[F31] Neuro-Cognitive Trajectories of Language and Executive Functioning Co-Developmentin Early Childhood
Ente: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Scadenza: 2028-07-24
Importo max: 50.114 EUR
Paese: US
Descrizione
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Language and executive functioning (EF) are core cognitive skills that provide a foundation for children’s
academic, social, and emotional outcomes. Both language and EF co-develop in early childhood, and are
supported by overlapping cortical brain networks in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) that undergo protracted and
critical maturation during this time. Despite abundant, mostly cross-sectional, evidence on language skills
scaffolding EF and vice versa, no study has longitudinally examined early language-EF bidirectional behavioral
and neural developmental trajectories using multidimensional assessments. This is a critical gap since
understanding how language and EF co-develop and co-support each other in early childhood might provide a
crucial insight into how they scaffold each other behaviorally with downstream implications for more fine-
grained, targeted, and individualized interventions for young children whose brains are the most malleable to
changes during this sensitive period. Additionally, extensive (i.e., similarly, cross-sectional) research
demonstrates the integral role of individual differences in children’s early language environments in shaping
their language and EF skills at various points across preschool years. However, there is no study, to date,
examining how individual variation in children’s early experiences relates to growth in their language and EF
skills longitudinally, both behaviorally and neurocognitively.
Therefore, this project will allow for the comprehensive examination of these gaps by involving training from an
interdisciplinary mentorship team with expertise in each domain of interest to promote my training throughout
the proposal. Specifically, I propose to: (Aim 1) characterize bidirectional associations between early language
and EF behaviorally across preschool years; (Aim 2) examine bidirectional relationships between neural
activation underlying early language and EF co-development; (Aim 3) determine whether and how individual
variation in children’s early language experiences relates to their language and EF developmental trajectories
both behaviorally and neurocognitively across early childhood. The data collection for these proposed aims is
ongoing such that data for Time 1 is on track to be complete by the grant start date (September 2025), and
data for Time 2 will be ~50% complete by the grant start date and fully collected by the end of year 1 of the
grant period (end of Summer 2026). Through the outlined training activities and support from my collaborators,
I will gain the necessary knowledge and skills that will allow me to continue examining how preschoolers’ early
linguistic environments shape their language and cognitive developmental trajectories to maximally inform
early interventions that support children’s academic success and well-being.
Istituzione: UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
PI: Gavkhar Abdurokhmonova
Progetto: 5F31HD120062-02
Settori: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
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