PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study analyzes what babies hear, say on six continents

Talk from adults stood out as key contributor to early childhood speech; no effects found related to socioeconomics

2023-12-13
(Press-News.org)

Elika Bergelson, associate professor of psychology at Harvard University, studies how infants and toddlers learn language from the world around them. The developmental psychologist specifically strives to parse the various theories that account for the onset and eventual mastery of language comprehension and production. Bergelson’s latest paper, published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, represents a more global approach to developing and testing such theories. 

Written with Alejandrina Cristia at the École normale supérieure, PSL University and 11 others, the paper is based on an extremely large sample of two- to 48-month olds. Day-long audio recordings captured the babbling and baby talk of 1,001 children representing 12 countries and 43 languages. Analysis was completed with the help of machine learning. 

Results show that the main predictors of language development are age, clinical factors such as prematurity or dyslexia, and how much speech children receive from the world around them. In contrast to previous research, no effects were found related to gender, multilingualism, or socioeconomics. 

The study was able to simultaneously consider many variables that are usually looked at separately while also considering how big their effects were. "Notably, it wasn't just child factors like age or risk for language delay that mattered, but a key environmental factor too: how much speech children heard from adults,” Bergelson said. “For every 100 adult vocalizations children heard per hour, they produced 27 more vocalizations themselves, and this effect grew with age."

The work also touches on well-worn critiques of low-income parents and caregivers. “There's been much debate and discussion in the literature in recent years about how socioeconomic status does or doesn't link to language input and language output,” noted Bergelson. “We looked in many, many, many different ways … In no form did we ever find evidence that moms with more education had kids who produced more speech in these tens of thousands of hours of recordings from daily life.”

Financial support for the study was provided by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Heart attack deaths spike during the winter holidays

2023-12-13
DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2023 — The winter holidays can turn deadly as research shows that more people die from heart attacks during the last week of December than at any other time of the year. While being aware of the signs of a heart attack and taking steps to reduce your risk are important all year long, the American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health for all, says that’s especially critical during the next few weeks. A number of scientific studies confirm ...

MD Anderson Research Highlights for December 13, 2023

2023-12-13
HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments at MD Anderson include a novel blood-based test to predict lung cancer relapses, improved detection of genes associated with complex traits, insights into how B cell activity influences immunodeficiency, novel targets that drive treatment ...

DNA discovery opens door to personalised medicine for Indigenous Australians

DNA discovery opens door to personalised medicine for Indigenous Australians
2023-12-13
The most comprehensive analysis of Indigenous Australians’ genomes collected to date has revealed an “abundance” of DNA variations – some of which have never been reported anywhere else in the world – paving the way for new, personalised treatments that address health inequities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A team of Australian researchers, led by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), found DNA differences between Indigenous Australians living in the Tiwi Islands and Indigenous peoples living in the Australian ...

Researchers develop a novel dry-powder inhaled vaccine platform

Researchers develop a novel dry-powder inhaled vaccine platform
2023-12-13
Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a new “nano-micro composite” delivery concept for vaccines. Based on this idea, they have developed a single-dose, dry-powder, inhalable vaccine platform using nano-micro composite multilevel structures, which has been successfully prepared in the laboratory, and the vaccine has been shown to be effective in blocking respiratory viral infection and transmission in animal models. This platform holds great promise for combating future emerging and epidemic infectious diseases. This ...

Growing use of hemp-derived alternative cannabis products containing CBD, Delta-8-THC, CBG, CBN

2023-12-13
Cannabis use for medicinal or recreational purposes is now permitted is most states in the U.S. Many of the products sold in dispensaries contain delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (better known as “THC”), and are thus classified as Schedule I drugs, making them illegal under federal law. However, there is a parallel market for products derived from hemp—defined as cannabis containing less that 0.3 percent THC—spurred in part by the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp-derived cannabinoids from the federal Controlled Substances Act. A new U-M study published in JAMA Network Open examines past-year use of some of these hemp-derived ...

Penn Medicine research shows how stress activates neurons that disrupt sleep

2023-12-13
PHILADELPHIA— New research reveals that neurons in the preoptic hypothalamus—the region of the brain that regulates sleep and body temperature—are rhythmically activated during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM). Stress activates these brain cells out of turn, causing “microarousals,” that interrupt sleep cycles and decrease the duration of sleep episodes, according to research from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published today in Current Biology. While our bodies are at rest when we are asleep, ...

New study sheds light on how the brain learns to seek reward

New study sheds light on how the brain learns to seek reward
2023-12-13
By Jake Siegel Imagine you’re teaching a dog to play fetch. You throw a ball, and your dog sprints after it, picks it up, and runs back. You then reward your panting pup with a treat. But now comes the real trick for your dog: figuring out which part of that sequence earned the treat. Scientists call this the 'credit assignment problem' in the brain. It's a fundamental question about understanding which actions are responsible for the positive outcomes we experience.   Dopamine, a key chemical ...

Salk teams assemble first full epigenomic cell atlas of the mouse brain

Salk teams assemble first full epigenomic cell atlas of the mouse brain
2023-12-13
LA JOLLA (December 14, 2023)—Salk Institute researchers, as part of a worldwide initiative to revolutionize scientists’ understanding of the brain, analyzed more than 2 million brain cells from mice to assemble the most complete atlas ever of the mouse brain. Their work, published December 14, 2023 in a special issue of Nature, not only details the thousands of cell types present in the brain but also how those cells connect and the genes and regulatory programs that are active in each cell. The efforts were coordinated by the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative, or the BRAIN Initiative®, ...

Scientists unveil first complete cellular map of adult mouse brain

Scientists unveil first complete cellular map of adult mouse brain
2023-12-13
By Jake Siegel Six years and 32 million cells later, scientists have created the first full cellular map of a mammalian brain. In a set of 10 papers in Nature today, a network of researchers unveiled an atlas cataloging the location and type of every cell in the adult mouse brain. Using advanced technologies that profile individual cells, the teams identified over 5,300 cell types – far more than known before – and pinpointed their locations within the brain’s intricate geography. ...

Using next-gen CRISPR tool, Gladstone scientists create unprecedented molecular map of human immune response

Using next-gen CRISPR tool, Gladstone scientists create unprecedented molecular map of human immune response
2023-12-13
SAN FRANCISCO—December 13, 2023—In a study of historic scale, scientists at Gladstone Institutes have created an intricate map of how the immune system functions, examining the detailed molecular structures governing human T cells using the next-generation CRISPR tool known as base editing. Their findings, published in Nature, uncover detailed information that could help overcome the limitations of today’s immunotherapies and identify new drug targets for a wide range of diseases, including autoimmune diseases and cancer. Led by Gladstone Senior Investigator Alex Marson, MD, PhD, the team dove deep into the DNA of T cells, pinpointing ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds

A step toward plant-based gelatin

ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction

[Press-News.org] Study analyzes what babies hear, say on six continents
Talk from adults stood out as key contributor to early childhood speech; no effects found related to socioeconomics