The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood
Background/Objectives: In a tonal language like Chinese, phonologically contrasting tones signify word meanings at the syllable level. Although the development of lexical tone perception ability has been examined in many behavioral studies, its developmental trajectory from childhood to adulthood at...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Han Wu Yixiao Zhang Yiru Liu Shijun Zhang Linjun Zhang Hua Shu Yang Zhang |
| author_facet | Han Wu Yixiao Zhang Yiru Liu Shijun Zhang Linjun Zhang Hua Shu Yang Zhang |
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| description | Background/Objectives: In a tonal language like Chinese, phonologically contrasting tones signify word meanings at the syllable level. Although the development of lexical tone perception ability has been examined in many behavioral studies, its developmental trajectory from childhood to adulthood at the neural level remains unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the issue by measuring the mismatch negativity (MMN) response to a Chinese lexical tonal contrast in three groups. Methods: The MMN response to a flat-falling tonal contrast (Tone1 versus Tone4) were recorded from children (25 participants aged 6–8), adolescents (26 participants aged 12–14), and young adults (20 participants aged 18–24). Nonsense speech stimuli were also used by superimposing Tone1 and Tone4 on an English syllable. Results: All three groups demonstrated typical early MMN responses in both the meaningful and nonsense syllable conditions. However, the MMN amplitudes varied significantly across groups, with the child group showing smaller responses compared to the adolescent and adult groups, while the latter two groups had similar MMN amplitudes. Conclusions: Neural sensitivity to tonal contrasts is not fully mature in children and reaches a more adult-like level during adolescence, with no significant difference in sensitivity to meaningful versus nonsense syllables. These results provide new insights into the neural development of lexical tone perception in a tonal language, highlighting its maturation during adolescence in this process. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| spelling | doaj-art-8f52b0a8760d49e7a60b163b85ce20962025-01-24T13:25:57ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252025-01-011519310.3390/brainsci15010093The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and AdulthoodHan Wu0Yixiao Zhang1Yiru Liu2Shijun Zhang3Linjun Zhang4Hua Shu5Yang Zhang6Institute on Education Policy and Evaluation of International Students, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116038, ChinaInternational Division, The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100088, ChinaInstitute on Education Policy and Evaluation of International Students, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Chinese as a Second Language, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaDepartment of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USABackground/Objectives: In a tonal language like Chinese, phonologically contrasting tones signify word meanings at the syllable level. Although the development of lexical tone perception ability has been examined in many behavioral studies, its developmental trajectory from childhood to adulthood at the neural level remains unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the issue by measuring the mismatch negativity (MMN) response to a Chinese lexical tonal contrast in three groups. Methods: The MMN response to a flat-falling tonal contrast (Tone1 versus Tone4) were recorded from children (25 participants aged 6–8), adolescents (26 participants aged 12–14), and young adults (20 participants aged 18–24). Nonsense speech stimuli were also used by superimposing Tone1 and Tone4 on an English syllable. Results: All three groups demonstrated typical early MMN responses in both the meaningful and nonsense syllable conditions. However, the MMN amplitudes varied significantly across groups, with the child group showing smaller responses compared to the adolescent and adult groups, while the latter two groups had similar MMN amplitudes. Conclusions: Neural sensitivity to tonal contrasts is not fully mature in children and reaches a more adult-like level during adolescence, with no significant difference in sensitivity to meaningful versus nonsense syllables. These results provide new insights into the neural development of lexical tone perception in a tonal language, highlighting its maturation during adolescence in this process.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/1/93mismatch negativity (MMN)lexical tone perceptiondevelopmentchildhoodadolescence |
| spellingShingle | Han Wu Yixiao Zhang Yiru Liu Shijun Zhang Linjun Zhang Hua Shu Yang Zhang The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood Brain Sciences mismatch negativity (MMN) lexical tone perception development childhood adolescence |
| title | The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood |
| title_full | The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood |
| title_fullStr | The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood |
| title_short | The Neural Development of Chinese Lexical Tone Perception: A Mismatch Negativity Study Across Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood |
| title_sort | neural development of chinese lexical tone perception a mismatch negativity study across childhood adolescence and adulthood |
| topic | mismatch negativity (MMN) lexical tone perception development childhood adolescence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/1/93 |
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