Deficits in the Use of Verb Bias Information in Real-Time Processing by College Students With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose: This study examined whether college students with developmental language disorder (DLD) showed similar sensitivity to verb bias information during real-time sentence processing as typically developing (TD) peers. Method: Seventeen college students with DLD and 16 TD college students participated in a mouse-tracking experiment that utilized the visual world paradigm to examine real-time sentence processing. In experimental trials, participants chose 1 of 2 pictured interpretations of a sentence. Measures of interest were the choice of interpretation and the amount of competition from the unchosen picture as measured by mouse curvature. Results: Choice of interpretation and mouse movements by college students with DLD suggested less sensitivity to verb bias information than their TD peers. Conclusion: College students with DLD showed less evidence of sensitivity to verb bias information than their TD peers in this task. Their performance may reflect the use of compensatory processing strategies and may be related to poor comprehension abilities often observed in this population.
To comprehend spoken language in real time, the brain does some predicting along the way. Imagine hearing the beginning of a sentence, 'He said he wants--.' Probability-based expectations can arise [...]