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Rampinini A, Balboni I, Golestani N, Berthele R. A behavioural exploration of language aptitude and experience, cognition and more using Graph Analysis. Brain Res 2024; 1842:149109. [PMID: 38964704 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2024.149109] [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: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 06/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Language aptitude has recently regained interest in cognitive neuroscience. Traditional language aptitude testing included phonemic coding ability, associative memory, grammatical sensitivity and inductive language learning. Moreover, domain-general cognitive abilities are associated with individual differences in language aptitude, together with factors that have yet to be elucidated. Beyond domain-general cognition, it is also likely that aptitude and experience in domain-specific but non-linguistic fields (e.g. music or numerical processing) influence and are influenced by language aptitude. We investigated some of these relationships in a sample of 152 participants, using exploratory graph analysis, across different levels of regularisation, i.e. sensitivity. We carried out a meta cluster analysis in a second step to identify variables that are robustly grouped together. We discuss the data, as well as their meta-network groupings, at a baseline network sensitivity level, and in two analyses, one including and the other excluding dyslexic readers. Our results show a stable association between language and cognition, and the isolation of multilingual language experience, musicality and literacy. We highlight the necessity of a more comprehensive view of language and of cognition as multivariate systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Rampinini
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; National Centre for Competence in Research Evolving Language, Switzerland
| | - Irene Balboni
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Multilingualism, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland; National Centre for Competence in Research Evolving Language, Switzerland
| | - Narly Golestani
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; National Centre for Competence in Research Evolving Language, Switzerland
| | - Raphael Berthele
- Institute of Multilingualism, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland; National Centre for Competence in Research Evolving Language, Switzerland.
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Balboa-Bandeira Y, Zubiaurre-Elorza L, García-Guerrero MA, Ibarretxe-Bilbao N, Ojeda N, Peña J. Enhancement of phonemic verbal fluency in multilingual young adults by transcranial random noise stimulation. Neuropsychologia 2024; 198:108882. [PMID: 38599569 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108882] [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: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Several studies have analyzed the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on verbal fluency tasks in non-clinical populations. Nevertheless, the reported effects on verbal fluency are inconsistent. In addition, the effect of other techniques such as transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on verbal fluency enhancement has yet to be studied in healthy multilingual populations. This study aims to explore the effects of tRNS on verbal fluency in healthy multilingual individuals. Fifty healthy multilingual (Spanish, English and Basque) adults were randomly assigned to a tRNS or sham group. Electrodes were placed on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left inferior frontal gyrus. All participants performed phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks before, during (online assessment) and immediately after (offline assessment) stimulation in three different languages. The results showed significantly better performance by participants who received tRNS in the phonemic verbal fluency tasks in Spanish (in the online and offline assessment) and English (in the offline assessment). No differences between conditions were found in Basque nor semantic verbal fluency. These findings suggests that tRNS on the left prefrontal cortex could help improve phonemic, yet not semantic, fluency in healthy multilingual adults.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | | | - Naroa Ibarretxe-Bilbao
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Natalia Ojeda
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Javier Peña
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain.
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Wang P, Huang X, Chang X. The effect of inhibitory control and language proficiency on intra-sentential switching costs in reading comprehension. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2023; 241:104063. [PMID: 37976919 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104063] [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: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on the inhibition account and activation account, inhibitory control and language proficiency play big roles on language control mechanisms underlying language switching respectively. But it is still debatable whether inhibitory control and language proficiency play roles in sentential context during bilingual language comprehension, and how and when they work if they both do. The present study examined the specific roles of language proficiency and inhibitory control on modulating intra-sentential switching costs in Chinese-English bilinguals using self-paced reading task. Results indicated that language proficiency and switching direction modulated intra-sentential switching costs significantly. Switching costs were larger when switching into L1 than into L2 for the first two code-switched words due to inhibitory effect, but more costly switching into L2 than into L1 since the third code-switched words owing to the effect of relative language proficiency. During bilingual language processing, inhibition and activation of languages shaped a dynamic interplay of complementary language control processes. Specifically, inhibitory control and language proficiency work as a dynamic continuum in language switching at sentence level. Switching into L1 requires the release of inhibition to L1, but switching into L2 asks the activation and access of L2. The interaction effects of language proficiency and inhibitory control influenced the exertion and components of inhibition. This study reconciled the independent roles of language proficiency and inhibitory control on language switching and constructed a new continuum based on language proficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peijuan Wang
- School of Foreign Languages, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Xueyi Huang
- School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200400, China
| | - Xin Chang
- School of Foreign Languages, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
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Gosselin L, Sabourin L. Language athletes: Dual-language code-switchers exhibit inhibitory control advantages. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1150159. [PMID: 37063556 PMCID: PMC10102468 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have begun to examine bilingual cognition from more nuanced, experienced-based perspectives. The present study adds to this body of work by investigating the potential impact of code-switching on bilinguals’ inhibitory control abilities. Crucially, our bilingual participants originated from a predominantly dual-language environment, the interactional context which is believed to require (and therefore, potentially train) cognitive control processes related to goal-monitoring and inhibition. As such, 266 French Canadian bilinguals completed an online experiment wherein they were asked to complete a domain-general (Flanker) and a language-specific (bilingual Stroop) inhibitory control task, as well as extensive demographic and language background questionnaires. Stepwise multiple regressions (including various potential demographic and linguistic predictors) were conducted on the participants’ Flanker and Stroop effects. The results indicated that the bilinguals’ propensity to code-switch consistently yielded significant positive (but unidirectional) inhibitory control effects: dual-language bilinguals who reported more habitual French-to-English switching exhibited better goal-monitoring and inhibition abilities. For the language-specific task, the analysis also revealed that frequent unintentional code-switching may mitigate these inhibition skills. As such, the findings demonstrate that dual-language code-switchers may experience inhibitory control benefits, but only when their switching is self-reportedly deliberate. We conclude that the bilinguals’ interactional context is thus of primary importance, as the dual-language context is more conducive to intentional code-switching. Overall, the current study highlights the importance of considering individualistic language experience when it comes to examining potential bilingual executive functioning advantages.
