Short-term language switching training reveals an adaptive cerebellar network for bilingual language control

Previous studies have revealed that the cerebellum is involved in bilingual language control. In the present study, we further examined the cerebellum's role in bilingual language control and the plasticity of the cerebellar network using a training paradigm. Two groups of Chinese-English bilinguals performed the same language switching task in the pre-test and post-test sessions during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. After the pre-test, only the training group received an 8-day training in language switching. Results showed that bilingual language control was associated with a cerebellar network including multiple posterior cerebellar subregions as well as the anterior cerebellum (i.e., lobules IV-V). Furthermore, the cerebellar network exhibited adaptive changes with enhanced local neural efficiency and network connectivity after training. For the first time, our study revealed the plasticity of the cerebellar network in bilingual language control.