http://psych.colorado.edu/~kimlab/Ullman_Cognition_04.pdf

Contributions of memory circuits to language: the declarative/procedural model

This groundbreaking monograph offers a mechanistic theory of the representation and use of semantic knowledge, integrating the strengths and overcoming many of the weaknesses of hierarchical, categorization-based approaches, similarity-based approaches, and the approach often called "theory theory." Building on earlier models by Geoffrey Hinton in the 1980s and David Rumelhart in the early 1990s, the authors propose that performance in semantic tasks arises through the propagation of graded signals in a system of interconnected processing units. The representations used in performing these tasks are patterns of activation across units, governed by weighted connections among them. Semantic knowledge is acquired through the gradual adjustment of the strengths of these connections in the course of day-to-day experience. The authors show how a simple computational model proposed by Rumelhart exhibits a progressive differentiation of conceptual knowledge, paralleling aspects of cognitive development seen in the work of Frank Keil and Jean Mandler. The authors extend the model to address aspects of conceptual knowledge acquisition in infancy, disintegration of conceptual knowledge in dementia, "basic-level" effects and their interaction with expertise, and many findings introduced to support the idea that semantic cognition is guided by naive, domain-specific theories.

Semantic Cognition: A Parallel Distributed Processing Approach

Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet

Specific language impairment is not specific to language: The procedural deficit hypothesis

We examined the ontogeny of gaze following by testing infants at 9, 10 and 11 months of age. Infants (N = 96) watched as an adult turned her head toward a target with either open or closed eyes. The 10- and 11-month-olds followed adult turns significantly more often in the open-eyes than the closed-eyes condition, but the 9-month-olds did not respond differentially. Although 9-montholds may view others as ‘body orienters’, older infants begin to register whether others are ‘visually connected’ to the external world and, hence, understand adult looking in a new way. Results also showed a strong positive correlation between gaze-following behavior at 10‐11 months and subsequent language scores at 18 months. Implications for social cognition are discussed in light of the developmental shift in gaze following between 9 and 11 months of age.

/pdf/the-development-of-gaze-following-and-its-relation-to-4q1lpdbv5b.pdf

The development of gaze following and its relation to language.

This study compared the prelinguistic vocal development of 9-month-old babies with unrepaired cleft palate (n=30) and age-matched peers (n=15). Samples of the babies' spontaneous vocalizations were obtained while they interacted with their primary caregiver during play. The groups were compared on a number of variables including (a) canonical babbling ratios, (b) percentage of babies who reached the canonical babbling stage by 9 months, (c) syllable and segmental aspects of babbling, and (d) vocal frequency. Results indicated that the babies with cleft palate had smaller canonical babbling ratios than their age-matched peers, with just 57% of the babies with cleft palate reaching the canonical babbling stage by 9 months compared to 93% of the noncleft babies. Although syllable types and length were similar for the two groups, differences were noted for consonant characteristics. The babies with cleft palate had smaller consonant inventories, with fewer stops, glides, and velars noted. Glottals occurred mo...

Vocal Development of 9-Month-Old Babies with Cleft Palate.

This study examined the phonologic process usage of 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children with cleft palate. Sixty children served as subjects: 30 children with cleft palate (with or without cleft lip) and 30 noncleft palate children. The children's whole word productions were analyzed for frequency and type of phonologic process usage. Results indicated that the 3- and 4-year old children with cleft palate exhibited more instances of process usage, compared to their noncleft peers. The 5-year-old cleft and noncleft groups were similar in total instances of process usage. Further, the children with cleft palate employed common phonologic processes; however, some processes were noted more frequently in the speech of the 3-year-old children with cleft palate.

Phonologic processes in children with cleft palate.

This study examined the relationship between speech measures at presurgery/9 months and postsurgery/13 months and speech and language performance at 21 months for children with cleft lip and palate and their noncleft peers. Comparisons were also made between the speech and lexical development of children with cleft lip and palate and noncleft children at 21 months of age. The participants included 30 children; 15 with cleft lip and palate and 15 noncleft children. Results revealed differences between the groups for several measures of speech and lexical development at 21 months. For the children with cleft palate, correlational analyses suggested that true stop production, both immediately before and after palatal surgery, was positively correlated with a majority of the speech production measures at 21 months. At postsurgery/13 months, true stop production was related to later vocabulary development, and size of true consonant inventory was related to all measure of speech production and one measure of lexical development at 21 months. For the noncleft group, true canonical babbling ratio at 13 months was the only measure that was significantly correlated with any of the speech and/or language measures at 21 months. The impact of clefting on prelinguistic and later speech and language skills is discussed.

The relationship between early speech and later speech and language performance for children with cleft lip and palate

This study examined the characteristics of early lexical acquisition in children with specific language impairment. Sixteen unfamiliar words and referents were exposed across 10 sessions to languag...

Early Lexical Acquisition in Children with Specific Language Impairment

This article examines the phonetic and phonologic skills of 2-year-olds with cleft palate. Fifteen children, 10 children with cleft palate and five noncleft children, participated in the study. The children with cleft palate all received palatal surgery after 12 months of age and after the onset of meaningful speech. All subjects were video and audiotaped while interacting with their mothers during unstructured play. At least one hundred different spontaneous word productions were phonetically transcribed and analyzed for (1) percent consonants correct, (2) phonologic processes, and (3) "compensatory" articulation patterns. A comparison between the groups indicated that although the children with cleft palate exhibited more errors overall, they were similar to their noncleft peers in their phonologic process usage with two exceptions. Additionally, few "compensatory" articulation errors were noted in the speech of these children.

Kathy L. Chapman

Papers

Vocal Development of 9-Month-Old Babies with Cleft Palate.

Phonologic processes in children with cleft palate.

The relationship between early speech and later speech and language performance for children with cleft lip and palate

Early Lexical Acquisition in Children with Specific Language Impairment

Phonetic and phonologic skills of two-year-olds with cleft palate.