Dr. Jessica Klusek and Dr. Laura Friedman has published a new article in the Journal of Neurolinguistics titled “Semantic and syntactic language differences associated with the FMR1 premutation genotype.”

A subgroup of women with the FMR1 premutation produce language differences. This study examined language skills of 109 women the FMR1 premutation and 109 women without the FMR1 premutation. Women completed tasks where they had to repeat nonwords (e.g., “ballop”), nonsense phrases (e.g., “quiet pencil jacket”), and sentences (e.g., “After they cleaned up the kitchen, the children went out to play”).

We found that women with the FMR1 premutation had more difficulties repeating nonsense phrases and sentences compared to the women without the FMR1 premutation, indicating potential challenges with language at the word and grammar levels. Performance on language tasks was not associated with executive functions like spatial working memory or attention, suggesting that language difficulties cannot be explained by these broader skills. These findings help us better understand language in women with the FMR1 premutation, and may offer insights into how this gene affects the brain and behavior.

To read the article in full, click here!