Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and Monolinguals
Structural plasticity changes and functional differences in executive control tasks have been reported in bilinguals compared to monolinguals, supporting a proposed bilingual ‘advantage’ in executive control functions (e.g., task switching) due to continual usage of control mechanisms that inhibit o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/2/134 |
| _version_ | 1797298749801758720 |
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| author | Anna Tyborowska Joost Wegman Gabriele Janzen |
| author_facet | Anna Tyborowska Joost Wegman Gabriele Janzen |
| author_sort | Anna Tyborowska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Structural plasticity changes and functional differences in executive control tasks have been reported in bilinguals compared to monolinguals, supporting a proposed bilingual ‘advantage’ in executive control functions (e.g., task switching) due to continual usage of control mechanisms that inhibit one of the coexisting languages. However, it remains unknown whether these differences are also apparent in the spatial domain. The present fMRI study explores the use of spatial cues in 15 bilinguals and 14 monolinguals while navigating in an open-field virtual environment. In each trial, participants had to navigate towards a target object that was visible during encoding but hidden in retrieval. An extensive network was activated in bilinguals compared to monolinguals in the encoding and retrieval phase. During encoding, bilinguals activated the right temporal and left parietal regions (object trials) and left inferior frontal, precentral, and lingual regions more than monolinguals. During retrieval, the same contrasts activated the left caudate nucleus and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the left parahippocampal gyrus, as well as caudate regions. These results suggest that bilinguals may recruit neural networks known to subserve not only executive control processes but also spatial strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:39:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3f877d9d16324dea9e311cb209f52315 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:39:30Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-3f877d9d16324dea9e311cb209f523152024-02-23T15:09:41ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252024-01-0114213410.3390/brainsci14020134Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and MonolingualsAnna Tyborowska0Joost Wegman1Gabriele Janzen2Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The NetherlandsBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The NetherlandsBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The NetherlandsStructural plasticity changes and functional differences in executive control tasks have been reported in bilinguals compared to monolinguals, supporting a proposed bilingual ‘advantage’ in executive control functions (e.g., task switching) due to continual usage of control mechanisms that inhibit one of the coexisting languages. However, it remains unknown whether these differences are also apparent in the spatial domain. The present fMRI study explores the use of spatial cues in 15 bilinguals and 14 monolinguals while navigating in an open-field virtual environment. In each trial, participants had to navigate towards a target object that was visible during encoding but hidden in retrieval. An extensive network was activated in bilinguals compared to monolinguals in the encoding and retrieval phase. During encoding, bilinguals activated the right temporal and left parietal regions (object trials) and left inferior frontal, precentral, and lingual regions more than monolinguals. During retrieval, the same contrasts activated the left caudate nucleus and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the left parahippocampal gyrus, as well as caudate regions. These results suggest that bilinguals may recruit neural networks known to subserve not only executive control processes but also spatial strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/2/134bilingualismexecutive controlnavigationspatial cuesfMRI |
| spellingShingle | Anna Tyborowska Joost Wegman Gabriele Janzen Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and Monolinguals Brain Sciences bilingualism executive control navigation spatial cues fMRI |
| title | Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and Monolinguals |
| title_full | Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and Monolinguals |
| title_fullStr | Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and Monolinguals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and Monolinguals |
| title_short | Bilingual Spatial Cognition: Spatial Cue Use in Bilinguals and Monolinguals |
| title_sort | bilingual spatial cognition spatial cue use in bilinguals and monolinguals |
| topic | bilingualism executive control navigation spatial cues fMRI |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/2/134 |
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