COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Spatial Cognition and Spatial Language in Williams Syndrome

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

This research will explore spatial cognition and spatial language in children and adults, using evidence from a rare genetic deficit, Williams syndrome, to shed light on the nature of normal spatial cognition. Individuals with Williams syndrome typically have a cognitive profile of profoundly impaired spatial cognition together with relatively spared language. This syndrome therefore provides a unique opportunity to understand the nature of spatial cognition and spatial language, their development, and their interaction. The goal of this research is to determine (a) whether spatial breakdown is selective, occurring for only certain spatial capacities but not others, and (b) whether spatial language can be acquired and used normally in the absence of interaction with normal spatial cognition. The question of "selectivity" will be addressed by experiments in four spatial domains, object representation, perception of space vs. visual-manual action in space, navigation, and spatial language. If some aspects of spatial cognition are spared, but others are not, this would be consistent with the idea that spatial cognition is specialized, and that different kinds of spatial capacities develop from different origins. In contrast, if all aspects of spatial cognition are impaired, this would be consistent with the idea that there are general principles of development that affect all kinds of spatial cognition equally. The question of "interaction" between spatial language and non-linguistic spatial cognition will be addressed by experiments on the relationship between the two kinds of spatial knowledge. If both are equally impaired, this would suggest a highly interactive organization of the brain in which spatial cognition and spatial language are tightly coupled. In contrast, if spatial language is selectively spared, this would be consistent with a high degree of selectivity, and would mean that language development need not be affected by certain kinds of cognitive impairment. As a whole, these studies should elucidate the nature of normal spatial cognition by determining whether development and its breakdown occur along the lines of normal cognitive architecture, which would suggest cognitive specialization. They should elucidate the nature of spatial language by determining whether it can develop normally in the absence of normal non-linguistic spatial cognition, which would suggest a high degree of independence between the two systems. And they should shed light on developmental processes, by determining whether breakdown in one system inevitably forces changes in other systems, or whether developmental breakdown can apply selectively across sub-systems of cognition.