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Neural differentiation during rapid auditory processing supports infant language learning

Poster Session A - Saturday, March 7, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballrooms

Laura A. Milovic^1,2, Ravi D. Mill¹, Michael W. Cole¹, April A. Benasich¹; ¹Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, ²Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Rutgers University

Targeted acoustic intervention during early infancy, from 4 to 7 months of age, enhances rapid auditory processing (RAP) skills essential for learning language. RAP is the ability to detect and process subtle sequential differences in sound and is critical for establishing phonological frameworks. Dense-array electroencephalography has identified underlying temporal processing enhancement in 7-month-old infants following the intervention (e.g. reduced latency in sensory and discriminatory processing). Through beamformer source reconstruction, using age-appropriate infant head models, we now investigate cortical maturation and experience-related plasticity in the spatial domain. We hypothesized that at 4 months of age, typically developing infants require widespread recruitment of brain areas for RAP, whereas at 7 months of age, a more spatially defined acoustic map emerges. We additionally hypothesized that this spatial specialization is further enhanced in infants who receive the intervention. The spread of significant regions contributing to auditory stimuli detection, discrimination, and additional pre-attentive processing was quantified for 4- and 7-month intervention infants (n=30) and 7-month cross-sectional naïve controls (n=27). As expected, we observed reduced neural recruitment from 4 to 7 months of age, along with an enhancement of this trajectory by the intervention. This suggests differentiation and specialization of RAP activity patterns with age and intervention, contributing to the inverted U-shaped trend of modular organization across the lifespan. The increased efficiency demonstrated in infants who received the intervention promotes its use in supporting early brain development. Sophisticated neural recording and analysis techniques expand developmental research, promoting methods to assess experience-related plasticity during this sensitive period.

Topic Area: LANGUAGE: Development & aging