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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/199863
Prosodic cues enhance infants’ sensitivity to nonadjacent regularities
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In language, grammatical dependencies often hold between items that are not immediately adjacent to each other. Acquiring these nonadjacent dependencies is crucial for learning grammar. However, there are poten-tially infinitely many dependencies in the language input. How does the infant brain solve this computational learning problem? Here, we demonstrate that while rudimentary sensitivity to nonadjacent regularities may be present relatively early, robust and reliable learning can only be achieved when convergent statistical and per-ceptual, specifically prosodic cues, are both present, helping the infant brain detect the building blocks that form a nonadjacent dependency. This study contributes to our understanding of the neural foundations of rule learning that pave the way for language acquisition.
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MARTÍNEZ ÁLVAREZ, Anna, et al. Prosodic cues enhance infants’ sensitivity to nonadjacent regularities. Science Advances. 2023. Vol. 9, num. 15. ISSN 2375-2548. [consulted: 13 of June of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/199863