scholarly journals Language distance modulates cognitive control in bilinguals

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Narges Radman ◽  
Lea Jost ◽  
Setareh Dorood ◽  
Christian Mancini ◽  
Jean-Marie Annoni
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Linguistic Distance ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Naming Tasks ◽  
Control Regions

AbstractLinguistic processes in the bilingual brain are partially shared across languages, and the degree of neural overlap between the languages is influenced by several factors, including the age of acquisition, relative language proficiency, and immersion. There is limited evidence on the role of linguistic distance on the performance of the language control as well as domain-general cognitive control systems. The present study aims at exploring whether being bilingual in close and distant language pairs (CLP and DLP) influences language control and domain-general cognitive processes. We recruited two groups of DLP (Persian–English) and CLP (French–English) bilinguals. Subjects performed language nonswitching and switching picture-naming tasks and a nonlinguistic switching task while EEG data were recorded. Behaviorally, CLP bilinguals showed a lower cognitive cost than DLP bilinguals, reflected in faster reaction times both in language switching (compared to nonswitching) and nonlinguistic switching. ERPs showed differential involvement of cognitive control regions between the CLP and DLP groups during linguistic switching vs. nonswitching at 450 to 515 ms poststimulus presentation. Moreover, there was a difference between CLP and DLP groups from 40 to 150 ms in the nonlinguistic task. Our electrophysiological results confirm a stronger involvement of language control and domain-general cognitive control regions in CLP bilinguals.

Role of top-down language control in bilingual production and comprehension: Evidence from induced oscillations

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1041-1063
Author(s):  
Ning Xie ◽  
Baike Li ◽  
Man Zhang ◽  
Huanhuan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Switching Task

Aims: The present study was designed to investigate the role of language control during simultaneous production and comprehension. Design: Participants completed a set of language background and cognitive skills questionnaires and were randomly divided into pairs. Then, the pairs of participants were asked to finish a joint language switching task while their electroencephalogram was recorded. When one participant was naming pictures, the other one was listening. The language to be used in each trial was specified by cues. Data and Analysis: Response latencies were obtained. An analysis was conducted on induced oscillations in a cue-locked period and a stimulus-locked period. Findings: An analysis of induced oscillations showed that production and comprehension exhibited different delta and theta oscillations, suggesting that cross-modality interference may be caused by joint language switching, and bilinguals employed different degrees of language control in comprehension and production. Furthermore, the cross-person condition exhibited stronger oscillations than the within-person condition, indicating that joint language switching involves cross-person interference and that bilinguals use additional oscillations to inhibit such interference. Importantly, the stimulus-locked period showed larger delta and theta oscillations in second language switch trials than in first language switch trials in the within-person condition, indicating that delta and theta may index the inhibition of cross-language interference. Originality: The current study revealed the top-down language control mechanism by analysing induced oscillations, which reflected a mainly cognitively driven process. Significance: Bilinguals’ language control might be used to inhibit complex interference during daily life.

Interference suppression in bilingualism: Stimulus-Stimulus vs. Stimulus-Response conflict

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Lihua Xia ◽  
Thomas H. Bak ◽  
Antonella Sorace ◽  
Mariana Vega-Mendoza
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Interference Suppression ◽  
Response Conflict ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Visual Orienting ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Comparable Performance

Abstract Studies examining the potential effects of bilingualism on interference suppression show inconsistent results. Our study approaches this topic by distinguishing two potential subcomponents within interference suppression (i.e., Stimulus-Stimulus and Stimulus-Response conflict). We investigated the two subcomponents through their operationalisation in different tasks and examined the role of language proficiency in modulating it. A sample of 111 young adult participants performed four non-linguistic cognitive tasks measuring both visual and auditory domains of cognitive control. Bilinguals outperformed monolinguals in tasks involving Stimulus-Stimulus conflict, but showed comparable performance in tasks involving Stimulus-Response conflict. Specific effects of language proficiency on cognitive control were observed: group differences in auditory inhibition and visual orienting were only observed between high-proficient bilinguals and monolinguals. Taken together, types of conflicts involved in interference tasks and language proficiency could differentially affect performance in monolinguals and bilinguals.

The relationship between language control and cognitive control in bilingual aphasia

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
TERESA GRAY ◽  
SWATHI KIRAN
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Bilingual Aphasia ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines language control deficits in bilingual aphasia in terms of domain specific cognitive control and domain general cognitive control. Thirty Spanish–English controls and ten Spanish–English adults with aphasia completed the flanker task and a word-pair relatedness judgment task. All participants exhibited congruency effects on the flanker task. On the linguistic task, controls did not show the congruency effect on the first level analysis. However, conflict ratios revealed that the control group exhibited significant effects of language control. Additionally, individual patient analysis revealed overall positive and negative effects of language control impairment and a benefit from semantically related word-pairs. Patient data suggest a dissociation between the mechanisms of language control and cognitive control, thus providing evidence for domain specific cognitive control. The influence of language proficiency on speed of translation was also examined. Generally, controls were faster when translating into their dominant language, whereas the patients did not show the same trends.

scholarly journals Symmetries of bilingual language switch costs in conflicting versus non-conflicting contexts

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 624-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
CONG LIU ◽  
LU JIAO ◽  
ZIYI WANG ◽  
MENGXING WANG ◽  
RUIMING WANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Control Model ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Stroop Paradigm ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
The Impact

