Convergent Cortical Representation of Semantic Processing in Bilinguals

Illes, Judy; Francis, Wendy S.; Desmond, John E.; Gabrieli, John D. E.; Glover, Gary H.; Poldrack, Russell A.; Lee, Christine J.; Wagner, Anthony D.

doi:10.1006/brln.1999.2186

Cited by 251 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…They evidently need to separate their two languages (Costa and Santesteban, 2004) and select the right lexical candidates from the right language for effective communication (e.g., Costa et al, 1999). In that process, bilingual individuals must have effective neural mechanisms to prevent interference or competition between the two languages, especially considering that first and second languages have overlapping neuro-anatomical bases as revealed by recent neuroimaging studies (e.g., Illes et al, 1999;Rodriguez-Fornells et al, 2002;Xue et al, 2004a,b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural bases of asymmetric language switching in second-language learners: An ER-fMRI study

et al. 2007

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Using the ER-fMRI technique, the present study was designed to investigate the neural substrates of language switching among secondlanguage learners. Twelve Chinese college students who were learning English were scanned when they performed language switching tasks (naming pictures in their first [L1, Chinese] and second [L2, English] languages according to response cues). Compared to non-switching conditions, language switching elicited greater activation in the right superior prefrontal cortex (BA9/10/32), left middle and superior frontal cortex (BA8/9/46), and right middle cingulum and caudate (BA11). When the direction of switching was considered, forward switching (from L1 to L2), but not backward switching (from L2 to L1), activated several brain regions related to executive functions (i.e., bilateral frontal cortices and left ACC) relative to non-switching conditions. These results suggest that neural correlates of language switching differ depending on the direction of the switch and that there does not seem to be a specific brain area acting as a "language switch".

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural bases of asymmetric language switching in second-language learners: An ER-fMRI study

et al. 2007

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“…Only a few functional neuroimaging studies in bilinguals have specifically addressed these interesting issues (Chee et al, 1999a(Chee et al, ,b, 2001Dehaene et al, 1997;Illes et al, 1999;Kim et al, 1997;Klein et al, 1994Klein et al, , 1995Perani et al, 1996Perani et al, , 1998Price et al, 1999). The results of these neuroimaging studies were recently summarized (Abutalebi et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of age of acquisition and language usage in early, high‐proficient bilinguals: An fMRI study during verbal fluency

Perani

Abutalebi

Paulesu

et al. 2003

Human Brain Mapping

387

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Abstract:We assessed the effects of age of acquisition and language exposure on the cerebral correlates of lexical retrieval in high-proficient, early-acquisition bilinguals. Functional MRI was used to study Spanish-Catalan bilinguals who acquired either Spanish or Catalan as a first language in the first years of life. Subjects were exposed to the second language at 3 years of age, and have used both languages in daily life since then. Subjects had a comparable level of proficiency in the comprehension of both languages. Lexical retrieval with the verbal fluency task resulted in the well-established pattern of left hemispheric activation centered on the inferior frontal region. The effect of age of acquisition was assessed by dividing the subjects into two groups, on the basis of the language acquired first (Catalan-born or Spanish-born bilinguals). Functional comparisons indicated that less extensive brain activation was associated with lexical retrieval in the language acquired earlier in life. The two groups were also different in language usage/exposure, as assessed with a specific questionnaire; in particular, the exposure to the second language (Spanish) was less intensive in the case of Catalans. This was reflected in a significant interaction, indicating a more extensive activation in Catalans during production in Spanish. Overall, these results indicate that, during a production task, both age of acquisition and language exposure affect the pattern of brain activation in bilinguals, even if both languages are acquired early and with a comparable level of proficiency.

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“…Some researchers have provided evidence for shared cerebral representation of L1 and L2 (Chee et al, 1999b(Chee et al, , 2000(Chee et al, , 2003Illes et al, 1999), while others argue for distinct representations of L1 and L2 (Dehaene et al, 1997;Marian et al, 2003;Perani et al, 1996, 1998, Wartenburger et al, 2003. This discrepancy could arise from three main factors differing between studies: (1) differences in the linguistic dimension under investigation (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native and non-native reading of sentences: An fMRI experiment

2006

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The processing of syntactic and semantic information in written sentences by native (L1) and non-native (L2) speakers was investigated in an fMRI experiment. This was done by means of a violation paradigm, in which participants read sentences containing either a syntactic, a semantic, or no violation. The results of this study were compared to those of a previous fMRI study, in which auditory sentence processing in L1 and L2 was investigated. The results indicate greater activation for L2 speakers as compared to L1 speakers when reading sentences in several language-and motor-related brain regions. The processing of syntactically incorrect sentences elicited no reliably greater activation in language areas in L2 speakers. In L1 speakers, on the other hand, syntactic processing, as compared to semantic processing, was associated with increased activation in left mid to posterior superior temporal gyrus. In response to the processing of semantically incorrect sentences, both L2 and L1 speakers demonstrated increased involvement of left inferior frontal gyrus. The results of this study were compared to a previously conducted fMRI study, which made use of identical sentence stimuli in the auditory modality. Results from the two studies are in general agreement with one another, although some differences in the response of brain areas very proximal to primary perceptual processing areas (i.e. primary auditory and visual cortex) were observed in conjunction with presentation in the different modalities. The combined results provide evidence that L1 and L2 speakers rely on the same cortical network to process language, although with a higher level of activation in some regions for L2 processing. D

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Convergent Cortical Representation of Semantic Processing in Bilinguals

Cited by 251 publications

References 60 publications

Neural bases of asymmetric language switching in second-language learners: An ER-fMRI study

Neural bases of asymmetric language switching in second-language learners: An ER-fMRI study

The role of age of acquisition and language usage in early, high‐proficient bilinguals: An fMRI study during verbal fluency

Native and non-native reading of sentences: An fMRI experiment

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