Boosting syntax training with temporally regular musical primes in children with cochlear implants

Abstract

The findings extend the previously observed beneficial short-term effects of regular musical primes in the laboratory to long-term training effects. Results suggest that the musical primes improved the processing of the syntactic training material, thus enhancing the training effects on grammatical processing as well as phonological processing and sequencing of speech signals. The findings can be interpreted within the dynamic attending theory (postulating the modulation of attention over time) and associated oscillatory brain activity. Furthermore, the findings encourage the use of rhythmic structures (even in non-verbal materials) in language training programs and outline perspectives for rehabilitation.

Musical Training for Auditory Rehabilitation in Hearing Loss

“…In children with hearing impairment, only one study has been conducted. It suggests a positive, although moderate, effect of rhythmic primes on grammatical judgement, possibly mediated by an effect on speech perception [25]. No effect was revealed for syntactic comprehension.…”

The Role of Statistical Learning in Understanding and Treating Spoken Language Outcomes in Deaf Children With Cochlear Implants

“…The research reviewed earlier suggests that not only is SL modifiable by computerized training (e.g., Hoen et al, 2003;Onnis et al, 2015;Smith et al, 2015Smith et al, , 2017 and/or neurostimulation (e.g., Alamia et al, 2016;Uddén et al, 2008) but that such improvements to SL can, in some cases, result in far-transfer effects to improve language processing (Hoen et al, 2003;Smith et al, 2015). This work with healthy adults is complemented by recent demonstrations that cognitive and perceptual training, including WM, music, and other types of training, for children with CIs is also not only feasible but also potentially effective for improving spoken language performance and related cognitive skills (e.g., Bedoin et al, 2017;Ingvalson, Young, & Wong, 2014;Kronenberger, Pisoni, Henning, Colson, & Hazzard, 2011;Mishra & Boddupally, 2018;Roman, Rochette, Triglia, Schön, & Bigand, 2016). Recently, we have adapted the Smith et al (2015) computerized SL training regimen for use with young children with CIs (e.g., Gremp, 2011).…”

Shared neural resources of rhythm and syntax: An ALE Meta-Analysis

“…Conversely, it has been shown with various children populations that coherent rhythmic and metric cues facilitate identification of morphosyntactically correct and incorrect sentences. These populations include children with speech and language deficits such as dyslexia (Przybylski et al, 2013;Kotz, 2008b, 2008a), SLI (Bedoin et al, 2016), and cochlear implants (Bedoin et al, 2017), as well as typically-developing children (Bedoin et al, 2017(Bedoin et al, , 2016Przybylski et al, 2013). Moreover, priming with rhythmic sequences containing easy-to-extract meter facilitated language comprehension compared to priming with rhythms that induced a complex meter (Przybylski et al, 2013).…”