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Wu J, Ji Y, Qu H, Zuo S, Liang J, Su J, Wang Q, Yan G, Ding G. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the right inferior frontal gyrus impairs bilinguals' performance in language-switching tasks. Cognition 2024; 254:105963. [PMID: 39340870 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 07/23/2024] [Accepted: 09/15/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024]
Abstract
It is widely accepted that bilinguals activate both languages simultaneously, even when intending to speak only one. A prevailing theory proposes that bilinguals inhibit the nontarget language to produce the target language, thought to be supported by evidence that the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), a region typically associated with inhibition, is activated during language-switching tasks. However, it remains unclear whether the rIFG plays a causal or epiphenomenal role in this process. To explore the role of the rIFG, the present study employed transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to modulate its neural activity and evaluate subsequent behavior in bilinguals. Specifically, twenty-nine Chinese-English bilinguals participated in the study and performed picture-naming tasks in single- and dual-language contexts after receiving sham stimulation (Sham), continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), or intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) over the rIFG in three separate visits. Sham served as a control, with cTBS and iTBS intended to decrease and increase cortical excitability, respectively. We found that, compared to Sham, cTBS led to larger asymmetric switching costs and smaller asymmetric mixing costs, whereas iTBS resulted only in smaller asymmetric mixing costs. These findings suggest that cTBS targeting the rIFG likely impairs both local and global control. However, iTBS applied to the rIFG alone may not necessarily enhance language control mechanisms and could even hinder global control. Moreover, exploratory analyses found pronounced TMS-induced impairments in less balanced bilinguals, implying their potentially greater reliance on bilingual language control. Overall, this study is the first to suggest a causal role of the rIFG in language switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Wu
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Student Mental Health and Intelligence Assessment, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Yannan Ji
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Clinical College, Chengde Medical University, Chengde 067000, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Hongfu Qu
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Shuyue Zuo
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Jinsong Liang
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Juan Su
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Student Mental Health and Intelligence Assessment, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Qiping Wang
- School of International Chinese Language Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Guoli Yan
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Student Mental Health and Intelligence Assessment, Tianjin 300387, China.
| | - Guosheng Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
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Goldrick M, Gollan TH. Inhibitory control of the dominant language: Reversed language dominance is the tip of the iceberg. JOURNAL OF MEMORY AND LANGUAGE 2023; 130:104410. [PMID: 36873561 PMCID: PMC9983628 DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2023.104410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Theories of speech production have proposed that in contexts where multiple languages are produced, bilinguals inhibit the dominant language with the goal of making both languages equally accessible. This process often overshoots this goal, leading to a surprising pattern: better performance in the nondominant vs. dominant language, or reversed language dominance effects. However, the reliability of this effect in single word production studies with cued language switches has been challenged by a recent meta-analysis. Correcting for errors in this analysis, we find that dominance effects are reliably reduced and reversed during language mixing. Reversed dominance has also consistently been reported in the production of connected speech elicited by reading aloud of mixed language paragraphs. When switching, bilinguals produced translation-equivalent intrusion errors (e.g., saying pero instead of but) more often when intending to produce words in the dominant language. We show this dominant language vulnerability is not exclusive to switching out of the nondominant language and extends to non-switch words, linking connected speech results to patterns first reported in single word studies. Reversed language dominance is a robust phenomenon that reflects the tip of the iceberg of inhibitory control of the dominant language in bilingual language production.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tamar H. Gollan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego
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Shi Z, Xiao F, Yan H, Guo J. Cost or advantage? Intra-sentential language switching could facilitate L2 emotional words' comprehension in auditory modality. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 184:51-63. [PMID: 36584902 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Language switching is encountered commonly and inevitably in bilingual society and often induces costs for target language's production. However, for auditory words' comprehension at sentence level, the limited research showed divergent findings. Some research observed comprehension costs when the language of target words was switched with the code of sentential contexts kept constant; but a potential switch advantage was also showed in non-dominant targets' processing when sentential context switches occurred. Additionally, it's well documented that the words' emotional connotations play a key role in both L1 and L2 word comprehension. Therefore, we aimed to explore which switch effect would occur when bilinguals comprehended L1/L2 emotional target nouns in auditory modality at behavioral and neural level through a visual object selection task. Behaviorally, switch related costs occurred in L1 targets' comprehension, whereas advantage effects were found in L2. Moreover, greater switch advantage occurred for positive and negative targets than for neutral ones. Consistently, larger LPC (Late Positive Component) defection was elicited for L2-Switch trials relative to L2-Nonswitch trials and the differences of LPC's amplitude could predict the behavioral advantageous effects of switching in nondominant targets' comprehension, which suggest that language switching lead to deeper re-analyses for emotional words. Taken together, it's suggested that bilinguals can adaptively utilize top-down (sentential prediction) and bottom-up (words' emotional information) cues to access weaker L2 representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengwei Shi
- Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Feng Xiao
- Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China
| | - Hao Yan
- Key Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience of Language, Xi'an International Studies University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jingjing Guo
- Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China.
