Neurophysiological Correlates of Auditory and Language Development: A Mismatch Negativity Study

Abstract

During child development, physiological changes occur in the auditory cortex, which are reflected by differences in the electrophysiological signals. This study aimed to examine the age-related changes of the Mismatch Negativity component (MMN) in response to speech and non-speech stimuli in a cross-sectional design. Results revealed distinct patterns of activation according to stimulus type and age. Age-related differences for tone discrimination occurred earlier in children's development than did the discriminative process for speech sounds. Therefore, networks involved in speech processing are still immature in late childhood and may be more vulnerable to physiological changes.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by funds from the Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neuropsychology held by Dr. Maryse Lassonde, the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neurosciences held by Dr. Franco Lepore, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) awarded to Maryse Lassonde and Franco Lepore, research grants by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation awarded to Maryse Lassonde, as well as scholarships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and from the Fondation des Étoiles and from the Fondation du CHU Sainte-Justine (FCHUSJ/FDE) awarded to Natacha Paquette, B.Sc.