# Infant multisensory integration and speech development: A multimodal imaging study

> **NIH NIH K01** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2024 · $123,180

## Abstract

Project summary
Multisensory integration plays a central role in speech acquisition as most infants harness auditory and visual
information to crack the language code. Disruption to multisensory processing in the first year of life is
associated with later speech delay and language disorders. Although research in adults has identified several
brain measures and brain regions involved in multisensory processing, how this process emerges in infants
and how it is related to behavioral outcome, especially language outcome, is very much unknown. The
primary objective of this Career Development Award is to support training in multimodal brain imaging
in order to examine functional and structural mechanisms of multisensory development and their
associations with speech acquisition and language outcomes in typically developing (TD) and preterm
infants. Improved understanding of normal multisensory integration and deviations from normal will inform
early diagnosis and intervention strategies for infant speech delay/disorders.
The proposed award builds upon the candidate’s prior training in speech processing and multisensory
perception, extending this knowledge into the domains of infant brain imaging (function and structure) and
infant vocalization analysis. Aim 1 characterizes the neural bases of multisensory integration in TD and
preterm infants and investigates brain-behavior associations in infants 9 to 12 months old (Time 1).
Specifically, Aim 1a investigates cortical neural processes (obtained via infant magnetoencephalography
(MEG)) following congruent versus incongruent audiovisual speech stimuli, with a focus on alpha activity in
auditory cortex and gamma activity in Broca’s area. Aim 1b examines whether the MEG measures of
multisensory processing as well as DTI measures of structural connectivity are associated with pre-verbal
vocalization (i.e., canonical babbling). Aim 2b tests whether the brain measures and vocalization assessment
in the first year of life predict speech/language outcome at 24 months. Finally, Exploratory Aim 3 directly
compares these measures in preterm infants versus TD infants. Although the K01 study investigate complex
multisensory speech mechanisms, the research is feasible given the candidate’s background and the available
institutional resources (scientists and technology). Study findings are expected to inform theoretical modals of
early speech development as well as provide the candidate pilot data for future R01 clinical brain imaging
studies on atypical multisensory development in at-risk infant populations.
The award will also provide the candidate the opportunity to obtain training in behavioral assessment of
speech/language development and cutting-edge multimodal imaging techniques. The research performed and
training provided by this award is critical to the candidate’s long-term goal of conducting independent research
on the neurophysiological mechanisms of speech/language development and disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10873243
- **Project number:** 5K01DC019443-04
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Guannan Shen
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $123,180
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10873243

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10873243, Infant multisensory integration and speech development: A multimodal imaging study (5K01DC019443-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10873243. Licensed CC0.

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