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Consequences of multilingualism for neural architecture
Sayuri Hayakawa1, Viorica Marian2
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF
|March 27, 2019
Summary
Multilingualism reshapes the brain, influencing cognitive control, speech, and learning. Brain imaging reveals how managing multiple languages impacts neural networks and cognitive processes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- Language significantly shapes brain structure and function.
- Technological advancements enable detailed study of language's neural effects.
- Multilingualism presents unique cognitive challenges and adaptations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review brain imaging research on the consequences of multilingualism.
- To explore how managing multiple languages affects cognitive processes and neural correlates.
- To understand the impact of bilingual experience on brain function and structure.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing brain imaging studies on multilingualism.
- Analysis of research on language activation and interference control in bilinguals.
- Examination of evidence for changes in neural networks supporting linguistic and non-linguistic functions.
Main Results:
- Bilinguals activate multiple languages simultaneously, necessitating interference control mechanisms.
- Extensive multilingual experience influences cognitive control, speech processing, and language learning.
- Brain imaging reveals structural and functional changes in neural networks due to bilingualism.
Conclusions:
- Multilingualism has a pervasive impact on cognitive functions and their neural underpinnings.
- Effects of language on cognition likely stem from interdependent functions.
- Future research should investigate interactions across processing levels for a comprehensive view of language's influence on the mind.
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