The Role of Declarative and Procedural Memory in Language

  • 5,127

    Total downloads

  • 27k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

It is becoming increasingly clear that language depends on at least partially distinct learning and memory processes. However, these have been conceptualized somewhat differently by different literature. Automatic processes have often been thought of in terms of statistical learning, implicit learning, or procedural learning and memory systems. In contrast, controlled processes are often thought of in terms explicit knowledge or declarative learning and memory systems. Typical language comprehension and production seem to involve both types of processes, which interact during efficient communication. Moreover, evidence suggests that dysfunction of the underlying circuitry can lead to language disorders such as developmental language disorder or dyslexia.

However, many issues and questions related to this topic remain to be answered. First, the exact roles of these processes in both first and second language require further clarification. Second, the relations between the different conceptualizations, and their impacts on language, remain to be elucidated. Additionally, the neural bases of statistical learning, and their relations to declarative and procedural memory, remain unclear. Third, issues of validity and reliability remain to be resolved for tasks probing aspects of the different learning and memory processes. Resolving these may have impacts on how the different conceptualizations of these processes can be teased apart, and on how clinical psychologists can test them in disorders. Fourth, although much progress has been made understanding interactions between the processes, much remains to be learned, including crucially how their interactions impact language learning and use. Fifth, more work is needed to clarify how theoretical developments can lead to diagnostic and therapeutic advances for individuals with language disorders, including how compensatory processes may be encouraged.

Therefore, we welcome submissions that address various issues on this topic, including (but not limited to) the following:
• Theoretical approaches that begin to integrate different but overlapping conceptualizations, such as statistical learning, implicit learning, and procedural learning and memory, or likewise for explicit and declarative learning and memory.
• Work clarifying issues of validity and reliability, including what is and is not important in the study of declarative/procedural memory in language, and how validity/reliability may be best approached.
• Neuropsychological and theoretical or empirical work on how declarative and procedural memory (or analogous conceptualizations) may interact to allow efficient language learning or processing at different levels.
• Research to improve our understanding of the roles of declarative/procedural memory systems (or analogous conceptualizations) in developmental and acquired language disorders.”
• How the relative preservation of one of these memory systems may lead to compensation in language disorders.
• How knowledge about the role of declarative/procedural memory in language may help lead to new approaches in language rehabilitation.
• Neural correlates of declarative/procedural memory and language.
• Neuropsychological factors associated with (dys)functions and rehabilitation.

Keywords: specific language impairment, procedural memory, declarative memory, language processing, language models

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 27kTopic views
  • 20kArticle views
  • 5,127Article downloads
View impact