To reveal the formation process of speech processing with early hearing experiences, we tracked the development of functional connectivity in the auditory and language-related cortical areas of 84 (36 female) congenitally deafened toddlers using repeated functional near-infrared spectroscopy for up to 36 months post cochlear implantation (CI).…

Research with monolingual children has shown that early efficiency in real-time word recognition predicts later language and cognitive outcomes. In parallel research with young bilingual children, processing ability and vocabulary size are closely related within each language, although not across the two languages. For children in dual-language…

One of the most prominent issues in early cognitive and linguistic development concerns how children figure out meanings of words from hearing them in context, since in many contexts there are multiple words and multiple potential referents for those words. Recent findings concerning on-line sentence comprehension suggest that, within the…

Two experiments investigated the development of fluency in interpreting adjective-noun phrases in 30- and 36-month-old English-learning children. Using online processing measures, children's gaze patterns were monitored as they heard the familiar adjective-noun phrases (e.g. "blue car") in visual contexts where the adjective was either informative…

Four word-learning studies exposed 2-year olds to novel verbs and nouns. Found that knowledge of what action or object was impending was not necessary for learning the words; children learned a novel verb for an intentional but not an accidental action; and children learned a novel noun for an object being sought, but not ones rejected while…

Notes that regardless of the language, children acquire language on the same general schedule and the same cognitive path. Explores the process of child language acquisition, from sounds, through word meanings, to syntax and grammar. (HTH)

In a study of early functions of negation (rejection and denial), 48 children under age 3 were asked easy yes/no questions. The most likely age range for the appearance of error-free denial "no" at 1 year/8 months to 2 years/1 month supports the continuity theory of negation development. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/LB)

Twenty-four 12- to 19-month-old children were studied to examine the cognitive basis for the emergence of verbs. Substantial increases in verb comprehension across contexts, abstract cognition, and the ability to engage in symbolic action were observed, suggesting a relationship between underlying cognitive development and increased verb…

A study investigated whether children expect color similarity to be less important than form similarity in object label extensions. Twenty 2-year-olds and 20 3-year-olds were asked to sort objects similar in either color or form in two different situations: (1) the "No Label" condition where children were asked to help the puppet put objects that…

Examined the use by children of the Novel Name-Nameless Category principle, under the framework that lexical principles are acquired in a developmental sequence. Results indicated that the particular principle was not available at the start of lexical acquisition but that exhaustive categorization ability and a vocabulary spurt occur…

Examines the development of children's understanding of the difference between "want" and "need" in two different experiments. The first experiment required the children to respond verbally in choosing between the two concepts; the second required them to give an object to one of two characters who had made a request using…

The order in which wh-questions are acquired in the production and comprehension of two Korean one-year-olds is analyzed and compared. Consistencies in acquisition order are to be based on universals of cognitive development, while discrepancies in acquisition order were attributed to differences in interactive styles across caregivers and…

Drawing upon the burgeoning research in neurology, as well as stories of real children, this book charts the brain's development, from conception through the critical first 5 years of life. In examining the many factors that play crucial roles in that process, the book explores the evolution of the senses, motor skills, social and emotional…