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Effect of bilingualism on cognitive control in the Simon Task: Evidence from MEG
Abstract
The present study used magneto-encephalography (MEG) to determine the neural correlates of the bilingual advantage previously reported for behavioral measures in conflict tasks. Bilingual Cantonese-English, bilingual French-English, and monolingual English speakers, performed the Simon task in the MEG. Reaction times were faster for congruent than for incongruent trials, and the Cantonese group was faster than the other two groups, which did not differ from each other. Analyses of the MEG data using synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) and partial last squares (PLS) showed that the same pattern of activity, involving signal changes in left and medial prefrontal areas, characterized all three groups. Correlations between activated regions and reaction times, however, showed that the two bilingual groups demonstrated faster reaction times with greater activity in superior and middle temporal, cingulate, and superior and inferior frontal regions, largely in the left hemisphere. The monolinguals demonstrated faster reaction times with activation in middle frontal regions. The interpretation is that the management of two language systems led to systematic changes in frontal executive functions.
... On a regular basis, bilinguals demonstrate the unique ability for cognitive control over two languages. This language control system prevents interference from the non-target language to facilitate accurate performance in the target language (Abutalebi and Green 2007;Bialystok et al. 2005;Calvo and Bialystok 2014;Declerck et al. 2017;Green 1998;Kovács and Mehler 2009;Prior and Gollan 2013;Thierry and Wu 2007;Verreyt et al. 2016). Language control mechanisms also allow bilinguals to seamlessly switch between the two languages as needed Pylkkänen 2016, 2017;Branzi et al. 2016;Crinion et al. 2006;Declerck et al. 2017;Jiao et al. 2022a). ...
... However, negativeladen words could also function as a warning signal where they would compete for cognitive control resources (Desimone and Duncan 1995; Lavie et al. 2004;Norman and Bobrow 1975;Park et al. 2007). This competition might create a heavy processing load when switching from one language to the other (i.e., switch trials), as bilinguals need to select the appropriate language for verbal/written communication, as required by the context, by transiently suppressing cross-language interference (Abutalebi and Green 2007;Bialystok et al. 2005;Calvo and Bialystok 2014;Declerck et al. 2017;Kovács and Mehler 2009;Prior and Gollan 2013;Verreyt et al. 2016). Language control during language switching is indexed by switch costs, which are calculated as the difference between switch and non-switch trials (e.g., Pylkkänen 2016, 2017;Branzi et al. 2016;Crinion et al. 2006;Declerck et al. 2017). ...
... The emotional judgment task and picturenaming task both require a verbal response which can belong to either the same or different language. Switch costs can be measured as an indicator of the functional level of language control (Abutalebi and Green 2007;Bialystok et al. 2005;Pylkkänen 2016, 2017;Branzi et al. 2016;Crinion et al. 2006;Declerck et al. 2017;Calvo and Bialystok 2014;Kovács and Mehler 2009;Prior and Gollan 2013;Schwieter and Sunderman 2008;Verreyt et al. 2016). It is worth noting that, unlike previous code-switching tasks that involve speech production exclusively, our paradigm combines four language activities (i.e., speech comprehension, emotional judgment, semantic processing, and speech production). ...
Research has shown that several variables affect language control among bilingual speakers but the effect of affective processing remains unexplored. Chinese–English bilinguals participated in a novel prime-target language switching experiment in which they first judged the affective valence (i.e., positive or negative) of auditorily presented words and then named pictures with neutral emotional valence in either the same (non-switch trial) or different language (switch trial). Brain activity was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The behavioral performance showed that the typical switch cost (i.e., the calculated difference between switch and non-switch trials) emerged after processing positive words but not after negative words. Brain imaging demonstrated that processing negative words immediately before non-switch picturing naming trials (but not for switch trials) increased activation in brain areas associated with domain-general cognitive control. The opposite patterns were found after processing positive words. These findings suggest that an (emotional) negative priming effect is induced by spontaneous exposure to negative words and that these priming effects may be triggered by reactive emotional processing and that they may interact with higher level cognitive functions.
... In contrast, some studies have found the opposite effect. Bialystok et al. (2005) compared Cantonese-English bilinguals to French-English bilinguals and English monolinguals during a Simon task. These authors observed overall faster reaction times in the Cantonese-English bilinguals than the other two groups, suggesting higher behavioral performance for the bilinguals with languages that have a larger linguistic difference. ...
... Only a few studies have examined the influence of linguistic distance on cognitive functioning in bilinguals (Bialystok et al., 2005;Ljungberg et al., 2020;Sörman, Hansson, & Ljungberg, 2019;Wierzbicki, 2014). The goal of the present study was to examine whether linguistic distance influences performance and underlying cognitive processes on working memory tasks. ...
... Future research should replicate this study with a more difficult delayed matchingto-sample task to better understand the interaction between language group, task difficulty, and the components of working memory. Bialystok et al. (2005) and Wierzbicki (2014) observed performance advantages in bilinguals whose two languages had a larger linguistic distance than bilinguals with linguistically similar languages. Ljungberg et al. (2020), in contrast, found that bilinguals who spoke linguistically similar languages performed better than English monolinguals, whereas bilinguals who spoke linguistically distant languages showed no advantages over monolinguals. ...
A growing body of research suggests that bilingualism may afford benefits to certain aspects of cognitive functioning. Inconsistent findings may arise because of methodological differences within and across studies. One limitation is that studies often compare linguistically similar languages. The present study recorded brain activity (event-related potentials; ERPs) while English monolinguals, English–French bilinguals, and Arabic–English bilinguals completed an n-back task and a delayed matching-to-sample task. Group ERP differences were observed in the absence of behavioral differences. In the delayed matching-to-sample task, monolinguals exhibited smaller N2 amplitude compared to both bilingual groups, and smaller P3b amplitude compared to English–French bilinguals. In the n-back, English–French bilinguals displayed larger P3b amplitudes than monolinguals and Arabic–English bilinguals. P3b amplitude did not differ between Arabic–English bilinguals and monolinguals in either task. These results suggest that conflicting findings across studies may be due in part to the linguistic distance between the languages under study.
... Several studies have focused on the modulating effects of typological similarity on language controlfor example, within the context of a classical Stroop paradigm (Brauer, 1998;Coderre, Van Heuven, & Conklin, 2013;Van Heuven, Conklin, Coderre, Guo, & Dijkstra, 2011). However, studies directly investigating the effect of typological similarity on domain-general inhibitory control performance are scarce (but see Bialystok, Craik, Grady, Chau, Ishii, Gunji, & Pantev, 2005;Linck et al., 2005;Yamasaki, Stocco, & Prat, 2018). Typical experimental paradigms to explore domain-general inhibitory control are the Simon task (Bialystok et al., 2004a(Bialystok et al., , 2005Simon & Small, 1969), and the spatial Stroop task (Hilbert, Nakagawa, Bindl, & Bühner, 2014;Lu & Proctor, 1995;Luo & Proctor, 2013). ...
... However, studies directly investigating the effect of typological similarity on domain-general inhibitory control performance are scarce (but see Bialystok, Craik, Grady, Chau, Ishii, Gunji, & Pantev, 2005;Linck et al., 2005;Yamasaki, Stocco, & Prat, 2018). Typical experimental paradigms to explore domain-general inhibitory control are the Simon task (Bialystok et al., 2004a(Bialystok et al., , 2005Simon & Small, 1969), and the spatial Stroop task (Hilbert, Nakagawa, Bindl, & Bühner, 2014;Lu & Proctor, 1995;Luo & Proctor, 2013). The core feature of the Simon task is a conflict between the physical location of a stimulus and the response, e.g., a stimulus appearing on the right side of a screen while the corresponding response button is located on the left side. ...
... In contrast, our findings suggest that typologically dissimilar Dutch-Spanish group had a processing advantage in terms of RTs over the Italian-Spanish group. In the literature, similar findings were reported by Bialystok et al. (2005), who investigated the role of typological similarity on the performance during a Simon task in highly proficient Cantonese-English speakers (typologically dissimilar group) and highly proficient French-English speakers (typologically more similar group). Results showed a processing advantage for Cantonese-English speakers compared to the French-English speakers in the form of faster RTs on the Simon task for Cantonese-English speakers (see also Linck et al., 2005). ...
Both inhibitory control and typological similarity between two languages feature frequently in current research on multilingual cognitive processing mechanisms. Yet, the modulatory effect of speaking two typologically highly similar languages on inhibitory control performance remains largely unexplored. However, this is a critical issue because it speaks directly to the organisation of the multilingual's cognitive architecture. In this study, we examined the influence of typological similarity on inhibitory control performance via a spatial Stroop paradigm in native Italian and native Dutch late learners of Spanish. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find evidence for a differential Stroop effect size for the typologically similar group (Italian–Spanish) compared to the typologically dissimilar group (Dutch–Spanish). Our results therefore suggest a limited influence of typological similarity on inhibitory control performance. The study has critical implications for characterising inhibitory control processes in multilinguals.
... Considerable evidence has linked regular use of two languages with better ability of cognitive control (Bialystok et al., 2005). Previous studies have shown that bilinguals were more skilled than monolinguals in performing tasks that require attentional control to ignore or inhibit February 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 812322 ...
... By now, mixed results have been obtained with regard to the effect of bilingualism on the brain cognitive functions. Greater activation for bilinguals contrasted with monolinguals has been found in the brain regions critical for conflict processing (Bialystok et al., 2005;Mohades et al., 2014), though some studies have reported a reversed pattern (Abutalebi et al., 2012). In a magneto-encephalography study (Bialystok et al., 2005), brain activation of 30 adults -Cantonese-English bilinguals, French-English bilinguals, and English monolingual -were recorded while performing the Simon task. ...
... Greater activation for bilinguals contrasted with monolinguals has been found in the brain regions critical for conflict processing (Bialystok et al., 2005;Mohades et al., 2014), though some studies have reported a reversed pattern (Abutalebi et al., 2012). In a magneto-encephalography study (Bialystok et al., 2005), brain activation of 30 adults -Cantonese-English bilinguals, French-English bilinguals, and English monolingual -were recorded while performing the Simon task. The two bilingual groups showed faster response and greater activity in superior and middle temporal, cingulate, and superior and inferior frontal regions. ...
How learning a second language (L2) changes our brain has been an important question in neuroscience. Previous neuroimaging studies with different ages and language pairs spoken by bilinguals have consistently shown plastic changes in brain systems supporting executive control. One hypothesis posits that L2 experience-induced neural changes supporting cognitive control, which is responsible for the selection of a target language and minimization of interference from a non-target language. However, it remains poorly understood as to whether such cognitive advantage is reflected as stronger controlled processing or increased automatic inhibition processing. In this study, using functional MRI we scanned 27 Chinese-English late bilinguals while they performed a Simon task. Results showed that bilinguals with higher L2 vocabulary proficiency performed better in the Simon task, and more importantly, higher L2 vocabulary proficiency was associated with weaker activation of brain regions that support more general cognitive control, including the right anterior cingulate cortex, left insula and left superior temporal gyrus. These results suggest that L2 experience may lead to a more automatic and efficient processing in the inhibitory control task. Our finding provides an insight into neural activity changes associated with inhibitory control as a function of L2 proficiency.
... Despite all of the cognitive benefits (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005), heightened intellectual skills (Hakuta, 1990), and a more flexible mindset (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005) in different situations that bilingualism is said to offer (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005;Hakuta, 1990), our research revealed that there are still parents who hold a negative view towards bilingualism. Although this was only one participant's response, we feel it is worth mentioning as parents with this opinion do not support or encourage their child/children's bilingualism. ...
... Despite all of the cognitive benefits (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005), heightened intellectual skills (Hakuta, 1990), and a more flexible mindset (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005) in different situations that bilingualism is said to offer (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005;Hakuta, 1990), our research revealed that there are still parents who hold a negative view towards bilingualism. Although this was only one participant's response, we feel it is worth mentioning as parents with this opinion do not support or encourage their child/children's bilingualism. ...
