Developmental Neurolinguistics Lab

Info for Research Participants

• Current Studies
• What's it like to be in a study?
• What is it like for your child to be in a study?
• Dear Parents..
• Confidentiality and Anonymity
• Directions to the Developmental Neurolinguistics Lab

Current Studies:

What's it like to be in a study?

The initial 10 to 15 minutes will be devoted to fitting the electrode net onto the head of the participant. An additional 5- to 15-minutes will be devoted to ensuring that the participant is comfortably seated, understands of the purpose of the electrode cap, and is maximally comfortable while wearing the electrode net. Adult participants will be seated upright in a soft, vinyl chair in a sound and electrically-shielded room in the Developmental Neurolinguistic Lab at CUNY Graduate Center. Child participants will sit upright in a child's chair. Infants will sit on their guardian's lap, or in a highchair.

The electrode net hangs over the chair from a height-adjusting, wall-mounted bracket. This bracket, rather than the participant's head, bears the weight of the electrode net.

Prior to fitting the net, the experimenter(s) will provide a description of the purpose of the net, what the participant should expect to feel when the cap is positioned, and a demonstration of the technique used to position the electrode net.

When the participant is seated, the electrode net is adjusted on the head of the participant so that the electrodes make contact with the scalp. The end of each electrode is fitted with a soft sponge that has been soaked in a sterile saline solution.

The purpose of the saline solution is to improve the contact and electrical conductivity between the scalp and each electrode. The purpose of the sponges is to hold the saline solution, and make the cap more comfortable to wear.

The electrode net consists of 65 small electrodes that, when in place, rest lightly at positions around the sides, top, and back of the head. The adult nets and nets for the older children also have two electrodes that rest against the cheeks of a subject, about 2 cm below the center of the eyes. These electrodes pick of eye movements.

Participants may experience a light, non-painful tactile sensation at each electrode point, along with the sensation of cold and/or wet at each point as a result of the damp sponges. Scalp electrodes pose no threat of personal injury.

They are safe clinical and research tools that have been used with the adult population for over 50 years and with the infant population for at least 30 years.

The design of the electrode net used in this study is an improvement over previously used electrode caps and scalp electrodes, because it does not required rubbing the scalp to improve contact.

After the electrode net has been fitted, the participant will be asked whether the cap is comfortable or whether adjustments should be made. As noted above, 5- to 15- minutes will be devoted to ensuring that the participant is comfortable wearing the electrode cap after it has been positioned.

After the fitting is complete, the older participants will receive verbal instructions about the listening experiment.

Only adults and children older than 4-years of age will be asked to respond to a target. The target is used to determine whether the participant is listening to the stimuli. The older participants are asked to fixate his/her eyes on a position directly ahead to minimize eye movements.

The participant is free to stop the experiment at any time without prejudice or negative consequences. Young children and infants will be observed by the experimenters and child's caregiver to determine whether the infant/child is experiencing discomfort.

The session will be stopped immediately if the participant so requests, or if the experimenter(s)/caregiver observe that the participant is demonstrating signs of discomfort or non-compliance.

The goal is to make the experience as comfortable as possible for the participant, so as to ensure their health and safety, as well as to ensure that the results of their participation are of the highest quality.

After the instructions are provided, test tones and recorded utterances, and any visual pictures will be presented to the participant for familiarization with the task and to ensure comfortable loudness settings of the output apparatus.

Participants will listen to the verbal stimuli over speakers positioned several feet to the side and front of the chair in which they are seated. The visual stimuli will be presented on a video screen one meter in front of the participant, at eye level.

The verbal stimuli in each listening task will be segmented into three- to five-minute units. A break lasting several minutes will be taken between segments. During presentation of the verbal stimuli, ERP measurements will be taken. The listening task for each experiment will take approximately 25 - 30 minutes.

Results will be saved to disk, labeled (see Confidentiality and Anonymity), and stored for analysis.

After the session, participants will have access to facilities to wash, dry, and style their hair. Participation of parents/caregivers.

The parent/caregiver of infants, up to 3 years of age, will be asked to fill out the MacArthur questionnaire. These forms will be sent home with the parent, along with a stamped addressed envelop.

The parent will be asked to fill the questionnaire out within the next week and return it to the lab. The questionnaire takes less than 30 minutes to complete.

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Dear Parents,

We are looking for parents and children who are interested in taking part in studies of child language learning of English and other languages (for example, Spanish).  We study children from birth to ten years of age. If you are interested in finding out more about our studies or would like to take part, then contact us.
The goal of our lab, The Developmental Neurolinguistics Laboratory, is to understand how language is learned from infancy through adulthood. We have several ongoing studies using different methods to look at language learning.
Some of the studies in our lab include:

How Does Attention Affect Learning of Speech Sounds in Infants?
This study looks at what infants pay attention to when speech sounds and visual images are played to them.  Knowing what grabs their attention will help us understand why some children, who seem less interested in speech sounds, have difficulty learning language. This study may also help us identify which infants are at risk for certain disorders like autism.

