Causal modelling of developmental disorders: Insights from animal and computational models of Specific Language Impairment

In this chapter, we discuss the use of animal and computational models to gain a better understanding of the causes of developmental disorders. Both types of models provide a framework to study causal links between deficits observed at different levels of description. Here, we focus on language acquisition and Specific Language Impairment. We highlight the importance of model systems in supporting aetiological theories of atypical language development with mechanistic explanations