Changes in statistical learning across development

Forest, Schlichting, Duncan, Finn · Nature Reviews Psychology · 2023 · psychology · 10.1038/s44159-023-00157-0 · record Forest2023-changes-in-statistical-learning-across-devel
tag layer · index · concepts · authors · עברית
Where this record's text came from. faceted 2026-08 by reading the locally held text (pdftext); every evidence string verified as an exact substring of that text before merging. Claim type is 'prediction' because the review's own contribution is a set of forward-looking, admittedly untested proposals about input and representation, not a new empirical result; the empirical synthesis it reports (improvement on direct measures except for aural syllables) is secondary. The extracted text cites all prior work by superscript number only, with no author names, so claim relations targets are described by reference number rather than by author; both relations are explicit self-positioning sentences, not bare citations. Numerous other citations were left out for that reason. 2026-08-14 schema-0.3 pass: every quote verified as an exact substring of the staged text and anchored at merge time; concept terms verified present; every edge endpoint an existing node.
This record’s own method is review, and the tags below follow from that. A review’s findings, quantities and statistics are things stated IN this paper, and some of them report results obtained elsewhere. No tag on this page names a different author. Measured across every review in this corpus, 81% of a review’s tags carry no citation at all — most of them are the review speaking. The corpus does not adjudicate the rest: read an unmarked tag as a claim this paper makes, not necessarily one it made first.
How to read this page. The article itself is not reproduced here — this paper is not cleared for redistribution, so what follows is the tag layer alone. The evidence sentences are withheld with the article. The table at the foot lists every tag the record carries; each row names the facet it belongs to, and the whose words column says whether the tag records the paper's own wording or the tagger's sentence about the paper. Every tag links to each other paper in the corpus carrying it. The machine-readable edition of the same thing is the TEI file beside this one, where the tags live in standOff, and the article is at its publisher via the link below. When we have changed our mind. Some entries in the table begin with a word in capitals and the reason for it. EVIDENCE CORRECTED — the finding still stands, but we had quoted the wrong sentence from the paper, and the quotation has been replaced with the right one. RETRACTED — the entry itself was wrong; it stays on the page, marked, with the reason, rather than being deleted. WITHDRAWN AND REPLACED — the entry was wrong, and a corrected version of it appears in the entries below. Each mark carries its own reason, in brackets, because the reasons differ from one entry to the next. An entry we have WITHDRAWN is removed from this page and kept in the record, with its reason. A line reading Audit and a date is a later re-reading of the entry against its whole sentence: DOUBTFUL means it was kept, and the reason says what is loose about it. Quotation marks inside the tagger's sentence. Where a tag is the tagger's own sentence, a phrase in quotation marks inside it is borrowed from the paper — the tagger's wording around it is not. The paper's own sentence is the evidence quote for that row; on this page it is withheld with the article, and the article is at its publisher. Nothing inside quotation marks anywhere on this page is ours: if it is quoted, it is the paper's. Whose words a concept carries. A concept entry records a term the paper itself uses, so the term, the sense given for it, and its evidence are the paper's own words, quoted where the paper fixes them. This is the opposite of a sense entry in the tag table, which is the tagger's sentence about how the paper uses a term. Where a concept entry could not be grounded in the paper's words, the entry says so on its own row.

Tags on this paper

Every tag the record carries, each linking to every other paper in the corpus that carries it. A tag appears here whether or not its words occur in the article — the spans below are only the ones a sentence in this paper licenses. Of the 5 concept tags on this paper, all 5 are grounded in a quoted sentence.
statistical learning skill learning serial reaction time tasks external feedback implicit learning faster forgetting in infancy strips away the idiosyncratic details of individual experiences, so what accumulates is a general, fuzzy representation of the commonalities immature selective attention leaves children unable to filter their input, which widens the pool of structure available for statistical learning attention gates statistical learning in adults, so a narrower adult attentional focus means less input is eligible to be learned at any moment children's distributed attention makes them sample many structures at once, trading speed of learning any single structure for knowledge of relationships between structures the early-maturing monosynaptic hippocampal pathway extracts regularities across many similar experiences and therefore yields fuzzy rather than specific representations prior knowledge blocks learning of conflicting structure, so accumulated experience narrows what a learner can pick up fuzzy representations broad representations neural entrainment indirect measures of statistical learning review