... Despite all of the cognitive benefits (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005), heightened intellectual skills (Hakuta, 1990), and a more flexible mindset (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005) in different situations that bilingualism is said to offer (Bialystok, 2011;Bialystok et al., 2005;Hakuta, 1990), our research revealed that there are still parents who hold a negative view towards bilingualism. Although this was only one participant's response, we feel it is worth mentioning as parents with this opinion do not support or encourage their child/children's bilingualism. ...
Many foreign parents living in Japan attempt to raise their children as bilingual and bicultural, and those who choose to do so recognize that it is imperative to have well thought-out language strategies to foster their children’s linguistic competence, and to be intentional with activities that will further their children’s exposure to their dual heritage and cultures. Quantitative and qualitative data was obtained via an online questionnaire from 145 foreign mothers attempting bilingual and bicultural child-rearing. This questionnaire also investigated the challenges and difficulties, and the support the mothers received, with this paper focusing on three of the specific areas of bilingualism and biculturalism covered in the questionnaire: communication strategies, cultural transmission, and identity. Results highlight the strategies of communication used by the parents to develop their children’s languages, and are analysed to identify the cultural activities to which their children are exposed. The paper will also examine the cultural identity that the parents in the study prefer for their children.
... Compared to monolinguals, bilinguals have shown more efficient recruitment of domain-general cognitive control areassuch as dlPFC and ACCfor conflict resolution during stop-signal and Stroop tasks (Rodríguez-Pujadas et al., 2014;Waldie et al., 2009), and less extensive engagement of posterior brain areas during Stroop task, possibly indicating less elaborate stimulus evaluation (Waldie et al., 2009). Bilinguals have also shown greater reliance on language-specific control areassuch as left IFG/vlPFCduring go-nogo and Stroop tasks (Costumero et al., 2015;Teubner-Rhodes et al., 2019), and that engagement of such areas was associated with faster conflict resolution on Simon task (Bialystok et al., 2005). However, studies have also shown similar neural engagement between bilinguals and monolinguals for go-nogo and Simon tasks (Bialystok et al., 2005;Grady et al., 2015;Luk et al., 2010), though expressed more strongly in bilinguals (as imaged using MEG; Bialystok et al., 2005). ...
... Bilinguals have also shown greater reliance on language-specific control areassuch as left IFG/vlPFCduring go-nogo and Stroop tasks (Costumero et al., 2015;Teubner-Rhodes et al., 2019), and that engagement of such areas was associated with faster conflict resolution on Simon task (Bialystok et al., 2005). However, studies have also shown similar neural engagement between bilinguals and monolinguals for go-nogo and Simon tasks (Bialystok et al., 2005;Grady et al., 2015;Luk et al., 2010), though expressed more strongly in bilinguals (as imaged using MEG; Bialystok et al., 2005). ...
... Bilinguals have also shown greater reliance on language-specific control areassuch as left IFG/vlPFCduring go-nogo and Stroop tasks (Costumero et al., 2015;Teubner-Rhodes et al., 2019), and that engagement of such areas was associated with faster conflict resolution on Simon task (Bialystok et al., 2005). However, studies have also shown similar neural engagement between bilinguals and monolinguals for go-nogo and Simon tasks (Bialystok et al., 2005;Grady et al., 2015;Luk et al., 2010), though expressed more strongly in bilinguals (as imaged using MEG; Bialystok et al., 2005). ...
A large body of research has indicated that bilingualism may impact cognitive functions, as well as relevant aspects of brain function and structure, through continual practice in language control. The present review aimed to bring together relevant findings on the relationship between bilingualism and domain-general cognitive functions from a neural perspective. The final sample included 210 studies, covering findings regarding neural responses to bilingual language control and/or domain-general cognitive tasks, as well as regarding effects of bilingualism on non-task-related brain function and brain structure. The evidence indicates that a) bilingual language control likely entails neural mechanisms responsible for domain-general cognitive functions; b) bilingual experiences impact neural responses to domain-general cognitive functions; and c) bilingual experiences impact non-task-related brain function (both resting-state and metabolic function) as well as aspects of brain structure (both macrostructure and microstructure), each of which may in turn impact mental processes, including domain-general cognitive functions. Such functional and structural neuroplasticity associated with bilingualism may contribute to both cognitive and neural reserves, producing benefits across the lifespan.
... Moreover, neuroimaging studies have shown both functional and structural differences mainly in the prefrontal cortex network and parietal areas between mono-and bilinguals (for reviews, see Cespón & Carreiras, 2020;Paap et al., 2015). However, these differences in neural processes did not align with behavioral differences on EF tasks (Ansaldo et al., 2015;Bialystok, Craik, et al., 2005;Luk et al., 2010;Rodriguez-Pujada et al., 2013). These observations support the assumption that bilingualism might influence the organization of cognitive functions without inevitably improving cognitive performance. ...
... changes in brain networks, the duration of the bilingual experience might be crucial and differences between mono-and bilingual children might occur later during childhood. However, differences in neural processes often do not align with performance differences in adults (Ansaldo et al., 2015;Bialystok, Craik, et al., 2005;Luk et al., 2010;Rodriguez-Pujada et al., 2013), which might also apply to neuronal differences in children. ...
The effects of bilingualism on executive functions (EFs) and intelligence are still controversially discussed. Most studies have focused on performance differences without considering the underlying structure of cognitive abilities. Thus, we examined whether the structure of EFs and the relations of EFs with intelligence differ between mono- and bilingual children. A total of 240 elementary school children (mean age = 8 years 6 months; 133 monolinguals and 95 bilinguals) performed two tasks measuring working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and fluid intelligence, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that one common EF factor provided the best fit to the data in both language groups, indicating that bilingualism is not associated with differences in the EF structure at this age. Moreover, there were no latent performance differences in either EFs or intelligence between mono- and bilingual children. However, we found a stronger relation between a common EF factor and fluid intelligence in bilingual children as compared with monolingual children, implying a closer coupling of EFs and intelligence abilities in bilingual children. This contributes to explaining the previous heterogeneous findings on the task level because more closely coupled cognitive functioning can be slightly beneficial for some tasks and irrelevant or even slightly obstructive for others.
... Why might being exposed to an L2 through speaking and reading impact cognition? Previous research suggests that early L2 learning and reading may have a positive effect on cognition (e.g., Bialystok and Ryan, 1985;Bialystok et al., 2005) First, bilinguals exercise the brain, thereby improving their performance on nonverbal cognitive tasks, such as attention and working memory (Bialystok, 2017). This bilingual cognitive advantage lies in neuroplasticity, which refers to the ways in which the brain's abilities to adapt in response to new experiences change throughout a person's lifetime (Gunnerud et al., 2020). ...
... When bilinguals switch from one language to another, they need to suppress the current language and activate the output of another language (Wang et al., 2005). One possible reason for the development of increased cognitive control in bilingual children is that the same control processes are used to solve difficult problems and manage both active language systems (Bialystok et al., 2005). ...
Clarifying the effects of biliteracy on cognitive development is important to understanding the role of cognitive development in L2 learning. A substantial body of research has shed light on the cognitive factors contributing to biliteracy development. Yet, not much is known about the effect of the degree of exposure to biliteracy on cognitive functions. To fill this research void, we measured three categories of biliteracy skills (language, reading, and cognitive–linguistic skills in both Chinese and English) jointly and investigated the effects of biliteracy skill performance in these three categories on cognitive skills (working memory and attentional control) in Chinese L1 children who were exposed to English as L2 beginning at age 3 (“early”) or in grade 3 (“late”). In this cross-sectional study, 10 parallel Chinese and English language, reading, and cognitive–linguistic measures were administered to emerging Chinese–English bilingual children in grade 3 (n = 178) and grade 6 (n = 176). The results revealed that early exposure to Chinese–English biliteracy enhanced cognitive skills but with a cost of a slight delay in performance on Chinese L1 language skills in grade 3 (but not in grade 6). Importantly, the present findings suggest that, in addition to universal and developmental processes, the cumulative effect of early and sustained bi-scriptal exposure enhances working memory and attention in school children.
... The relationship between bilingualism and inhibitory control has attracted continuous attention (for reviews, see Antoniou, 2019;Poarch & Krott, 2019;Vīnerte & Sabourin, 2019). A number of studies have shown positive effects (e.g., Bialystok et al., , 2005Bialystok et al., , 2008Coderre & van Heuven, 2014;Martin-Rhee & Bialystok, 2008;Marton et al., 2017), though some have failed to demonstrate significant bilingual advantages (e.g., Antón et al., 2014;Duñabeitia et al., 2014;Gathercole et al., 2014;Kirk et al., 2014;Ladas et al., 2015;Paap et al., 2015;Poarch & van Hell, 2012). Recently, with the debate going on, research on this topic has been extended to include more factors. ...
... Although a number of studies have failed to demonstrate distinct advantages in inhibitory control among bilinguals (e.g., Antón et al., 2014;Bialystok et al., 2010;Duñabeitia et al., 2014;Gathercole et al., 2014;Kirk et al., 2014;Ladas et al., 2015;Morton & Harper, 2007;Paap et al., 2015;Paap & Greenberg, 2013;Poarch & van Hell, 2012), the preponderance of studies has provided evidence that bilinguals show better inhibitory control than monolinguals (e.g., Bialystok et al., , 2005Bialystok & Martin, 2004;Blom et al., 2014Blom et al., , 2017Carlson & Meltzoff, 2008;Costa et al., 2009;Crivello et al., 2016;De Cat et al., 2018;Engel de Abreu et al., 2012;Gold et al., 2013;Morales et al., 2013;Poarch & Bialystok, 2015;Poarch & van Hell, 2012;Prior & MacWhinney, 2010;Thomas-Sunesson et al., 2018). Since these studies link bilingual experience with improved inhibitory control, it may follow that learning and using an L3 would further enhance the capacity for inhibitory control. ...
Aims and Objectives
The present study explores the question of whether learning a third language (L3) in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom setting induces improved inhibitory control compared with that found in bilinguals, considering task complexity and language proficiency.
Methodology
Thirty-six Chinese–English second language (L2) young adult learners and 121 Chinese–English–Japanese/French/Russian/German L3 young adult learners with three levels of L3 proficiency participated in the study. Simon arrow tasks were employed to measure two types of inhibitory control: response inhibition (the less complex task with univalent stimuli) and interference suppression (the more complex task with bivalent stimuli).
Data and Analysis
Statistics using ANOVAs and multiple comparisons were employed to analyze the effects of L3 learning on the reaction time and accuracy for response inhibition and interference suppression, respectively.
Findings
The results demonstrated that L3 learners did not outperform L2 learners in the two types of inhibitory control: response inhibition (less complex) and interference suppression (more complex). Moreover, L3 learners with a higher proficiency did not display better inhibitory control than those with a lower proficiency in response inhibition and interference suppression. However, as the L3 proficiency increased, some specific aspects of inhibitory control did improve and exhibited a nonlinear pattern.
Originality
The present study extends bilingual advantage in inhibitory control to formal L3 learning, exploring whether bilingual advantage in inhibitory control also appears in L3 learners, considering task complexity and language proficiency.
Significance/implications
The present study contributes to the theory of the relationship between multilingualism and inhibitory control by showing that this relationship may be more complex than it is understood currently. Learning an additional language to L2, particularly short-term learning, may not lead to an incremental advantage in overall inhibitory control. However, as learning time increases, changes may appear in specific aspects of inhibitory control, and may be a nonlinear one.
... If experience with language inf luences and shapes thought (Whorf 1956), how does experience with two or more languages factor in? Bilinguals are a unique example of how the brain orchestrates a series of executive functions, such as conf lict monitoring, updating, inhibitory control, and working memory, as needed to regularly engage in/with two or more languages (Bialystok et al. 2005;Abutalebi and Green 2007;Kovács and Melher 2009;Prior and Gollan 2013;Calvo and Bialystok 2014;Verreyt et al. 2016;Declerck et al. 2017). For instance, the ability for bilinguals to switch back and forth between their two languages or to speak in one language without intrusions from the other is facilitated by complex control processes that react and adjust to the various linguistic situations in which bilinguals find themselves (Abutalebi et al. 2012). ...
