Auditory perceptual deficits are widely observed among children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Yet, the nature of these deficits and the extent to which they explain speech and language problems remain controversial. In this study, we hypothesize that disruption to the maturation of the basilar membrane may impede the optimization of the auditory pathway from brainstem to cortex, curtailing high-resolution frequency sensitivity and the efficient spectral decomposition and encoding of natural speech. A series of computational simulations involving deep convolutional neural networks that were trained to encode, recognize, and retrieve naturalistic speech are presented to demonstrate the strength of this account. These neural networks were built on top of biologically truthful inner ear models developed to model human cochlea function, which-in the key innovation of the present study-were scheduled to mature at different rates over time. Delaying cochlea maturation qualitatively replicated the linguistic behavior and neurophysiology of individuals with language learning difficulties in a number of ways, resulting in (a) delayed language acquisition profiles, (b) lower spoken word recognition accuracy, (c) word finding and retrieval difficulties, (d) "fuzzy" and intersecting speech encodings and signatures of immature neural optimization, and (e) emergent working memory and attentional deficits. These simulations illustrate many negative cascading effects that a primary maturational frequency discrimination deficit may have on early language development and generate precise and testable hypotheses for future research into the nature and cost of auditory processing deficits in children with language learning difficulties. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

---

成熟的频率辨别缺陷可以解释发育性语言障碍。


听觉知觉缺陷在发育性语言障碍 （DLD） 儿童中广泛观察到。然而，这些缺陷的性质以及它们在多大程度上解释言语和语言问题仍然存在争议。在这项研究中，我们假设基底膜成熟的破坏可能会阻碍从脑干到皮层的听觉通路的优化，从而削弱高分辨率频率敏感性和自然语音的高效频谱分解和编码。提出了一系列涉及深度卷积神经网络的计算模拟，这些网络经过训练可以编码、识别和检索自然语音，以证明这种解释的力量。这些神经网络建立在生物学上真实的内耳模型之上，该模型是为模拟人类耳蜗功能而开发的，在本研究的关键创新中，它计划随着时间的推移以不同的速度成熟。延迟耳蜗成熟以多种方式定性地复制了语言学习困难个体的语言行为和神经生理学，导致 （a） 语言习得特征延迟，（b） 口语识别准确性较低，（c） 单词查找和检索困难，（d） “模糊”和交叉的语音编码和不成熟神经优化的特征，以及 （e） 紧急工作记忆和注意力缺陷。这些模拟说明了原发性成熟频率辨别缺陷可能对早期语言发展产生的许多负面级联影响，并为未来研究语言学习困难儿童听觉处理缺陷的性质和成本提供了精确且可检验的假设。 （PsycInfo 数据库记录 （c） 2024 APA，保留所有权利）。