Legend

relation to other workclaim_relationshow this paper stands to another: agrees, contradicts, extends, qualifies
claim typeclaim_typethe shape of the claim: existence, mechanism, method, critique, prediction, null
concept edgeconcept_edgesan asserted relation between two concepts, with the sentence asserting it
conceptconceptsan idea the paper works with, quoted where the paper uses it
content tagcontent_tagsa finding, definition, quantity, statistic or variable named in the paper
limitationlimitationswhat the paper says its evidence cannot support
mechanismmechanismshow the reported effect is said to come about
methodmethodhow the paper produced its evidence
phenomenonphenomenonthe effect or regularity under study
sensesensesa distinct use of a term, quoted where the paper fixes it

The paper

The full text is not reproduced here. This article is not cleared for redistribution, so the page carries the tag layer only. Its evidence sentences are withheld; the grounding status remains with each tag, and the article itself is at https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-023-00157-0. The reading view exists for the papers whose licence permits it.

Every tag on this page

claim_relations 2 · claim_type 1 · concept_edges 2 · concepts 5 · content_tags 17 · limitations 6 · mechanisms 6 · method 1 · phenomenon 1 · senses 3

Relations on this page carry a quotation for the claim. Where a relation was separately evidenced — and so tested against the vocabulary for its type — the row says so; none of 2 relations here carry that mark. The rest are the tagger’s reading of the sentence quoted beside them.

This record holds no controls. A layer is empty when the tagger recorded nothing in it — which is not the same as the paper having nothing to record.

