Dataset for: Maturation in Auditory Event-Related Potentials Explains Variation in Language Ability in Children

Processing of auditory information in the cortex continues to develop into later childhood and adolescence. Recent research has indicated that intraclass correlation (ICC) is the best method for capturing maturation in auditory event-related potentials (AEPs) of school-age children. However, the sensitivity of the ICC approach in discerning AEP changes in children has not been consistently demonstrated and positive results have not been replicated. We attempted this replication and further explored whether AEP maturation estimated using the ICC approach predicts cognitive and linguistic abilities in addition to chronological age. We measured AEPs in response to simple tones in groups of 7, 8, 9, and 10 year olds with typical development (N = 67), and used ICC to estimate the age equivalent of each child's AEP (AEP-age). Results indicated that ICC differentiated 7-8- from 9-10-year-old children, and that AEP-age predicted both chronological age and significant, unique variance in language ability, but not in nonverbal IQ. Our findings support the view that auditory organization in children reflects both general developmental maturation and more specific development of language skills, and support the future use of AEP-age to identify and understand individual differences in brain maturation in typically developing and clinical populations.大脑皮层对听觉信息的加工过程会持续发育至童年后期及青少年阶段。近期研究表明，组内相关系数（intraclass correlation, ICC）是评估学龄儿童听觉事件相关电位（auditory event-related potentials, AEPs）成熟度的最优方法。不过，ICC方法在辨识儿童AEP变化方面的敏感性尚未得到一致证实，且阳性结果未能被重复验证。本研究尝试开展此项重复验证，并进一步探索通过ICC方法估算得到的AEP成熟度，是否除实足年龄外，还能预测个体的认知与语言能力。我们对67名典型发育的7、8、9、10岁儿童进行了简单音调诱发的AEP检测，并通过ICC估算每名儿童的AEP年龄等价物（AEP-age）。结果显示，ICC能够区分7-8岁与9-10岁儿童，且AEP-age不仅可以预测实足年龄，还能显著解释语言能力的独特变异，但无法解释非言语智商的变异。本研究结果支持"儿童听觉组织既反映一般性发育成熟度，也体现语言技能的特异性发育"这一观点，并为未来使用AEP-age识别、理解典型发育及临床人群的脑成熟个体差异提供了依据。