Associations between efficient processing of brief, rapidly presented, successive stimuli and language learning impairments (LLI) in older children and adults have been well documented. In this paper we examine the role that impaired rapid auditory processing (RAP) might play during early language acquisition. Using behavioral measures we have demonstrated that RAP abilities in infancy are critically linked to later language abilities for both non-speech and speech stimuli. Variance in infant RAP thresholds reliably predict language outcome at 3 years-of-age for infants at risk for LLI and control infants. We present data here describing patterns of electrocortical (EEG/ ERP) activation at 6 month-of-age to the same non-verbal stimuli used in our behavioral studies. Well-defined differences were seen between infants from families with a history of LLI (FH+) and FH− controls in the amplitude of the mismatch response (MMR) as well as the latency of the N 250 component in the 70 ms ISI condition only. Smaller mismatch responses and delayed onsets of the N 250 component were seen in the FH+ group. The latency differences in the N 250 component, but not the MMR amplitude variation, were significantly related to 24-month language outcome. Such converging tasks provide the opportunity to examine early precursors of LLI and allow the opportunity for earlier identification and intervention.

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Recent advances in cognitive neuroscience have allowed us to begin investigating the development of both structure and function in the infant brain. However, despite the rapid evolution of technology, surprisingly few studies have examined the intersection between brain and behaviour over the first years of life. Even fewer have done so in the context of a particular research question. This paper aims to provide an overview of four domains that have been studied using techniques amenable to elucidating the brain/behaviour interface: language, face processing, object permanence, and joint attention, with particular emphasis on studies focusing on early development. The importance of the unique role of development and the interplay between structure and function is stressed throughout. It is hoped that this review will serve as a catalyst for further thinking about the substantial gaps in our understanding of the relationship between brain and behaviour across development. Further, our aim is to provide ideas about candidate brain areas that are likely to be implicated in particular behaviours or cognitive domains.

Children with language-learning impairment (LLI) have consistently shown difficulty with tasks requiring precise, rapid auditory processing. Remediation based on neural plasticity assumes that the temporal precision of neural coding can be improved by intensive training protocols. Here, we examined the extent to which early oscillatory responses in auditory cortex change after audio-visual training, using combined source modeling and time-frequency analysis of the human electroencephalogram (EEG). Twenty-one elementary school students diagnosed with LLI underwent the intervention for an average of 32 days. Pre- and post-training assessments included standardized language/literacy tests and EEG recordings in response to fast-rate tone doublets. Twelve children with typical language development were also tested twice, with no intervention given. Behaviorally, improvements on measures of language were observed in the LLI group following completion of training. During the first EEG assessment, we found reduced amplitude and phase-locking of early (45–75 ms) oscillations in the gamma-band range (29–52 Hz), specifically in the LLI group, for the second stimulus of the tone doublet. Amplitude reduction for the second tone was no longer evident for the LLI children post-intervention, although these children still exhibited attenuated phase-locking. Our findings suggest that specific aspects of inefficient sensory cortical processing in LLI are ameliorated after training.

Successful language acquisition has been hypothesized to involve the ability to integrate rapidly presented, brief acoustic cues in sensory cortex. A body of work has suggested that this ability is compromised in language-learning impairment (LLI). The present research aimed to examine sensory integration during rapid auditory processing by means of electrophysiological measures of oscillatory brain activity using data from a larger longitudinal study. Twenty-nine children with LLI and control participants with typical language development (n=18) listened to tone doublets presented at a temporal interval that is essential for accurate speech processing (70-ms interstimulus interval). The children performed a deviant (pitch change of second tone) detection task, or listened passively. The electroencephalogram was recorded from 64 electrodes. Data were source-projected to the auditory cortices and submitted to wavelet analysis, resulting in timefrequency representations of electrocortical activity. Results show significantly reduced amplitude and phase-locking of early (45-75 ms) oscillations in the gamma-band range (29-52 Hz), specifically in the LLI group, for the second stimulus of the tone doublet. This suggests altered temporal organization of sensory oscillatory activity in LLI when processing rapid sequences.