... Accumulating evidence has shown that experience with language switching improves language control abilities that subsequently can be generalized to domaingeneral cognitive control (Bialystok et al. 2005;Abutalebi and Green 2007;Kovács and Melher 2009;Prior and Gollan 2013;Calvo and Bialystok 2014;Verreyt et al. 2016;Declerck et al. 2017). However, these studies have examined language control and cognitive control during production and comprehension separately. ...
For bilinguals, speaking and listening are assisted by complex control processes including conf lict monitoring and inhibition. However, the extent to which these processes adapt to linguistic and situational needs has been examined separately for language production and comprehension. In the present study, we use a dual-EEG to record the carry-over effects of language control on general cognitive control in three language contexts (single-first language [L1], single-second language [L2], and mixed). Chinese learners of English were placed in dyads in which one participant was asked to name pictures while the other listened. Interleaved after each naming/listening trial were f lanker trials. The results from picture naming and listening revealed higher delta and theta synchronization in the single-L2 and mixed contexts compared with the single-L1 context and higher theta synchronization in the mixed context compared with the single-L2 and single-L1 contexts. The results from the interleaved f lanker trials demonstrated that inhibition was adaptively generalized in the single-L2 and mixed contexts. Altogether, the findings support the natural adaptation of language control to cognitive control and underscore the importance of linguistic context. We argue that these adaptive patterns have the potential to affect corresponding control processes across language and cognitive control tasks.
... Over the years, studies have shown that bilingualism provides an advantage in cognitive performance (Ansaldo, Ghazi-Saidi, & Adrover-Roig, 2015;Dash, Berroir, Joanette & Ansaldo;Dash, Ghazi-Saidi, Berroir, Adrover-Roig, Benali, & Ansaldo, 2017;Pliatsikas, & Luk, 2016) more so, in aging individuals (Dash et al., 2019;Gold, Kim, Johnson, Kryscio, & Smith, 2013;Grady, Luk, Craik, & Bialystok, 2015). By frequently practicing the language control mechanism, bilinguals tend to be faster and more accurate in tasks of attention (Costa, Hernández, & Sebastián-Gallés, 2008;Dash et al., 2019;Marzecová, Asanowicz, L'UBA, & Wodniecka, 2013), working memory (Grundy & Timmer, 2017) and cognitive control (Bialystok, Craik, Grady, Chau, Ishii, Gunji, & Pantev, 2005). These cognitive domains and their subcomponents are interrelated, and the role of bilingualism may vary for each subcomponent. ...
... The present study shows the strength of rsFC in the seeds of attention network with other brain areas modulated by bilingualism on a continuum, i.e., stronger rsFC, with increasing levels of bilingualism. Thus, accounting for the cognitive advantage for performance in bilinguals, not just the EC network (Bialystok et al., 2005;Kousaie & Phillips., 2017) but also in alerting and orienting network. These findings are consistent with the notion that bilingual experience contributes by protecting age-related decline (Gold et al., 2013;Grady et al., 2015) and may act as a proxy to cognitive reserve. ...
This study explores the effects of bilingualism on the subcomponents of attention using resting state functional connectivity analysis (rsFC). Unlike previous studies, measures of bilingualism - L2 Age of Acquisition (AOA), L2 exposure, and L2 proficiency - were examined along a continuum to study attentional mechanisms using rsFC instead of dichotomizing them. 20 seed regions were pre-selected for the three subcomponents of attention. The results showed a positive association between behavioral performance and rsFC for the seeds in alerting and orienting network; this was not true for the seeds in the executive control network. Secondly, rsFC for attention networks varied with different levels of bilingualism. The objective measures of bilingualism modulate all three attention networks. While the subjective measures such as L2 AOA modulates specific attention network. Thus, language performance in contrast to self-reported information, as a measure of bilingualism, has a greater potential to tap into the role of bilingualism in attentional processes.
... Previous research suggests that bilingual experience influences cognitive control over lifespan in that bilinguals outperform monolingual counterparts in cognitive control tasks (e.g. Bialystok et al., 2005;Costa et al., 2009;Prior & Gollan, 2011). Neuroimaging studies have shown that bilinguals preserve higher efficiency in neural networks in terms of the density/volume of gray or white matter compared to monolinguals (e.g. ...
... Although many previous studies adopted single task, that is, using one task to examine inhibition, or mental set shifting (e.g. Bialystok et al., 2005;Prior & MacWhinney, 2010), it will be better for future studies to use more tests, as there is considerable evidence showing that bilingual advantage is task-specific (e.g. van den Noort et al., 2019;von Bastian et al., 2016). ...
Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions
This study investigated whether the studying abroad bilingual experience among unevenly balanced Chinese–English bilinguals exerted influence on cognitive control.
Design/methodology/approach
We compared cognitive control differences between a group of Chinese–English bilinguals (n = 30) studying abroad in the USA and a control bilingual group (n = 30) studying at home in mainland China by administering the Flanker task and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The two groups were matched on demographic variables including age, socioeconomic status (SES), intelligence, etc.
Data and analysis
A mixed ANOVA was applied to the Flanker task data, with the task condition as the within-subject variable and the participant group as the between-subject variable. Independent t-test analyses were used to compare performance differences between groups on the WCST.
Findings/conclusions
The two groups performed similarly on the Flanker task, whereas the group studying abroad fared better on the WCST, indicating better mental set shifting.
Originality
This is the first study to show that the experience of studying abroad brings about cognitive control advantage in mental set shifting.
Significance/implications
The current research provides the first evidence that the experience of studying abroad is related to the enhancement of cognitive control, which has implications for both cognitive development and international education.
... One line of research has compared bilinguals with their monolingual peers, reporting that when completing non-linguistic executive function tasks, particularly tasks engaging conflict control functions, e.g., the Simon Task, the Flanker Task, and the Stroop Task, bilinguals exhibit a smaller conflict effect (i.e., the difference between inconsistent and consistent conditions), suggesting cognitive accommodations to bilingual experience in cognitive control [2,5,6]. Furthermore, a number of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies have explored how bilingual language experience modulates brain plasticity by comparing bilinguals and monolinguals in the neural mechanisms of executive control [7][8][9][10][11][12]. So far, brain imaging evidence available has shown that activation patterns in a number of brain regions differ between bilinguals and monolinguals when they perform cognitive control tasks [7,8,11,13,14]. ...
... Furthermore, a number of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies have explored how bilingual language experience modulates brain plasticity by comparing bilinguals and monolinguals in the neural mechanisms of executive control [7][8][9][10][11][12]. So far, brain imaging evidence available has shown that activation patterns in a number of brain regions differ between bilinguals and monolinguals when they perform cognitive control tasks [7,8,11,13,14]. Since these brain areas play crucial roles in both cognitive control and language control [7,10,15], these findings suggest that bilingualism leads to neurological changes in control mechanisms. In contrast, some studies did not reveal any difference between bilinguals and monolinguals in certain executive control tasks in behavioral data [4,16,17]. ...
Bilingual language experience, such as switching between languages, has been shown to shape both cognitive and neural mechanisms of non-linguistic cognitive control. However, the neural adaptations induced by language switching remain unclear. Using fMRI, the current study examined the impact of short-term language switching training on the neural network of domain-general cognitive control for unbalanced Chinese-English bilinguals. Effective connectivity maps were constructed by using the extended unified structural equation models (euSEM) within 10 common brain regions involved in both language control and domain-general cognitive control. Results showed that, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/pre-supplementary motor area (dACC/pre-SMA) lost connection from the right thalamus after training, suggesting that less neural connectivity was required to complete the same domain-general cognitive control task. These findings not only provide direct evidence for the modulation of language switching training on the neural interaction of domain-general cognitive control, but also have important implications for revealing the potential neurocognitive adaptation effects of specific bilingual language experiences.
... The possibility that bilingualism is associated with neuroplastic changes in cognitive and brain systems across the lifespan has led a surge in research accompanied by vigorous debate about the reliability of the evidence (review in Bialystok, 2017). In contrast to studies supporting cognitive differences between monolingual and bilingual infants (Comishen, Bialystok, & Adler, 2019;Kovács & Mehler, 2009;Sebastián-Gallés, Albareda-Castellot, Weikum, & Werker, 2012), children (review in Barac, Bialystok, Castro, & Sanchez, 2014) and older adults (review in Baum & Titone, 2014), other research examining similar populations has not found these effects, particularly in studies of young adults performing behavioral tasks (Bialystok, Craik et al., 2005;Bialystok, Martin, & Viswanathan, 2005;Bialystok, 2006;Paap & Greenberg, 2013;Von Bastian, Souza, & Gade, 2016). In many cases, studies that appeared to be similar in all essential respects have nonetheless led to different outcomes. ...
... Commonly used tasks, such as the Simon task and flanker task typically reveal ceiling performance for young adult participants (Bialystok, Craik, Klein, & Viswanathan, 2004;Bialystok, Craik et al., 2005;Bialystok, Martin, et al., 2005;Costa, Hernández, & Sebastián-Gallés, 2008;Luk, Anderson, Craik, Grady, & Bialystok, 2010;Paap & Greenberg, 2013), and the lack of behavioral variability reduces the likelihood of observing group differences. However, several early studies demonstrated that manipulations in the task that created a set of scaled conditions changed the likelihood that monolingual and bilingual young adults would achieve similar outcomes. ...
One approach to resolving the controversy over whether bilingualism affects executive function (EF) performance has been to identify the specific tasks and populations that might show these effects. The assumption is that the effect of bilingualism reliably occurs with some tasks and populations but not others and that identifying those conditions will settle outstanding contradictions. However, it is now clear that experiments using the same task (e.g., flanker, Simon, etc.) and apparently the same populations (monolingual or bilingual participants) still lead to different outcomes. Therefore, something in addition to these factors must determine performance. The present study tested the hypothesis that changes in demands for attentional control within a task is associated with performance differences for groups with different attentional resources, in this case, monolingual and bilingual participants. Sixty-four young adults who were classified as monolingual or bilingual based on a detailed questionnaire completed four increasingly difficult conditions of an n-back task while EEG was recorded. Behavioral results showed greater declines with increasing difficulty for monolinguals than bilinguals, and electrophysiological results revealed more effortful processing by monolinguals across all conditions. Our interpretation is that demands for attentional control by the task in conjunction with assessments of attentional resources in individuals or groups determines performance on executive function tasks. These results lead to a re-examination of how executive function is conceptualized and the role of bilingualism in performance on these tasks.
... This argument can be accounted for by the presumption that similar-script bilinguals have to deal with greater cross-language activation as compared to different-script bilinguals (but also see Paap et al., 2015, for a different interpretation of Coderre & van Heuven, 2014). However, other studies that compared bilinguals with different levels of script similarities have either reported null (Linck et al., 2008) or the reverse pattern of results (i.e., better executive performance for different-script as compared to similarscript bilinguals; Bialystok et al., 2005). This discrepancy might result from dimensions of linguistic difference other than orthography (e.g., grammar and syntax; Lee, 2022). ...
How speaking two languages affects executive functions has been a long‐standing debate and the mechanisms underlying the observed cognitive advantages of bilingualism remain unspecified. Here, using multivariate pattern classification methods, we decoded spatial patterns of neural signals associated with Flanker task performance in mono‐dialectal and bi‐dialectal speakers of Chinese. While univariate approach to even‐related potentials (ERPs) showed no between‐group difference, decoding accuracy of ERPs was reduced in bi‐dialectal as compared to mono‐dialectal speakers in both congruent‐neutral and incongruent‐neutral classifications. There was no effect of bidialectalism, however, on decoding accuracy of alpha‐band oscillations, an electrophysiological index implicated in inhibition. Behavioural data analyzed using the Drift Diffusion Model (DDM) showed facilitating effects of bidialectalism on non‐decision times but no effect on drift rates. These findings demonstrate that using two dialects on a daily basis enhances general attentional deployment rather than affecting specific component of executive functions such as inhibitory control. Given that the two dialects of Chinese differed almost exclusively in phonology, the bidialectalism effect was most likely motivated by resolving phonological competition at lexical processing level.
