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Wang A, Yan X, Feng G, Cao F. Shared and task-specific brain functional differences across multiple tasks in children with developmental dyslexia. Neuropsychologia 2024; 201:108935. [PMID: 38848989 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108935] [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: 01/16/2024] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
Different tasks have been used in examining the neural functional differences associated with developmental dyslexia (DD), and consequently, different findings have been reported. However, very few studies have systematically compared multiple tasks in understanding what specific task differences each brain region is associated with. In this study, we employed an auditory rhyming task, a visual rhyming task, and a visual spelling task, in order to investigate shared and task-specific neural differences in Chinese children with DD. First, we found that children with DD had reduced activation in the opercular part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) only in the two rhyming tasks, suggesting impaired phonological analysis. Children with DD showed functional differences in the right lingual gyrus/inferior occipital gyrus only in the two visual tasks, suggesting deficiency in their visuo-orthographic processing. Moreover, children with DD showed reduced activation in the left dorsal inferior frontal gyrus and increased activation in the right precentral gyrus across all of the three tasks, suggesting neural signatures of DD in Chinese. In summary, our study successfully separated brain regions associated with differences in orthographic processing, phonological processing, and general lexical processing in DD. It advances our understanding about the neural mechanisms of DD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anqi Wang
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
| | - Xiaohui Yan
- Department of Psychology, the University of Hong Kong, China; State Key Lab of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, China
| | - Guoyan Feng
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen University, China; School of Management, Guangzhou Xinhua University, China
| | - Fan Cao
- Department of Psychology, the University of Hong Kong, China; State Key Lab of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, China.
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2
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How Characters Are Learned Leaves Its Mark on the Neural Substrates of Chinese Reading. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0111-22.2022. [PMID: 36635247 PMCID: PMC9787807 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0111-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how the brain functions differently as one learns to read may shed light on the controversial nature of the reading ability of human being. Logographic writing system such as Chinese has been found to rely on specialized neural substrates beyond the reading network of alphabetic languages. The ability to read in Chinese has also been proposed to rely on writing skills. However, it was unclear whether the learning-related alteration of neural responses was language specific or resulted from the more reliance on writing practice during acquisition. This study investigated whether the emergence of typical logographic-specific regions relied on learning by writing. We taught proficient alphabetic language readers Chinese characters and used pre-test and post-test to identify changes in two critical stages of reading, namely, orthographic processing and orthographic-to-phonological mapping. Two typical left hemispheric areas for logographic reading showed increased responses to characters in the brains of proficient alphabetic readers after learning, regardless of whether the learning strategy involved writing practice. Moreover, learning strategy modulated the response magnitude or multivoxel patterns in the left superior parietal lobule, left middle frontal gyrus, and right fusiform gyrus, some of which were task dependent. The findings corroborated a limited role of writing in the emergence of logographic-specific reading network and suggested the heterogeneous nature of different brain regions in this network.
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3
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Dong J, Yue Q, Li A, Gu L, Su X, Chen Q, Mei L. Individuals' preference on reading pathways influences the involvement of neural pathways in phonological learning. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1067561. [PMID: 36591053 PMCID: PMC9794771 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1067561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Existing behavioral and neuroimaging studies revealed inter-individual variability in the selection of the two phonological routes in word reading. However, it is not clear how individuals' preferred reading pathways/strategies modulate the involvement of a certain brain region for phonological learning in a new language, and consequently affect their behavioral performance on phonological access. Methods To address this question, the present study recruited a group of native Chinese speakers to learn two sets of artificial language characters, respectively, in addressed-phonology training (i.e., whole-word mapping) and assembled-phonology training conditions (i.e., grapheme-to-phoneme mapping). Results Behavioral results showed that the more lexical pathways participants preferred, the better they performed on newly-acquired addressed characters relative to assembled characters. More importantly, neuroimaging results showed that participants who preferred lexical pathway in phonological access show less involvement of brain regions for addressed phonology (e.g., the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and right pars triangularis) in the processing of newly-acquired addressed characters. Conclusion These results indicated that phonological access via the preferred pathway required less neural resources to achieve better behavioral performance. These above results provide direct neuroimaging evidence for the influence of reading pathway preference on phonological learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Dong
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingxin Yue
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Aqian Li
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lala Gu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinqi Su
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qi Chen
