The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study
Research to date suggests that second language acquisition results in functional and structural changes in the bilingual brain, however, in what way and how quickly these changes occur remains unclear. To address these questions, we studied fourteen English-speaking monolingual adults enrolled in a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2016
|
| _version_ | 1797095387208613888 |
|---|---|
| author | Barbeau, E Chai, X Chen, J Soles, J Berken, J Baum, S Watkins, K Klein, D |
| author_facet | Barbeau, E Chai, X Chen, J Soles, J Berken, J Baum, S Watkins, K Klein, D |
| author_sort | Barbeau, E |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Research to date suggests that second language acquisition results in functional and structural changes in the bilingual brain, however, in what way and how quickly these changes occur remains unclear. To address these questions, we studied fourteen English-speaking monolingual adults enrolled in a 12-week intensive French language-training program in Montreal. Using functional MRI, we investigated the neural changes associated with new language acquisition. The participants were scanned before the start of the immersion program and at the end of the 12 weeks. The fMRI scan aimed to investigate the brain regions recruited in a sentence reading task both in English, their first language (L1), and in French, their second language (L2). For the L1, fMRI patterns did not change from Time 1 to Time 2, while for the L2, the brain response changed between Time 1 and Time 2 in language-related areas. Of note, for the L2, there was higher activation at Time 2 compared to Time 1 in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) including the supramarginal gyrus. At Time 2 this higher activation in the IPL correlated with faster L2 reading speed. Moreover, higher activation in the left IPL at Time 1 predicted improvement in L2 reading speed from Time 1 to Time 2. Our results suggest that learning-induced plasticity occurred as early as 12 weeks into immersive second-language training, and that the IPL appears to play a special role in language learning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:27:06Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:cd059c28-7ce8-4077-9ec9-6000eed5051a |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:27:06Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:cd059c28-7ce8-4077-9ec9-6000eed5051a2022-03-27T07:25:56ZThe role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI studyJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:cd059c28-7ce8-4077-9ec9-6000eed5051aEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordElsevier2016Barbeau, EChai, XChen, JSoles, JBerken, JBaum, SWatkins, KKlein, DResearch to date suggests that second language acquisition results in functional and structural changes in the bilingual brain, however, in what way and how quickly these changes occur remains unclear. To address these questions, we studied fourteen English-speaking monolingual adults enrolled in a 12-week intensive French language-training program in Montreal. Using functional MRI, we investigated the neural changes associated with new language acquisition. The participants were scanned before the start of the immersion program and at the end of the 12 weeks. The fMRI scan aimed to investigate the brain regions recruited in a sentence reading task both in English, their first language (L1), and in French, their second language (L2). For the L1, fMRI patterns did not change from Time 1 to Time 2, while for the L2, the brain response changed between Time 1 and Time 2 in language-related areas. Of note, for the L2, there was higher activation at Time 2 compared to Time 1 in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) including the supramarginal gyrus. At Time 2 this higher activation in the IPL correlated with faster L2 reading speed. Moreover, higher activation in the left IPL at Time 1 predicted improvement in L2 reading speed from Time 1 to Time 2. Our results suggest that learning-induced plasticity occurred as early as 12 weeks into immersive second-language training, and that the IPL appears to play a special role in language learning. |
| spellingShingle | Barbeau, E Chai, X Chen, J Soles, J Berken, J Baum, S Watkins, K Klein, D The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study |
| title | The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study |
| title_full | The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study |
| title_fullStr | The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study |
| title_short | The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study |
| title_sort | role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning an intensive language training fmri study |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT barbeaue theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT chaix theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT chenj theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT solesj theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT berkenj theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT baums theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT watkinsk theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT kleind theroleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT barbeaue roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT chaix roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT chenj roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT solesj roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT berkenj roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT baums roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT watkinsk roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy AT kleind roleoftheleftinferiorparietallobuleinsecondlanguagelearninganintensivelanguagetrainingfmristudy |