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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

The proactive bilingual brain: Using interlocutor identity to generate predictions for language processing.

Clara D Martin^1,2, Monika Molnar¹, Manuel Carreiras^1,2

¹BCBL. Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Paseo Mikeletegi 69, 20009 San Sebastian, Spain.

Scientific Reports

|May 14, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Early bilinguals predict language using visual cues. Brain activity shows interlocutor identity influences language prediction before speech begins, demonstrating proactive language processing.

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Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

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Published on: October 13, 2018

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Science

Background:

The human brain exhibits proactive mechanisms in language perception.
Investigating how bilinguals utilize contextual cues for language processing is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if early proficient bilinguals can predict language based on interlocutor identity.
To explore the neural basis of pre-speech language prediction using event-related potentials (ERP).

Main Methods:

Familiarization with six novel interlocutors (monolingual and bilingual).
Audio-visual lexical decision task with delayed speech onset.
Analysis of event-related potentials (ERP) from visual cue to speech onset.

Main Results:

Significant differences in ERPs were observed between predictable (monolingual) and unpredictable (bilingual) language trials.
Interlocutor identity, presented visually, served as a cue for language prediction.
Language prediction occurred before the auditory-linguistic signal, indicating proactive processing.

Conclusions:

Visual interlocutor identity facilitates pre-speech language prediction in early bilinguals.
The brain actively anticipates upcoming language based on visual social cues.
This study highlights the proactive nature of language perception in bilinguals.