1
|
Lu A, Liu S, Zhang J, Zhang M, Song T, Wang L, Wang X. The Effect of Phonetic Similarity on Domain-General Executive Control in Color-Shape Task: Evidence from Cantonese-Mandarin and Beijing-Dialect-Mandarin Bidialectals. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2023; 52:1855-1874. [PMID: 37326763 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-023-09958-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The present study was carried out to investigate whether bidialectals have a similar advantage in domain-general executive function as bilinguals and if so whether the phonetic similarity between two different dialects can modulate the executive function performance in the conflicting-switching task. The results showed that the latencies for switching trials in mixed block (SMs) were longest, non-switching trials in mixed block (NMs) were medium, and non-switching trials in pure block (NPs) were the shortest in the conflict-switching task in all three groups of participants. Importantly, the difference between NPs and NMs varied as a function of phonetic similarity between two dialects with Cantonese-Mandarin bidialectal speakers being the minimum, Beijing-dialect-Mandarin bidialectals medium, and Mandarin native speakers maximum. These results provide strong evidence that there is an advantage in balanced bidialectals's executive function which is modulated by the phonetic similarity between two dialects suggesting that phonetic similarity plays an important role in domain-general executive function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aitao Lu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
| | - Siyi Liu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Jijia Zhang
- The Department of Psychology & the Laboratory of the Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China.
| | - Meifang Zhang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Tianhua Song
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Lu Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xuebin Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wen Z(E, Teng MF, Han L, Zeng Y. Working Memory Models and Measures in Language and Bilingualism Research: Integrating Cognitive and Affective Perspectives. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12060729. [PMID: 35741614 PMCID: PMC9221522 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12060729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Although emotional or affective working memory (WM) is quite well established in general psychology, not much research has looked into its potential implications for the language sciences and bilingualism and second language acquisition (SLA) research until recently. To fill this gap, this paper aims to propose that WM has not just cognitive implications, but its affective dimension may also make complementary and unique contributions to language and bilingualism/SLA research. Towards this end, we first briefly synthesize the cognitive views of WM conceptions and assessment procedures in the current language sciences and bilingualism/SLA research. Next, we turn to discuss the theoretical models and assumptions of affective WM and explore their theoretical implications for bilingualism/SLA research based on emerging empirical evidence. Then, we propose a conceptual framework integrating cognitive and affective WM perspectives and further provide guidelines for designing affective WM span tasks that can be used in future affective WM–language research, focusing on the construction procedures of several emotion-based affective WM span tasks (e.g., the emotional reading span task, the emotional operation span task, and the emotional symmetry span task) as examples. Overall, we argue that affective feelings are also an integral part of the mental representations held in WM and future research in the language sciences and bilingualism/SLA should incorporate both cognitive and affective WM dimensions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
- Faculty of Languages and Translation, Macao Polytechnic University, Macau SAR 999078, China;
- Correspondence:
| | - Mark Feng Teng
- Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China;
| | - Lili Han
- Faculty of Languages and Translation, Macao Polytechnic University, Macau SAR 999078, China;
| | - Yong Zeng
- Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H9R 5X7, Canada;
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Sudo M, Matsui T. School Readiness in Language-Minority Dual Language Learners in Japan: Language, Executive Function, and Theory of Mind. The Journal of Genetic Psychology 2021; 182:375-390. [PMID: 34096473 DOI: 10.1080/00221325.2021.1930994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated school readiness in Brazilian (Portuguese-Japanese dual language learner or DLL) 5-year-olds in Japan (1) by examining their language skills, executive function (EF), and theory of mind (ToM) in comparison to their monolingual peers and (2) by investigating the developmental relations between these three skills. DLLs scored lower than monolinguals in Japanese language skills, specifically in receptive vocabulary and the understanding of complement clauses in Japanese. DLLs and monolinguals performed similarly in EF, particularly in inhibitory control tasks measuring interference suppression and response inhibition. However, monolinguals outperformed DLLs in ToM tasks assessing false belief understanding. Finally, DLLs' interference suppression and understanding of complement clauses were both positively related to their false belief understanding. In conclusion, DLLs had school readiness difficulties in Japanese language skills and ToM, but not in EF, compared to their Japanese monolingual peers. Furthermore, the positive relationship of language and EF skills with ToM development, which is commonly reported in monolingual children, extended to an understudied population of DLLs in this study.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mioko Sudo
