This study investigated whether 6- to 8-month-olds retain nonadjacent dependencies (NADs) in speech and how sleep affects this memory. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), infants were familiarized with rule-based morphosyntactic dependencies in an unknown language. Results showed memory retention of NADs regardless of whether infants napped or stayed awake. However, napping altered a specific processing stage, suggesting sleep-dependent memory evolution. High frontal spindle activity correlated with enhanced brain responses to familiar speech phrases. Findings suggest that 6-month-olds possess memory mechanisms relevant to grammar learning and that sleep consolidates both generalized and highly specific memory information.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Dec 22, 2022
Authors
Manuela Friedrich, Matthias Mölle, Jan Born, Angela D. Friederici
Tags
nonadjacent dependencies
infant memory
sleep effects
event-related potentials
grammar learning
brain responses
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