Language acquisition is of central importance to child development. Although this developmental trajectory is shaped by experience postnatally, the neural basis for language emerges prenatally. Thus, a fundamental question remains: do structural foundations for language in infancy predict long-term language abilities? Longitudinal investigation of 40 children from infancy to kindergarten reveals that white matter in infancy is prospectively associated with subsequent language abilities, specifically between: (i) left arcuate fasciculus and phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, (ii) left corticospinal tract and phonological awareness, and bilateral corticospinal tract with phonological memory; controlling for age, cognitive, and environmental factors. Findings link white matter in infancy with school-age language abilities, suggesting that white matter organization in infancy sets a foundation for long-term language development.

语言习得对于儿童发展至关重要。尽管这种发展轨迹是由出生后的经历决定的，但语言的神经基础却是在出生前就出现的。因此，一个基本问题仍然存在：婴儿期语言的结构基础是否可以预测长期的语言能力？对 40 名从婴儿期到幼儿园的儿童进行的纵向调查显示，婴儿期白质与随后的语言能力存在前瞻性相关，特别是在：(i) 左弓状束和语音意识和词汇知识之间，(ii) 左皮质脊髓束和语音意识，以及双侧皮质脊髓束具有语音记忆功能；控制年龄、认知和环境因素。研究结果将婴儿期的白质与学龄语言能力联系起来，表明婴儿期的白质组织为长期语言发展奠定了基础。