Language experience during the sensitive period narrows infants' sensory encoding of lexical tones-Music intervention reverses it.

ABSTRACT: The sensitive period for phonetic learning (6∼12 months), evidenced by improved native speech processing and declined non-native speech processing, represents an early milestone in language acquisition. We examined the extent that sensory encoding of speech is altered by experience during this period by testing two hypotheses: (1) early sensory encoding of non-native speech declines as infants gain native-language experience, and (2) music intervention reverses this decline. We longitudinally measured the frequency-following response (FFR), a robust indicator of early sensory encoding along the auditory pathway, to a Mandarin lexical tone in 7- and 11-months-old monolingual English-learning infants. Infants received either no intervention (language-experience group) or music interve

SUBMITTER: Zhao TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9398460 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature