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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 17, 2025

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

The relationship between language ability and brain activity across language processes and modalities.

Sarah Weber¹, Markus Hausmann², Philip Kane³

¹Department of Psychology, Durham University, UK; Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway.

Neuropsychologia

|June 27, 2020

Summary

Higher language ability correlates with increased brain activity in core language networks during auditory and phonological tasks, suggesting deeper language processing. This positive link was observed across various language modalities.

Keywords:

Neural efficiency Phonological processing Sentence comprehension Verbal intelligence fMRI

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Published on: August 12, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Psycholinguistics

Background:

Neuroimaging studies show conflicting results on language ability and brain activity: increased activity suggests deeper processing, while decreased activity suggests efficiency.
Previous research often did not differentiate between language processes or control for non-linguistic cognitive demands.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between language ability and neural activity across different language processes and modalities.
To minimize non-linguistic cognitive task demands to isolate language-specific neural correlates.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to collect brain activity data from 22 healthy adults.
Participants completed auditory sentence listening, reading, and phonological production tasks.
Language ability was assessed using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II) verbal scale and a verbal fluency task.

Main Results:

Sentence comprehension activated the left anterior temporal lobe; phonological processing activated the left inferior frontal gyrus.
Higher language ability was linked to increased activity (intensity and extent) in the left temporal lobe during auditory processing and the left frontal lobe during phonological processing.
Decreased activity associated with higher language ability was inconsistent and mainly observed in verbal fluency tasks, potentially related to non-linguistic functions.

Conclusions:

The findings predominantly support the hypothesis of deeper language processing in individuals with higher language ability.
A consistent positive relationship exists between language abilities and brain activity within the core language network across processes and modalities.
A negative relationship may exist between language ability and neural activity in non-linguistic cognitive functions outside the core language network.