Working Memory and Interference Control in Children with Specific Language Impairment

Authors

Klara Marton, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow
Naomi Eichorn, University of Memphis, Tennessee
Luca Campanelli, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow
Lilla Zakarias, University of Potsdam, Germany

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

Language and communication disorders are often associated with deficits in working memory (WM) and interference control. WM studies involving children with specific language impairment (SLI) have traditionally been framed using either resource theories or decay accounts, particularly Baddeley's model. Although significant interference problems in children with SLI are apparent in error analysis data from WM and language tasks, interference theories and paradigms have not been widely used in the SLI literature. A primary goal of the present paper is to provide an overview of interference deficits in children with SLI. Review of the extant literature on interference control shows deficits in this population; however, the source and the nature of the deficit remain unclear. Thus, a second key aim in our review is to demonstrate the need for theoretically driven experimental paradigms in order to better understand individual variations associated with interference weaknesses in children with SLI.

Comments

This work was originally published in Language and Linguistics Compass, available at doi: 10.1111/lnc3.12189.