title: Visual Event-Related Potentials to Novel Objects Predict Rapid Word Learning Ability in 20-Month-Olds.
abstract: In an event-related potentials (ERP) study, twenty-month-old children (n = 37) were presented with pseudowords to map to novel object referents in five presentations. Quicker attenuation of the visual Negative central component (Nc) to novel objects predicted a larger difference in N400 amplitude between congruous and incongruous presentations of pseudowords at test. Furthermore, better initial recognition of familiar objects (Nc difference between familiar and novel objects) predicted the strength of the N400 incongruity effect to the verbal labels of these real objects. This study presents novel evidence for a link between efficient visual processing of objects and word learning ability.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Lund University , Lund , Sweden.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Borgström
authors.affiliation: b Department of Special Needs Education , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Janne von Koss
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Torkildsen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Lund University , Lund , Sweden.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lindgren
mesh_terms: D001076:Aptitude / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D012660:Semantics; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D014825:Vocabulary