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Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology
Published on: June 29, 2021
Dynamic spatial organization of the occipito-temporal word form area for second language processing.
Yue Gao1, Yafeng Sun2, Chunming Lu1
1National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People's Republic of China.
Second language (L2) visual word processing differs spatially in the brain compared to native language (L1) processing. L2 proficiency influences brain activation patterns, showing either assimilation to L1 mechanisms or accommodation to L2 mechanisms depending on the language pair.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- The left occipito-temporal region is consistently activated in visual word form processing across languages.
- Mechanisms of second language (L2) visual word processing in this region are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how native (L1) and second (L2) language visual word forms are processed in the left occipito-temporal region in bilinguals.
- To explore the influence of L2 proficiency on these processing mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan 16 Chinese-English and 14 English-Chinese late bilinguals.
- Participants performed lexical decision tasks on visually presented words in both L1 and L2.
Main Results:
- Visual word form processing engaged different spatial areas of the left occipito-temporal region for L1 versus L2.
- For Chinese-English bilinguals, L2 processing was more medial/posterior than L1; higher L2 proficiency correlated with more lateral (L1-preferred) activation.
- For English-Chinese bilinguals, L2 processing was more lateral/anterior than L1; higher L2 proficiency correlated with more lateral/anterior (L2-preferred) activation.
Conclusions:
- L1 and L2 recruit distinct spatial areas in the occipito-temporal region for visual word processing, especially with different writing systems.
- L2 proficiency dynamically modulates the spatial organization of this region, leading to assimilation (Chinese-English) or accommodation (English-Chinese) of L2 processing.
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