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Jiao L, Meng N, Wang Z, Schwieter JW, Liu C. Partially shared neural mechanisms of language control and executive control in bilinguals: Meta-analytic comparisons of language and task switching studies. Neuropsychologia 2022; 172:108273. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Li S, Li L, Zou L, Yan X, Zhang J, Yang M, Ding G. “Antagonistic” cooperation of control regions in bilingual language production: An effective connectivity study. Neuropsychologia 2022; 167:108165. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Xie Z, Wang W, Chu X, Qiu Q, Yuan F, Huang J, Chen M. Contributions of Demographics, Language Learning Experience, and Cognitive Control to Chinese Reading Comprehension. Front Psychol 2021; 12:770579. [PMID: 34899520 PMCID: PMC8657595 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.770579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The study investigates whether learners' demographics (e.g., age, education, and intelligence-IQ), language learning experience, and cognitive control predict Chinese (L2) reading comprehension in young adults. Thirty-four international students who studied mandarin Chinese in mainland China (10 females, 24 males) from Bangladesh, Burundi, Congo, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zimbabwe were tested on a series of measures including demographic questionnaires, IQ test, two cognitive control tasks [Flanker Task measuring inhibition and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) measuring mental set shifting], and a Chinese reading comprehension test (HSK level 4). The results of correlation analyses showed that education, L2 learning history, L2 proficiency, and previous category errors of the WCST were significantly correlated with Chinese reading comprehension. Further multiple regression analyses indicated that Chinese learning history, IQ, and previous category errors of the WCST significantly predicted Chinese reading comprehension. These findings reveal that aside from IQ and the time spent on L2 learning, the component mental set shifting of cognitive control also predicts reading outcomes, which suggests that cognitive control has a place in reading comprehension models over and above traditional predictors of language learning experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhilong Xie
- Foreign Languages College, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Foreign Languages College, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xiaying Chu
- Foreign Languages College, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Qing Qiu
- School of Intercultural Studies, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Fangfang Yuan
- Foreign Languages College, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jinwen Huang
- Foreign Languages College, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Meijing Chen
- Foreign Languages College, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
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Tao L, Wang G, Zhu M, Cai Q. Bilingualism and domain-general cognitive functions from a neural perspective: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:264-295. [PMID: 33631315 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
A large body of research has indicated that bilingualism - through continual practice in language control - may impact cognitive functions, as well as relevant aspects of brain function and structure. The present review aimed to bring together 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 findings 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Tao
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE & STCSM), Shanghai Changning-ECNU Mental Health Center, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, China
| | - Gongting Wang
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE & STCSM), Shanghai Changning-ECNU Mental Health Center, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, China
| | - Miaomiao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE & STCSM), Shanghai Changning-ECNU Mental Health Center, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, China
| | - Qing Cai
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE & STCSM), Shanghai Changning-ECNU Mental Health Center, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, China; Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, China; NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science, New York University Shanghai, China.
