# Specifying the Short-term Verbal Memory Endophenotype for Developmental Language Disorder

> **NIH NIH R01** · FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME · 2024 · $604,476

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Because this project addresses the mechanisms that contribute to Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a
highly prevalent communication disorder in the United States, it is directly relevant to the mission of NIDCD.
Ultimately, the outcomes may offer solutions to three significant problems: how to identify DLD regardless of
language(s) spoken, how to identify DLD in adults, and how to distinguish DLD from other related conditions.
Our overarching hypothesis is that a deficit in short-term verbal memory (stVM) is endophenotypic of DLD. Our
current objectives are to 1) delineate the role of linguistic long-term memory, attention, and their interface in the
stVM deficit and 2) demonstrate the cascading effects of the stVM deficit on the integrity of the language system.
Aim 1: To determine the contribution of structure and meaning in linguistic long-term memory to the stVM deficit.
We will manipulate prosodic structure and word meaning during nonword repetition (NWR) (1a) and grammatical
structure during real phrase repetition (1b) and use linear mixed-effects models to test the hypothesis that
individuals with DLD can use linguistic long-term memory to support stVM, but they benefit more from meaning
than structure. 1b also offers a chance to explore the nature of stVM per se, specifically, to observe the children’s
rehearsal strategies.
Aim 2: To determine the contribution of attention to the stVM deficit. We will manipulate the burden on attention
during encoding by pairing a visual search task with the NWR of sequences with high or low phonotactic
probability and use linear mixed-effects models to test the hypothesis that the stVM deficit reflects difficulties in
attentional control during encoding. This experiment also offers an additional test of the contribution of linguistic
long-term memory to stVM function.
Aim 3: To determine the relationship between sustained attention, stVM, and linguistic long-term memory. We
will conduct two tests of each construct and use principal component analysis and multiple regression to test the
hypothesis that language moderates the relationship between sustained attention and stVM.
Aim 4: To simulate the cascading effect of the stVM deficits. To test the stVM deficit as an endophenotype, we
will provide higher and lower support for novel word form encoding in children with typical language development
and observe the subsequent influence on two aspects of the system, semantic category knowledge and sentence
comprehension. We will use linear mixed-effects models to test the hypothesis that the stVM deficit has
downstream consequences for the integrity of the overall language system.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10974132
- **Project number:** 2R01DC011742-11A1
- **Recipient organization:** FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME
- **Principal Investigator:** Karla McGregor
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $604,476
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2012-01-23 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10974132

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10974132, Specifying the Short-term Verbal Memory Endophenotype for Developmental Language Disorder (2R01DC011742-11A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10974132. Licensed CC0.

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