# The relationship between language and the brain in neurodevelopmental disorders

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2020 · $170,259

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
A significant number of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders demonstrate impairments in expressive
language, and these impairments have persistent, lifelong effects on development and adaptive behavior. Two
neurodevelopmental disorders particularly impacted by language impairments include autism spectrum
disorders (ASD) and fragile X syndrome (FXS). ASD affects 1 in 68 individuals, and while etiology is presently
unknown, there is a strong genetic component. Fragile X is the most common inherited form of intellectual
disability and has a high comorbidity with ASD. Children with ASD and FXS have impairments in language
across a number of different domains, including semantics and grammar; however, we do not fully understand
the nature of language impairment in these domains, and in particular the impact of ASD on language in FXS.
A key component within this line of work involves the integration of neuroimaging methods with behavioral
measures of language, in order to identify the key neural substrates associated with language in these
complex disorders, but to date this has not been done in FXS. The training and research in this proposal
addresses these significant gaps in the field by combining behavioral and neuroimaging methods to address
two specific aims: 1) Compare the structural language profiles in children with FXS, with and without ASD, and
children with idiopathic ASD, and 2) Examine the neural substrates in FXS and ASD and their association with
behavioral language measures. We will recruit three groups of school-age boys, specifically boys with FXS-
only (n = 15); boys with FXS and ASD (n = 15), and boys with idiopathic ASD (n = 15). The proposed project
represents an innovative design, combining a careful behavioral phenotype with imaging measures of brain
volume, white matter microstructure and functional connectivity. The proposed career development and results
from the specific aims will allow the investigator to become an independent scientist, by broadening her
training to include neuroimaging methods and analyses and developing a plan to adapt the scanning
environment to meet the needs of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. The results will inform
hypotheses regarding the relationship between language in neurodevelopmental disorders and the
corresponding neural substrates. This information will be used to develop future projects to determine the
longitudinal course of language development, the impact of ASD on this genetic disorder, and the
neuroplasticity of the associated neural substrates impacted in these disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9858169
- **Project number:** 5K23DC016639-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Audra Marie Sterling
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $170,259
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-02-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9858169

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9858169, The relationship between language and the brain in neurodevelopmental disorders (5K23DC016639-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9858169. Licensed CC0.

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