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Wu YJ, Dang Q, Zhang Z, Zhang H, Guo T. Multivariate decoding methods reveal how speaking two dialects affects executive functions. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:840-853. [PMID: 36656284 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
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 analysed 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Jing Wu
- School of Linguistic Sciences and Arts, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China.,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Language Ability, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Qinpu Dang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaoqi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Haoyun Zhang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Taomei Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Meltzer JA, Kates Rose M, Le AY, Spencer KA, Goldstein L, Gubanova A, Lai AC, Yossofzai M, Armstrong SEM, Bialystok E. Improvement in executive function for older adults through smartphone apps: a randomized clinical trial comparing language learning and brain training. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2023; 30:150-171. [PMID: 34694201 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2021.1991262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Bilingualism has been linked to improved executive function and delayed onset of dementia, but it is unknown whether similar benefits can be obtained later in life through deliberate intervention. Given the logistical hurdles of second language acquisition in a randomized trial for older adults, few interventional studies have been done thus far. However, recently developed smartphone apps offer a convenient means to acquire skills in a second language and can be compared with brain training apps specifically designed to improve executive function. In a randomized clinical trial, 76 adults aged 65-75 were assigned to either 16 weeks of Spanish learning using the app Duolingo 30 minutes a day, an equivalent amount of brain training using the app BrainHQ, or a waitlist control condition. Executive function was assessed before and after the intervention with preregistered (NCT03638882) tests previously linked to better performance in bilinguals. For two of the primary measures: incongruent Stroop color naming and 2-back accuracy, Duolingo provided equivalent benefits as BrainHQ compared to a control group. On reaction time for N-back and Simon tests, the BrainHQ group alone experienced strong gains over the other two groups. Duolingo was rated as more enjoyable. These results suggest that app-based language learning may provide some similar benefits as brain training in improving executive function in seniors but has less impact on processing speed. However, future advancements in app design may optimize not only the acquisition of the target language but also the side benefits of the language learning experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jed A Meltzer
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto ON, Canada.,Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto ON, Canada.,Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, Ottawa ON, Canada
| | - Mira Kates Rose
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada
| | - Anna Y Le
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada
| | - Kiah A Spencer
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada
| | - Leora Goldstein
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada
| | - Alina Gubanova
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada
| | - Abbie C Lai
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada
| | - Maryam Yossofzai
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada
| | | | - Ellen Bialystok
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto ON, Canada
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Gullifer JW, Pivneva I, Whitford V, Sheikh NA, Titone D. Bilingual Language Experience and Its Effect on Conflict Adaptation in Reactive Inhibitory Control Tasks. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:238-251. [PMID: 36454726 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221113764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We used machine-learning techniques to assess interactions between language and cognitive systems related to inhibitory control and conflict adaptation in reactive control tasks. We built theoretically driven candidate models of Simon and Number Stroop task data (N = 777 adult bilinguals ages 18-43 years living in Montréal, Canada) that differed in whether bilingual experience interacted with inhibitory control, including two forms of conflict adaptation: shorter term sequential congruency effects and longer term trial order effects. Models with continuous aspects of bilingual experience provided signal in predicting new, unmodeled data. Specifically, mixed language usage predicted trial order adaptation to conflict. This effect was restricted to Number Stroop, which overtly involves linguistic or symbolic information and relatively higher language- and response-related uncertainty. These results suggest that bilingual experience adaptively tunes aspects of the control system and offers a novel integrative modeling approach that can be used to pursue other complex individual difference questions within the psychological sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason W Gullifer
- Department of Psychology, McGill University.,Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University
| | - Irina Pivneva
- Department of Psychology, McGill University.,Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University
| | - Veronica Whitford
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University.,Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick
| | - Naveed A Sheikh
- Department of Psychology, McGill University.,Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University
| | - Debra Titone
- Department of Psychology, McGill University.,Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University
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Navarro-Torres CA, Beatty-Martínez AL, Kroll JF, Green DW. Research on bilingualism as discovery science. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 222:105014. [PMID: 34530360 PMCID: PMC8978084 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.105014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
An important aim of research on bilingualism is to understand how the brain adapts to the demands of using more than one language.In this paper, we argue that pursuing such an aim entails valuing our research as a discovery process that acts on variety.Prescriptions about sample size and methodology, rightly aimed at establishing a sound basis for generalization, should be understood as being in the service of science as a discovery process. We propose and illustrate by drawing from previous and contemporary examples within brain and cognitive sciences, that this necessitates exploring the neural bases of bilingual phenotypes:the adaptive variety induced through the interplay of biology and culture. We identify the conceptual and methodological prerequisites for such exploration and briefly allude to the publication practices that afford it as a community practice and to the risk of allowing methodological prescriptions, rather than discovery, to dominate the research endeavor.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Judith F Kroll
- School of Education, University of California, Irvine, United States
| | - David W Green
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
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