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Abstract A key to understanding how the brain develops is to understand how learning can change brain function. One index of learning that takes place in early childhood involves the comprehension and production of labels describing the shape and color features of objects, a process known as dimensional label learning (DLL). DLL requires integrating auditory and visual stimuli to form a system of mappings that link label representations (e.g. “red” and “color”) and visual feature representations (e.g. “red” and the hue red). Children gain expertise with these labels between the ages of 2 and 5 years, and at the same time they begin to demonstrate skills in using labels to guide cognitive function in other domains. For example, one of the hallmark measures of executive function development requires children to use verbally instructed rules to guide attention to visual dimensions. The broader impact of DLL, however, has not yet been explored. Here, we examine how the neural processes associated with the comprehension and production of labels for visual features predicts later performance on executive function tasks. Specifically, we show that left frontal cortex is activated during comprehension and production tasks at 33 months of age. Moreover, we find that neural activation in this region during label production at 33 months is associated with dimensional attention, but not spatial selective attention, at 45 months. These results shed new light on the role of label learning in developmental changes in brain and behavior. Moreover, these data suggest that dimensional label learning generalizes beyond the learned information to influence other aspects of cognition. We anticipate that these results may serve as a starting point for future work to implement label training as an intervention to influence later cognition.

Previous research suggests that children's ability to label visual features (e.g. "red") and dimensions (e.g. "color") impacts attention to visual dimensions. The goal of this study is to investigate variations in the quality of the neural system supporting dimensional label comprehension and production in relation to children's dimensional attention skills. The current study recruited 3- to 4-year-olds from the East Tennessee area to complete dimensional label tasks for color labels while recording functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in order to measure hemodynamic changes in left frontal, left parietal, and left temporal cortices previously implicated in dimensional attention. Different aspects of dimensional attention were evaluated using the dimensional priming task (measuring attentional stability), the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) task (measuring flexible dimensional attention), the triad classification task (measuring selective attention), and the matching task (measuring dimensional understanding). Dimensional label learning was measured using a color Production and color Comprehension task. Results indicated that the temporal cortex was activated during the dimensional label tasks. Further, we found that activation in parietal cortex during the dimensional label tasks increased with better performance on the dimensional attention tasks. On the other hand, activation in the temporal cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during the dimensional label tasks decreased with better performance on the dimensional attention tasks. These results suggest that dimensional attention skills can reveal variations in the quality of neural representations supporting dimensional label learning.