... A proficient bilingual is adept at resolving this conflict through a very sophisticated inhibitory control mechanism in place, which seem to be domain general. This is what is widely known as the 'bilingual advantage': better performance of bilinguals, as opposed to monolinguals, on non-verbal tasks that 'require different cognitive control processes, like conflict resolution, attention, shifting, updating, and working memory' (Bialystok et al., 2005(Bialystok et al., , 2006Costa et al., 2008;Prior & Macwhinney, 2010;Luo et al., 2013;Pelham & Abrams, 2014;Prior & Gollan, 2011;Wiseheart et al., 2016;Colzato et al., 2008;Costa et al., 2008;Martin-Rhee & Bialystok, 2008). However, there are also ample number of studies that show that such a claim may not be universally applicable (Hilchey & Klein, 2011;Morton & Harper, 2007;Paap & Greenberg, 2013;Paap & Sawi, 2014;Paap et al, 2015Paap et al, , 2017Ratiu & Azuma, 2015). ...
Research on bilingual language processing, for many years now, have focused on the bilingual advantage. The result of these investigations has shown that the said advantage is not found in all participants and in all task conditions. As a result of this, the bilingual language use and the background of the communities have become points to investigate. The current study aimed to investigate some of these finer nuances of ‘bilingual experience’ and their effect on the control mechanisms. This study juxtaposed two different groups of bilinguals with distinct second languages. In the first case, both the first and the second language of the groups are indigenous languages, of the tribal communities they belong to, namely the Ao and Sangtam from Nagaland in India’s north east. In the second case, the second language is English and the first language is Ao. The groups also have differences in terms of socio-cultural background. Two comprehension studies were carried out: a primed translation recognition and a primed lexical decision task. The aim of the study was to check the role of the non-linguistic prime on the language task. The first experiment also probed the presence/absence of switch cost. Together the two experiments investigated the presence of cognitive control in the area of interference inhibition with two different bilingual groups. The results point to some effect of the cultural cue in the second study but not in the first. The reason for the same probably lies in the socio-cultural background as well as the relative status of the languages.
... The link between bilingualism and creativity might be explained in part by cognitive control (Bialystok et al., 2005;Bialystok, 2011;Sampedro and Peña, 2019). Cognitive control refers to the ability to regulate and monitor ongoing behaviors to achieve goals in novel ways in changing and emergent situations (Ridderinkhof et al., 2004). ...
Bilingualism has been shown to be associated with creativity, but the mechanisms of this association are not very well understood. One possibility is that the skills that bilinguals use in switching back and forth between languages also promote the cognitive processes associated with creativity. We hypothesized that high-proficient Chinese-English bilinguals would show higher convergent and divergent thinking than low-proficient bilinguals, with the differences being mediated by cognitive inhibition and cognitive flexibility, respectively. Chinese university students ( N = 54) were classified as high-proficient ( n = 27) and low-proficient ( n = 27) bilinguals based on their performance on the National English Test for College Students. As expected, group comparisons showed that the high-proficient group had higher scores on the Remote Associates Test (RAT, convergent thinking) and the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT, divergent thinking). Also as expected, the association between bilingualism and convergent thinking was mediated by scores on a Stroop task (cognitive inhibition), and the association between bilingualism and divergent thinking was mediated by scores on a More-odd shifting task (cognitive flexibility). These findings suggest that bilingual learning can promote the development of different components of creativity through stronger cognitive inhibition and cognitive flexibility. The results provide empirical evidence for the relationship and mechanism between bilingual learning and creativity.
... The last reason is the "Double Threshold Theory" advocated by Cummins (1979), that language pro ciency is an important variable that restricts the dominating effect of bilingualism. The second language will not interfere with cognition after reaching a primary threshold level, but can effectively contribute to cognitive ability when it reaches an advanced threshold level (Adi-Japha, Berberich -Artzi, & Libnawi, 2010; Bialystok et al., 2005). The latest research also con rms this view that language pro ciency will affect the cognitive neural changes of lying (Zhang et al., 2020). ...
This study investigated the function of authentic mother tongue in trilinguals, the person who masters speaking Cantonese, Mandarin, and English were taken as the Participants. Meanwhile, considering the influence of individual deceptive tendencies, this study will further explore the relationship between language, lying behavior, and deceptive tendencies. The Spot-the-Difference Task and the False Statement Task were adopted, and the result showed that using English to lie is most difficult, but there is no difference between Cantonese and Mandarin when lying. When lying, People who have a low deceptive tendency prefer to use their mother tongue, while people who are a high deceptive tendency have no preference when choosing the language. It means people who are a high deceptive tendency can use language freely to lie. The experiment suggested that lying tendency will affect what language people choose for lying. Overall, the study not only discusses the role of Cantonese as a real mother tongue, but also puts forward that we should pay attention to personal morality when research lies.
... Young adults are at the height of cognitive function, so language group differences may be more difficult to detect with behavioral measures in this age group. Previous research often finds no differences between groups in behavior, but demonstrate less neural activity for bilinguals than monolinguals, indicating efficiency for the bilinguals (e.g., Bialystok et al., 2005;Abutalebi et al., 2012;Grundy et al., 2017b). Moreover, response time distributions are not gaussian distributions, so statistical analyses of restricted means typically introduce a bias (Miller, 1991;Ratcliff, 1993). ...
Attention has recently been proposed as the mechanism underlying the cognitive effects associated with bilingualism. However, similar to bilingualism, the term attention is complex, dynamic, and can vary from one activity to another. Throughout our daily lives, we use different types of attention that differ in complexity: sustained attention, selective attention, alternating attention, divided attention, and disengagement of attention. The present paper is a focused review summarizing the results from studies that explore the link between bilingualism and attention. For each level of attention, a brief overview of relevant theoretical models will be discussed along with a spotlight on paradigms and tasks used to measure these forms of attention. The findings illustrate that different types and levels of attention are modified by the variety of bilingual experiences. Future studies wishing to examine the effects of bilingualism on attention are encouraged to embrace the complexity and diversity of both constructs rather than making global claims about bilingualism and attention.
... However, the results of behavioral research sometimes diverge from the outcomes reported in electrophysiological reports. In studies on bilingualism, differences in the neural correlates of cognitive processes have been found in the absence of overt behavioral differences (Abutalebi et al., 2012;Bialystok, Craik, Grady, Chau, Ishii, Gunji & Pantev, 2005;Kousaie & Phillips, 2012). Concerning L2 vocabulary acquisition, behavioral studies sometimes fail to capture subtle changes in language processing that occur with minimal training in L2 learning (McLaughlin, Osterhout & Kim, 2004). ...
An event-related potential (ERP) study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of two learning methods for the acquisition of vocabulary in a foreign language (FL). In the semantic method, FL words were presented with pictures denoting their meaning and the learners practiced with a semantic categorization task (to indicate whether FL words were exemplars of a semantic category). In the lexical method, FL words were paired with their translation in the first language (L1) and the learners practiced with a letter-monitoring task (to indicate whether L1-FL words contained a grapheme). A translation task and a picture-naming task were used to evaluate FL acquisition. ERP modulations associated with semantic processing were more evident and broadly distributed in the semantic versus lexical learning group. The pattern of results suggests that a single session of semantic learning favors the establishment of connections between semantics and the words learned in a new language.
... Spanish-English) (Prior & Gollan, 2011;Sörman et al., 2019), others reported the same effect for linguistically distant language pairs (i.e. Cantonese-English) (Bialystok et al., 2005;Wierzbicki, 2013). Identifying potential connections between individual differences of bilingual participants and EFs may help to overcome those problems (Bialystok, 2017;. ...
Aims and Objectives:
Bilinguals have been claimed to develop superior executive functioning compared to monolinguals due to their continuous experience of controlling two languages. Given the developmental trajectory of executive functions, a bilingual advantage could be more pronounced at an advanced age. To gain a clearer understanding, we reviewed the effect of bilingualism executive functions in healthy older adults.
Methodology:
The present paper systematically examines the methods and the results of 24 studies from 22 articles comparing healthy older monolinguals and bilinguals in at least one domain of executive functions.
Data and Analysis:
Data of each study were extracted for sample characteristics, country, language background and measures, controlled confounders and task paradigms. Study quality was also calculated for each study.
Findings and Conclusions:
In general, nine out of the 24 studies fully supported the notion of a bilingual advantage. Four studies showed a bilingual disadvantage. The rest of the studies challenged the existence of a bilingual advantage, as neither full support for bilingual advantages nor bilingual disadvantages were seen in various domains. The available data did not clearly support the widespread notion that bilingualism is related to a general advantage in executive control. However, when looking at the domains of executive functions separately, bilingualism was reliably associated with an advantage in inhibition, especially in two commonly applied tasks: the Stroop test and the Simon task.
Originality:
This is the first systematic review aimed at exploring the link between bilingualism and executive functions in healthy older adults.
Significance/Implications:
Heterogeneity in study characteristics and control of confounding variables may partially explain some of the inconsistencies found between studies. Therefore, well-designed studies that measure all core domains of executive functions and consider confounding variables are urgently needed.
... The absence of a global RT reduction on the Simon task could also relate to the number of trials we used. Although some stud-ies presented fewer trials (e.g., Bialystok et al., 2004 ), others used more trials (e.g., Bialystok et al., 2005 ). We reasoned that too many trials could result in practice effects that mask bilingual advantages in inhibitory control, but support the emergence global reductions in RT, as we identified in our flanker task data. ...
The question of whether bilingual language experience confers a cognitive advantage is still open. Studies report that putative bilingual advantages can be accounted for by individual differences in socioeconomic class, immigration status, or culture. Such studies typically consider bilingual experience to be a categorical variable using parametric statistical analyses. However, bilingual experience is itself highly variable across individual participants in most studies reported to date. Here we test the hypothesis that bilingual experience has a direct effect on executive function by estimating the effect of L2 (English) experience on performance in the Simon and flanker tasks. Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess effects of bilingual experience on performance. Self-reported L2 proficiency was associated with reduced interference on the Simon task as well as faster global response times on the flanker task, suggesting some cognitive advantages during inhibitory control. We conclude that individual differences in bilingual language experience may explain the many contradictory findings in studies testing the veracity of the bilingual advantage.
... In sum, research on the effects of bilingualism on cognitive functions, such as decision-making, attention, and memory processing suggests that bilinguals may have certain advantages in performing non-linguistic tasks due to their more trained inhibitory control because of the selection of languages compared to monolinguals (Bialystok et al., 2005;Weissberger et al., 2015). Furthermore, bilinguals could rely on more analytical and deliberate System-2 processing as opposed to heuristic System-1 (Caldwell-Harris, 2014; Costa et al., 2014;Hayakawa et al., 2016Hayakawa et al., , 2017Bialek et al., 2019). ...
Human memory is prone to memory errors and distortion. Evidence from studies on cognitive functions in bilinguals indicates that they might be prone to different types of memory errors compared to monolinguals; however, the effect of language in false memories is still understudied. Source monitoring processes required for proper memory functioning, presumably, rely on inhibitory control, which is also heavily utilized by bilinguals. Moreover, it is suggested that thinking in a second language leads to more systematic and deliberate reasoning. All these results lead to expect that bilinguals are more analytical when processing information in their second language overcoming some memory errors depending on the language of information. To test this hypothesis, we run a classical misinformation experiment with an explicit source monitoring task with a sample of Russian–English bilinguals. The language of the misinformation presentation did not affect the degree of the misinformation effect between the Russian and English languages. Source monitoring demonstrated an overall higher accuracy for attributions to the English source over the Russian source. Furthermore, analysis on incorrect source attributions showed that when participants misattributed the sources of false information (English or Russian narrative), they favored the Russian source over the not presented condition. Taken together, these results imply that high proficiency in the second language does not affect misinformation and that information processing and memory monitoring in bilinguals can differ depending on the language of the information, which seems to lead to some memory errors and not others.
