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Two languages, one developing brain: event-related potentials to words in bilingual toddlers
Barbara T Conboy1, Debra L Mills
1Center for Research in Language, University of California, San Diego, USA. bconboy@u.washington.edu
Developmental Science
|February 1, 2006
Summary
Infant bilingualism shapes brain activity, showing language experience, not just age, influences neural patterns. Early positive component (P100) differences highlight how toddlers
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Infant bilingualism provides a natural experiment to investigate brain development.
- Understanding how language experience impacts the developing brain is crucial.
- Children can serve as their own controls in bilingual studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effects of language experience versus chronological maturation on brain activity in bilingual toddlers.
- To investigate neural differences elicited by dominant versus nondominant languages.
- To explore how vocabulary size influences language-related brain organization.
Main Methods:
- Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 19- to 22-month-old English-Spanish bilingual toddlers.
- Neural activity was analyzed in response to known and unknown words.
- Participants were grouped into 'high' and 'low' vocabulary levels based on total conceptual vocabulary scores.
Main Results:
- Different patterns of neural activity were observed between dominant and nondominant languages, particularly in the early positive component (P100) lateral asymmetry.
- Significant differences in ERP latencies and distributions (200-400 ms and 400-600 ms) were found for known versus unknown words.
- ERP effects varied between high and low vocabulary groups, indicating a link between vocabulary size and neural processing.
Conclusions:
- Language experience, rather than solely brain maturation, is a key factor in organizing language-relevant brain activity in toddlers.
- The findings suggest that the brain's response to language is shaped by the extent of exposure and use.
- Bilingualism offers valuable insights into the neuroplasticity of early language acquisition.
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