Children's cortical speech tracking in face-to-face and online video communication

Author(s)
Fatih Sivridag, Josefine Schürholz, Stefanie Hoehl, Nivedita Mani
Abstract

In today's digital age, online video communication has become an important way for children to interact with their social partners, especially given the increased use of such tools during the pandemic. While previous studies suggest that children can learn and engage well in virtual settings, there is limited evidence examining the neural mechanisms supporting speech processing in face-to-face and video interactions. This study examines 5-year-old German speaking children's cortical speech tracking (n = 29), a measure of how their brains process speech, in both scenarios. Our findings indicate comparable levels of cortical speech tracking in both conditions, albeit with subtle differences. This implies that children exhibit similar neural responses to speech in both situations and may adopt different strategies to overcome potential challenges in video communication. These neural results align with previous behavioural findings, supporting the notion that live online video interactions can serve as an effective communication medium for children.

Organisation(s)
Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology
External organisation(s)
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Philipps Universität Marburg, Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Journal
Scientific Reports
Volume
15
Pages
20134
ISSN
2045-2322
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04778-8
Publication date
06-2025
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
501005 Developmental psychology
Keywords
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/3a1923ac-ce0d-4e46-80e6-5e6a52a38be7