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
| | - Leilei Mei
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China,*Correspondence: Leilei Mei,
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van den Bos N, Rosenblum S. The Underlying Mechanisms of Handwriting of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review. JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, SCHOOLS, & EARLY INTERVENTION 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/19411243.2022.2129900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nellie van den Bos
- Laboratory of Complex Human Activity and Participation (CHAP), Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Sara Rosenblum
- Laboratory of Complex Human Activity and Participation (CHAP), Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
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5
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Tu L, Zhou F, Omata K, Li W, Huang R, Gao W, Zhu Z, Li Y, Liu C, Mao M, Zhang S, Hanakawa T. Increased Gray Matter Volume Induced by Chinese Language Acquisition in Adult Alphabetic Language Speakers. Front Psychol 2022; 13:824219. [PMID: 35548546 PMCID: PMC9084625 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.824219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
It is interesting to explore the effects of second language (L2) acquisition on anatomical change in brain at different stages for the neural structural adaptations are dynamic. Short-term Chinese training effects on brain anatomical structures in alphabetic language speakers have been already studied. However, little is known about the adaptations of the gray matter induced by acquiring Chinese language for a relatively long learning period in adult alphabetic language speakers. To explore this issue, we recruited 38 Indian overseas students in China as our subjects. The learned group included 17 participants who had learned Mandarin Chinese for an average of 3.24 years and achieved intermediate Chinese language proficiency. The control group included 21 subjects who had no knowledge about Chinese. None of the participants had any experience in learning logographic and tonal language before Chinese learning. We found that (1) the learned group had significantly greater gray matter volume (GMV) in the left lingual gyrus (LG) compared with the control group; (2) the Chinese characters’ reading accuracy was significantly and positively correlated to the GMV in the left LG and fusiform gyrus (FG) across the two groups; and (3) in the learned group, the duration of Chinese learning was significantly and positively correlated with the GMV in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) after correction for multiple comparisons with small volume corrections. Our structural imaging findings are in line with the functional imaging studies reporting increased brain activation induced by Chinese acquisition in alphabetic language speakers. The regional gray matter changes reflected the additional requirements imposed by the more difficult processing of Chinese characters and tones. The present study also show that the biological bases of the adaptations induced by a relatively long period of Chinese learning were limited in the common areas for first and foreign language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liu Tu
- College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fangyuan Zhou
- College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kei Omata
- Department of Advanced Neuroimaging, Integrative Brain Imaging Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Japan
| | - Wendi Li
- College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong, Center for the Study of Applied Psychology and MRI Center, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wei Gao
- College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhenzhen Zhu
- Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanyan Li
- Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chang Liu
- South China Business Trade College, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengying Mao
- College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuyu Zhang
- College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Takashi Hanakawa
- Integrated Neuroanatomy and Neuroimaging, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
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6
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Li A, Yang R, Qu J, Dong J, Gu L, Mei L. Neural representation of phonological information during Chinese character reading. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4013-4029. [PMID: 35545935 PMCID: PMC9374885 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have revealed that phonological processing of Chinese characters elicited activation in the left prefrontal cortex, bilateral parietal cortex, and occipitotemporal regions. However, it is controversial what role the left middle frontal gyrus plays in Chinese character reading, and whether the core regions (e.g., the left superior temporal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus) for phonological processing of alphabetic languages are also involved in Chinese character reading. To address these questions, the present study used both univariate and multivariate analysis (i.e., representational similarity analysis, RSA) to explore neural representations of phonological information during Chinese character reading. Participants were scanned while performing a reading aloud task. Univariate activation analysis revealed a widely distributed network for word reading, including the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, lateral temporal cortex, and occipitotemporal cortex. More importantly, RSA showed that the left prefrontal (i.e., the left middle frontal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus) and bilateral occipitotemporal areas (i.e., the left inferior and middle temporal gyrus and bilateral fusiform gyrus) represented phonological information of Chinese characters. These results confirmed the importance of the left middle frontal gyrus and regions in ventral pathway in representing phonological information of Chinese characters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aqian Li
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rui Yang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jing Qu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jie Dong
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lala Gu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Leilei Mei
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
