Olga Kepinska

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at University of Vienna

This study examines whether auditory cortex anatomy reflects multilingual experience, specifically individuals’ phonological repertoire. Using data from over 200 participants exposed to 1–7 languages across 36 languages, we analyzed the role of language experience and typological distances between languages they spoke in shaping neural signatures o...

Research on dyslexia and bilingualism has largely been conducted separately (Cline, 2000). This systematic review explores the interaction between bilingualism and dyslexia by summarising and synthesising studies that include bilingual dyslexic readers (DRs). The goal is to identify aspects of dyslexia that are independent of multilingual experienc...

The impact of multilingualism on executive functioning remains a topic of debate, with prior research suggesting minimal effects and limited real-world benefits. This study investigated whether multilingualism is related to performance and examined the role of formality in language acquisition (formal vs. informal) in modulating this relationship....

The transition from pre-reading to early word reading skill in early childhood is a time of profound developmental change. To understand changes in brain wiring associated with reading development, this study examined individual differences in functional connectivity of the reading network at the start of formal literacy instruction. Sixty-six kind...

This study explores the relationship between the anatomy of the auditory cortex and multilingual experience, shedding light on the complex mechanisms of auditory processing in humans. Integrating previous research on auditory information processing and the impact of bi- and multilingualism on brain structure, we investigate how the morphology of au...

This paper introduces the “NEBULA101 - Neuro-behavioural Understanding of Language Aptitude” dataset, which comprises behavioural and brain imaging data from 101 healthy adults to examine individual differences in language and cognition. Human language, a multifaceted behaviour, varies significantly among individuals, at different processing levels...

Language learning and use are complex cognitive skills requiring domain-general cognition and sensori-motor skills, these also being important for numerical and music processing. Previous studies have explored behavioural associations across domains and neural underpinnings of specific abilities, yet less work has examined these questions together...

Research on dyslexia and bilingualism has largely been conducted separately (Cline, 2000). This systematic review explores the interaction between bilingualism and dyslexia by summarising and synthesising studies that include bilingual dyslexic readers (DRs). The goal is to identify aspects of dyslexia that are independent of multilingual experienc...

Research on dyslexia and bilingualism has largely been conducted separately (Cline, 2000). This systematic review explores the interaction between bilingualism and dyslexia by summarising and synthesising studies that include bilingual dyslexic readers (DRs). The goal is to identify aspects of dyslexia that are independent of multilingual experienc...

Why is it that some people seem to learn new languages faster and more easily than others? The present study investigates the neuroanatomical basis of language learning aptitude, with a focus on the multiplication pattern of the transverse temporal gyrus/gyri (TTG/TTGs) of the auditory cortex. The size and multiplication pattern of the first TTG (i...

We assessed simultaneous bilinguals and monolinguals on inhibitory control and episodic memory, and assessed their grey matter volumes in brain regions known to be involved in language processing, executive control and memory. Bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on episodic memory, and performance on the memory and inhibition tasks were correlated...

The processing of auditory stimuli which are structured in time is thought to involve the arcuate fasciculus, the white matter tract which connects the temporal cortex and the inferior frontal gyrus. Research has indicated effects of both musical and language experience on the structural characteristics of the arcuate fasciculus. Here, we investiga...

High-level cognitive skill development relies on genetic and environmental factors, tied to brain structure and function. Inter-individual variability in language and music skills has been repeatedly associated with the structure of the auditory cortex: the shape, size and asymmetry of the transverse temporal gyrus (TTG) or gyri (TTGs). TTG is high...

This paper introduces the "NEBULA101-Neuro-behavioural Understanding of Language Aptitude" dataset, which comprises behavioural and brain imaging data from 101 healthy adults to examine individual differences in language and cognition. Human language, a multifaceted behaviour, varies significantly among individuals, at different processing levels....

Language learning and use require a broad and complex set of linguistic and non-linguistic skills. Recent work underscores the importance of multimodal and multivariate analyses of language learning profiles using not only language measures but also domain general cognitive ones. We performed a multimodal and multivariate investigation (through par...

