To what extent does language shape how we think about the world? Studies suggest that linguistic symbols expressing conceptual categories (‘apple’, ‘squirrel’) make us focus on categorical information (e.g. that you saw a squirrel) and disregard individual information (e.g. whether that squirrel had a long or short tail). Across two experiments with preverbal infants, we demonstrated that it is not language but nonverbal category knowledge that determines what information is packed into object representations. Twelve-month-olds (N = 48) participated in an electroencephalography (EEG) change-detection task involving objects undergoing a brief occlusion. When viewing objects from unfamiliar categories, infants detected both across- and within-category changes, as evidenced by their negative central wave (Nc) event-related potential. Conversely, when viewing objects from familiar categories, they did not respond to within-category changes, which indicates that nonverbal category knowledge interfered with the representation of individual surface features necessary to detect such changes. Furthermore, distinct patterns of γ and α oscillations between familiar and unfamiliar categories were evident before and during occlusion, suggesting that categorization had an influence on the format of recruited object representations. Thus, we show that nonverbal category knowledge has rapid and enduring effects on object representation and discuss their functional significance for generic knowledge acquisition in the absence of language.

语言在多大程度上塑造了我们对世界的看法？研究表明，表达概念类别的语言符号（“苹果”、“松鼠”）使我们关注类别信息（例如，您看到了一只松鼠）而忽略了个别信息（例如，这只松鼠的尾巴是长尾巴还是短尾巴）。在对不会说话的婴儿进行的两个实验中，我们证明了决定将哪些信息打包到对象表示中的不是语言，而是非语言类别知识。十二个月大的孩子 ( N= 48) 参与了脑电图 (EEG) 变化检测任务，该任务涉及对象经历短暂的遮挡。当观察来自不熟悉类别的物体时，婴儿会检测到跨类别和类别内的变化，正如他们的负中心波 (Nc) 事件相关电位所证明的那样。相反，当从熟悉的类别中查看对象时，它们对类别内的变化没有反应，这表明非语言类别知识干扰了检测此类变化所必需的个体表面特征的表示。此外，在遮挡之前和期间，熟悉和不熟悉类别之间明显的 γ 和 α 振荡模式很明显，这表明分类对招募对象表示的格式有影响。因此，