Passage
Language is a skill acquired during early childhood that continues to develop for many years. Communication using language involves multiple complex processes, including listening, speaking, comprehension, and cognition. Receptive language ("language input") involves language comprehension, while expressive language ("language output") involves the ability to produce intelligible language. In normally developing children, receptive language emerges first, followed by expressive language.To examine how age plays a role in the activation of the neurological networks involved in processing more complex language, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze how the use of receptive language generates metabolic activity in the brains of children. A total of 672 participants were divided into three groups by age: Age 4-6 (n = 219) , age 7-9 (n = 224) , and age 10-12 (n = 229) .Participants in each group were asked to listen to pre-recorded stories while undergoing fMRI of the brain to determine if an age-related difference could be found in activated brain tissue volume during the listening task. The recorded fMRI-monitored listening portion of the experiment lasted approximately 5 minutes. Immediately following this listening exercise, fMRI monitoring was discontinued and the children were administered tests to determine comprehension of the material. None of the children had been informed that they would be taking a comprehension test prior to its actual administration.
Figure 1 fMRI listening task analyzed per age group: (A) comprehension test scores, and (B) brain volume activated (Note: Solid lines represent the mean in each group.)
M. M. Berl, E. S. Duke, J. Mayo, L. R. Rosenberger, E. N. Moore, J. VanMeter, N. Bernstein Ratner, C. J. Vaidya, and W. D. Gaillard ©2010 by Elsevier, Inc.
-Does the concept of the critical period of language development help explain the differences between the age groups seen in this study?

Question

Passage
Language is a skill acquired during early childhood that continues to develop for many years. Communication using language involves multiple complex processes, including listening, speaking, comprehension, and cognition. Receptive language ("language input") involves language comprehension, while expressive language ("language output") involves the ability to produce intelligible language. In normally developing children, receptive language emerges first, followed by expressive language.To examine how age plays a role in the activation of the neurological networks involved in processing more complex language, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze how the use of receptive language generates metabolic activity in the brains of children. A total of 672 participants were divided into three groups by age: Age 4-6 (n = 219) , age 7-9 (n = 224) , and age 10-12 (n = 229) .Participants in each group were asked to listen to pre-recorded stories while undergoing fMRI of the brain to determine if an age-related difference could be found in activated brain tissue volume during the listening task. The recorded fMRI-monitored listening portion of the experiment lasted approximately 5 minutes. Immediately following this listening exercise, fMRI monitoring was discontinued and the children were administered tests to determine comprehension of the material. None of the children had been informed that they would be taking a comprehension test prior to its actual administration.

Figure 1 fMRI listening task analyzed per age group: (A) comprehension test scores, and (B) brain volume activated (Note: Solid lines represent the mean in each group.)
M. M. Berl, E. S. Duke, J. Mayo, L. R. Rosenberger, E. N. Moore, J. VanMeter, N. Bernstein Ratner, C. J. Vaidya, and W. D. Gaillard ©2010 by Elsevier, Inc.
-Does the concept of the critical period of language development help explain the differences between the age groups seen in this study?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecba2d_0c46_212f_a3bf_1fd76dbf6b77_MD0008_00 The concept of the critical period of language development suggests that there is a time-sensitive period early in life during which language acquisition is easier (with proper exposure), as compared to the period afterward, during which language acquisition is much more difficult. The nativist theory of language development asserts that humans are biologically programmed to acquire language and will learn whatever language(s) they are exposed to during the critical period. This theory suggests that language acquisition is a universal developmental accomplishment; indeed, certain brain regions involved in language development (eg, Wernicke area) are similar in all humans. The concept of the critical period does not help explain the differences between the age groups in this study because the children were age 12 or younger, so they were all likely still within the critical period of language development. (Choice A) All the children studied, not just the youngest age group, were still within the critical period of language development. Therefore, the concept of the critical period does not help to explain the differences between the age groups seen in this study. (Choices C and D) Results do suggest that there is a connection between brain volume activation and language comprehension: Older children demonstrated greater brain volume activation and language comprehension than younger children. However, these results are unrelated to the concept of the critical period. Educational objective: The nativist theory of language development asserts that humans are biologically programmed to acquire language if exposed to it during a critical (time-sensitive) period in early life.

Passage Language Is a Skill Acquired During Early Childhood That Continues