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Tomoko Matsui
- Center for Research in International Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei-shi, Tokyo
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Stepanov A, Kodrič KB, Stateva P. The role of working memory in children's ability for prosodic discrimination. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229857. [PMID: 32150570 PMCID: PMC7062260 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research established that young children are sensitive to prosodic cues discriminating between syntactic structures of otherwise similarly sounding sentences in a language unknown to them. In this study, we explore the role of working memory that children might deploy for the purpose of the sentence-level prosodic discrimination. Nine-year old Slovenian monolingual and bilingual children (N = 70) were tested on a same-different prosodic discrimination task in a language unknown to them (French) and on the working memory measures in the form of forward and backward digit span and non-word repetition tasks. The results suggest that both the storage and processing components of the working memory are involved in the prosodic discrimination task.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Stepanov
- Center for Cognitive Science of Language, University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
| | - Karmen Brina Kodrič
- Center for Cognitive Science of Language, University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
| | - Penka Stateva
- Center for Cognitive Science of Language, University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Calvo N, Abrevaya S, Martínez Cuitiño M, Steeb B, Zamora D, Sedeño L, Ibáñez A, García AM. Rethinking the Neural Basis of Prosody and Non-literal Language: Spared Pragmatics and Cognitive Compensation in a Bilingual With Extensive Right-Hemisphere Damage. Front Psychol 2019; 10:570. [PMID: 30941077 PMCID: PMC6433823 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Above and beyond the critical contributions of left perisylvian regions to language, the neural networks supporting pragmatic aspects of verbal communication in native and non-native languages (L1s and L2, respectively) have often been ascribed to the right hemisphere (RH). However, several reports have shown that left-hemisphere activity associated with pragmatic domains (e.g., prosody, indirect speech, figurative language) is comparable to or even greater than that observed in the RH, challenging the proposed putative role of the latter for relevant domains. Against this background, we report on an adult bilingual patient showing preservation of pragmatic verbal skills in both languages (L1: Spanish, L2: English) despite bilateral damage mainly focused on the RH. After two strokes, the patient sustained lesions in several regions previously implicated in pragmatic functions (vast portions of the right fronto-insulo-temporal cortices, the bilateral amygdalae and insular cortices, and the left putamen). Yet, comparison of linguistic and pragmatic skills with matched controls revealed spared performance on multiple relevant tasks in both her L1 and L2. Despite mild difficulties in some aspects of L2 prosody, she showed no deficits in comprehending metaphors and idioms, or understanding indirect speech acts in either language. Basic verbal skills were also preserved in both languages, including verbal auditory discrimination, repetition of words and pseudo-words, cognate processing, grammaticality judgments, equivalent recognition, and word and sentence translation. Taken together, the evidence shows that multiple functions of verbal communication can be widely spared despite extensive damage to the RH, and that claims for a putative relation between pragmatics and the RH may have been overemphasized in the monolingual and bilingual literature. We further discuss the case in light of previous reports of pragmatic and linguistic deficits following brain lesions and address its relation to cognitive compensation in bilingual patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noelia Calvo
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, National University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Sofía Abrevaya
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Macarena Martínez Cuitiño
- Faculty of Psychology, National University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.,Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Brenda Steeb
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dolores Zamora
