RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Neuroplasticity associated with conversational turn-taking following a family-based intervention
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.10.30.362723
DO 10.1101/2020.10.30.362723
A1 Rachel R. Romeo
A1 Julia A. Leonard
A1 Hannah M. Grotzinger
A1 Sydney T. Robinson
A1 Megumi E. Takada
A1 Allyson P. Mackey
A1 Ethan Scherer
A1 Meredith L. Rowe
A1 Martin R. West
A1 John D. E. Gabrieli
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/10/31/2020.10.30.362723.abstract
AB Children’s early language environments are associated with linguistic, cognitive, and academic development, as well as concurrent brain structure and function. This study investigated neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking language input and development by measuring neuroplasticity associated with an intervention designed to enhance language environments in lower-income families. Families of 52 4-to-6 year-old children were randomly assigned to a 9-week, interactive, family-based intervention or no-contact control group. Children completed pre- and post-assessments of verbal and nonverbal cognition, structural magnetic resonance imaging, and two days of auditory recordings to measure language exposure. Families who completed the intervention exhibited a greater increase in the number of adult-child conversational turns. Turn-taking changes correlated positively with changes in verbal, nonverbal, and executive functioning measures, as well as cortical thickening in left inferior frontal and supramarginal gyri, the latter of which mediated the relationship between changes in conversational turns and language scores. This is the first study to investigate longitudinal neuroplasticity in response to changes in children’s language environments and suggests that conversational turns support language development through cortical growth in language and social processing regions. This has implications for early interventions to enhance young children’s language environments, including family-support programs and addressing systemic barriers to family communication.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.