engleski

Working memory (executive functions) in early language development

So called A-not-B task is one of the earliest testing conditions within the preverbal development that is applicable from the moment child begins to realize object permanence, that is, somewhere from the 8-th month of life. In the beginnings of the research the aim of the task was introduced through narrow psychological aspect, nowadays it is known that child's performance during A-not-B task is a result of multiple processes like attention, working and long term memory, motor processes. Recently, this phenomenon has shown as relevant for investigating executive functions that scope many things as capability of planning, inhibition of prepotent response, maintenance and shifting of mental set, problem solving, abstract reasoning etc. As a result of years long assessment of A-not-B task on children with common development as on children with biological grounds for developmental follow-up (Brozović et all., 2003.), it is seen that a group with neurodevelopmental risk factors begins to participate in the task later and also reaches lower level of performance than their peers. The same group shows delay as in communication as in language development that is confirmed by literature findings. Long-term follow-up of children with perinatal brain damage and their initially low results on A-not-B task and/or language features brings together A-not-B task and language parameters, or different segments of working memory. A group of participants with perinatal brain damage (n=10) is included in a broader follow-up through features of cognitive (Bayley Scales), communicative (assessment of joint attention skills) and language development (MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories). A group with common development is followed on the same basis. In the age of 12 months the A-not-B task was introduced. As it is definite that working memory ability has an important role in defining quality and pace of language development, the attempt was made to investigate to which extent are the communicative and language development congruent and determined by performance on A-not-B task. Statistical data analysis showed that children with perinatal brain damage significantly differ in the segment of working memory, joint attention, and on cognitive and early language features. Within the same group, performance on A-not-B Task is congruent with the level of joint attention skills, and in the group with common development, results on A-not-B Task correspond with results on receptive vocabulary.

working memory; executive function; early language development

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