title: Procedural learning in specific language impairment: effects of sequence complexity.
abstract: According to the procedural deficit hypothesis (PDH), abnormal development in the procedural memory system could account for the language deficits observed in specific language impairment (SLI). Recent studies have supported this hypothesis by using a serial reaction time (SRT) task, during which a slower learning rate is observed in children with SLI compared to controls. Recently, we obtained contrasting results, demonstrating that children with SLI were able to learn a sequence as quickly and as accurately as controls. These discrepancies could be related to differences in the statistical structure of the SRT sequence between these studies. The aim of this study was to further assess, in a group of 21 children with SLI, the PDH with second-order conditional sequences, which are more difficult to learn than those used in previous studies. Our results show that children with SLI had impaired procedural memory, as evidenced by both longer reaction times and no sign of sequence-specific learning in comparison with typically developing controls. These results are consistent with the PDH proposed by Ullman and Pierpont (2005) and suggest that procedural sequence-learning in SLI children depends on the complexity of the to-be-learned sequence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Science, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium. audrey.gabriel@ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maillart
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stefaniak
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lejeune
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Desmottes
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meulemans
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D007807:Language Tests; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D014825:Vocabulary