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Laterality in Emotional Language Processing in First and Second Language
Raheleh Heyrani1,2,3, Vahid Nejati2,3, Sara Abbasi3,4
1Department of Education and Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
Frontiers in Psychology
|February 21, 2022
Summary
This study investigated hemispheric differences in processing emotional and non-emotional words in bilinguals. Findings indicate left-hemispheric dominance for auditory stimuli processing in late bilinguals, particularly for their native language.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Neurolinguistics
Background:
- Language processing is typically left-hemisphere dominant in most individuals.
- The role of each brain hemisphere in bilingual language processing remains an active area of research.
- Previous studies suggest hemispheric differences in processing emotional versus non-emotional words in bilinguals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hemispheric differences in processing emotional and non-emotional words in native and foreign languages.
- To explore the influence of language (native vs. foreign) and emotion on hemispheric processing in bilinguals.
Main Methods:
- Employed a dichotic listening test to compare auditory processing between brain hemispheres.
- Included sixty university students who were native Persian speakers and learned English as a second language.
- Analyzed the effects of hemisphere, language, and word emotion on processing advantages.
Main Results:
- The right ear (left hemisphere) demonstrated a processing advantage for all words in the native language (Persian).
- A right-ear advantage was also observed for positive words in the second language (English).
- These results suggest a left-hemispheric dominance for auditory stimuli processing in late bilinguals.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the notion of left-hemispheric dominance in late bilinguals for processing auditory language stimuli.
- Hemispheric processing patterns may differ based on language proficiency and emotional content of words.
- The study contributes to understanding the neural underpinnings of bilingual language representation and processing.
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