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7
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Xu X, Jin Y, Pan N, Cao M, Jing J, Ma J, Fan X, Tan S, Song X, Li X. A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study on the White Matter Structures Related to the Phonology in Cantonese-Mandarin Bilinguals. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:851669. [PMID: 35601910 PMCID: PMC9120590 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.851669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cantonese and Mandarin are logographic languages, and the phonology is the main difference between the two languages. It is unclear whether the long-term experience of Cantonese-Mandarin bilingualism will shape different brain white matter structures related to phonological processing. A total of 30 Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals and 30 Mandarin monolinguals completed diffusion-weighted imaging scan and phonological processing tasks. The tractography and tract-based spatial statistics were used to investigate the structural differences in the bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) between Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals and Mandarin monolinguals. The post-hoc correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between the different structures with phonological processing skills. Compared to the Mandarin monolinguals, the Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) along the left ILFs higher mean diffusivity (MD) along the right IFOF and the temporoparietal segment of SLF (tSLF), higher axial diffusivity (AD) in the right IFOF and left ILF, and lower number of streamlines in the bilateral tSLF. The mean AD of the different voxels in the right IFOF and the mean FA of the different voxels in the left ILF were positively correlated with the inverse efficiency score (IES) of the Cantonese auditory and Mandarin visual rhyming judgment tasks, respectively, within the bilingual group. The correlation between FA and IES was different among the groups. The long-term experience of Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals shapes the different brain white matter structures in tSLF, IFOF, and ILF. Compared to the monolinguals, the bilinguals' white matter showed higher diffusivity, especially in the axonal direction. These changes were related to bilinguals' phonological processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Xu
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuying Jin
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ning Pan
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Muqing Cao
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jin Jing
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jingwen Ma
- Guangdong Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Fan
- Wuhan Children’s Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Si Tan
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaojing Song
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiuhong Li
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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8
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Gao Z, Ma X, Zhou X, Xin F, Gao S, Kou J, Becker B, Kendrick KM. Oxytocin Reduces the Attractiveness of Silver-Tongued Men for Women During Mid-Cycle. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:760695. [PMID: 35573309 PMCID: PMC9097854 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.760695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, the neuropeptide oxytocin promotes both attraction toward and bonds with romantic partners, although no studies have investigated whether this extends to the perceived attractiveness of flirtatious language. In a within-subject, randomized double-blind placebo-controlled behavior and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm (https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT03144115), 75 women rated the attractiveness of either a male face alone or paired with a verbal compliment which varied in terms of topic (women or landscapes) and figurativeness (novel or conventional metaphors or literal expressions). Subjects were tested in fertile and luteal phases of their cycle and on both occasions received either 24 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo. Results showed that, whereas under placebo women in the fertile phase rated the facial attractiveness of men producing novel metaphorical compliments higher than in their luteal phase, following oxytocin treatment they did not. Correspondingly, under oxytocin the faces of individuals producing novel metaphorical compliments evoked greater responses in brain regions involved in processing language (middle frontal gyrus) and cognitive and emotional conflict (posterior middle cingulate and dorsal anterior cingulate) but reduced functional connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate and right orbitofrontal and medial frontal gyri. Thus, sex hormones and oxytocin may have opposite effects in regulating mate selection in women during their fertile phase. Novel metaphorical compliments convey a greater sexual than bonding intention and thus while sex hormones at mid-cycle may promote attraction to individuals communicating sexual rather than bonding intent, oxytocin may bias attraction away from such individuals through increasing cognitive and emotional conflict responses toward them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhao Gao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaole Ma
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- School of Educational Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Fei Xin
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Shan Gao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Juan Kou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keith M. Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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9
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The Differences of Functional Brain Network in Processing Auditory Phonological Tasks between Cantonese-Mandarin Bilinguals and Mandarin Monolinguals. Brain Res 2022; 1780:147801. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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10
