How poverty impacts brain and language development: Understanding the vocabulary gap

University Of Texas At Dallas, Richardson TX

Investigators

Abstract

In the US, over 31 million children (42%) are from low socioeconomic status (SES) homes. On average these children have significantly smaller vocabularies than their middle SES peers. This vocabulary gap appears early in development, increases during the school years and has life-long academic and economic implications. Although research has identified some possible reasons for lower vocabulary in low SES toddlers, it is not clear how or why the deficit continues to increase during the school years. The present project will study how well-documented SES differences in semantic knowledge, reading abilities and working memory may contribute to word learning deficits at the behavioral and brain levels in school-aged children. The outcomes of this research will help to identify directions for intervention to increase the likelihood of academic success within this at-risk population. This project will use a relatively new analysis technique, Time Frequency Analysis, to study changes in electrophysiological processes of school-aged children (8-15 years) as they learn new words. These neuronal responses will be studied in relation to children's word learning abilities, family background (mother's level of education and needs-to-income ratio) and cognitive abilities (reading abilities, vocabulary and working memory). In this way, the proposed work will clarify the mechanisms by which SES influences the behavioral and neural processes contributing to children's word learning during the school years.