Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain
A large body of previous neuroimaging studies suggests that multiple languages are processed and organized in a single neuroanatomical system in the bilingual brain, although differential activation may be seen in some studies because of different proficiency levels and/or age of acquisition of the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112244 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5938-4227 |
| _version_ | 1811086242182332416 |
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| author | Xu, Min Baldauf, Daniel Chang, Chun Qi Desimone, Robert Tan, Li Hai |
| author2 | McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT |
| author_facet | McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT Xu, Min Baldauf, Daniel Chang, Chun Qi Desimone, Robert Tan, Li Hai |
| author_sort | Xu, Min |
| collection | MIT |
| description | A large body of previous neuroimaging studies suggests that multiple languages are processed and organized in a single neuroanatomical system in the bilingual brain, although differential activation may be seen in some studies because of different proficiency levels and/or age of acquisition of the two languages. However, one important possibility is that the two languages may involve interleaved but functionally independent neural populations within a given cortical region, and thus, distinct patterns of neural computations may be pivotal for the processing of the two languages. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivariate pattern analyses, we tested this possibility in Chinese-English bilinguals when they performed an implicit reading task. We found a broad network of regions wherein the two languages evoked different patterns of activity, with only partially overlapping patterns of voxels in a given region. These regions, including the middle occipital cortices, fusiform gyri, and lateral temporal, temporoparietal, and prefrontal cortices, are associated with multiple aspects of language processing. The results suggest the functional independence of neural computations underlying the representations of different languages in bilinguals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:23:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/112244 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:23:05Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1122442022-09-28T13:49:03Z Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain Xu, Min Baldauf, Daniel Chang, Chun Qi Desimone, Robert Tan, Li Hai McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT Baldauf, Daniel Desimone, Robert A large body of previous neuroimaging studies suggests that multiple languages are processed and organized in a single neuroanatomical system in the bilingual brain, although differential activation may be seen in some studies because of different proficiency levels and/or age of acquisition of the two languages. However, one important possibility is that the two languages may involve interleaved but functionally independent neural populations within a given cortical region, and thus, distinct patterns of neural computations may be pivotal for the processing of the two languages. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivariate pattern analyses, we tested this possibility in Chinese-English bilinguals when they performed an implicit reading task. We found a broad network of regions wherein the two languages evoked different patterns of activity, with only partially overlapping patterns of voxels in a given region. These regions, including the middle occipital cortices, fusiform gyri, and lateral temporal, temporoparietal, and prefrontal cortices, are associated with multiple aspects of language processing. The results suggest the functional independence of neural computations underlying the representations of different languages in bilinguals. 2017-11-20T18:16:43Z 2017-11-20T18:16:43Z 2017-07 2016-12 2017-11-03T11:37:45Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2375-2548 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112244 Xu, Min et al. “Distinct Distributed Patterns of Neural Activity Are Associated with Two Languages in the Bilingual Brain.” Science Advances 3, 7 (July 2017): e1603309 © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5938-4227 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1603309 Science Advances Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ application/pdf American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) AAAS |
| spellingShingle | Xu, Min Baldauf, Daniel Chang, Chun Qi Desimone, Robert Tan, Li Hai Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain |
| title | Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain |
| title_full | Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain |
| title_fullStr | Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain |
| title_short | Distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain |
| title_sort | distinct distributed patterns of neural activity are associated with two languages in the bilingual brain |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112244 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5938-4227 |
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