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.,Department of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile.,Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, Australian Research Council, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Bidelman GM, Heath ST. Neural Correlates of Enhanced Audiovisual Processing in the Bilingual Brain. Neuroscience 2019; 401:11-20. [PMID: 30639306 PMCID: PMC6379141 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 12/22/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Bilingualism is associated with enhancements in perceptual and cognitive processing necessary for juggling multiple languages. Recent psychophysical studies demonstrate bilinguals also show enhanced multisensory processing and more restricted temporal binding windows for integrating audiovisual information. Here, we probed the neural mechanisms of bilinguals' audiovisual benefits. We recorded neuroelectric responses in mono- and bi-lingual listeners to the double-flash paradigm in which auditory beeps concurrent with a single visual flash induces the perceptual illusion of multiple flashes. Relative to monolinguals, bilinguals showed less susceptibility to the illusion (fewer false perceptual reports) coupled with stronger and faster event-related potentials to audiovisual information. Source analyses of EEG data revealed monolinguals' increased propensity for erroneously perceiving audiovisual stimuli was attributed to increased activity in primary visual (V1) and auditory cortex (PAC), increases in multisensory association areas (BA 37), but reduced frontal activity (BA 10). Regional activations were associated with an opposite pattern of behaviors: whereas stronger V1 and PAC activity predicted slower behavioral responses, stronger frontal BA10 responses elicited faster judgments. Our results suggest bilinguals' higher precision in audiovisual perception reflects more veridical sensory coding of physical cues coupled with superior top-down gating of sensory information to suppress the generation of false percepts. Findings underscore that the plasticity afforded by speaking multiple languages shapes extra-linguistic brain regions and can enhance audiovisual brain processing in a domain-general manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Bidelman
- School of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Memphis, TN, USA.
| | - Shelley T Heath
- School of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Lukasik KM, Lehtonen M, Soveri A, Waris O, Jylkkä J, Laine M. Bilingualism and working memory performance: Evidence from a large-scale online study. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0205916. [PMID: 30388118 PMCID: PMC6214526 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The bilingual executive advantage (BEA) hypothesis has attracted considerable research interest, but the findings are inconclusive. We addressed this issue in the domain of working memory (WM), as more complex WM tasks have been underrepresented in the previous literature. First, we compared early and late bilingual vs. monolingual WM performance. Second, we examined whether certain aspects of bilingual experience, such as language switching frequency, are related to bilinguals' WM scores. Our online sample included 485 participants. They filled in an extensive questionnaire including background factors such as bilingualism and second language (L2) use, and performed 10 isomorphic verbal and visuospatial WM tasks that yielded three WM composite scores (visuospatial WM, verbal WM, n-back). For verbal and visuospatial WM composites, the group comparisons did not support the BEA hypothesis. N-back analysis showed an advantage of late bilinguals over monolinguals and early bilinguals, while the latter two groups did not differ. This between-groups analysis was followed by a regression analysis relating features of bilingual experience to n-back performance, but the results were non-significant in both bilingual groups. In sum, group differences supporting the BEA hypothesis were limited only to the n-back composite, and this composite was not predicted by bilingualism-related features. Moreover, Bayesian analyses did not give consistent support for the BEA hypothesis. Possible reasons for the failure to find support for the BEA hypothesis are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Minna Lehtonen
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- MultiLing Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan, Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian studies, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anna Soveri
- Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Otto Waris
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Jussi Jylkkä
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Matti Laine
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
- Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Verdon S. Awakening a critical consciousness among multidisciplinary professionals supporting culturally and linguistically diverse families: a pilot study on the impact of professional development. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/13575279.2018.1516626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Verdon
- School of Community Health, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Park J, Ellis Weismer S, Kaushanskaya M. Changes in executive function over time in bilingual and monolingual school-aged children. Dev Psychol 2018; 54:1842-1853. [PMID: 30179022 PMCID: PMC6148377 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
