aged children. The current study investigates the P300 ERP recorded in response to native and non-native (English and Spanish) phoneme contrasts as a predictor of PWM skills in monolingual English-speaking first and second grade children. Thirty-three typically developing children, ages 6–9, completed a battery of phonological processing, language, and cognitive assessments. ERPs were recorded within an auditory oddball paradigm in response to both English phoneme contrasts (/ta/, /pa/) and Spanish contrasts (/t̪a/, /d̪a/). The P300 ERP recorded in response to English phoneme contrasts significantly predicted standard scores on the Nonword Repetition subtest of the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Second Edition. Spanish contrasts did not elicit a P300 response, nor were amplitude or latency values within the P300 timeframe (250–500 ms) recorded in response to Spanish contrasts related to English nonword repetition performance. This study provides further evidence that the P300 ERP in response to native phonemic contrasts indexes PWM skills, specifically nonword repetition performance, in monolingual children. Further work is necessary to determine the extent to which the P300 response to changing phonological stimuli reflects PWM skills in other populations.

Cognitively stimulating maternal language as predictor for vocabulary growth

Maternal interaction behavior, particularly maternal language input, is considered to be one of the key factors for child vocabulary development. Previous studies have shown that a higher quantity and diversity of maternal language input is associated with faster vocabulary development. In the present study, we examined cognitive-verbal stimulation as a specific aspect of maternal input, controlling for other relevant internal child characteristics and external environmental influences. Additionally, we compared the effects of cognitive stimulation on vocabulary development with a standard measurement of maternal language input, such as its quantity, to identify specific the effects of cognitive-verbally stimulating interaction behavior. We used data from the Newborn Cohort Study of the German National Educational Panel Study (N = 1127 families) and conducted latent growth curve modeling to examine the vocabulary growth of children between 3 and 7 years of age. As control variables, we also included maternal education and household income in the analyses as well as the children’s age, gender, and initial vocabulary level when they were 2 years old, their phonological working memory, and whether they were learning another native language other than German. The results indicated that general aspects of maternal input, such as the quantity and length of the utterances of maternal language input for 2‑years-olds, were relevant in the earlier stages of vocabulary development, while cognitive stimulation was an important predictor of growth across the later stages of vocabulary development in 3‑ to 7‑year-olds.

The Influence of Children’s Temperament, Phonological Working Memory, Mother Related Factors, and Language Environment on Vocabulary Development in Korean Monolingual and English-Korean Bilingual Children

Objectives: This study investigated the influence of internal and external factors on vocabulary development in Korean monolingual and English-Korean bilingual children, and examined predictors of their vocabulary skills.Methods: A total of 45 children aged from 3-6 years participated in this study, including Korean monolingual children (N= 30), and English-Korean bilingual children (N= 15). Children completed standardized vocabulary tests to measure vocabulary skills. To examine internal and external factors, a nonword repetition (NWR) task was administered, and participants’ mothers completed the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short Form, the Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition Short Form (PSI-4-SF), the Parental Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, and the Language Environment Questionnaire.Results: For monolingual children, internal factors were significantly correlated with Korean vocabulary skills, and effortful control was the only predictor. For bilingual children, there was a significant correlation between internal factors and Korean vocabulary skills. Effortful control and Korean NWR were predictors of Korean receptive vocabulary skills, and Korean NWR predicted Korean expressive vocabulary skills. Their English vocabulary skills were significantly associated with internal and external factors. Quantity of mother’s English input and English NWR were predictors of English receptive vocabulary skills, and quantity of mother’s English input, English NWR and quality of Korean input were predictors of English expressive vocabulary skills.Conclusion: The results suggest that when examining vocabulary skills, we should consider the influence of effortful control for monolingual children and the influence of mothers’ language use at home for bilingual children. Furthermore, NWR should be applied as a clinical tool when assessing bilingual children.

Phonological Working Memory Representations in the Left Inferior Parietal Lobe in the Face of Distraction and Neural Stimulation.

The neural basis of phonological working memory (WM) was investigated through an examination of the effects of irrelevant speech distractors and disruptive neural stimulation from transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Embedded processes models argue that the same regions involved in speech perception are used to support phonological WM whereas buffer models assume that a region separate from speech perception regions is used to support WM. Thus, according to the embedded processes approach but not the buffer approach, irrelevant speech and TMS to the speech perception region should disrupt the decoding of phonological WM representations. According to the buffer account, decoding of WM items should be possible in the buffer region despite distraction and should be disrupted with TMS to this region. Experiment 1 used fMRI and representational similarity analyses (RSA) with a delayed recognition memory paradigm using nonword stimuli. Results showed that decoding of memory items in the speech perception regions (superior temporal gyrus, STG) was possible in the absence of distractors. However, the decoding evidence in the left STG was susceptible to interference from distractors presented during the delay period whereas decoding in the proposed buffer region (supramarginal gyrus, SMG) persisted. Experiment 2 examined the causal roles of the speech processing region and the buffer region in phonological WM performance using TMS. TMS to the SMG during the early delay period caused a disruption in recognition performance for the memory nonwords, whereas stimulations at the STG and an occipital control region did not affect WM performance. Taken together, results from the two experiments are consistent with predictions of a buffer model of phonological WM, pointing to a critical role of the left SMG in maintaining phonological representations.