Academic Journal
The Relation of Home Literacy Environment to Brain Specialization and Sensitivity for Phonological and Semantic Processing of Spoken Words
| Τίτλος: | The Relation of Home Literacy Environment to Brain Specialization and Sensitivity for Phonological and Semantic Processing of Spoken Words |
|---|---|
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Συγγραφείς: | Alisha B. Compton (ORCID |
| Πηγή: | Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2026 69(4):1686-1705. |
| Διαθεσιμότητα: | American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Ημερομηνία έκδοσης: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Institutes of Health (NIH) (DHHS) |
| Contract Number: | R01DC013274 |
| Τύπος εγγράφου: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Family Environment, Family Literacy, Brain, Speech, Language Processing, Phonology, Semantics, Children, Age Differences, Specialization |
| Γεωγραφικοί όροι: | Texas (Austin) |
| DOI: | 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00448 |
| ISSN: | 1092-4388 1558-9102 |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: Neural specialization is a developmental phenomenon across multiple domains of language processing. The home literacy environment (HLE) is observed to relate to brain activation during language and reading tasks; however, whether HLE relates to phonological and semantic functional specialization and sensitivity remains unknown. Method: Using an open-source data set, this study examined thirty-three 5- to 6-year-olds and seventy-six 7- to 8-year-olds. Data from functional magnetic resonance imaging sound and meaning judgment tasks were used to examine phonological and semantic functional specialization (contrasting tasks) and sensitivity (comparing conditions within a task). Then, voxel-wise regression analyses were used to test correlations between those brain indexes and HLE (i.e., family-to-child reading, child independent reading) measured using a parent survey. Results: We observed weak evidence of phonological specialization at 5 years old and weak evidence of semantic specialization at 7 years old associated with family-to-child reading. We also observed weak evidence of phonological sensitivity at 5 years old and strong evidence of semantic sensitivity at 7 years old associated with family-to-child reading. Across the cohorts, a progression from temporal to frontal brain regions was observed in those relations, in line with prior literature on language specialization and sensitivity across development. Conclusions: Overall, our results suggest that HLE is linked to functional specialization and sensitivity, with family-to-child reading showing a weak relation to sound structure processing at 5 years old but a stronger relation to meaning processing at 7 years old. This finding supports the interactive specialization theory, which emphasizes the role of environmental inputs in neural specialization. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Σημειώσεις: | https://openneuro.org/datasets/ds003604 |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Αριθμός Καταχώρησης: | EJ1505417 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | ERIC |
| ISSN: | 1092-4388 1558-9102 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00448 |