Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

Language Development

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...

Lateralization

Lateralization

Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.

Cerebral Hemispheres

Cerebral Hemispheres

The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Octopus bimaculoides can learn to utilize a mirror to localize a reward outside the line of sight.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same author

Hemifield Specificity of Attention Response Functions during Multiple-Object Tracking.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2025

Same author

Neural Correlates of the Conscious Perception of Visual Location Lie Outside Visual Cortex.

Current biology : CB·2024

Same author

Hierarchical categorization learning is associated with representational changes in the dorsal striatum and posterior frontal and parietal cortex.

Human brain mapping·2023

Same author

The Architecture of Object-Based Attention.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2023

Same author

The knobby ball illusion.

i-Perception·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

White matter structure changes as adults learn a second language.

Alexander A Schlegel¹, Justin J Rudelson, Peter U Tse

¹Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

|May 11, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Adults retain brain plasticity, enabling learning of new languages. White matter in the brain reorganizes significantly during intensive language study, even in frontal lobe tracts.

More Related Videos

Evaluation of Hemisphere Lateralization with Bilateral Local Field Potential Recording in Secondary Motor Cortex of Mice

Evaluation of Hemisphere Lateralization with Bilateral Local Field Potential Recording in Secondary Motor Cortex of Mice

Published on: July 31, 2019

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

Evaluation of Hemisphere Lateralization with Bilateral Local Field Potential Recording in Secondary Motor Cortex of Mice

Evaluation of Hemisphere Lateralization with Bilateral Local Field Potential Recording in Secondary Motor Cortex of Mice

Published on: July 31, 2019

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Neuroimaging

Background:

Traditional views suggest limited brain plasticity in adults.
Recent research indicates structural brain changes occur in adults learning new skills.
Adult brains remain adaptable beyond early developmental stages.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate adult structural plasticity during foreign language acquisition.
To examine white matter changes associated with long-term language learning.
To explore the role of the corpus callosum in language learning.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans.
Monthly imaging of 11 adult language learners over 9 months.
Comparison with 16 control participants not studying a language.

Main Results:

Progressive white matter reorganization observed in language learners.
Changes occurred in language-related white matter tracts in both hemispheres.
Significant alterations detected in frontal lobe tracts, including the corpus callosum genu.

Conclusions:

Adult structural plasticity is crucial for complex language learning.
Longitudinal DTI is a valuable tool for studying cognitive processes.
Brain plasticity extends to novel, complex learning tasks in adulthood.