facettagfieldconf.whose words
claim_typeprediction
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
claim_typethe paper's words
phenomenondevelopment of statistical learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
phenomenonthe paper's words
methodreview
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
also in: review
methodthe paper's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[0]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[1]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[2]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[3]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[4]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[5]the tagger's words
limitationsThe paper's proposed developmental account is speculative and not yet tested.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: the developmental account offered in the discussion: IT IS LARGELY SPECULATIVE AND REMAINS TO BE TESTED
limitations[0]the tagger's words
limitationsThe developmental neuroimaging base is too thin to support conclusions about shifting neural substrates.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: any claim about shifting neural substrates: A CONFIDENT APPRAISAL OF POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENTAL SHIFTS IN THE NEURAL STRUCTURES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN STATISTICAL LEARNING CANNOT BE MADE FROM JUST TWO STUDIES
limitations[1]the tagger's words
limitationsThe developmental timelines invoked come from animal histology and general memory research, not from human statistical-learning data.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: the developmental timelines the argument uses: MUCH OF THE DATA ON THESE EXACT TIMELINES COME FROM HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES IN ANIMALS AND BEHAVIOURAL HUMAN MEMORY DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, SO THESE POSSIBILITIES FOR STATISTICAL LEARNING REQUIRE CONFIRMATION IN HUMAN INFANTS
limitations[2]the tagger's words
limitationsThe review adopts one of two competing conceptualizations of its subject and says which it rejects.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: any finding reported in this review: the authors reject the conceptualization of statistical learning as a singular and inherently implicit system in favour of a set of learning processes, some of which can result in conscious access to learning
limitations[3]1.0the tagger's words
limitationsA category boundary is drawn by how the excluded thing is typically assessed.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: the scope of statistical learning as used here: motor-based skill learning, such as serial reaction time tasks, is excluded because it is typically assessed in tasks that provide external feedback, so the boundary follows the assessment method rather than the phenomenon
limitations[4]1.0the tagger's words
limitationsThe quantity being compared across ages may itself differ by age.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: any developmental comparison of statistical learning: the authors state it
limitations[5]1.0the tagger's words
conceptsstatistical learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[0]the paper's words
conceptsskill learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[1]the paper's words
conceptsserial reaction time tasks
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[2]the paper's words
conceptsexternal feedback
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[3]the paper's words
conceptsimplicit learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[4]the paper's words
sensesstatistical learning - STIPULATED IN A BOX, WITH AN ADDED REQUIREMENT: defined as the learning of structure from repeated exposure to environmental statistics, with the further requirement that learning occur without reinforcement or external feedback - so the absence of feedback is part of the definition rather than a feature of the phenomenon
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
senses[0]1.0the tagger's words
sensesstatistical learning - A SET OF PROCESSES, NOT A SINGLE IMPLICIT SYSTEM: the review names the rival conceptualization - a singular and inherently implicit learning system - and takes the other, under which some of the processes can result in conscious access; whether the term denotes one thing or several decides whether results from different tasks can be pooled
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
senses[1]1.0the tagger's words
sensesthe exclusion of skill learning - A BOUNDARY MADE OF AN ASSAY: motor-based skill learning is put outside the category because it is TYPICALLY ASSESSED in tasks that provide external feedback, so the same phenomenon assessed without feedback would fall inside, and the hedge 'typically' is the authors' own
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
senses[2]1.0the tagger's words
claim_relationsbuilds-on → previous work arguing that children's advantage in language learning stems from their ongoing cognitive development (refs 16, 171, 172)
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
claim_relations[0]the tagger's words
claim_relationscontradicts → definitions treating statistical learning as a singular, inherently implicit learning system (ref 185)
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
claim_relations[1]the tagger's words
concept_edgesskill learning —distinct-from→ statistical learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
strength of the relation: 1
concept_edges[0]the tagger's words
concept_edgesserial reaction time tasks —is-a→ skill learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
strength of the relation: 1
concept_edges[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsIndirect measures suggest statistical learning changes little or not at all with development.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[0]the tagger's words
content_tagsDirect measures, by contrast, suggest developmental change in statistical learning ability.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsIn children aged 5 to 12, visual but not aural-syllable statistical learning improved with age.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[2]the tagger's words
content_tagsThe review's central synthesis is that the format of what is learned changes with age, from fuzzy in infancy to specific in early childhood to broad-plus-specific later.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[3]the tagger's words
content_tagsSensory cortices and often the basal ganglia are conspicuously missing from the regions underpinning statistical learning in infancy and childhood.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[4]the tagger's words
content_tagsThe developmental neuroimaging evidence base is extremely thin, resting on a single infant functional imaging study.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[5]the tagger's words
content_tagsThe review finds different developmental trajectories: non-linguistic auditory and visual statistical learning improve across childhood while learning of aurally presented syllables does not.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[6]the tagger's words
content_tagsstatistical learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[0]the tagger's words
content_tagsfuzzy representations
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsbroad representations
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[2]the tagger's words
content_tagsneural entrainment
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[3]the tagger's words
content_tagsindirect measures of statistical learning
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[4]the tagger's words
content_tags0–24 months / 2–7 years / 7–10 years / 18–35 years — the four developmental brackets the review uses to organize the literature
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[0]the tagger's words
content_tagsone of four — how many developmental statistical learning studies found basal ganglia involvement
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[1]the tagger's words
content_tags18–24 months — estimated age at which the trisynaptic hippocampal pathway supporting specific memories emerges in humans
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[2]the tagger's words
content_tags5–7 vs 8–9 years — the age split at which children move from remembering only specific transitions to remembering both broad groups and specific transitions
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[3]the tagger's words
content_tags8-month-old — age at which infants were shown to represent statistical input as chunks rather than as specific transitional probabilities
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[4]the tagger's words

Interpretive choices

Tags that could not be placed in the text:

What was deliberately not tagged, and why, is recorded per paper by the tagger. Where a paper has no such record, this page says so rather than implying that nothing was declined.

© 2026 Shir Sivroni · ORCID 0009-0000-2597-2824