{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T20:18:52Z","timestamp":1783023532628,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767830400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767830400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000913","name":"James S. McDonnell Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["https"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["https"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000913","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000913","name":"James S. McDonnell Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["\/\/doi.org\/10.37717\/2022\u20103711"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["\/\/doi.org\/10.37717\/2022\u20103711"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000913","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Developmental Science"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    The comprehension\u2013production vocabulary gap is a well\u2010documented hallmark of language development; however, anecdotal evidence suggests that this asymmetry may be reduced in children with Williams syndrome (WS). Here, we use empirical data to characterise the comprehension\u2013production gap and computational modelling to investigate potential mechanisms underlying this distinctive linguistic profile, focusing on children aged 7 months to 6 years. Using parental reports (Communicative Development Inventories), we measured the receptive and expressive vocabularies of children with WS (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u00a0=\u00a067) and compared them to typically developing children (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u00a0=\u00a01210) and cross\u2010syndrome groups with Down syndrome (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u00a0=\u00a027), and fragile X syndrome (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u00a0=\u00a015). Results confirm that children with WS show a unique trajectory: alongside general delay, they exhibit a significantly reduced comprehension\u2013production asymmetry not observed in other groups. To elucidate the potential origins of this phenomenon, we implemented a biologically inspired neural network\u2014self\u2010organising map (SOM)\u2014to model early word learning and evaluate visual and auditory map representations. Our findings reveal that WS\u2010like vocabulary patterns can emerge from selective difficulties in visual processing, leading to exemplar\u2010based rather than prototype\u2010based object representations. The model suggests that these visual processing challenges, consistent with known visuospatial difficulties in WS, may contribute to the atypical comprehension\u2013production relationship, while broader processing constraints may underlie general delays. This study provides a mechanistic account of vocabulary development in WS, highlighting the role of visual constraints in shaping lexical outcomes. More broadly, it underscores the need to conceptualise language development as an interaction between sensory input and cognitive subsystems, explaining why the comprehension\u2013production gap is not a uniform feature of language acquisition.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/desc.70115","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T12:35:24Z","timestamp":1767875724000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Explaining the Comprehension\u2013Production Vocabulary Gap Through Neural Networks and Cross\u2010Syndrome Evidence: Insights From Williams Syndrome"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"29","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3053-2484","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dean","family":"D'Souza","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Human Developmental Science School of Psychology Cardiff University  Cardiff UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8841-8644","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hana","family":"D'Souza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Human Developmental Science School of Psychology Cardiff University  Cardiff UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9827-5421","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julien","family":"Mayor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology University of Oslo  Oslo Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3669-5468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c1ngel Eugenio","family":"Tovar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Psicolog\u00eda Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico  Mexico City M\u00e9xico"},{"name":"Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico  Mexico City M\u00e9xico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TAMD.2013.2264858"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/089892900561959"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0305000900002245"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1044\/1058-0360(2006\/033)"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S095457940707006X"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1460\u20106984.12082"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/02643294.2011.614939"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/desc.13421"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1166093"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_11_1","unstructured":"Floccia C.2017. \u201cData Collected With the Oxford CDI Over a Course of 5 Years in Plymouth Babylab UK.\u201dWith the Permission of Plunkett K."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0305000916000209"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jecp.2012.11.005"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0010\u20100277(76)90004\u20104"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0305000900004414"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/87565649709540683"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lingua.2010.02.002"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neunet.2012.09.018"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-7687.00225"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1044\/2019_JSLHR-19-00157"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0018130"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0029872"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/mrdd.20140"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ajmg.c.31436"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1467\u20107687.00263"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/00001756-200207190-00008"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_27_1","unstructured":"Paterson S. 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