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Infant and Childhood Development: Intersections Between Development and Language Experience

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The Frequency-Following Response

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 61))

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the development and plasticity of the neural encoding of speech and non-speech stimuli at the subcortical level with an emphasis on the influence of an individual’s language experience during infancy and childhood. Sections of this chapter are developed based upon a theoretical framework to embrace all possible sources and interactions that may have a significant effect on the development of the auditory system during the early stages of life. The discussion begins with the acoustic environment of a human fetus and the possible influence of prenatal listening experience on the development of the auditory system at the subcortical level. Next, the development during an infant’s immediate postnatal days and first year of life are presented. Developmental trajectories and possible influences of linguistic experience on speech processing, as illustrated by the many aspects of neural encoding (e.g., tracking acuity, pitch strength, and the spectral and timing accuracy at the fundamental frequency, harmonics, and speech formants) are discussed. The presentation continues through childhood, which manifests itself as exponential growth of the developmental trajectory and adaptation of the auditory system. Neural encoding of the various aspects of human speech is described as it pertains to children situated in a quiet or noisy acoustic environment. The effects of acquiring more than one language, sequentially or simultaneously, are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Fuh-Cherng Jeng

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  1. Fuh-Cherng Jeng
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Correspondence to Fuh-Cherng Jeng .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Nina Kraus

  2. Dept. of Hearing &Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Samira Anderson

  3. Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Travis White-Schwoch

  4. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard R. Fay

  5. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

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Jeng, FC. (2017). Infant and Childhood Development: Intersections Between Development and Language Experience. In: Kraus, N., Anderson, S., White-Schwoch, T., Fay, R., Popper, A. (eds) The Frequency-Following Response. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 61. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47944-6_2

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