The goal of this study is to investigate the role of social factors on speech learning, including production and perception, in infants ranging in age from \~7-18 months. Infants have either typical hearing or sensorineural hearing loss. The main prediction of the study is that social reinforcement will engender improvements in vocal learning above and beyond gains in hearing in infants with hearing loss. As part of this study:
* The parent and infant engage in a free play session in the playroom while the investigator cues the parent to say simple nonsense words; * Infants hear playback of the same words during a second phase.
infants ca. 7-16 months of age at study onset
Infants less than 24 months of age (for follow-up visits only)
At least one English-speaking or Spanish-speaking parent in the home who can participate in the study
Subjects will include infants with typical hearing, hearing loss, or hearing loss remediated by a hearing aid or cochlear implant.
infants who are not exposed to English or Spanish in the home
infants who do not have a parent who can participate in the study will be excluded (Caregivers who are not parents will not be eligible to participate in the study)
Parallel
vocal-social reinforcement
Behavioralexperimental manipulation of social reinforcement in response to vocalizations
Change in Vocal Codes During Study Visit
Infant vocalizations are assigned to categories of speech maturity, and frequency of each category will be assessed before, during, and after the cued responses from parents.
Change in Vocal Codes Between Visits
The same categories of speech maturity will be used at each study visit, allowing comparison of speech composition over time.
Perception
Infants will hear a recording of the same nonsense words spoken by their parent, and investigators will measure how long the infant looks in the direction of the word (how long the infant pays attention to each word).
MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory
This vocabulary inventory form will measure the breadth of the infant's known words and early sentence use.
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University of Southern California
Lead sponsor
Cornell University
Collaborator
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Collaborator
