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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
Published on: April 19, 2017
Laterality and language experience
1Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4235, USA. rhull@tamu.edu
Laterality
|August 3, 2006
Summary
Early bilingualism leads to bilateral brain language processing, while monolingualism and late bilingualism show left-hemisphere dominance. Language acquisition timing, not proficiency, influences cerebral lateralization.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Hemispheric functional asymmetry is crucial for language processing.
- Monolingual and bilingual adults exhibit different patterns of brain lateralization for language.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze how language experience (monolingual vs. bilingual) affects cerebral language lateralization.
- To investigate the impact of second language proficiency and age of acquisition on bilingual brain organization.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis of 23 studies comparing monolingual and bilingual speakers (n=1234).
- Inclusion of studies using dichotic listening, visual hemifield presentation, and dual-task paradigms.
- Analysis of factors: language experience, proficiency, and age of bilingualism onset.
Main Results:
- Monolinguals and late bilinguals (after age 6) demonstrated significant left hemisphere dominance for language.
- Early bilinguals (before age 6) exhibited reliable bilateral hemispheric involvement in language processing.
- Second language proficiency did not significantly affect lateralization when controlling for age of acquisition.
Conclusions:
- Early acquisition of two languages predicts distinct patterns of cerebral language lateralization compared to monolingualism.
- The age of acquiring a second language is a critical factor in shaping adult brain language organization.
- Language lateralization patterns in adulthood are influenced by the timing and nature of language learning experiences.
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