Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Procedural Memory Deficits in Preschool Children with Developmental Language Disorder in a Spanish-Speaking Population

Version 1 : Received: 22 January 2024 / Approved: 22 January 2024 / Online: 22 January 2024 (11:30:16 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Sanhueza, S.; Urrutia, M.; Marrero, H. Procedural Memory Deficits in Preschool Children with Developmental Language Disorder in a Spanish-Speaking Population. Brain Sci. 2024, 14, 198. Sanhueza, S.; Urrutia, M.; Marrero, H. Procedural Memory Deficits in Preschool Children with Developmental Language Disorder in a Spanish-Speaking Population. Brain Sci. 2024, 14, 198.

Abstract

This study aimed to compare procedural learning skills between Spanish-speaking preschool children (ages 4 years to 4 years, 11 months) with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and their typically developing (TD) peers. Using the Serial Reaction Time task, participants (30 DLD and 30 TD children) respond to visual stimuli in a sequenced manner over four blocks, followed by a random order block. The task assessed reaction time (RT) and accuracy. Results showed a significant interaction between group and block for reaction time (RT) and accuracy, with children with DLD exhibiting longer RTs and accuracy deficits across blocks. In contrast, the TD group showed higher RT efficiency and accuracy in the sequential blocks and as expected, decreased performance in the random block according to the experimental manipulation. Overall, the results of this investigation suggest that there was no implicit learning in the DLD group, as indicated by the SRT task paradigms of procedural memory. These findings align with the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), suggesting that linguistic deficits in the TD population may derive from a general dysfunction of the procedural memory system domain in the Spanish context.

Keywords

Procedural memory, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), language acquisition, Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task.

Subject

Social Sciences, Cognitive Science

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