Dynamic brain responses to Russian word acquisition among Chinese adult learners: An event-related potential study

Human learners are capable to acquire foreign language vocabulary at an impressive speed even in adulthood. Previous studies have examined the neural mechanisms underlying rapid acquisition of Latin-alphabet vocabulary and revealed dynamic changes in several event-related potential (ERP) components during novel word learning. However, scant attention has been paid to the acquisition of Russian words. The present study used ERP and examined dynamic brain responses to rapid Russian word acquisition in 53 native Chinese speakers with no prior knowledge of Russian language. Behavioral data showed robust individual differences in Russian word acquisition, with most participants being able to rapidly learn a subset of novel Russian words in a few exposures. ERP results revealed significant learning effects in the P200, N400, and P600 amplitudes. Moreover, P600 amplitude changes predicted participants' word acquisition after learning. These findings demonstrated dynamic brain responses to rapid Russian word learning and suggested that the P600 component may serve as a bio-marker for individual learning ability in Russian word acquisition.