... When the rectangle on the computer screen is isomorphic with the hand that is associated with that rectangle (congruent trials), responses are faster than when the rectangle is on the screen opposite to the hand doing the responding (incongruent trials). For adults, the difference in reaction time between the incongruent and congruent trials, known as the Simon effect, or the conflict effect, is relatively small, on the order of 25 ms (Bialystok et al., 2005). The conflict between the side of the computer screen on which the stimulus appears and the side of the body that produces a response requires minimal monitoring. ...
The study of bilingualism has charted a dramatically new, important, and exciting course in the 21st C., benefiting from the integration in cognitive science of theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and cognitive psychology (especially work on the higher-level cognitive processes often called "executive function" or "executive control"). Current research, as exemplified in this book, advances the study of the effects of bilingualism on executive function, by identifying many different ways of being bilingual, exploring the multiple facets of executive function, and developing and analyzing tasks that measure executive function. The papers in this volume (21 chapters), by leading researchers in bilingualism and cognition, investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects (or lack thereof) of bilingualism on cognition in children, adults, and the elderly.
... However, Luk et al. (2010)'s paradigm makes it difficult to dissociate between inhibitory and attentional control mechanisms. Garbin et al. (2010) used the Go/No-Go and showed that bilingual adults activate left inferior frontal regions, while monolingual adults activated right inferior frontal regions (see also Bialystok et al., 2005). Yet, none of these studies have investigated the development of the fronto-parietal network and its direct link to attentional control and language processes. ...
Early life experiences are thought to alter children’s cognition and brain development, yet the precise nature of these changes remains largely unknown. Research has shown that bilinguals’ languages are simultaneously active, and their parallel activation imposes an increased demand for attentional mechanisms even when the intention is to use one of their languages (cf. Kroll & Bialystok, 2013). Theoretical frameworks (Adaptive Control hypothesis; Green & Abutalebi, 2013) propose that daily demands of dual-language experiences impact the organization of neural networks. To test this hypothesis, this dissertation used functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to image brain regions in young monolingual and bilingual children (53 English monolinguals, 40 Spanish-English bilinguals; ages 7-9) while they performed a verbal attention task assessing phonological interference and a non-verbal attention task assessing attentional networks. The results did not reveal differences in behavioral performance between bilinguals and monolinguals, however, the neuroimaging findings revealed three critical differences between the groups: (i) bilingual children engaged less brain activity in left frontal regions, than monolinguals, when managing linguistic competitors in one language thus suggesting efficient processing; (ii) bilinguals showed overall greater brain activity, than monolinguals, in left fronto-parietal regions for attentional networks (i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive); and (iii) bilinguals’ brain activity in left fronto-parietal regions during the Executive attentional network was associated with better language abilities. Taken together, these findings suggest that attentional mechanisms and language processes both interact in bilinguals’ left fronto-parietal regions to impact the dynamics of brain plasticity during child development. This work informs neuro-cognitive theories on how early life experiences such as bilingualism impact brain development and plasticity.
... CLIL can keep students more cognitively active (Jäppinen, 2005). This approach also requires less cognitive effort, according to the neuroimaging studies (Bialystok et al., 2005). The prolific research into the cognitive benefits of bilingualism is based on the fact that language is socially constructed (Vygotsky, 1962), but it also has a bio-cognitive and neuro-cognitive structure (Ullman, 2015). ...
A lesson in a psychology course given to university students is presented, using the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach. A total of 78 psychology freshmen college students participated in this experiment. All participants received four lessons in a regular university class. The lessons were about general concepts on psychological disorders. The lessons were taught in English. Different quantitative and qualitative aspects of content acquisition were assessed. In addition, attitudes about and motivation to participate in this bilingual learning practice at the university were evaluated. Results showed a high level of approval and motivation for this methodology, along with a significant assimilation of the content taught. In conclusion, intensifying interaction and diversifying of linguistic skills, as well as adjusting the lecturing time to match the students' learning capacity and the professor's second language proficiency, could potentially improve this CLIL experience.
... This work sought to examine whether the relationship between fNIRS activity and performance differed based on task difficulty, specifically by using a data-driven, multivariate partial least squares (PLS) analysis to evaluate this relationship. Behavioral PLS ( McIntosh and Lobaugh, 2004 ) has been used in other neuroimaging modalities (such as fMRI, EEG, and magnetoencephalography (MEG)) as a data-driven approach to extract relationships between neural activity and behaviors of interest ( Bialystok et al., 2005 ;Chang et al., 2017 ;Krishnan et al., 2011 ;Lobaugh et al., 2001 ;McIntosh et al., 2008 ), but has not yet been implemented in fNIRS research. In the present work, PLS offers a distinct advantage for investigating the complex links between performance and neural activation over the more standard approach of contrasting high and low performance participants. ...
Neuroimaging research frequently demonstrates load-dependent activation in prefrontal and parietal cortex during working memory tasks such as the N-back. Most of this work has been conducted in fMRI, but functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is gaining traction as a less invasive and more flexible alternative to measuring cortical hemodynamics. Few fNIRS studies, however, have examined how working memory load-dependent changes in brain hemodynamics relate to performance. The current study employs a newly developed and robust statistical analysis of task-based fNIRS data in a large sample, and demonstrates the utility of data-driven, multivariate analyses to link brain activation and behavior in this modality. Seventy participants completed a standard N-back task with three N-back levels (N = 1, 2, 3) while fNIRS data were collected from frontal and parietal cortex. Overall, participants showed reliably greater fronto-parietal activation for the 2-back versus the 1-back task, suggesting fronto-parietal fNIRS measurements are sensitive to differences in cognitive load. The results for 3-back were much less consistent, potentially due to poor behavioral performance in the 3-back task. To address this, a multivariate analysis (behavioral partial least squares, PLS) was conducted to examine the interaction between fNIRS activation and performance at each N-back level. Results of the PLS analysis demonstrated differences in the relationship between accuracy and change in the deoxyhemoglobin fNIRS signal as a function of N-back level in four mid-frontal channels. Specifically, greater reductions in deoxyhemoglobin (i.e., more activation) were positively related to performance on the 3-back task, unrelated to accuracy in the 2-back task, and negatively associated with accuracy in the 1-back task. This pattern of results suggests that the metabolic demands correlated with neural activity required for high levels of accuracy vary as a consequence of task difficulty/cognitive load, whereby more automaticity during the 1-back task (less mid-frontal activity) predicted superior performance on this relatively easy task, and successful engagement of this mid-frontal region was required for high accuracy on a more difficult and cognitively demanding 3-back task. In summary, we show that fNIRS activity can track working memory load and can uncover significant associations between brain activity and performance, thus opening the door for this modality to be used in more wide-spread applications.
... Thus, whether such language competition confers bilinguals/multilinguals with a corresponding cognitive advantage has itself become controversial for an overview, see [24]. In the last ten years, studies have provided evidence both for e.g., [25,26] and against e.g., [27][28][29][30] the notion that bilingualism confers any sort of advantage. Meta-analyses of the relevant literature likewise have rendered mixed assessments. ...
A debate over the past decade has focused on the so-called bilingual advantage—the idea that bilingual and multilingual individuals have enhanced domain-general executive functions, relative to monolinguals, due to competition-induced monitoring of both processing and representation from the task-irrelevant language(s). In this commentary, we consider a recent study by Pot, Keijzer, and de Bot (2018), which focused on the relationship between individual differences in language usage and performance on an executive function task among multilingual older adults. We discuss their approach and findings in light of a more general movement towards embracing complexity in this domain of research, including individuals’ sociocultural context and position in the lifespan. The field increasingly considers interactions between bilingualism/multilingualism and cognition, employing measures of language use well beyond the early dichotomous perspectives on language background. Moreover, new measures of bilingualism and analytical approaches are helping researchers interrogate the complexities of specific processing issues. Indeed, our review of the bilingualism/multilingualism literature confirms the increased appreciation researchers have for the range of factors—beyond whether someone speaks one, two, or more languages—that impact specific cognitive processes. Here, we highlight some of the most salient of these, and incorporate suggestions for a way forward that likewise encompasses neural perspectives on the topic.
... Speaking two languages enriches one's cognitive, conceptual and semantic capabilities (see below). Multilinguals who are proficient in two or more languages have been reported to have enhanced executive or brain function and even have reduced-risk for dementia (Bialystok, Craik, Grady, Chau, Ishii, Gunji, & Pantev, 2005). ...
This work addresses a number of crucial themes in the history of linguistic enquiry-themes that are still relevant today. Aiming to encourage multiple language learning, and give potential stakeholders momentum to provide supportive multilingual environments for children, the paper first addresses the question of the origins of language or the naturalism-conventionalism debate, highlighting children's innate potentiality for multilingual acquisition. Second, the paper highlights the pragmalinguistic functions of language, shedding light on the language-thought debate, and illustrating the centrality of language to our life, relations and the exercise of power. The paper, next, deals with the nature-nurture debate or the fantastic and prodigious potentiality of children to develop multicompetence in multiple languages with enviable unselfconscious ease. Drawing on records of longitudinal data comprising the linguistic development of three children raised as simultaneous bilinguals, the paper finally tackles the central theme of the study, providing evidence-both theoretical and empirical-that childhood multilingualism is not only legitimate and highly possible without any detriment of any kind, but also a great asset and a source of power; and that children who have the opportunity to expand their multilingual meaning potential from infancy or early childhood, and to maintain them throughout their lives are fortunate indeed; and therefore concludes that families and policymakers that can offer this critical opportunity to their offspring and citizens are highly encouraged to do so.
... By adding variation to practice, people gain the experience of different perspectives. This enhances transferability of skills, builds confidence in dealing with new situations (Schwartz et al. 2005), and results in new cognitive abilities (Bialystok et al. 2005). ...
We present an exact replication of Experiment 2 from Kovács and Mehler's 2009 study, which showed that 7-month-old infants who are raised bilingually exhibit a cognitive advantage. In the experiment, a sound cue, following an AAB or ABB pattern, predicted the appearance of a visual stimulus on the screen. The stimulus appeared on one side of the screen for nine trials and then switched to the other side. In the original experiment, both mono- and bilingual infants anticipated where the visual stimulus would appear during pre-switch trials. However, during post-switch trials, only bilingual children anticipated that the stimulus would appear on the other side of the screen. The authors took this as evidence of a cognitive advantage. Using the exact same materials in combination with novel analysis techniques (Bayesian analyses, mixed effects modeling and cluster based permutation analyses), we assessed the robustness of these findings in four babylabs (N = 98). Our results did not replicate the original findings: although anticipatory looks increased slightly during post-switch trials for both groups, bilingual infants were not better switchers than monolingual infants. After the original experiment, we presented additional trials to examine whether infants associated sound patterns with cued locations, for which we did not find any evidence either. The results highlight the importance of multicenter replications and more fine-grained statistical analyses to better understand child development. HIGHLIGHTS: We carried out an exact replication across four baby labs of the high-impact study by Kovács and Mehler (2009). We did not replicate the findings of the original study, calling into question the robustness of the claim that bilingual infants have enhanced cognitive abilities. After the original experiment, we presented additional trials to examine whether infants correctly associated sound patterns with cued locations, for which we did not find any evidence. The use of novel analysis techniques (Bayesian analyses, mixed effects modeling and cluster based permutation analyses) allowed us to draw better-informed conclusions.