This study examines whether auditory cortex anatomy reflects multilingual experience, specifically individuals’ phonological repertoire. Using data from over 200 participants exposed to 1–7 languages across 36 languages, we analyzed the role of language experience and typological distances between languages they spoke in shaping neural signatures o...

This study explores the relationship between the anatomy of the auditory cortex and multilingual experience, shedding light on the complex mechanisms of auditory processing in humans. Integrating previous research on auditory information processing and the impact of bi- and multilingualism on brain structure, we investigate how the morphology of au...

Music and spoken language are both conveyed via acoustic information, and seem to rely on at least partially shared cognitive, neural and genetic architecture (Nayak et al., 2022). The brain processes music (e.g. rhythm and melody) and language (including its melodic and rhythmic properties), within partially overlapping networks that include audit...

This study explores the relationship between the anatomy of the auditory cortex and multilingual experience, shedding light on the complex mechanisms of auditory processing in humans. Integrating previous research on auditory information processing and the impact of bi- and multilingualism on brain structure, we investigate how the morphology of au...

Heschl's gyrus (HG), which includes primary auditory cortex, is highly variable in its shape (i.e. gyrification patterns), between hemispheres and across individuals. Differences in HG shape have been observed in the context of phonetic learning skill and expertise, and of professional musicianship, among others. Two of the most common configuratio...

Consequences of multilingualism vary from offering cognitive benefits to poor educational and cognitive outcomes. One aspect of multilingualism that has not been systematically examined is the typology of multilinguals' languages: Do differences and similarities between languages multilinguals are exposed to contribute to the development of their c...

The paper aims at establishing whether relative differences and similarities between languages multilingual children are exposed to contribute to the development of their cognition and brain. Our goal was to investigate the effects of typological linguistic diversity on first language (L1) lexical knowledge and processing in kindergartners and esta...

Perception of low-level auditory cues such as frequency modulation (FM) and rise time (RT) is crucial for development of phonemic representations, segmentation of word boundaries, and attunement to prosodic patterns in language. While learning an additional language, children may develop an increased sensitivity to these cues to extract relevant in...

Language aptitude (LA) is traditionally defined as a set of individual cognitive skills predictive of success in foreign language attainment (Carroll & Sapon, 1959). From a linguistic perspective, gifted language learners seem highly skilled in sound-symbol associations, rote learning, and/or grammar analytic abilities. Neural markers of LA (or its...

How do production and comprehension processes interact in the bilingual brain during language interaction? Most experimental and theoretical research in psycholinguistics to date has focused on investigating the mechanisms that underlie language production and language comprehension separately. Only recently have researchers started emphasizing the...

Numerous studies have consistently reported functional activation of the cerebellum during reading tasks, especially in the right cerebellar hemisphere. However, it remains unclear whether this region is also involved in reading in the earliest stages of reading acquisition. Here, we investigated whether and how the cerebellum contributes to readin...

Chronic stress during childhood negatively impacts cognition and physical and mental health. Exposure to stressors over time can cause hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, leading to abnormal stress hormone levels, which can be reflected in hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and hair dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentration. A...

Numerous studies have consistently reported functional activation of the cerebellum during reading tasks, especially in the right cerebellar hemisphere. However, it remains unclear whether these regions (or which region) are also involved in reading in the earliest stages of reading acquisition. Reading is an arduous task for beginning readers, whi...

Learning to read transforms the brain, building on children’s existing capacities for language and visuospatial processing. In particular, the development of print-speech convergence, or the spatial overlap of neural regions necessary for both auditory and visual language processing, is critical for literacy acquisition. Print-speech convergence is...

The idea of a bilingual advantage in aspects of cognitive control—including cognitive flexibility, inhibition, working memory, and attention—is disputed. Using a sample of kindergarten children, the present study investigated associations between bilingualism and cognitive flexibility—a relationship that has shown mixed findings in prior literature...

