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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.
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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
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Gallo F, DeLuca V, Prystauka Y, Voits T, Rothman J, Abutalebi J. Bilingualism and Aging: Implications for (Delaying) Neurocognitive Decline. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:819105. [PMID: 35185498 PMCID: PMC8847162 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.819105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
As a result of advances in healthcare, the worldwide average life expectancy is steadily increasing. However, this positive trend has societal and individual costs, not least because greater life expectancy is linked to higher incidence of age-related diseases, such as dementia. Over the past few decades, research has isolated various protective "healthy lifestyle" factors argued to contribute positively to cognitive aging, e.g., healthy diet, physical exercise and occupational attainment. The present article critically reviews neuroscientific evidence for another such factor, i.e., speaking multiple languages. Moreover, with multiple societal stakeholders in mind, we contextualize and stress the importance of the research program that seeks to uncover and understand potential connections between bilingual language experience and cognitive aging trajectories, inclusive of the socio-economic impact it can have. If on the right track, this is an important line of research because bilingualism has the potential to cross-over socio-economic divides to a degree other healthy lifestyle factors currently do not and likely cannot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Gallo
- Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
- Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics (CNPL), Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Vincent DeLuca
- PoLaR Lab, AcqVA Aurora Centre, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Yanina Prystauka
- PoLaR Lab, AcqVA Aurora Centre, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Toms Voits
- PoLaR Lab, AcqVA Aurora Centre, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Jason Rothman
- PoLaR Lab, AcqVA Aurora Centre, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
- Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición (CINC), University Nebrija, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jubin Abutalebi
- Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics (CNPL), Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
- PoLaR Lab, AcqVA Aurora Centre, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
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Li S, Li L, Zou L, Yan X, Zhang J, Yang M, Ding G. “Antagonistic” cooperation of control regions in bilingual language production: An effective connectivity study. Neuropsychologia 2022; 167:108165. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Zhu JD, Blanco-Elorrieta E, Sun Y, Szakay A, Sowman PF. Natural vs forced language switching: Free selection and consistent language use eliminate significant performance costs and cognitive demands in the brain. Neuroimage 2021; 247:118797. [PMID: 34896585 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Bilinguals are known to switch language spontaneously in everyday conversations, even if there are no external requirements to do so. However, in the laboratory setting, language control is often investigated using forced switching tasks, which result in significant performance costs. The present study assessed whether switching would be less costly when performed in a more natural fashion, and what factors might account for this. Mandarin-English bilinguals engaged in language switching under three different contexts with varied task demands. We examined two factors which may be characteristic of natural switching: (i) freedom of language selection; (ii) consistency of language used to name each item. Participants' brain activities were recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG), along with behavioural measures of reaction speed and accuracy. The natural context (with both free selection and consistent language use for each item) produced better performance overall, showing reduced mixing cost and no significant switch cost. The neural effect of language mixing was also reversed in this context, suggesting that freely mixing two languages was easier than staying in a single language. Further, while switching in the forced context elicited increased brain activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus, this switch effect disappeared when the language used to name each item was consistent. Together, these findings demonstrate that the two factors above conjointly contribute to eliminating significant performance costs and cognitive demands associated with language switching and mixing. Such evidence aligns with lexical selection models which do not assume bilingual production to be inherently effortful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judy D Zhu
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
| | | | - Yanan Sun
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Anita Szakay
- Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Paul F Sowman
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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Ware A, Lum JAG, Kirkovski M. Continuous theta-burst stimulation modulates language-related inhibitory processes in bilinguals: evidence from event-related potentials. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1453-1466. [PMID: 33718987 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02253-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is activated when bilinguals switch between languages. Language switching can also elicit the N2 event-related potential (ERP). This ERP component appears to capture the cognitive control processes related to conflict monitoring, response selection and response inhibition. In the present study, continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) was used to examine the role of the left DLPFC in bilingual language switching, using a picture-naming task. Participants in the study were 17 Afrikaans-English bilinguals. The picture-naming task consisted of non-switch and switch trials. On non-switch trials, participants named two consecutive pictures in the same language. On switch trials, participants named consecutive pictures in different languages (e.g., Afrikaans and then English). The participants completed three testing sessions. In each session, participants received either cTBS to the left DLPFC or the vertex, or sham stimulation, and then completed the picture-naming task. The results showed that following DLPFC stimulation, the N2 ERP was attenuated on switch trials compared to non-switch trials. Vertex or sham stimulation did not modulate the N2 ERP. cTBS did not affect language switching at the behavioural level. These results provide support for the role of the left DLPFC in the cognitive control processes underlying bilingual language switching. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that these processes can be modulated via non-invasive brain stimulation and the effects detected at the neural level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Ware
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3121, Australia
| | - Jarrad A G Lum
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3121, Australia.
| | - Melissa Kirkovski
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3121, Australia
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