Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Neuropsychologia |
| Volume | 107 |
| Pages (from-to) | 108-120 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISSN | 0028-3932 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2017 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Fields of Science
- 515 Psychology
- trilingualism
- Language control
- N400m
- Language switching
- Auditory speech perception
- HIGHLY PROFICIENT BILINGUALS
- WORD RECOGNITION
- PREFRONTAL CORTEX
- SPEECH PRODUCTION
- TIME-COURSE
- BRAIN
- SELECTION
- FMRI
- MEG
- REPRESENTATION
Cite this
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Language control mechanisms differ for native languages : Neuromagnetic evidence from trilingual language switching. / Hut, Suzanne C. A.; Helenius, Päivi; Leminen, Alina; Mäkelä, Jyrki P.; Lehtonen, Minna.
In: Neuropsychologia, Vol. 107, 12.2017, p. 108-120.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Language control mechanisms differ for native languages
T2 - Neuromagnetic evidence from trilingual language switching
AU - Hut, Suzanne C. A.
AU - Helenius, Päivi
AU - Leminen, Alina
AU - Mäkelä, Jyrki P.
AU - Lehtonen, Minna
PY - 2017/12
Y1 - 2017/12
N2 - How does the brain process and control languages that are learned at a different age, when proficiency in all these languages is high? Early acquired strong languages are likely to have higher baseline activation levels than later learned less-dominant languages. However, it is still largely unknown how the activation levels of these different languages are controlled, and how interference from an irrelevant language is prevented. In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study on language switching during auditory perception, early Finnish-Swedish bilinguals (N = 18) who mastered English with high proficiency after childhood were presented with spoken words in each of the three languages, while performing a simple semantic categorisation task. Switches from the later learned English to either of the native languages resulted in increased neural activation in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) 400–600 ms after word onset (N400m response), whereas such increase was not detected for switches from native languages to English or between the native languages. In an earlier time window of 350–450 ms, English non-switch trials showed higher activation levels in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), pointing to ongoing inhibition of the native languages during the use of English. Taken together, these asymmetric switch costs suggest that native languages are suppressed during the use of a non-native language, despite the receptive nature of the language task. This effect seems to be driven mostly by age of acquisition or language exposure, rather than proficiency. Our results indicate that mechanisms of control between two native languages differ from those of a later learned language, as upbringing in an early bilingual environment has likely promoted automatisation of language control specifically for the native languages.
AB - How does the brain process and control languages that are learned at a different age, when proficiency in all these languages is high? Early acquired strong languages are likely to have higher baseline activation levels than later learned less-dominant languages. However, it is still largely unknown how the activation levels of these different languages are controlled, and how interference from an irrelevant language is prevented. In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study on language switching during auditory perception, early Finnish-Swedish bilinguals (N = 18) who mastered English with high proficiency after childhood were presented with spoken words in each of the three languages, while performing a simple semantic categorisation task. Switches from the later learned English to either of the native languages resulted in increased neural activation in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) 400–600 ms after word onset (N400m response), whereas such increase was not detected for switches from native languages to English or between the native languages. In an earlier time window of 350–450 ms, English non-switch trials showed higher activation levels in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), pointing to ongoing inhibition of the native languages during the use of English. Taken together, these asymmetric switch costs suggest that native languages are suppressed during the use of a non-native language, despite the receptive nature of the language task. This effect seems to be driven mostly by age of acquisition or language exposure, rather than proficiency. Our results indicate that mechanisms of control between two native languages differ from those of a later learned language, as upbringing in an early bilingual environment has likely promoted automatisation of language control specifically for the native languages.
KW - 515 Psychology
KW - trilingualism
KW - Language control
KW - N400m
KW - Language switching
KW - Auditory speech perception
KW - HIGHLY PROFICIENT BILINGUALS
KW - WORD RECOGNITION
KW - PREFRONTAL CORTEX
KW - SPEECH PRODUCTION
KW - TIME-COURSE
KW - BRAIN
KW - SELECTION
KW - FMRI
KW - MEG
KW - REPRESENTATION
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.11.016
DO - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.11.016
M3 - Article
VL - 107
SP - 108
EP - 120
JO - Neuropsychologia
JF - Neuropsychologia
SN - 0028-3932
ER -