We examined the development of 3 executive function (EF) components-inhibition, updating, and task shifting-over time in monolingual and bilingual school-age children. We tested 41 monolingual and 41 simultaneous bilingual typically developing children (ages 8-12) on nonverbal tasks measuring inhibition (the Flanker task), updating (the Corsi blocks task), and task shifting (the Dimensional Change Card Sort task; DCCS) at 2 time points, 1 year apart. Three indexes of task shifting (shifting, switching, and mixing costs) were derived from the DCCS task. The 2 groups did not differ in their development of updating, but did demonstrate distinct patterns of development for inhibition. Specifically, while the bilingual group demonstrated a steep improvement in inhibition from Year 1 to Year 2, the monolingual group was characterized by stable inhibition performance over this time period. The 2 groups did not differ in their developmental patterns for shifting and switching costs, but for mixing costs, the bilingual children outperformed the monolingual children in both years. Together, the findings indicate that bilingual experience may modulate the developmental rates of some components of EF but not others, resulting in specific EF performance differences between bilinguals and monolinguals only at certain developmental time points. (PsycINFO Database Record
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jisook Park
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto
| | - Susan Ellis Weismer
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
| | - Margarita Kaushanskaya
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Marian V, Lam TQ, Hayakawa S, Dhar S. Top-Down Cognitive and Linguistic Influences on the Suppression of Spontaneous Otoacoustic Emissions. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:378. [PMID: 29937708 PMCID: PMC6002685 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory sensation is often thought of as a bottom-up process, yet the brain exerts top-down control to affect how and what we hear. We report the discovery that the magnitude of top-down influence varies across individuals as a result of differences in linguistic background and executive function. Participants were 32 normal-hearing individuals (23 female) varying in language background (11 English monolinguals, 10 Korean-English late bilinguals, and 11 Korean-English early bilinguals), as well as cognitive abilities (working memory, cognitive control). To assess efferent control over inner ear function, participants were presented with speech-sounds (e.g., /ba/, /pa/) in one ear while spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) were measured in the contralateral ear. SOAEs are associated with the amplification of sound in the cochlea, and can be used as an index of top-down efferent activity. Individuals with bilingual experience and those with better cognitive control experienced larger reductions in the amplitude of SOAEs in response to speech stimuli, likely as a result of greater efferent suppression of amplification in the cochlea. This suppression may aid in the critical task of speech perception by minimizing the disruptive effects of noise. In contrast, individuals with better working memory exert less control over the cochlea, possibly due to a greater capacity to process complex stimuli at later stages. These findings demonstrate that even peripheral mechanics of auditory perception are shaped by top-down cognitive and linguistic influences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Viorica Marian
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Tuan Q Lam
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Sayuri Hayakawa
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Sumitrajit Dhar
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Calvo N, Ibáñez A, Muñoz E, García AM. A core avenue for transcultural research on dementia: on the cross-linguistic generalization of language-related effects in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2018; 33:814-823. [PMID: 28370288 DOI: 10.1002/gps.4712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Language is a key source of cross-cultural variability, which may have both subtle and major effects on neurocognition. However, this issue has been largely overlooked in two flourishing lines of research assessing the relationship between language-related neural systems and dementia. This paper assesses the limitations of the evidence on (i) the neuroprotective effects of bilingualism in Alzheimer's disease and (ii) specific language deficits as markers of Parkinson's disease. DESIGN First, we outline the rationale behind each line of research. Second, we review available evidence and discuss the potential impact of cross-linguistic factors. Third, we outline ideas to foster progress in both fields and, with it, in cross-cultural neuroscience at large. RESULTS On the one hand, studies on bilingualism suggest that sustained use of more than one language may protect against Alzheimer's disease symptoms. On the other hand, insights from the embodied cognition framework point to syntactic and action-verb deficits as early (and even preclinical) markers of Parkinson's disease. However, both fields share a key limitation that lies at the heart of cultural neuroscience: the issue of cross-linguistic generalizability. CONCLUSION Relevant evidence for both research trends comes from only a handful of (mostly Indo-European) languages, which are far from capturing the full scope of structural and typological diversity of the linguistic landscape worldwide. This raises questions on the external validity of reported findings. Greater collaboration between linguistic typology and cognitive neuroscience seems crucial as a first step to assess the impact of transcultural differences on language-related effects across neurodegenerative diseases. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noelia Calvo