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Lai CH, Hsieh SK, Lee CL, Su LIW, Liu TH, Lu CR, Tsai IN, Chou TL. Neuro-Cognitive Differences in Semantic Processing Between Native Speakers and Proficient Learners of Mandarin Chinese. Front Psychol 2021; 12:781304. [PMID: 34867693 PMCID: PMC8637610 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.781304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the neural mechanism underlying semantic processing in Mandarin Chinese adult learners, focusing on the learners who were Indo-European language speakers with advanced levels of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging technique and a semantic judgment task to test 24 Mandarin Chinese adult learners (L2 group) and 26 Mandarin Chinese adult native speakers (L1 group) as a control group. In the task, participants were asked to indicate whether two-character pairs were related in meaning. Compared to the L1 group, the L2 group had greater activation in the bilateral occipital regions, including the fusiform gyrus and middle occipital gyrus, as well as the right superior parietal lobule. On the other hand, less activation in the bilateral temporal regions was found in the L2 group relative to the L1 group. Correlation analysis further revealed that, within the L2 group, increased activation in the left middle temporal gyrus/superior temporal gyrus (M/STG, BA 21) was correlated with higher accuracy in the semantic judgment task as well as better scores in the two vocabulary tests, the Assessment of Chinese character list for grade 3 to grade 9 (A39) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. In addition, functional connectivity analysis showed that connectivity strength between the left fusiform gyrus and left ventral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 47) was modulated by the accuracy in the semantic judgment task in the L1 group. By contrast, this modulation effect was weaker in the L2 group. Taken together, our study suggests that Mandarin Chinese adult learners rely on greater recruitment of the bilateral occipital regions to process orthographic information to access the meaning of Chinese characters. Also, our correlation results provide convergent evidence that the left M/STG (BA 21) plays a crucial role in the storage of semantic knowledge for readers to access to conceptual information. Moreover, the connectivity results indicate that the left ventral pathway (left fusiform gyrus-left ventral IFG) is associated with orthographic-semantic processing in Mandarin Chinese. However, this semantic-related ventral pathway might require more time and language experience to be developed, especially for the late adult learners of Mandarin Chinese.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Ho Lai
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States.,Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Kai Hsieh
- Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Lin Lee
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Lily I-Wen Su
- Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Te-Hsin Liu
- Graduate Program of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Rung Lu
- Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - I-Ni Tsai
- Graduate Program of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tai-Li Chou
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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11
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Zaharchuk HA, Karuza EA. Multilayer networks: An untapped tool for understanding bilingual neurocognition. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 220:104977. [PMID: 34166942 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.104977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Cross-linguistic similarity is a term so broad and multi-faceted that it is not easily defined. The degree of overlap between languages is known to affect lexical competition during online processing and production, and its relevance for second language acquisition has also been established. Nevertheless, determining what makes two languages similar (or not) increases in complexity when multiple levels of the language hierarchy (e.g., phonology, syntax) are considered. How can we feasibly account for the patterns of convergence and divergence at each level of representation, as well as the interactions between them? The growing field of network science brings new methodologies to bear on this longstanding question. Below, we summarize current network science approaches to modeling language structure and discuss implications for understanding various linguistic processes. Critically, we stress the particular value of multilayer techniques, unique and powerful in their ability to simultaneously accommodate an array of node-to-node (or word-to-word) relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly A Zaharchuk
- Department of Psychology and The Center for Language Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Elisabeth A Karuza
- Department of Psychology and The Center for Language Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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12
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Similar activation patterns in the bilateral dorsal inferior frontal gyrus for monolingual and bilingual contexts in second language production. Neuropsychologia 2021; 156:107857. [PMID: 33857531 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Language production is a vital process of communication. Although many studies have devoted to the neural mechanisms of language production in bilinguals, they mainly focused on the mechanisms of cognitive control during language switching. Therefore, it is not clear how naming context influences the neural representations of linguistic information during language production in bilinguals. To address that question, the present study adopted representational similarity analysis (RSA) to investigate the neural pattern similarity (PS) between the monolingual and bilingual contexts separately for native and second languages. Consistent with previous findings, bilinguals behaviorally performed worse, and showed greater activation in brain regions for cognitive control including the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the bilingual context relative to the monolingual context. More importantly, RSA revealed that bilinguals exhibited similar neural activation patterns in the bilateral dorsal inferior frontal gyrus between the monolingual and bilingual contexts in the production of the second language. Moreover, higher cross-context PS in the right inferior frontal gyrus was associated with smaller differences in naming speed of second language between the monolingual and bilingual contexts. These results suggest that similar linguistic representations are encoded for the monolingual and bilingual contexts in the production of non-dominant language.
