ReviewFrontiers in psychology2025
Language and cognitive function in children: a narrative review of neural, behavioral, and developmental evidence.
Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Interactive Effects of Executive Function and Language Ability on Children's Cross-Situational Word Learning.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2026Article
- Predicting the Development of Executive Functions in Preschool Age: Motor, Language, and Socio-Relational Skills in Early Childhood.Journal of Intelligence · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Language is not merely a conduit for thought-it plays an active, constitutive role in shaping cognitive development. This narrative review synthesizes interdisciplinary findings across bilingualism, theory of mind, developmental disorders (DLD and ASD), and cross-cultural studies to propose a dynamic, context-sensitive model of the language-cognition relationship. We argue that language functions not only as a cognitive tool but as a cognitive architect, influencing the structure and function of neural networks supporting executive function and social cognition. Evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies reveals bidirectional and developmentally contingent interactions between language and cognition, moderated by linguistic structure, developmental timing, and sociocultural context. By examining both typical and atypical populations, we challenge modular and unidirectional models, advocating instead for integrative frameworks that capture the diversity and plasticity of human cognition. We conclude with a roadmap for future research, emphasizing longitudinal, cross-linguistic, and translational approaches. This work calls for a rethinking of language's role-not as a passive reflection of mind, but as its formative force.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.