Intermodality differences in statistical learning: phylogenetic and ontogenetic influences
Date
2022Author
Polyanskaya, Leona
Manrique, Héctor M.
Samuel, Arthur G.
Marín, Antonio
García-Palacios, Azucena
Ordin, Mikhail
Metadata
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Polyanskaya, L., Manrique, H.M., Samuel, A.G., Marín, A., García-Palacios, A. and Ordin, M. (2022), Intermodality differences in statistical learning: phylogenetic and ontogenetic influences. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 1511: 191-209. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14749
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Abstract
In Basque–Spanish bilinguals, statistical learning (SL) in the visual modality was more efficient on nonlinguistic
than linguistic input; in the auditory modality, we found the reverse pattern of results.We hypothesize that SL was
shaped for processing nonlinguistic environmental stimuli and only later, as the language faculty emerged, recycled
for speech processing. This led to further adaptive changes in the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying speech
processing, including SL. By contrast, as a recent cultural innovation, written language has not yet led to adaptations.
The current study investigated whether such phylogenetic influences on SL can bemodulated by ontogenetic
influences on a shorter timescale, over the course of individual development.We explored how SL is modulated by
the ambient linguistic environment.We found that SL in the auditory modality can be further modulated by exposure
to a bilingual environment, in which speakers need to process a wider range of diverse speech cues. This effect
was observed only on linguistic, not nonlinguistic, material. We conclude that ontogenetic factors modulate the
efficiency of already existing SL ability, honing it for specific types of input, by providing new targets for selection
via exposure to different cues in the sensory input.