Summary

用视觉世界范式研究自闭症普通话儿童的句子理解

Published: October 03, 2018
doi:

Summary

我们提出一个协议, 以检查形态学线索在儿童的实时句子理解的自闭症。

Abstract

句子理解依赖于快速整合不同类型语言和非语言信息的能力。然而, 目前还缺乏研究, 探讨自闭症学龄前儿童如何理解句子使用不同类型的线索。基本的句子理解的机制在很大程度上仍然不清楚。本研究提出了一种研究自闭症学龄前儿童句子理解能力的协议。更具体地说, 一个视觉世界范式的眼球跟踪是用来探索的时刻对时间句子理解的儿童。这种范式具有多种优势。首先, 它对句子理解的时间过程很敏感, 从而可以提供关于句子理解如何随着时间的推移而展开的丰富信息。其次, 它需要极小的任务和通信需求, 所以它是测试自闭症儿童的理想选择。为了进一步减少儿童的计算负担, 本研究将出现的眼球运动作为对语言输入的自动反应, 而不是测量伴随着有意识反应的口头指令的眼球运动。

Introduction

句子理解依赖于快速整合不同类型语言和非语言信息的能力123456,7,8,9,10,11. 先前的研究发现, 年轻的典型开发 (TD) 儿童使用语言和非语言线索121314, 递增计算句子的含义, 15,16,17,18,19。然而, 目前还缺乏研究, 探讨自闭症学龄前儿童如何理解一个句子使用不同类型的线索。在他们的句子理解基础上的机制仍然很不清楚。

人们普遍认为自闭症儿童的语言能力有很大的变异性, 特别是在表达语言方面;例如, 一些患有自闭症的儿童的结构语言相对较好, 有的在词汇和语法领域表现出缺陷, 有的表现为语法障碍, 有些则从未获得功能性口语2021。 ,22,23,24,25。此外, 先前的研究似乎表明, 他们的接受语言比他们的表达语言26,27,28,29更受到损害。对自闭症儿童的句子理解能力进行评估的大多数研究都使用离线任务 (例如标准化测试、看护者报告), 结果表明, 他们的句子理解能力可能是特别损伤30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37。然而, 有人指出, 理解能力差更可能与这些儿童的整体缺乏社会反应, 而不是语言处理赤字38,39。请注意, 以前的研究中使用的这些离线任务通常需要高响应要求或与实验者的交互, 这可能对自闭症儿童造成特别困难, 因为他们经常表现出各种具有挑战性的行为或症状。因此, 这可能与高任务和沟通要求和掩饰他们的理解能力 [概述的方法评估接受语言的儿童自闭症, 见 Kasari et 等 (2013)27和 Plesa Skwerer 等人 (2016)29]。因此, 可以更好地控制这些混杂因素的实验范式需要进一步了解自闭症的句子处理机制的性质。

在本研究中, 我们提出了一种能直接有效地评估自闭症儿童句子理解能力的眼追踪范式。与离线任务相比, 眼球跟踪是一种比较敏感的测试范式, 可以证明儿童的理解能力。它对理解过程的时间过程很敏感, 不需要参与者的明确的运动或语言反应, 这使它成为研究年幼儿童和自闭症儿童的一种有希望的方法。此外, 我们将眼球运动记录为对语言输入的自动反应, 而不是测量伴随有意识反应的语言输入的眼球运动。

Protocol

本研究已获清华大学医学院伦理委员会批准。该项研究所包括的所有个别参与者均已获得知情同意。 1. 参加者筛选和研究准备 招收有自闭症的讲普通话的学龄前儿童。注: 他们的诊断应由儿科神经学家在医院使用 DSM-IV-TR40或 DSM-541确认, 理想的是, 参与者的数量应该不少于15。本研究招募了25名患者确诊诊断。 使用像自闭症…

Representative Results

本研究使用最小对作为例子1a 和 1b, 以调查是否和如何快速儿童自闭症可以使用事件信息编码在两个形态学标记在实时句子理解。据预测, 如果他们能够快速有效地使用两个标记中的事件信息, 在实时句子理解, 那么他们应该看更多的 ba 目标事件时, 听到 ba 比当听到北。此外, 在听完后, 他们应该更多地关注北靶事件, 而不是听了 BA。 <p class="jove_content" fo:keep-together.within-pa…

Discussion

在本研究中, 我们提出了一种能直接有效地评估自闭症儿童句子理解能力的眼追踪范式。我们发现, 5 岁的自闭症儿童, 像他们同龄的 TD 同龄人, 表现出眼睛凝视模式, 反映了有效和快速使用的语言线索在实时句子理解。

这些发现提供了证据, 即眼球追踪 (特别是视觉世界范式) 是对自闭症儿童的实时句子理解的敏感度量。与离线方法相比, 该范式具有多种优点。首先, 它对句子理…

Disclosures

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgements

这项工作是由中国国家社会科学基金会 [16BYY076] 资助的, 并在中央大学的基础研究经费下, 北京语言文化大学的科学基金会 [15YJ050003]。作者感谢中国北京 Enqi 孤独症平台和 Taolifangyuan 幼儿园的孩子、家长和老师们对学习的支持。

Materials

EyeLink 1000 plus eye tracker  SR Research Ltd.  The EyeLink 1000 plus allows remote eye tracking, without a head support. The eye tracker provides information about the participant’s point of gaze at a sampling rate of 500 Hz, and it has accuracy of 0.5 degrees of visual angle. 

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Cite This Article
Zhou, P., Ma, W., Zhan, L., Ma, H. Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism. J. Vis. Exp. (140), e58452, doi:10.3791/58452 (2018).

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