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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

Arithmetic in two languages: Localizing simple multiplication processing in the adult bilingual brain.

Vanessa R Cerda¹, Macarena Suárez-Pellicioni², James R Booth¹

¹Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.

Imaging Neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)

|September 27, 2024

Summary

Bilinguals use similar brain regions for math, regardless of language. Problem size influences brain activity, with larger problems engaging quantity processing areas more.

Keywords:

arithmetic bilingualism multiplication neuroimaging numerical cognition problem size effect

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Psycholinguistics

Background:

Bilinguals often show language-specific memory effects for learned facts, like multiplication tables.
Previous research suggests bilinguals perform better in their primary language (LA+) versus secondary language (LA-).
Neurocognitive mechanisms and the role of problem size in bilingual math processing remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if language (LA+ vs. LA-) differentially activates brain regions associated with verbal memory (STG/MTG) or effortful retrieval (IFG) and quantity processing (IPS).
To examine if language differences in brain activation are modulated by multiplication problem size (small vs. large).

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan 29 proficient early Spanish-English bilingual adults.
Participants verified simple multiplication problems presented in both their languages (LA+ and LA-).
Hypothesis-driven regions of interest (STG/MTG, IFG, IPS) were identified using functional localizer tasks.

Main Results:

No significant differences in brain activation were found between languages for multiplication verification.
No interaction was observed between language and problem size.
Exploratory analysis revealed that smaller problems activated verbal areas (left STG/MTG, left IFG) more than larger problems.
Larger problems showed greater activation in quantity processing areas (right IPS) compared to smaller problems, irrespective of language.

Conclusions:

Proficient early bilinguals utilize similar neural networks for mathematical fact retrieval in both languages.
Problem size, rather than language, appears to be a key factor influencing the recruitment of verbal versus quantity-based brain regions.
Findings suggest that verbal representations of multiplication facts are robust across languages in proficient bilinguals.