# Semantic learning deficits in school age children with developmental language disorder

> **NIH NIH R21** · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $150,500

## Abstract

Project Summary
Semantic knowledge, or knowledge of a word’s meaning, has strong ties to reading comprehension and long-
term academic outcomes, particularly in the school years. Children with developmental language disorder
(DLD), language impairment in the absence of any causal factors, often show deficits in semantic knowledge
and acquisition. It is generally accepted that these deficits are driven by difficulty with the process of adding
meaning to a new word with repeated exposures to the word, or configuration. What is unknown is what
underlies deficits in configuration and whether these deficits vary across the DLD profile. The goal of this
project is to elucidate the semantic learning deficits in DLD. Toward this goal, this project uses a combined
electroencephalogram (EEG) - behavioral methods approach to examine the cognitive and linguistic processes
engaged during semantic learning in school-age children with and without DLD. The inclusion of EEG will allow
for a real-time examination of semantic learning and associated cognitive and linguistic processes. 10-12 year
old children with and without DLD will complete a behavioral assessment battery and semantic learning task
while their EEG is collected. Behavioral data will be analyzed for semantic learning group differences (Aim 1)
and the types of errors that children make when they are unable to retrieve a correct meaning (Aim 2). EEG
data will be analyzed in two ways. The event-related potential (ERP) analysis will examine changes in
semantic processing, indexed by the N400, during learning (Aim 1). Time frequency analysis of the EEG will
examine the engagement of neural processes associated with lexical retrieval (theta) and attention/inhibition
(alpha) during learning (Aim 1). Behavioral and EEG methods will be combined to examine individual
differences related to semantic learning outcomes and fine-grained differences in N400 learning effects across
groups (Aim 2). Taken together, findings will inform our understanding of the nature of the semantic learning
deficits in school-aged children with DLD. This understanding is prerequisite for targeted intervention that
would help these children learn how to learn.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10046212
- **Project number:** 1R21DC018865-01
- **Recipient organization:** SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Alyson Davis Abel
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $150,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10046212

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10046212, Semantic learning deficits in school age children with developmental language disorder (1R21DC018865-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10046212. Licensed CC0.

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