Bilingual language control has previously been tested separately in tasks of language comprehension and language production. Whereas these studies have suggested that local control processes are selectively recruited during mixed-language production, the present study investigated whether measures of global control show the same dependence on modal...

Language switching experience is assumed to have an effect on domain-general control abilities in bilinguals, but previous studies on the relationship between these two variables have generated mixed results. The present study investigated the effects of bilingual experiences on the interaction between language switching and domain-general control....

Following Opitz and Friederici (2003) suggesting interactions of the hippocampal system and the prefrontal cortex as the neural mechanism underlying novel grammar learning, the present fMRI study investigated functional connectivity of bilateral BA 44/45 and the hippocampus during an artificial grammar learning (AGL) task. Our results, contrary to...

Aiming at exploring the brain’s structural organisation underlying successful second language (L2) learning, we investigate the anatomy of the perisylvian language network in a group of healthy adults, consisting of participants with high (N = 22) and average (N = 20) language analytical abilities. The two groups were recruited on the basis of a la...

The goal of the present study was to investigate the initial phases of novel grammar learning on a neural level, concentrating on mechanisms responsible for individual variability between learners. Two groups of participants, one with high and one with average language analytical abilities, performed an Artificial Grammar Learning (AGL) task consis...

The goal of the present study was to investigate the initial phases of novel grammar learning on a neural level, concentrating on mechanisms responsible for individual variability between learners. Two groups of participants, one with high and one with average language analytical abilities, performed an Artificial Grammar Learning (AGL) task consis...

Aiming at exploring the brain’s structural organisation underlying successful second language learning, we investigate the anatomy of the perisylvian language network in a group of healthy adults, consisting of participants with high (N = 22) and average (N = 20) language analytical abilities. The two groups were recruited on the basis of a languag...

Aiming at exploring the brain’s structural organisation underlying successful second language learning, we investigate the anatomy of the perisylvian language network in a group of healthy adults, consisting of participants with high and average language analytical abilities. Utilising deterministic tractography, six tracts per participant (left an...

In response to Voelker et al. (this issue), we argue for a wide array of neural oscillatory mechanisms underlying learning and practice. While the authors propose frontal theta power as the basis for learning-induced neuroplasticity, we believe that the temporal dynamics of other frequency bands, together with their synchronization properties can o...

In an effort to advance the understanding of brain function and organisation accompanying second language learning, we investigate the neural substrates of novel grammar learning in a group of healthy adults, consisting of participants with high and average language analytical abilities (LAA). By means of an Independent Components Analysis, a data-...

Contributions of the hippocampal system and the prefrontal cortex to the initial stages of learning a second language (L2) have been established both for acquisition of novel grammar rules (Opitz & Friederici, 2003) and new vocabulary items (Breitenstein et al., 2005). Drawing on the previous findings, we conducted an artificial grammar learning ex...

Contributions of the hippocampal system and the prefrontal cortex to the initial stages of learning a second language (L2) have been established both for acquisition of novel grammar rules (Opitz & Friederici, 2003) and new vocabulary items (Breitenstein et al., 2005). Drawing on the previous findings, we conducted an artificial grammar learning ex...

This study aimed to examine the role of Language Analytic Ability (LAA) in feedback processing during the acquisition of a novel language. We investigated whether the neural basis of feedback processing during an artificial grammar-learning (AGL) task differs between populations of highly and moderately skilled second language learners. Two groups...

In an fMRI experiment language aptitude, a specific talent for learning languages measurable by tests, has been used as an independent variable and brain activity elicited by a semantic categorization task has been measured. Significant differences in brain functionality have been observed between groups in two comparisons.

The central question in the current research is whether the prosodic structure of the first language (L1) influences production of word stress in Dutch as a second language (DSL). In Dutch the position of word stress can be predicted on the basis of phonological and morphological rules, but there are many exceptions to these rules. In the current i...