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...

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.

Cognitive Development During Adulthood

Cognitive Development During Adulthood

Cognitive development continues throughout adulthood, undergoing significant shifts across early, middle, and late stages. Individual transition occurs from adolescent idealism to pragmatic and adaptable thinking in early adulthood. During this period, individuals learn to integrate personal beliefs with the recognition that other perspectives are equally valid. Exposure to the complexities of modern society, diverse experiences, and higher education contribute to this adaptive thought process,...

Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are cognitive disorders caused by neurological impairments that affect cognitive functions like language and reading, without indicating overall intellectual or developmental challenges. These disabilities differ from global intellectual or developmental disabilities as they are limited to distinct cognitive functions. Common learning disabilities include dysgraphia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, each of which impacts unique aspects of learning.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a...

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Language-dependent expression of anxiety and depression symptoms in Japanese-English bilinguals.

Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science·2026

Same author

Child- and Adult-Centered Toy Play Across Languages in Thai-English Bilingual Mother-Child Interactions.

Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)·2026

Same author

Co-Registration of EEG and Eye-Tracking in Psycholinguistics and Bilingualism Research.

Frontiers in language sciences·2026

Same author

Consequences of Bilingual Language Co-Activation for Higher-Order Cognition.

Current directions in psychological science·2025

Same author

Bilingual mothers and children gesture differently across native and second languages.

Journal of monolingual and bilingual speech·2025

Same author

Language experience influences performance on the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery: A cluster analysis.

Humanities & social sciences communications·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

Cognitive Consequences of Trilingualism.

Scott R Schroeder¹, Viorica Marian¹

¹Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University.

The International Journal of Bilingualism : Cross-Disciplinary, Cross-Linguistic Studies of Language Behavior

|November 21, 2017

Summary

Trilingualism offers distinct cognitive advantages over bilingualism, particularly in older adults. However, benefits vary across different cognitive functions and age groups, suggesting unique plasticity effects.

Keywords:

Aging Bilingual Cognition Development Multilingual Plasticity

More Related Videos

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

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

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

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psycholinguistics
Developmental Psychology

Background:

Bilingualism is known to enhance cognitive functions, including executive control and cognitive reserve.
The cognitive impact of trilingualism, however, remains less understood compared to bilingualism.
Understanding these differences is crucial for cognitive development and aging research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the cognitive consequences of trilingualism in comparison to bilingualism.
To propose a cognitive plasticity framework explaining observed differences.
To analyze effects across different age groups and cognitive domains.

Main Methods:

Comparative analysis of cognitive abilities in trilinguals and bilinguals.
Assessment of cognitive reserve (age of Alzheimer's onset), inhibitory control (Simon and flanker tasks), and memory generalization (deferred imitation tasks).
Application of a cognitive plasticity framework considering age of acquisition and resource demands of third language learning.

Main Results:

Trilinguals showed greater advantages in cognitive reserve than bilinguals.
Similar advantages were observed for inhibitory control in younger populations.
Trilinguals did not exhibit advantages in memory generalization in infants and toddlers.

Conclusions:

Cognitive consequences of trilingualism are not a mere extension of bilingualism; they are distinct.
The findings have theoretical implications for linguistic and cognitive plasticity.
Applied implications exist for educational and rehabilitative strategies using multilingualism.