This study sheds light on the effect of bilingualism on working memory performance. It aims to investigate whether bilingual speakers have an advantage over monolingual speakers in performing visual-spatial working memory tasks. The present study attempts to be a contribution to the discussion of how working memory performance is affected by bilingualism. It tries to find out whether Arabic-English bilingual speakers have advantages over Arabic monolingual speakers in performing visual-spatial working memory tasks. Two experiments were conducted to test the working memory performance of bilinguals and monolinguals by using verbal and non-verbal tasks. The two measures were completed online; the non-verbal measure involved a picture memorization task, whereas the verbal measure involved word retrieval. Eighty female college students voluntarily participated in the study. Half were Arabic-English bilinguals, and the other half were Arabic monolinguals. Both groups were divided into two subgroups; half performed a non-verbal working memory task, and the other half participated in a verbal working memory task. The results showed no advantages for bilinguals in the picture memorization task. However, a bilingual advantage was found in the verbal working memory task in which bilingual speakers performed better in word retrieval compared to monolingual speakers. The findings indicate a positive effect of bilingualism on working memory performance, particularly in the visual-spatial component.
The study of the brains’ oscillatory activity has been a standard technique to gain insights into human neurocognition for a relatively long time. However, as a complementary analysis to ERPs, only very recently has it been utilized to study bilingualism and its neural underpinnings. Here, we provide a theoretical and methodological starter for scientists in the (psycho)linguistics and neurocognition of bilingualism field(s) to understand the bases and applications of this analytical tool. Towards this goal, we provide a description of the characteristics of the human neural (and its oscillatory) signal, followed by an in-depth description of various types of EEG oscillatory analyses, supplemented by figures and relevant examples. We then utilize the scant, yet emergent, literature on neural oscillations and bilingualism to highlight the potential of how analyzing neural oscillations can advance our understanding of the (psycho)linguistic and neurocognitive understanding of bilingualism.
A better understanding and more reliable classification of bilinguals has been progressively achieved through the fine-tuning methodology and simultaneously optimizing the measurement tools. However, the current understanding is far from generalization to a larger population varying in different measures of bilingualism—L2 Age of acquisition (L2 AOA), L2 usage and exposure, and L2 proficiency. More recent studies have highlighted the importance of modeling bilingualism as a continuous variable. An in-depth look at the role of bilingualism, comparing groups, may be considered a reductionist approach, i.e., grouping based on one measure of bilingualism (e.g., L2 AOA) may not account for variability in other measures of bilingualism (L2 exposure, L2 use or L2 proficiency, amongst others) within and between groups. Similarly, a multifactorial dimension is associated with cognitive performance, where not all domains of cognition and subcomponents are equally influenced by bilingualism. In addition, socio-cultural and demographical factors may add another dimension to the impact of bilingualism on cognitive performance, especially in older adults. Nevertheless, not many studies have controlled or used the multiple socio-cultural and demographical factors as a covariate to understand the role of different aspects of bilingualism that may influence cognitive performance differently. Such an approach would fail to generalize the research findings to a larger group of bilinguals. In the present review paper, we illustrate that considering a multifactorial approach to different dimensions of bilingual study may lead to a better understanding of the role of bilingualism on cognitive performance. With the evolution of various fine-tuned methodological approaches, there is a greater need to study variability in bilingual profiles that can help generalize the result universally.
The article comments on an infant research territory charted by Hinojosa et al. (2019) in Affective neurolinguistics: Towards a framework for reconciling language and emotion. Acknowledging the sprouting of affective neurolinguistics in the semantic and syntactic unification process, lexico-semantic and morphosyntactic and visual word and sentence processing domain, we expand on their thought to flesh out the aspect of bilingualism. Speakers of two or more languages are constantly fighting in receiving emotional input. One language may oust the other language to elicit the emotions, or bilinguals overthrow monolingual peers in perceiving emotion stimuli. This article claims that to amplify the significance of emotion-language intersection in the brain entirely, emotions should be studied in mono- and bilingual contexts.
There is substantial evidence that learning and using multiple languages modulates selective attention in children. The current study investigated the mechanisms that drive this modification. Specifically, we asked whether the need for constant management of competing languages in bilinguals increases attentional capacity, or draws on the available resources such that they need to be economised to support optimal task performance. Monolingual and bilingual children aged 7–12 attended to a narrative presented in one ear, while ignoring different types of interference in the other ear. We used EEG to capture the neural encoding of attended and unattended speech envelopes, and assess how well they can be reconstructed from the responses of the neuronal populations that encode them. Despite equivalent behavioral performance, monolingual and bilingual children encoded attended speech differently, with the pattern of encoding across conditions in bilinguals suggesting a redistribution of the available attentional capacity, rather than its enhancement.
There has long been a rash of research efforts in the field of EFL/ESL instruction
aimed at studying student critical thinking dispositions and performance. The present
research intended to investigate the extent to which critical thinking ability would
influence learners’ grammatical accuracy. In so doing, the present study was
conducted with 70 upper intermediate English learners. Based on quasi-experimental
design and by implementing Thesis-Analysis-Synthesis key (TASk), one
experimental group and one control group, namely high and low critical thinkers
respectively, were determined. The subjects had the same level of knowledge of
grammar prior to participating in the study. For ten sessions, both of the groups
received grammar instruction based on Cambridge Passages. After the course ended,
a post-test was run in order to figure out the extent of subjects’ post-instruction
knowledge of grammar. It was found that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in developing grammatical accuracy, so that the
participants in the former group significantly developed their grammatical accuracy.
Finally, the paper presents a number of practical ways to incorporate and improve
critical thinking ability in the EFL/ESL instruction.
Keywords: Critical thinking, Grammar, Accuracy, EFL instruction
This chapter provides a detailed analysis of different types of metaphors that have been used in academic discourse to explain how different languages coexist and interact in a bilingual’s brain. These metaphors can be mainly related to three source domains: war in the first half of the twentieth century, and later sports and business competition. These different source domains can be schematically reduced to the notion of contentious activities between two parties. The contention metaphor scheme is not only ubiquitous in discourse on the effects of bilingualism on cognition, but even constitutive for theories proposed to explain the bilingual advantage or disadvantage. In line with our everyday understanding of these activities, war has disastrous consequences for the people involved, while sports and business competition are associated with enhanced performance of competitors. Thus, the idea that being bilingual entails conflict and/or competition between languages is consistent throughout the entire investigation period, while it receives different interpretations at different moments in time, leading to either negative or positive evaluations.
This chapter provides an overview of the development of research on the effects of bilingualism on cognitive performance from the beginning of the twentieth century until today. It presents the different stances that research has taken toward bilingualism at different moments in time and in different countries.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with marked heterogeneity with respect to the development of executive function abilities. The ‘bilingual advantage’ refers to the observation that individuals who speak two languages perform better on executive function tasks than monolinguals under some circumstances. There is not yet consensus, however, as to whether this advantage can be reliably demonstrated, nor is there consensus regarding under which conditions it emerges. Bilingual and monolingual children with ASD have comparable developmental outcomes, particularly in the areas of core ASD symptoms, cognitive function, and language. Still, despite the potential advantages that bilingualism may confer, clinicians commonly advise against providing a bilingual environment for children with ASD. The purpose of the present review is to provide an up-to-date assessment of the limited literature on bilingualism in children with ASD in order to inform evidence-based practice. Studies suggest a potential bilingual advantage in ASD in the areas of nonverbal intelligence quotient, adaptive functioning, and expressive vocabulary. A limited yet growing literature provides preliminary evidence for enhanced executive function ability in some children with ASD. Taken together, current evidence suggests that although a ‘bilingual advantage’ may not be universally present in typical development, it may manifest under specific circumstances, conferring advantage for populations in which executive function is compromised. Further work is needed to develop consistent, evidence-based guidelines around language recommendations for families of children with ASD and to better understand the cognitive and brain mechanisms giving rise to the bilingual advantage in clinical developmental populations.
This study discusses an appropriate framework to assess participant’s cognitive performance-based on their brain activity dynamics recorded through an electroencephalogram (EEG) device. To this aim, we have used a publicly available EEG dataset. The dataset contains EEG recording of 36 subjects before and during a mental arithmetic task. The participants were divided into two subgroups (good and bad performers) based on the accuracy of task performed. Good performers were able to execute the task without difficulty whereas the second group struggled during the same task. In this work, we have dealt with conventional EEG time-domain and frequency-domain features like various energy band powers, Hjorth parameters, and engagement index. The discriminating capability of these features in categorizing good and bad performers has been validated by hypothesis test. We have proposed a simple but novel approach to summarize these window level features and formulate the signal level descriptor. The descriptor thus formed, captures the distribution of the feature values effectively. Experimental results suggest that the proposed descriptor, obtained after summarizing the window level EEG domain features, performs satisfactorily in discriminating between the two sets of performers. Mean classification accuracy obtained was about 85% using Gaussian naïve Bayes classifier which outperformed EEG domain feature-based classification models.
For successful language production in a target language, bilingual individuals with aphasia must inhibit interference from the non-target language. It is currently unknown if successful inhibition of a non-target language involves general cognitive control (domain-general cognitive control) or whether it is control specific to linguistic mechanisms (domain-specific language control) during language production. The primary aim of this systematic quantitative literature review was to identify and synthesize available evidence, in relation to bilinguals with aphasia, for these two mechanisms. We conducted a literature search across five databases using a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria designed for the review. We extracted data from twenty studies reporting original research in bilinguals with aphasia. The results provided evidence for both domain-general cognitive control and domain-specific language control mechanisms, although most studies showed the involvement of domain-general cognitive control. Available neuroimaging data indicated that the neural regions involved in domain-general language control in bilinguals with aphasia were the anterior cingulate cortex, caudate nucleus, basal ganglia, and the frontal lobe. Theoretical implications for the bilingual inhibitory control model, clinical implications for assessment and treatment of cognitive control abilities in bilinguals with aphasia as well the need for future research are discussed.
The study set out to map the taxonomy of critical thinking ability in EFL learning for Chinese senior middle school students. It was conducted through three stages: literature survey, teacher interviews and item reviews. First, the English Curriculum Standards for Chinese Senior Middle Schools were surveyed, then six senior middle school teachers participated in interviews, followed by item reviews. Accordingly, three versions of a construct framework were formulated. Version Three contained five skills (analysis, inference, evaluation, construct/synthesis, self-reflection/self-correction) and 58 indicators. The five-skill framework supports influential critical thinking ability frameworks with empirical data and enriches the literature by integrating critical thinking ability into EFL learning. It also provides stakeholders (senior middle school teachers/students, parents, and educational administrators) with components and detailed indicators of critical thinking ability, so it facilitates the cultivation of EFL senior middle school students’ critical thinking ability.
O presente estudo se propõe a fazer um percurso histórico sobre as pesquisas referentes a bilinguismo e cognição. O ponto de partida é a preocupação inicial e equivocada, vigente na década de 1960, de que falar mais de uma língua acarretaria possíveis impactos cognitivos negativos, e termina por apresentar o atual status do bilinguismo, como promotor de reservas cognitivas. Para tanto, são apresentados os diferentes conceitos do bilinguismo ao longo da história, incluindo as vantagens e/ou desvantagens cognitivas advindas da prática bilíngue, bem como os estudos atuais comportamentais e de neuroimagem que investigam a representação e o processamento das línguas coexistentes no cérebro, e os comprometimentos linguísticos advindos da afasia bilíngue sob uma perspectiva neuropsicolinguística.
The effect of bidialectalism on older bidialectal adults’ performance on cognitive tasks has received little attention in aging studies. The current research aimed to investigate older monolingual and bidialectal adults’ performance on nonverbal and verbal cognitive tasks, including Simon, Stroop, flanker, and spatial n-back tasks. Bidialectalism and task effects were examined via a comparison of the monolinguals’ and bidialectals’ response latencies. Two experiments were conducted, which consisted of four nonverbal tasks (Experiment 1) and four verbal tasks (Experiment 2), respectively. The participants were 20 older Mandarin monolingual adults and 20 older Minnan-Mandarin/Hakka-Mandarin bidialectal adults from Taiwan. The results indicated that the bidialectals performed better than the monolinguals on the nonverbal and verbal Stroop color-word tasks and the verbal Stroop day-night task. The nonverbal tasks revealed no significant interaction of task and language group, while the verbal tasks showed the opposite results. These findings suggest that the advantages in cognitive control extended beyond bilingualism to bidialectalism. Moreover, the bidialectal advantage was found in some tasks which involved more attentional and inhibitory control and had a high or intermediate level of task difficulty, and was absent in other tasks.
