Functional and structural neuroplasticity associated with second language proficiency: An MRI study of Chinese-English bilinguals

Wang, Ruiming; Ke, Shuangshuang; Qi, Zhang; Zhou, Ke; Li, Ping; Yang, Jing

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroling.2020.100940

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Some neuroscience studies also reported that compared with the less proficient bilinguals, the more proficient bilinguals had a decreased resting-state functional connectivity of the left anterior cingulate cortex and right middle frontal gyrus with other ROIs, and increased connectivity in the left insula, bilateral fusiform gyrus, left Para hippocampal region, and right putamen ( Grant et al, 2015 ; Sun et al, 2019 ; Wang et al, 2020 ). Besides, it was found that bilinguals reconfigured their brain network to achieve language and non-verbal control, during which the reconfiguration efficiency was mediated by L2 proficiency ( Wu et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Second Language Proficiency Modulates the Dependency of Bilingual Language Control on Domain-General Cognitive Control

Wang

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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The relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control has been a hot topic in the research field of bilingualism. Previous studies mostly examined the correlation between performances of bilinguals in language control tasks and that in domain-general cognitive control tasks and came to the conclusions that they overlap, partially overlap, or are qualitatively different. These contradictory conclusions are possibly due to the neglect of the moderating effect of second language (L2) proficiency, that is, the relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control might vary with the L2 proficiency of bilinguals. To examine this hypothesis, we recruited 36 unbalanced Chinese-English bilinguals to perform the Simon task (to assess domain-general cognitive control), Oxford Placement Test (to assess L2 proficiency), and picture naming tasks in single-and dual-language contexts (to evoke local and global language control). We find that Simon scores positively predicted switching costs in bilinguals with low L2 proficiency, but not in bilinguals with high L2 proficiency. Furthermore, Simon scores positively predicted mixing costs in bilinguals with high L2 proficiency, but not in bilinguals with low L2 proficiency. These results verify the moderating effect of L2 proficiency on the relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control, that is, bilinguals with more proficient L2 rely on domain-general cognitive control less for local language control and more for global language control. This may imply a shift from local to global for the dependency of bilingual language control on domain-general cognitive control during the L2 development of bilinguals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Second Language Proficiency Modulates the Dependency of Bilingual Language Control on Domain-General Cognitive Control

Wang

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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“…The original language network was established to process the native language. [6,24] Therefore, when processing a second language, the brain tends to translate the contents into the native language before comprehending the meaning. [25,26] After completing meaning comprehension and response in the native language, the brain translates the response back to the second language to express.…”

Section: Adaptability Of Original Language Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[24,30,[37][38][39] In addition, fMRI findings indicate that the proficiency level of late acquired languages is positively correlated with overlapping range with the native language. [6,40] Thus, a certain proficiency level can compensate for differences in activation areas arising from differences in the onset of the acquisition. However, we do not know much about the required proficiency level and the compensation process.…”

Section: Adaptability Of Original Language Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, a recent study showed that the right fusiform gyrus is activated for the analysis of characters when processing information in pictographs (Chinese). [6] Another study showed that compared with Indo-European languages, spoken word recognition in Chinese can lead to greater activation in the right temporoparietal region. [7] Moreover, the right anterior temporal lobe is equally as important its left homolog for tone language comprehension.…”

Section: Specific Language Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the deepening of relevant research, the study of language networks is not limited to the two traditional regions and some specific language regions have been identified. For instance, a recent study showed that the right fusiform gyrus is activated for the analysis of characters when processing information in pictographs (Chinese) [6] . Another study showed that compared with Indo-European languages, spoken word recognition in Chinese can lead to greater activation in the right temporoparietal region [7] .…”

Section: Specific Language Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Intra-operative mapping and language protection in glioma

Weng

Sun

et al. 2021

Chinese Medical Journal

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The demand for acquiring different languages has increased with increasing globalization. However, knowledge of the modification of the new language in the neural language network remains insufficient. Although many details of language function have been detected based on the awake intra-operative mapping results, the language neural network of the bilingual or multilingual remains unclear, which raises difficulties in clinical practice to preserve patients’ full language ability in neurosurgery. In this review, we present a summary of the current findings regarding the structure of the language network and its evolution as the number of acquired languages increased in glioma patients. We then discuss a new insight into the awake intra-operative mapping protocol to reduce surgical risks during the preservation of language function in multilingual patients with glioma.

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The depth of semantic processing modulates cross‐language pattern similarity in Chinese–English bilinguals

Cao

Chen

et al. 2022

Human Brain Mapping

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Previous studies have investigated factors related to the degree of cross‐language overlap in brain activations in bilinguals/multilinguals. However, it is still unclear whether and how the depth of semantic processing (a critical task‐related factor) affects the neural pattern similarity between native and second languages. To address this question, 26 Chinese–English bilinguals were scanned with fMRI while performing a word naming task (i.e., a task with shallow semantic processing) and a semantic judgment task (i.e., a task with deep semantic processing) in both native and second languages. Based on three sets of representational similarity analysis (whole brain, ROI‐based, and within‐language vs. cross‐language semantic representation), we found that select regions in the reading brain network showed higher cross‐language pattern similarity and higher cross‐language semantic representations during deep semantic processing than during shallow semantic processing. These results suggest that compared to shallow semantic processing, deep semantic processing may lead to greater language‐independent processing (i.e., cross‐language semantic representation) and cross‐language pattern similarity, and provide direct quantitative neuroimaging evidence for cognitive models of bilingual lexical memory.

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Functional and structural neuroplasticity associated with second language proficiency: An MRI study of Chinese-English bilinguals

Cited by 17 publications

References 100 publications

Second Language Proficiency Modulates the Dependency of Bilingual Language Control on Domain-General Cognitive Control

Second Language Proficiency Modulates the Dependency of Bilingual Language Control on Domain-General Cognitive Control

Intra-operative mapping and language protection in glioma

The depth of semantic processing modulates cross‐language pattern similarity in Chinese–English bilinguals

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