- Institute of Philosophy, School of Philosophy, Humanities and Arts
- , National University of San Juan, San Juan, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, National University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.,Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.,Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile.,Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Australian Research Council (ARC), Sydney, Australia
| | - Edinson Muñoz
- Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Delage H, Durrleman S. Developmental dyslexia and specific language impairment: distinct syntactic profiles? CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2018; 32:758-785. [PMID: 29775094 DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2018.1437222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Recent work exploring syntax in developmental dyslexia (DD) has identified morphosyntactic deficits, striking parallelisms between children with DD and specific language impairment (SLI). The question remains open if the underlying causes for such deficits are related to difficulties in phonology, which is affected in DD, or to working memory, as has been previously reported for SLI. We focus on the production of third person accusative clitic pronouns (ACC3) and of homophonous definite determiners in French-speaking children with DD and SLI as well as typically developing (TD) controls. If syntactic complexity modulates performance of DD children, as has already been shown for SLI, we predict children with DD to perform significantly worse on ACC3 compared to definite determiners, which are homophonous but syntactically simpler. In addition, if impairment in ACC3 stems from phonology or working memory difficulties, we expect ACC3 performance in both clinical groups to relate to performance on non-word repetition or forward/backward digit spans. We studied 2 groups of 21 children and adolescents, with DD and SLI (7-15 years) and age-matched TD controls. Results reveal significant weaknesses with ACC3 in DD and SLI groups compared to TD controls, but no difficulty for homophonous definite determiners, confirming a deficit relating specifically to syntactic complexity. As for links to phonology and working memory, a single correlation emerged between ACC3 and the backward digit span in SLI, but not in DD, suggesting different underlying sources for syntactic deficits in these populations. Clinical implications of these results are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Delage
- a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland
| | - Stephanie Durrleman
- a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Stepanov A, Pavlič M, Stateva P, Reboul A. Children's early bilingualism and musical training influence prosodic discrimination of sentences in an unknown language. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 143:EL1. [PMID: 29390762 DOI: 10.1121/1.5019700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated whether early bilingualism and early musical training positively influence the ability to discriminate between prosodic patterns corresponding to different syntactic structures in otherwise phonetically identical sentences in an unknown language. In a same-different discrimination task, participants (N = 108) divided into four groups (monolingual non-musicians, monolingual musicians, bilingual non-musicians, and bilingual musicians) listened to pairs of short sentences in a language unknown to them (French). In discriminating phonetically identical but prosodically different sentences, musicians, bilinguals, and bilingual musicians outperformed the controls. However, there was no interaction between bilingualism and musical training to suggest an additive effect. These results underscore the significant role of both types of experience in enhancing the listeners' sensitivity to prosodic information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Stepanov
- Center for Cognitive Science of Language, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 13, SI-5000 Nova Gorica, Slovenia , ,
| | - Matic Pavlič
- Center for Cognitive Science of Language, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 13, SI-5000 Nova Gorica, Slovenia , ,
| | - Penka Stateva
- Center for Cognitive Science of Language, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 13, SI-5000 Nova Gorica, Slovenia , ,
| | - Anne Reboul
- Institute for Cognitive Sciences-Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5304, Bron, France