There has been extensive discussion with regard to whether bilingualism helps ward off dementia. However, there is still debate over bilingualism's effects. Researchers have determined that bilinguals have a greater advantage in delaying dementia than monolinguals. Researchers have used cognitive reserve to explain their views. However, recently, some researchers have arrived at a different conclusion, stating that bilinguals have no advantage compared with monolinguals in delaying dementia. In this review, we summarize a review of studies on bilingualism and dementia, supporting the viewpoint that bilinguals have an advantage in delaying dementia compared with monolinguals.
How some individuals succeed in learning a second language as adults is still an
unsolved question in cognitive neuroscience. At the brain level, adults'
electrophysiological responses to input in a second language may differ after
completing different types of training. However, there is limited understanding of what
neural pathways are activated as learning unfolds, and which patterns of activation
lead to successful learning. Using brain event-related potentials, this study explored
whether individual brain responses to practice difficulty during second language
learning predict learning outcomes. English-speaking learners of Spanish practiced
completing newly learned phrases in their second language. For some learners, all the
choices presented during practice were "easy" because non-target choices were
unrelated distractors. In the more "difficult" practice mode, however, learners had to
avoid choosing a competing word that would be acceptable based on their native
language, but not in the second language being learned. Performance during practice
was similar in both groups of learners. Critically, divergence in event-related potentials
indicated alternative strategies to practice based on the level of difficulty. At the group
level, learners completing the easier practice revealed increased monitoring when
making responses; in the difficult condition, learners showed inhibition of their native
language (i.e., an N400 for phrases congruent with the native language) to avoid
interference during word selection. Only individual brain responses that indexed native
language inhibition predicted learning rates in tests.
In two experiments Dutch–English bilinguals were tested with English words varying in their degree of orthographic, phonological, and semantic overlap with Dutch words. Thus, an English word target could be spelled the same as a Dutch word and/or could be a near-homophone of a Dutch word. Whether such form similarity was accompanied with semantic identity (translation equivalence) was also varied. In a progressive demasking task and a visual lexical decision task very similar results were obtained. Both tasks showed facilitatory effects of cross-linguistic orthographic and semantic similarity on response latencies to target words, but inhibitory effects of phonological overlap. A third control experiment involving English lexical decision with monolinguals indicated that these results were not due to specific characteristics of the stimulus material. The results are interpreted within an interactive activation model for monolingual and bilingual word recognition (the Bilingual Interactive Activation model) expanded with a phonological and a semantic component.
This chapter first reviews efforts to develop a cognitive model of executive control and considers how experimental methods can be used to explore conditions in which executive attention operates. In the 2nd section, neuroimaging studies that employ those cognitive methods to explore the anatomy and circuitry of executive attention are examined. The 3rd section considers evidence from lesion, schizophrenia, and developmental studies that provide further tests of which areas are involved in executive attention. Finally, future opportunities for dissociating components of executive function are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Reviews recent evidence that the first stages of word processing in bilinguals are language-independent. Early findings that seemed to point to the existence of independent lexicons and a language selective access mechanism, can be explained either because participants were able to use low-level orthographic and phonotactic cues about the language of the stimulus, or because the dependent variable was not sensitive enough to reveal the interactions. Recent research based on lexical decision and masked priming indicates that, in the very first stages of word recognition, the words of the different languages mastered by a bilingual, behave as if they were words of the same language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Several scholars have claimed that childhood
bilingualism may enhance development of linguistic awareness. In the present investigation,
metalinguistic ability is studied in terms of the dual skill components outlined by Bialystok and
Ryan (1985): control of linguistic processing and analysis of linguistic knowledge. A total of 38
English–Swedish bilinguals, assigned to two groups according to relative proficiency, and
16 Swedish monolinguals, all aged 6 to 7 years, received three tasks: symbol substitution,
grammaticality judgment, and grammaticality correction. Effects of general bilingualism were
found on tasks requiring a high control of linguistic processing, thus replicating previous
findings. The results indicated that a high degree of bilinguality may also enhance the
development of linguistic analysis. Moreover, it was found that certain metalinguistic skills
– especially control of processing – were more readily applied in the
subjects' weaker language.
We designed a melody perception experiment
involving eight harmonic complex tones of
missing fundamental frequencies (hidden auditory
object) to study the short-term neuronal plasticity
of the auditory cortex. In this experiment, the
fundamental frequencies of the complex tones
followed the beginning of the virtual melody of
the tune "Fr6re Jacques". The harmonics of the
complex tones were chosen so that the spectral
melody had an inverse contour when compared
with the virtual one. Evoked magnetic fields were
recorded contralaterally to the ear of stimulation
from both hemispheres. After a base line measurement,
the subjects were exposed repeatedly to the
experimental stimuli for 1 hour a day. All subjects
reported a sudden change in the perceived melody,
indicating possible reorganization of the cortical
processes involved in the virtual pitch formation.
After this switch in perception, a second measurement
was performed. Cortical sources of the
evoked gamma-band activity were significantly
stronger and located more medially after a switch
in perception. Independent Component Analysis
revealed enhanced synchronization in the gammaband
frequency range. Comparing the gammaband
activation of both hemispheres, no
laterality effects were observed. The results
indicate that the primary auditory cortices are
involved in the process of virtual pitch
perception and that their function is modifiable
by laboratory manipulation.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) undergoes one of the longest periods of development of any brain region, taking over two decades to reach full maturity in humans. This chapter focuses on normal development, dividing it into the following epochs: 0-1 years, 1-3 years, 3-7 years, and 7 years through early adulthood. For each epoch, it summarizes some of what is known about (a) the development of the working memory and inhibitory control functions that depend on PFC and (b) the anatomical and biochemical developmental changes in PFC during that period.
Magnetic source imaging revealed that the cortical representation of the digits of the left hand of string players was larger
than that in controls. The effect was smallest for the left thumb, and no such differences were observed for the representations
of the right hand digits. The amount of cortical reorganization in the representation of the fingering digits was correlated
with the age at which the person had begun to play. These results suggest that the representation of different parts of the
body in the primary somatosensory cortex of humans depends on use and changes to conform to the current needs and experiences
of the individual.
The possibility that the supervisory system of Norman & Shallice (1986) can be fractionated into different subprocesses is discussed. It is argued that confronting a novel situation effectively requires a variety of different types of process. It is then argued that evidence of separability of different processes may be obtained by the observation of very low correlations across patients on more than one measure on each of which frontal patients show a performance deficit. Examples of this are provided by examining the Hayling sentence completion and the Brixton spatial anticipation tasks. Finally, differential localization of the subprocesses and hence the conclusion that they are separable is discussed with respect to the localization of monitoring and verification processes in memory.
Hebrew-English cognates (translations similar in meaning and form) and noncognates (translations similar in meaning only) were examined in masked translation priming. Enhanced priming for cognates was found with L1 (dominant language) primes, but unlike previous results, it was not found with L2 (nondominant language) primes. Priming was also obtained for noncognates, whereas previous studies showed unstable effects for such stimuli. The authors interpret the results in a dual-lexicon model by suggesting that (a) both orthographic and phonological overlap are needed to establish shared lexical entries for cognates (and hence also symmetric cognate priming), and (b) script differences facilitate rapid access by providing a cue to the lexical processor that directs access to the proper lexicon, thus producing stable noncognate priming. The asymmetrical cognate effect obtained with different scripts may be attributed to an overreliance on phonology in L2 reading.
There are many occasions in which humans and other animals must inhibit the production of some behavior or inhibit the processing of some internal representation. Success in inhibitory processing under normal circumstances can be revealed by the fact that certain brain pathologies render inhibitory processing ineffective. These pathologies often have been associated with damage to frontal cortex, including lateral and inferior aspects. We provide behavioral evidence of a verbal working memory task that, by hypothesis, engaged inhibitory processing, and we show (by using positron emission tomograpny) that the inhibitory processing is associated with a lateral portion of the left prefrontal cortex. The task in which subjects engaged was item-recognition: Four target letters were presented for storage followed, after a brief interval, by a probe letter that could match a target letter or not. On some trials, when the probe did not match a target letter and therefore required a "no" response, the probe had matched a target letter of the previous trial, so on these trials a "yes" response was prepotent and had to be inhibited, by hypothesis. Compared with a condition in which no prepotent response was created, this condition yielded brain activation in left inferior frontal gyrus, in the region of Brodmann's area 45.
Theories of the regulation of cognition suggest a system with two necessary components: one to implement control and another to monitor performance and signal when adjustments in control are needed. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and a task-switching version of the Stroop task were used to examine whether these components of cognitive control have distinct neural bases in the human brain. A double dissociation was found. During task preparation, the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann's area 9) was more active for color naming than for word reading, consistent with a role in the implementation of control. In contrast, the anterior cingulate cortex (Brodmann's areas 24 and 32) was more active when responding to incongruent stimuli, consistent with a role in performance monitoring.
For many years, researchers investigating the brain bases of bilingualism have concentrated on two basic questions. The first concerns the nature of language representation. That is, are a bilinguals' two languages represented in distinct or overlapping areas of the brain. The second basic question in the neuropsychology of bilingualism concerns the neural correlates of language switching, that is, the areas that are active when bilinguals switch from one language to the other. Performance between single-language and dual-language picture naming was compared in a group of six Spanish-English bilinguals using behavioral measures and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants showed slower reaction times and increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the mixed language condition relative to single language condition. There was no evidence that each language was represented in different areas of the brain. Results are consistent with the view that language switching is a part of a general executive attentional system and that languages are represented in overlapping areas of the brain in early bilinguals.
Theories of the regulation of cognition suggest a system with two necessary components: one to implement control and another to monitor performance and signal when adjustments in control are needed. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and a task-switching version of the Stroop task were used to examine whether these components of cognitive control have distinct neural bases in the human brain. A double dissociation was found. During task preparation, the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann's area 9) was more active for color naming than for word reading, consistent with a role in the implementation of control. In contrast, the anterior cingulate cortex (Brodmann's areas 24 and 32) was more active when responding to incongruent stimuli, consistent with a role in performance monitoring.
Bilingualism in Development is an examination of the language and cognitive development of bilingual children focusing primarily on the preschool years. It begins by defining the territory for what is included in bilingualism and how language proficiency can be conceptualized. Using these constraints, the discussion proceeds to review the research relevant to various aspects of children's development and assesses the role that bilingualism has in each. The areas covered include language acquisition, metalinguistic ability, literacy skill, and problem-solving ability. In each case, the performance of bilingual children is compared to that of similar monolinguals, and differences are interpreted in terms of a theoretical framework for cognitive development and processing. The studies show that bilingualism significantly accelerates children's ability to selectively attend to relevant information and inhibit attention to misleading information or competing responses. This conclusion is used as the basis for examining a set of related issues regarding the education and social circumstances of bilingual children.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of irrelevant location information on performance of visual choice-reaction tasks. We review empirical findings and theoretical explanations from two domains, those of the Simon effect and the spatial Stroop effect, in which stimulus location has been shown to affect reaction time when irrelevant to the task. We then integrate the findings and explanations from the two domains to clarify how and why stimulus location influences performance even when it is uninformative to the correct response. Factors that influence the processing of irrelevant location information include response modality, relative timing with respect to the relevant information, spatial coding, and allocation of attention. The most promising accounts are offered by models in which response selection is a function of (1) strength of association of the irrelevant stimulus information with the response and (2) temporal overlap of the resulting response activation with that produced by the relevant stimulus information.
