Procedural Learning and Individual Differences in Language

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to examine different aspects of procedural memory in young adults who varied with regard to their language abilities. We selected a sample of procedural memory tasks, each of which represented a unique type of procedural learning, and has been linked, at least partially, to the functionality of the corticostriatal system. The findings showed that variance in language abilities is associated with performance on different domains of procedural memory, including the motor domain (as shown in the pursuit rotor task), the cognitive domain (as shown in the weather prediction task), and the linguistic domain (as shown in the nonword repetition priming task). These results implicate the corticostriatal system in individual differences in language.

Notes

¹ Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that primarily involves persistent limitations in the acquisition and use of language in the context of grossly normal sensory, cognitive, and neurological status (Leonard, 1998).

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by R01-DC007643-05 from the National Institutes of Health awarded to Dr. J. Bruce Tomblin.