FastMap-IMPACT: Brain mechanisms of rapid language learning: an Investigation of Memory in Patients and Ageing with Consolidation Theory

Adults today make up a very large percentage of language learners.

In a globalised world, record numbers of adults are motivated to learn a new language; and far too often, pathology from stroke, dementia or even normal ageing can require adults to re-learn specific language skills. Unfortunately, language learning outcomes are dismal in adults.

Yet evidence suggests that adults are excellent learners, and even display a substantial amount of brain plasticity in the language networks, pointing to a critical gap in our understanding of why language in particular presents such difficulty.

The goal of this proposal is to develop a mechanistic understanding of language learning in adults by unifying theories from memory, psychology and language research, and to test our predictions for facilitated language learning in ageing and pathology.

I will perform a systematic study of the memory processes underlying language learning in adults by using a language-learning paradigm grounded in psycholinguistic theories, and collect behavioural and fMRI data to (i) test a neuroscientific model of memory and its predictions for better language learning in healthy young adults and the underlying neural mechanisms, (ii) test its predictions of specific patterns of change and optimal learning conditions for healthy older adults, and (iii) test its predictions for better retention in patients with different types of memory deficits.

This comprehensive approach will also answer an open question at the heart of memory research about the pivotal role of the hippocampus in memory, i.e. whether it can in fact be by-passed in learning under specific conditions ("fast-mapping").

Thus this project will bridge an important theoretical gap between two fields, answer critical questions in the fields of both language and memory research, and provide proof-of-concept for translational applications in improving learning in healthy older adults and patients with different types of memory deficits.