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Yan X, Perkins K, Cao F. A hierarchical deficit model of reading disability: Evidence from dynamic causal modelling analysis. Neuropsychologia 2021; 154:107777. [PMID: 33549584 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Deficits have been documented in visuo-orthographic processing as well as phonological retrieval/manipulation during visual word reading in individuals with reading disability (RD); however, the relationship between these deficits remains unclear. Previously, we found that during word reading, visuo-orthographic deficit appears to be a neural signature of RD, but deficits in phonological retrieval/manipulation appears to be a consequence of being RD (Cao et al., 2020). Therefore, in the current study, we directly tested the hypothesis that during visual word reading, deficit in phonological retrieval/manipulation may result from weakened input from visuo-orthographic regions, and that this relationship tends to be universal across languages. We conducted a dynamic causal modelling analysis of fMRI data from Chinese-English bilingual children (9-11 years, N = 78) with or without RD during a visual word rhyming judgment task. We found a weaker connection from the left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) to the left dorsal inferior frontal gyrus (dIFG) in children with RD and reading controls than the connection found in age controls for both Chinese and English. This finding suggests that the phonological deficit at the dIFG may result from weak input from the visuo-orthographic region and this connection appears to be responsive to reading level rather than RD, because the reading-control children were similar to children with RD. We also found that the left ITG was selectively connected with language-specific regions (i.e., the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) for Chinese and the left ventral inferior frontal gyrus (vIFG) for English) depending on the language being processed; however, this language selectivity was reduced in children with RD, suggesting that decreased language specialization is associated with RD. Using a double control design, our study suggests that during reading, the visuo-orthographic deficit of RD constrains the development of the connection from orthography to phonology and to other language-specific processing due to distorted quantity and quality of reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Yan
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
| | | | - Fan Cao
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen University, China.
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Dong J, Li A, Chen C, Qu J, Jiang N, Sun Y, Hu L, Mei L. Language distance in orthographic transparency affects cross-language pattern similarity between native and non-native languages. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:893-907. [PMID: 33112483 PMCID: PMC7856648 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 10/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
How native and non-native languages are represented in the brain is one of the most important questions in neurolinguistics. Much research has found that the similarity in neural activity of native and non-native languages are influenced by factors such as age of acquisition, language proficiency, and language exposure in the non-native language. Nevertheless, it is still unclear how the similarity between native and non-native languages in orthographic transparency, a key factor that affects the cognitive and neural mechanisms of phonological access, modulates the cross-language similarity in neural activation and which brain regions show the modulatory effects of language distance in orthographic transparency. To address these questions, the present study used representational similarity analysis (RSA) to precisely estimate the neural pattern similarity between native language and two non-native languages in Uyghur-Chinese-English trilinguals, whose third language (i.e., English) was more similar to the native language (i.e., Uyghur) in orthography than to their second language (i.e., Chinese). Behavioral results revealed that subjects responded faster to words in the non-native language with more similar orthography to their native language in the word naming task. More importantly, RSA revealed greater neural pattern similarity between Uyghur and English than between Uyghur and Chinese in select brain areas for phonological processing, especially in the left hemisphere. Further analysis confirmed that those brain regions represented phonological information. These results provide direct neuroimaging evidence for the modulatory effect of language distance in orthographic transparency on cross-language pattern similarity between native and non-native languages during word reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Dong
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Aqian Li
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chuansheng Chen
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Jing Qu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nan Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yue Sun
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liyuan Hu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Leilei Mei
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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Learning a Second Language in Adulthood Changes Subcortical Neural Encoding. Neural Plast 2020; 2020:8836161. [PMID: 33144853 PMCID: PMC7596456 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8836161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Second language learning has been shown to impact and reshape the central nervous system, anatomically and functionally. Most of the studies on second language learning and neuroplasticity have been focused on cortical areas, whereas the subcortical neural encoding mechanism and its relationship with L2 learning have not been examined extensively. The purpose of this study was to utilize frequency-following response (FFR) to examine if and how learning a tonal language in adulthood changes the subcortical neural encoding in hearing adults. Three groups of subjects were recruited: native speakers of Mandarin Chinese (native speakers (NS)), learners of the language (L2 learners), and those with no experience (native speakers of foreign languages (NSFL)). It is hypothesized that differences would exist in FFRs obtained from the three language experience groups. Results revealed that FFRs obtained from L2 learners were found to be more robust than the NSFL group, yet not on a par with the NS group. Such results may suggest that in human adulthood, subcortical neural encoding ability may be trainable with the acquisition of a new language and that neuroplasticity at the brainstem level can indeed be influenced by L2 learning.
