Toekenning VIDI - BRAVECHILD (how BRAin deVElopment Contributes to cHIldren’s Language Development; VI.Vidi.211.245)

Language is the cornerstone of human interaction, yet not everyone develops their language abilities to the same extent. Crucially, individual differences in early language development prove meaningful as they predict later outcomes, such as academic achievements and social competence. Understanding what factors determine language development is key for optimizing interventions and adjusting development. Many researchers identified critical elements in a child’s environment, such as the language input children receive. Also, differences in how children process speech has proven predictive. However, large portions of variance remain unexplained. Theories hypothesize an essential role for the brain. The time frame in which children master their language overlaps with when dramatic changes in brain development take place: the first 1,001 days from conception onwards. Will early brain characteristics prove predictive of later language profiles? And what is its interplay with other mechanisms such as parental proficiency?

This innovative project tests these questions by building on a large longitudinal on‐going cohort study (the YOUth cohort; >2,000 children) that started with prenatal ultrasounds. It is the first study directly linking prenatal brain development to subsequent language development, thereby advancing theories on what is crucial to the origins of language development. BRAVECHILD (how BRAin deVElopment Contributes to cHIldren’s Language Development) adds assessments that capture children’s full language profiles. As this project examines novel (combinations of) precursors to various components of language development, BRAVECHILD is unique in its scale (>2,000 children; both typical and various atypical populations), time span (including the crucial first 1,001 days), and scope of predictors and outcome measures, all in the same children. In this way I will build a multi‐factorial model explaining language development through the interplay between early brain development, parental proficiency and speech perception. For infants at risk of language delays, this will guide future interventions at the earliest age possible.