title: Language impairment is reflected in auditory evoked fields.
abstract: Specific language impairment (SLI) is diagnosed when a child has problems in producing or understanding language despite having a normal IQ and there being no other obvious explanation. There can be several associated problems, and no single underlying cause has yet been identified. Some theories propose problems in auditory processing, specifically in the discrimination of sound frequency or rapid temporal frequency changes. We compared automatic cortical speech-sound processing and discrimination between a group of children with SLI and control children with normal language development (mean age: 6.6 years; range: 5-7 years). We measured auditory evoked magnetic fields using two sets of CV syllables, one with a changing consonant /da/ba/ga/ and another one with a changing vowel /su/so/sy/ in an oddball paradigm. The P1m responses for onsets of repetitive stimuli were weaker in the SLI group whereas no significant group differences were found in the mismatch responses. The results indicate that the SLI group, having weaker responses to the onsets of sounds, might have slightly depressed sensory encoding.
authors.affiliation: BioMag Laboratory, Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa HUSLAB, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. pihko@biomag.hus.fi
authors.forename: Elina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pihko
authors.forename: Teija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mickos
authors.forename: Paavo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alku
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Byring
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korkman
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values