Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
Published on: January 29, 2020
Same Sentences, Different Grammars, Different Brain Responses?: An MEG Study on Case and Agreement Encoding in Hindi
Dustin A Chacón1,2, Subhekshya Shrestha1,2, Brian W Dillon3
1University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
Abstract:
At first glance, the brain's language network appears to be universal, but languages clearly differ. Does the brain adapt to the specific details of individual grammatical systems? Here, we present a magnetoencephalography (MEG) study on case and agreement in Hindi and Nepali. Both languages use split-ergative case systems. However, these systems interact with verb agreement differently-in Hindi, case features conspire to determine which noun phrase (NP) the verb agrees with (subject, object, or neither), but in Nepali the verb always agrees with the subject NP. We found that NPs with different case values elicit different MEG signals around 200-500 and 600-900 ms. In subsequent exploratory analyses, we failed to find a reliable difference in this brain activity between the two languages corresponding to the different relations between case and agreement. However, we identified a portion of the left temporoparietal junction as exhibiting a statistically nonsignificant effect that may warrant further investigation.
Related Concept Videos
Lateralization
Components of Language
Language and Cognition
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect
Group Design
