Emotional words differentially influence language control in bilinguals: An fMRI study

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psycholinguistics
• Bilingualism Research

Background:

• Cross-language interference in bilinguals is primarily linked to language switching, not interlocutor language.
• Emotional stimuli processing differs between a bilingual's first language (L1) and second language (L2).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how auditory emotional words influence the language control system in bilingual individuals.
• To determine the extent and nature of this influence on both L1 and L2 processing.

Main Methods:

• An emotional word listening task was integrated into a neutral picture-naming task requiring language switching.
• Behavioral data (switch costs) and neuroimaging data (brain activation and functional connectivity) were collected.

Main Results:

• Behavioral analysis showed significant switch costs only after hearing positive words in the L2 condition.
• Neuroimaging revealed that positive and negative words modulated language control in L1, affecting regions like the supplementary motor area (SMA) and superior temporal gyrus (STG).
• In L2, similar brain regions were activated, with additional SMA involvement and broader functional connectivity observed for negative words.

Conclusions:

• Auditory emotional words differentially modulate language control in bilinguals across L1 and L2.
• Emotional valence and language (L1 vs. L2) interact to influence cognitive control mechanisms in bilingual language processing.