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Blom E, Boerma T, Bosma E, Cornips L, Everaert E. Cognitive Advantages of Bilingual Children in Different Sociolinguistic Contexts. Front Psychol 2017; 8:552. [PMID: 28484403 PMCID: PMC5399246 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Many studies have shown that bilingual children outperform monolinguals on tasks testing executive functioning, but other studies have not revealed any effect of bilingualism. In this study we compared three groups of bilingual children in the Netherlands, aged 6-7 years, with a monolingual control group. We were specifically interested in testing whether the bilingual cognitive advantage is modulated by the sociolinguistic context of language use. All three bilingual groups were exposed to a minority language besides the nation's dominant language (Dutch). Two bilingual groups were exposed to a regional language (Frisian, Limburgish), and a third bilingual group was exposed to a migrant language (Polish). All children participated in two working memory tasks (verbal, visuospatial) and two attention tasks (selective attention, interference suppression). Bilingual children outperformed monolinguals on selective attention. The cognitive effect of bilingualism was most clearly present in the Frisian-Dutch group and in a subgroup of migrant children who were relatively proficient in Polish. The effect was less robust in the Limburgish-Dutch sample. Investigation of the response patterns of the flanker test, testing interference suppression, suggested that bilingual children more often show an effect of response competition than the monolingual children, demonstrating that bilingual children attend to different aspects of the task than monolingual children. No bilingualism effects emerged for verbal and visuospatial working memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elma Blom
- Special Education: Cognitive & Motor Disabilities, Department of Education & Pedagogy, Utrecht UniversityUtrecht, Netherlands
| | - Tessel Boerma
- Special Education: Cognitive & Motor Disabilities, Department of Education & Pedagogy, Utrecht UniversityUtrecht, Netherlands
| | - Evelyn Bosma
- Amsterdam Center for Language and CommunicationAmsterdam, Netherlands
- Fryske AkademyLeeuwarden, Netherlands
| | - Leonie Cornips
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht UniversityMaastricht, Netherlands
- Meertens InstituteAmsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Emma Everaert
- Special Education: Cognitive & Motor Disabilities, Department of Education & Pedagogy, Utrecht UniversityUtrecht, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Perani D, Farsad M, Ballarini T, Lubian F, Malpetti M, Fracchetti A, Magnani G, March A, Abutalebi J. The impact of bilingualism on brain reserve and metabolic connectivity in Alzheimer's dementia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:1690-1695. [PMID: 28137833 PMCID: PMC5320960 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1610909114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive reserve (CR) prevents cognitive decline and delays neurodegeneration. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that lifelong bilingualism may act as CR delaying the onset of dementia by ∼4.5 y. Much controversy surrounds the issue of bilingualism and its putative neuroprotective effects. We studied brain metabolism, a direct index of synaptic function and density, and neural connectivity to shed light on the effects of bilingualism in vivo in Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Eighty-five patients with probable AD and matched for disease duration (45 German-Italian bilingual speakers and 40 monolingual speakers) were included. Notably, bilingual individuals were on average 5 y older than their monolingual peers. In agreement with our predictions and with models of CR, cerebral hypometabolism was more severe in the group of bilingual individuals with AD. The metabolic connectivity analyses crucially supported the neuroprotective effect of bilingualism by showing an increased connectivity in the executive control and the default mode networks in the bilingual, compared with the monolingual, AD patients. Furthermore, the degree of lifelong bilingualism (i.e., high, moderate, or low use) was significantly correlated to functional modulations in crucial neural networks, suggesting both neural reserve and compensatory mechanisms. These findings indicate that lifelong bilingualism acts as a powerful CR proxy in dementia and exerts neuroprotective effects against neurodegeneration. Delaying the onset of dementia is a top priority of modern societies, and the present in vivo neurobiological evidence should stimulate social programs and interventions to support bilingual or multilingual education and the maintenance of the second language among senior citizens.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Perani
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy;
- In Vivo Human Molecular and Structural Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, San Raffaele Hospital, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Mohsen Farsad
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, Azienda Sanitaria dell'Alto Adige, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Tommaso Ballarini
- In Vivo Human Molecular and Structural Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Lubian
- Memory Clinic, Geriatric Department, Azienda Sanitaria dell'Alto Adige, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Maura Malpetti
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | | | - Giuseppe Magnani
- Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Albert March
- Memory Clinic, Geriatric Department, Azienda Sanitaria dell'Alto Adige, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Jubin Abutalebi
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|