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Treffers-Daller J, Ongun Z, Hofweber J, Korenar M. Explaining Individual Differences in Executive Functions Performance in Multilinguals: The Impact of Code-Switching and Alternating Between Multicultural Identity Styles. Front Psychol 2020; 11:561088. [PMID: 33192829 PMCID: PMC7644971 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.561088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study sheds new light on the relative impact of switching between languages and switching between cultures on Executive Functions (EFs) in bilinguals. Several studies have suggested that bilingualism has a measurable impact on executive functioning, presumably due to bilinguals’ constant practice in dealing with two languages, or two cultures. Yet, the evidence on the relative contribution of culture and bilingualism to EFs is not well understood, because disentangling language, culture and immigration status is very difficult. The novelty of our approach was to keep the language pair and immigration status constant, whilst the cultural identity of participants was systematically varied, and measured at the individual level (not just at group level). Two groups of Turkish–English bilinguals, all adult immigrants to the United Kingdom, took part in the study, but one group (n = 29) originated from mainland Turkey and the other (n = 28) from Cyprus. We found that the bilinguals experienced smaller Conflict Effects on a Flanker task measuring inhibition, by comparison with monolingual British participants (n = 30). The key variable explaining EF performance variance at the individual level turned out to be bilinguals’ Multicultural Identity Style. In particular those who indicated that they attempted to alternate between different British and Turkish (Cypriot) identity styles were found to have shorter RTs on incongruent trials of the Flanker task. The two multicultural identity variables, Alternating and Hybrid Identity Styles, together explained 32% in RTs over and above Education, Working Memory and Nonverbal reasoning (overall explained variance 49%). Thus, the data provide strong evidence for the impact of culture on EFs. We suggest that, as a result of their daily practice in recognizing cultural cues which highlight the need to switch to a different cultural frame, multicultural bilinguals develop a heightened context-sensitivity, and this gives them an advantage over monolinguals in a Flankers task. Our approach, which draws on models from cross-cultural psychology, bilingualism and executive functioning, illustrates the importance of theory building in which sociolinguistic and cultural variables are integrated into models of EFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanine Treffers-Daller
- Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Zehra Ongun
- Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Julia Hofweber
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michal Korenar
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
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Harris LT, van Etten N, Gimenez-Fernandez T. Exploring how harming and helping behaviors drive prediction and explanation during anthropomorphism. Soc Neurosci 2020; 16:39-56. [PMID: 32698660 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2020.1799859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Cacioppo and colleagues advanced the study of anthropomorphism by positing three motives that moderated the occurrence of this phenomenon; belonging, effectance, and explanation. Here, we further this literature by exploring the extent to which the valence of a target's behavior influences its anthropomorphism when perceivers attempt to explain and predict that target's behavior, and the involvement of brain regions associated with explanation and prediction in such anthropomorphism. Participants viewed videos of varying visually complex agents - geometric shapes, computer generated (CG) faces, and greebles - in nonrandom motion performing harming and helping behaviors. Across two studies, participants reported a narrative that explained the observed behavior (both studies) while we recorded brain activity (study one), and participants predicted future behavior of the protagonist shapes (study two). Brain regions implicated in prediction error (striatum), not language generation (inferior frontal gyrus; IFG) engaged more to harming than helping behaviors during the anthropomorphism of such stimuli. Behaviorally, we found greater anthropomorphism in explanations of harming rather than helping behaviors, but the opposite pattern when participants predicted the agents' behavior. Together, these studies build upon the anthropomorphism literature by exploring how the valence of behavior drives explanation and prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lasana T Harris
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London , London, UK
| | - Noor van Etten
- Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University , Leiden, Netherlands
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Liu H, Kong C, de Bruin A, Wu J, He Y. Interactive influence of self and other language behaviors: Evidence from switching between bilingual production and comprehension. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:3720-3736. [PMID: 32445238 PMCID: PMC7416054 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural mechanisms underlying one's own language production and the comprehension of language produced by other speakers in daily communication remain elusive. Here, we assessed how self‐language production and other‐language comprehension interact within a language switching context using event‐related functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (er‐fMRI) in 32 unbalanced Chinese‐English bilinguals. We assessed within‐modality language interference during language production and comprehension as well as cross‐modality interference when switching from production to comprehension and vice versa. Results revealed that the overall effect of production (across switch and repeat trials) was larger in the cross‐modality than within‐modality condition in a series of attentional control areas, namely the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and left precuneus. Furthermore, the left precuneus was recruited more strongly in switch trials compared to repeat trials (i.e., switching costs) in within‐production conditions but not in the cross‐modality condition. These findings suggest that switching from production to comprehension recruits cognitive control areas to successfully implement switches between modalities. However, cross‐language interference (in the form of language switching costs) mainly stems from the self‐language production system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huanhuan Liu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China
| | - Chao Kong
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
| | | | - Junjie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern, Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuying He
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
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