Neural Dynamics of Dimensional Label Learning Predicts Dimensional Attention

Within early child development, children learn to label visual features and dimensions to make sense of the world around them. This process of learning can provide the child with meaningful organizational skills and indicates ongoing development that occurs from early childhood to late adolescence. The goal of the current study is to investigate how the neural dynamics of dimensional label learning (DLL) predicts flexibility within dimensional attention. The DLL task has been shown to involve mapping dimensional labels (e.g., “color”) to features (e.g., “green”), and feature labels to properties of objects (Sandhofer & Smith, 1999; Verdine et al. 2016). According to previous studies, flexible cognitive processes, labeled as executive function (EF), have been found to be key in facilitating children’s ability to manage their own behavior (Buss & Spencer, 2018). In the current study, 30 preschool aged participants (M=46.6mo.) performed DLL tasks assessing production, comprehension, and matching. Dimensional Attention was measured using the dimensional change card sort task (DCCS), a dimensional priming task and the triad classification (TC) task. We used fNIRS to measure hemoglobin levels within the brain to map neural activation of the left frontal, temporal and parietal cortices previously implicated in dimensional attention (Buss & Spencer,2018).