A memory approach towards understanding age-related sensitivities in language learning

Compared to adults, children appear to be better at learning language. The precise reason why has proven difficult to comprehend. The goal of the present research project is to address this question from a memory-based perspective. We hypothesize that age-dependent sensitivities in language learning are due to a shift from reliance on procedural memory (PM) which is specialized for the implicit learning of sequential properties in language (e.g., phonology and grammar) early in life, to a reliance on declarative memory (DM) which is specialized for the explicit learning of arbitrary relations in language (e.g., mapping between a word and its meaning) later in life. DM disrupts implicit learning of basic language properties in PM. Across the entire project, we will focus on learning novel phonological restrictions, grammar rules, lexical forms and semantic associations, using four well-established paradigms. We will investigate which aspects of language yield a child advantage, when this advantage may be observed across development, and what is the cognitive basis of this advantage. This will be investigated using behavioral studies and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. The goal is to bring novel theoretical insights in the interaction between memory and language across development, along with a novel paradigmatic approach that can be further applied to better understand the cognitive basis of normal and pathological language development.