How do bilinguals recognize and speak words in each of their two languages? Past research on the bilingual lexicon focused on the questions of whether bilinguals represent words in each language in a single lexicon or in separate lexicons and whether access to the lexicon is selective or not. Bilingual lexicon is the focus of this article. These questions endured because they constitute a set of correlated assumptions that have only recently been teased apart. One concerns the relation between representation and process. Another issue concerns the way in which the lexicon itself has been operationalized. Different assumptions about the information required to recognize and speak a word in the first or second language have led to models of the bilingual lexicon that differ in the types and levels of codes. This article reviews the way in which models of the bilingual lexicon reflect different assumptions about the architecture and processing of words in two languages.
In the southwestern United States thousands of children enter the schooling process as language minority speakers of Spanish. This paper discusses findings from an empirical investigation of the effects of bilingualism on the linguistic and cognitive creativity of language minority children proficiently bilingual in Spanish and English. Specifically, it addresses the cognitive processes of divergent and convergent thinking and the linguistic process of metaphorising in the ‘ context of formulating scientific hypotheses. Together the linguistic and cognitive processes are viewed as manifesting aspects of a common underlying creativity. Subjects were sixth‐grade students, age 11, in two intact classrooms, one with monolingual English‐speaking majority children and the other with Spanish‐English bilingual minority children. Both groups participated in an inquiry‐based science programme during which they learned to formulate scientific hypotheses in a problem‐solving setting. Written hypotheses generated by the children provided the data‐base. On measures of hypothesis quality, syntactic and semantic linguistic variables, bilinguals outperformed monolinguals. The qualitatively high scientific hypotheses expressed by the language minority children using complex metaphoric language in their second language, English, indicate that linguistic and cognitive creativity is enhanced by bilingual language proficiency.
Previous cognitive research on transfer of learning in bilingual participants has used simple tasks such as word learning. In the present study, an analogical transfer paradigm was used to examine transfer of high-level conceptual information between languages. Experiment 1 examined analogical transfer from a single source story to a target problem in the same or in a different language with Spanish–English bilinguals. Experiment 2 exploited the competitive nature of retrieval in analogical transfer using a more sensitive design in which the target problem was preceded by two source analogs suggesting different solutions. Even with a total of 207 participants across the two experiments, transfer was not significantly or substantially affected by the match or mismatch between the languages of the source and target problems. However, in Experiment 2, the competition between alternative source analogs was greater when the languages of the two analogs matched than when they mismatched. These experiments show that the aspects of memory representations important for higher-order processes such as analogical transfer are primarily language-general and that language-specific features play only a minor role when retrieving and applying information relevant to problem-solving.
Previous research has shown that bilingual children perform better than comparable monolinguals on tasks requiring control of attention to inhibit misleading information. The present paper reports a series of studies that traces this processing difference into adulthood and eventually aging. The task used in all groups, from children to older adults, is the Simon task, a measure of stimulus-response incompatibility. The results showed that bilinguals performed better than monolinguals in early childhood, adulthood, and later adulthood. There was no difference in performance between monolinguals and bilinguals who were young adults, specifically university undergraduates. Our interpretation is that performance is at its peak efficiency for that group and bilingualism offers no further boost. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of bilingualism on control of attention and inhibition through the lifespan.
This study demonstrated that 45 first-grade Hispanic bilingual children's problem solving was related to the semantic structures of word problems (a) in a similar manner across their 2 languages, and (b) in a manner similar to that of monolingual populations. I also investigated the relationship between proficiency in each language and arithmetic problem solving in that language. When language proficiency was measured via the Preschool Version, Language Assessment Scales story-retelling task, an indicator of surface fluency, no such relationship was found. However, when proficiency was measured via verbal counting up and counting down, these relationships were found across both languages. Finally, I examined the relationship between degree of bilingualism and problem solving in English and in Spanish that goes beyond the connection between a language and problem solving in that language. This last relationship was found only for English as measured by each of the verbal counting tasks. The results suggest (a) that Hispanic bilingual children enter school with greater competence in solving addition and subtraction word problems than they are usually credited with; (b) that the cognitive benefits of being bilingual might appear, at least initially, in academic subjects; and (c) that these benefits depend on the development of decontextualized, academic language proficiency.
This chapter discusses the psychological process of selectively attending to one source of information to the exclusion of others. In a meta-analysis, it reviews different tasks used to study selective attention, under the construct of conflict resolution, as assessed with functional imaging techniques. Both the anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are involved in some aspect of conflict resolution, which is likely related to different mechanisms. The theme of heterogeneity of function is reflected in these results.
A series of progressive demasking and lexical decision experiments investigated how the recognition of target words exclusively belonging to one language is affected by the existence of orthographic neighbors from the same or the other language of bilingual participants. Increasing the number of orthographic neighbors in Dutch systematically slowed response times to English target words in Dutch/English bilinguals, while an increase in target language neighbors consistently produced inhibitory effects for Dutch and facilitatory effects for English target words. Monolingual English speakers also showed facilitation due to English neighbors, but no effect of Dutch neighbors. The experiments provide evidence for parallel activation of words in an integrated Dutch/English lexicon. An implemented version of such a model making these assumptions, the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA) model, is shown to account for the overall pattern of results.
The Stroop and Simon tasks typify a class of interference effects in which the introduction of task-irrelevant stimulus characteristics robustly slows reaction times. Behavioral studies have not succeeded in determining whether the neural basis for the resolution of these interference effects during successful task performance is similar or different across tasks. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies were obtained in 10 healthy young adults during performance of the Stroop and Simon tasks. Activation during the Stroop task replicated findings from two earlier fMRI studies. These activations were remarkably similar to those observed during the Simon task, and included anterior cingulate, supplementary motor, visual association, inferior temporal, inferior parietal, inferior frontal, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, as well as the caudate nuclei. The time courses of activation were also similar across tasks. Resolution of interference effects in the Simon and Stroop tasks engage similar brain regions, and with a similar time course. Therefore, despite the widely differing stimulus characteristics employed by these tasks, the neural systems that subserve successful task performance are likely to be similar as well. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
120 Chinese-English bilingual students in Grades 2, 4, 8, and 10 in college used both Chinese and English to name the colors of patches and Chinese and English words that consisted of incongruent color names. Examples of stimulus items for the Stroop test are included. Ss of all levels showed greater within- than between-language interference when responding in their primary language, Chinese. When English was the response language, however, a developmental shift from greater between-language interference to greater within-language interference was observed. These results argue against E. Magiste's (see record
1985-06307-001) language proficiency hypothesis and suggest that the pattern of the between- and within-language interference in bilinguals is determined by both language similarity and language proficiency. Further implications of the obtained results for language processing of bilinguals and for the traditional horse race model of the Stroop effect are also discussed. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A framework for relating degree of bilingualism to aspects of linguistic awareness is presented in which metalinguistic tasks are described in terms of their demands for analysis of knowledge or control of processing. Two studies are reported in which children differing in their level of bilingualism were given metalinguistic problems to solve that made demands on either analysis or control. The hypotheses were that all bilingual children would perform better than monolingual children on all metalinguistic tasks requiring high levels of control of processing and that fully bilingual children would perform better than partially bilingual children on tasks requiring high levels of analysis of knowledge. The results were largely consistent with these predictions. The findings are discussed in terms of the implications of bilingualism for cognitive and linguistic development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study examined the effects of differing degrees of bilingualism on the nonverbal problemsolving abilities of children in grade 3. Three linguistic groups were compared on problem-solving tasks designed to measure control of attention or analysis of knowledge, processes previously shown to develop differently in monolingual and bilingual children solving linguistic problems (Bialystok, 1988). In this study, an English-speaking monolingual group was compared with a French–English bilingual group and a Bengali-English bilingual group. All of the children in the study were similar except for their language background. Tests of language proficiency confirmed that the French-English subjects were balanced bilinguals and that the Bengali-English subjects were partial bilinguals. The balanced French–English bilinguals showed better performance on the non-linguistic tasks requiring control of attention than both the partial bilingual group and the monolingual group. There were no differences found between the groups on the non-linguistic task requiring analysis of representational structures. These results indicate that balanced bilinguals carry over their linguistic advantage in control of attention into the non-linguistic domain.
This paper aims to foster discussion of the means by which bilinguals control their two language systems. It proposes an inhibitory control (IC) model that embodies the principle that there are multiple levels of control. In the model a language task schema (modulated by a higher level of control) “reactively” inhibits potential competitors for production at the lemma level by virtue of their language tags. The IC model is used to expand the explanation of the effect of category blocking in translation proposed by Kroll and Stewart (1994), and predictions of the model are tested against other data. Its relationship to other proposals and models is considered and future directions proposed.
In a series of picture–word interference experiments, Catalan–Spanish bilinguals named pictures in Catalan with distractor words printed either in Catalan (same-language pairs) or in Spanish (different-language pairs). Naming was facilitated when the distractor was the name of the picture in both same- [e.g., taula–taula (table in Catalan)] and different-language pairs [e.g., taula–mesa (table in Spanish)]. We also found that the facilitation effect was larger for same-language pairs and that semantically related distractors in the same- vs different-language conditions were similarly interfering. These results are interpreted within a lexical model that assumes that only words of the target language are considered for lexical selection and can, therefore, compete for selection. Converging evidence from several experiments indicates that the facilitation asymmetry for same name distractors arises because same-language distractors can activate target phonemes via nonlexical, grapheme–phoneme conversion processes. Facilitation was obtained with phonologically related distractors for both same- and different-language conditions but not for their translations. The results suggest that nonlexical phonological processes contribute to the phonological facilitation effect.
The study presented here investigated children's acquisition of cardinality in terms of a framework that isolates two cognitive processing components previously shown to be involved in children's metalinguistic development. These components are called analysis of knowledge and control of processing. In Study 1, children from 3 to 5 years of age were asked to solve three problems that required an understanding of cardinality. The problems were designed to place different demands on these processing components and examine their involvement in specific problems. In Study 2, bilingual children were given two of the problems to compare their performance to a new group of monolinguals. The results from both studies contribute to our knowledge of the development of cardinality by assessing children's ability across several tasks, by classifying those tasks in terms of their reliance on distinct processing components, and by providing a means for relating children's development of number concepts to their development of language. The results also contribute to our knowledge of the cognitive abilities of bilingual children. The implications of these results are that aspects of symbolic development may be a broadly based process that extends beyond domain-specific boundaries.
This paper, the second in a series of three, introduces Partial Least Squares (PLS) methods for assessing the effects of moderate levels of prenatal alcohol exposure on performance and behavior in young school-age children. Studies of human behavioral teratology pose statistical problems for which standard multiple regression methods are inadequate. Prenatal alcohol exposure, the teratogenic “dose,” can be assessed only indirectly through a variety of measures of alcohol consumption. Similarly, the behavioral outcomes we examine—IQ, achievement, classroom behavior, and vigilance—are each measured indirectly in terms of multiple items or indicators. We find that a single latent variable, estimated as a linear combination of the measures of alcohol consumption, provides an appropriate measure of “dose” for summarizing the relationships between alcohol exposure and each of the four blocks of outcome variables. A pattern of alcohol consumption emphasizing binge behavior (i.e., reporting average consumption of multiple drinks per drinking occasion, or at least five drinks on any single occasion) in the period prior to recognition of pregnancy is significantly correlated with latent variables computed from each of the four outcome blocks: IQ, academic achievement, classroom behavior and attention/vigilance.
This is a review of bootstrap methods, concentrating on basic ideas and applications rather than theoretical considerations. It begins with an exposition of the bootstrap estimate of standard error for one-sample situations. Several examples, some involving quite complicated statistical procedures, are given. The bootstrap is then extended to other measures of statistical accuracy such as bias and prediction error, and to complicated data structures such as time series, censored data, and regression models. Several more examples are presented illustrating these ideas. The last third of the paper deals mainly with bootstrap confidence intervals.