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Abstract
Throughout their lifetime, adults learn new words in their native lannguage, and potentially also in a second language. However, they do so with variable levels of success. In the auditory word learning literature, some of this variability has been attributed to phonological skills, including decoding and phonological short-term memory. Here I examine how the relationship between phonological skills and word learning applies to the visual modality. I define the availability of phonology in terms of (1) the extent to which it is biased by the learning environment, (2) the characteristics of the words to be learned, and (3) individual differences in phonological skills. Across these three areas of research, visual word learning improves when phonology is made more available to adult learners, suggesting that phonology can facilitate learning across modalities. However, the facilitation is largely specific to alphabetic languages, which have predictable sublexical correspondences between orthography and phonology. Therefore, I propose that phonology bootstraps visual word learning by providing a secondary code that constrains and refines developing orthographic representations.
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Ma J, Wu Y, Sun T, Cai L, Fan X, Li X. Neural substrates of bilingual processing in a logographic writing system: An fMRI study in Chinese Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals. Brain Res 2020; 1738:146794. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.146794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Functional Dissociations of the Left Anterior and Posterior Occipitotemporal Cortex for Semantic and Non-semantic Phonological Access. Neuroscience 2020; 430:94-104. [PMID: 32032670 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 01/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have identified the ventral and dorsal brain regions that respectively support semantic and non-semantic phonological access. Nevertheless, the specific role of the left occipitotemporal cortex (lOTC) in the two pathways of phonological access is ambiguous. To address that question, the present study compared word reading in Chinese (presumably relying on the semantic pathway) with that in English (presumably relying on the non-semantic pathway). Results revealed a clear dissociation in the involvement of the anterior and posterior lOTC in semantic and non-semantic phonological access. Specifically, the anterior lOTC showed greater activation for Chinese than for English, whereas the posterior lOTC showed greater activation for English than for Chinese. More importantly, both psychophysiological interaction analysis and resting-state functional connectivity analysis showed that the anterior lOTC was functionally connected to the ventral brain regions (e.g., left anterior fusiform gyrus, anterior temporal lobe, and ventral inferior frontal gyrus), whereas the posterior lOTC was functionally connected to the dorsal brain regions (e.g., left posterior superior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and dorsal inferior frontal gyrus). These results suggest that the anterior and posterior lOTC are involved in semantic and non-semantic phonological access, respectively.
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L1 Reading Experience Influences L2 Lexical Learning: Spanish Learning in Chinese Speakers and English Speakers. Neuroscience 2019; 416:255-267. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2019] [Revised: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Cheng B, Zhang X, Fan S, Zhang Y. The Role of Temporal Acoustic Exaggeration in High Variability Phonetic Training: A Behavioral and ERP Study. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1178. [PMID: 31178795 PMCID: PMC6543854 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
High variability phonetic training (HVPT) has been found to be effective in helping adult learners acquire non-native phonetic contrasts. The present study investigated the role of temporal acoustic exaggeration by comparing the canonical HVPT paradigm without involving acoustic exaggeration with a modified adaptive HVPT paradigm that integrated key temporal exaggerations in infant-directed speech (IDS). Sixty native Chinese adults participated in the training of the English /i/ and /i/ vowel contrast and were randomly assigned to three subject groups. Twenty were trained with the typical HVPT paradigm (the HVPT group), twenty were trained under the modified adaptive approach with acoustic exaggeration (the HVPT-E group), and twenty were in the control group. Behavioral tasks for the pre- and post- tests used natural word identification, synthetic stimuli identification, and synthetic stimuli discrimination. Mismatch negativity (MMN) responses from the HVPT-E group were also obtained to assess the training effects in within- and across- category discrimination without requiring focused attention. Like previous studies, significant generalization effects to new talkers were found in both the HVPT group and the HVPT-E group. The HVPT-E group, by contrast, showed greater improvement as reflected in larger progress in natural word identification performance. Furthermore, the HVPT-E group exhibited more native-like categorical perception based on spectral cues after training, together with corresponding training-induced changes in the MMN responses to within- and across- category differences. These data provide the initial evidence supporting the important role of temporal acoustic exaggeration with adaptive training in facilitating phonetic learning and promoting brain plasticity at the perceptual and pre-attentive neural levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Cheng
- English Department & Language and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, School of Foreign Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Xiaojuan Zhang
- English Department & Language and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, School of Foreign Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Siying Fan
- English Department & Language and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, School of Foreign Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
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