How Does the Brain Respond to Speech In infants and Children?
The ability to tell words apart that sound similar (for example “bear” from “pear”) is necessary to learn language.  We are studying how infants and children differentiate speech sounds (for example “b” versus “p”) and  words (“lock” and “luck”).  We also want to see how learning two languages (for example Spanish and English) affects children’s ability to tell words apart.  For example, the vowel difference between “lock” and “luck” is difficult for Spanish speakers to hear because these vowels are not used in Spanish.  These studies may help us identify infants and children who are at risk for delayed language acquisition and will help us understand bilingual language learning.

What Do Mothers Say to Their Infants?
A parent’s language is quite important for the baby learning to speak. Our studies aim to look more closely at what parent’s say to babies to learn more about how this affects the baby’s language. The mother and baby are videotaped in the home for about 30-40 minutes by one of the researchers in our lab.   These studies may help us to develop better ways to teach a child to learn a second language.

How Do We Answer These Questions?
We use several methods in our lab to answer these questions. In one method, we can use what an infant looks at to tell us that they understand a word. For example, we can say the word “bear” while we show a picture of a bear on one screen and a picture of a pear on another screen, and see if the child looks longer at the bear or the pear picture.   These studies can help us understand how children who are not yet speaking learn and hear words.

In another method, called electrophysiology, we look at the brainwaves of the child. This brainwave activity occurs naturally in everyone.  Electrophysiology uses the electroencephalogram or EEG.  The EEG is used as a safe clinical test in hospitals. We use specially-designed sensors wrapped in soft sponges to look at the child’s brainwaves in response to some stimulus (for example, a speech sound).  The net (which looks like a hair net) is fast to put on and comfortable to wear. Our sensors are designed to pick up the brain activity.  This activity is sent to an amplifier (like an amplifier on a stereo system) and then into a computer where we can study it.   There are no known adverse reactions to an EEG.

Our lab’s long-term goal is to be able to use the findings of our studies to understand more about language development in infants and children who have language disorders. Children with Specific Language Impairment, Autism, and Attention Deficit Disorder are just a few who experience difficulty in using language. If we can discover how infants learn language, how they hear speech sounds, and what other abilities affect learning, then we might be able to identify and treat children with language disorders early on.

We encourage you to bring your child into our lab to take part in a study. We are looking for infants and children between the ages of birth and 10 years of age with or without language impairment. You will be paid for your time.

If you have any further questions, are interested in participating in a study, or would like to come visit our lab to see the set up and meet us, please contact us.

We are located at:
The Graduate School and University Center-CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY  10016
Seventh Floor, Room 7392

Our telephone numbers are: (212) 817-8833 or (212) 817-8858
You can email us at: DevNeuroLab@gc.cuny.edu 

Sincerely,

Valerie L. Shafer, PhD
Associate Professor, Program in Speech and Hearing Sciences
Director, Developmental Neurolinguistics Laboratory

Confidentiality and Anonymity

Several safeguards will be put into place to ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of each study participant.

For example, pseudonyms will be used on all documents and labels, and in all experimenter discussions to protect the identity of each participant. In the event that aspects of this research are published or presented publicly, pseudonyms will also be used. Only those individuals named as the principal investigator and co-investigators on the application form will have access to data and documentation prior to, during, and after the study.

Correspondence between the study participants and experimenter(s) will be direct, so as to avoid contact with other individuals within the Graduate Center, including secretarial staff, who might later be able to identify the participants.

After completion of the study, all data and documents identifying the participant will be stored in a locked cabinet to which only the principal investigator will have immediate access.

Additional copies of data, forms, or other documents will be shredded or otherwise destroyed with any identifying information masked with dark ink.

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Directions to the Developmental Neurolinguistics Lab

We are located at The Developmental Neurolinguistics Lab (Room 7392), The Graduate Center, CUNY. (Google Map & Driving Directions)

Travel within NEW YORK CITY:
The closest SUBWAY station, located at 34th Street and Avenue of the Americas (6^th Ave), is served by the B, D, F, V, N, R, W and Q trains.

PENN Station, with an entrance at 7th Avenue, is served by the 1,2,3, and 9 IRT trains. One block west, the 8^th Avenue station is served by the A, C, and E lines.

Travel from NEW JERSEY by Public Transportation:
You can take the NJ Transit or PATH train to the NY Penn Station and walk 3 avenues east to 5^th Avenue and 2 streets north to 34^th Street.

Parking: The closest parking garages are on 34^th, and 35^th St. between 5^th and 6^th Avenues. If driving, keep in mind that you cannot turn left from 35^th and 5^th Ave. We will be glad to give you specific directions if you ask us over the phone.
 

When you enter 365 Fifth Avenue, sign in at the book by the guard's area and take the elevator to the 7th floor.  Follow signs to the Speech and Hearing Sciences main office and ask for Dr. Valerie Shafer.

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Research Participants Needed!