Previous studies have demonstrated that language switching in bilinguals can be affected by a number of variables, including the processing context. Here, we used a modified language-switching task combined with a Stroop paradigm, which manipulated the context of the task, to examine the impact of processing context on switch costs. The results of both Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 showed that the switch costs and the level of asymmetry in the switch costs are larger in the conflicting context than in the non-conflicting context, suggesting that the processing context affects the switch costs. In addition, the results of Experiment 2 revealed that individual variances in cognitive control capacity also play a role in the overall magnitude of the switch costs. Critically, processing context effects can be modulated by individual variance in cognitive control capacities. The results of this study are discussed within the framework of classic models of bilingual language control (e.g., the inhibitory control model).

scholarly journals Clustering and switching in verbal fluency across varying degrees of cognitive control demands: Evidence from healthy bilinguals and bilingual patients with aphasia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-66
Author(s):  
Erin Carpenter ◽  
Claudia Peñaloza ◽  
Leela Rao ◽  
Swathi Kiran
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Word Production ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Generation Task ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Language Condition

Abstract Background. Different linguistic contexts place varying amounts of cognitive control on lexical retrieval in bilingual speakers, an issue that is complicated in bilingual people with aphasia (BPWA) due to subsequent language and cognitive deficits. Verbal fluency tasks may offer insight into the interaction between executive and language control in healthy bilinguals and BPWA, by examining conditions with varying cognitive control demands. Aims. The present study examined switching and clustering in verbal fluency tasks in BPWA and healthy bilinguals across single- and dual-language conditions. We also examined the influence of language processing and language proficiency on switching and clustering performance across the dual-language conditions. Materials and Methods. Thirty-five Spanish-English BPWA and twenty-two Spanish-English healthy bilinguals completed a language use questionnaire, tests of language processing, and two verbal fluency tasks. The semantic category generation task included four conditions, two single-language conditions (No-Switch L1 and No-Switch L2) which required word production in each language separately, one dual-language condition which allowed switching between languages as desired (Self-Switch), and one dual-language condition which required switching between languages after each response (Forced-Switch). The letter fluency task required word production in single-language contexts. Outcomes and Results. Overall, healthy bilinguals outperformed BPWA across all measures. Results indicate that switching is more sensitive to increased control demands than clustering, with this effect being more pronounced in BPWA, underscoring the interaction between semantic executive processes and language control in this group. Additionally, for BPWA switching performance relies on a combination of language abilities and language experience measures.

scholarly journals The role of language proficiency and linguistic distance in cross-linguistic treatment effects in aphasia

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 739-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peggy S. Conner ◽  
Mira Goral ◽  
Inge Anema ◽  
Katy Borodkin ◽  
Yair Haendler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Treatment Effects ◽  
Linguistic Distance

scholarly journals Assessing the evidence for asymmetrical language switch costs and reversed language dominance effects - a meta analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Gade
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Dominance Effect ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Language Dominance ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Language Control

Two seemingly counterintuitive phenomena – asymmetrical language switch costs and the reversed language dominance effect – prove to be particularly controversial in the literature on language control. Asymmetrical language switch costs refer to the larger costs for switching into the dominant language compared to switching into the less dominant language, both relative to staying in either one language. The reversed language dominance effect refers to longer reaction times when in the more dominant of the two languages in situations that require frequent language switching (i.e., mixed-language blocks). The asymmetrical language switch costs are commonly taken as an index for processes of transient, reactive inhibitory language control, whereas the reversed language dominance effect is taken as an index for sustained, proactive inhibitory language control. In the present meta-analysis, we set out to establish the empirical evidence for these two phenomena using a Bayesian linear mixed effects modelling approach. Despite the observation of both phenomena in some studies, our results suggest that overall, there is little evidence for the generality and robustness of these two effects, and this holds true even when conditions – such as language proficiency and preparation time manipulations – were included as moderators of these phenomena. We conclude that asymmetrical switch costs and the reversed language dominance effect are important for theory development, but their utility for theory testing is limited due to their lack of robustness and the absence of confirmed moderatory variables.

scholarly journals Brain Circuit for Cognitive Control Is Shared by Task and Language Switching

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 1752-1765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter De Baene ◽  
Wouter Duyck ◽  
Marcel Brass ◽  
Manuel Carreiras
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Task Requirements ◽  
Brain Circuit ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Functional Mechanisms ◽  
First Time ◽  
Multiple Languages

Controlling multiple languages during speech production is believed to rely on functional mechanisms that are (at least partly) shared with domain-general cognitive control in early, highly proficient bilinguals. Recent neuroimaging results have indeed suggested a certain degree of neural overlap between language control and nonverbal cognitive control in bilinguals. However, this evidence is only indirect. Direct evidence for neural overlap between language control and nonverbal cognitive control can only be provided if two prerequisites are met: Language control and nonverbal cognitive control should be compared within the same participants, and the task requirements of both conditions should be closely matched. To provide such direct evidence for the first time, we used fMRI to examine the overlap in brain activation between switch-specific activity in a linguistic switching task and a closely matched nonlinguistic switching task, within participants, in early, highly proficient Spanish–Basque bilinguals. The current findings provide direct evidence that, in these bilinguals, highly similar brain circuits are involved in language control and domain-general cognitive control.

The Relation Between Aerobic Fitness and Cognitive Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Hao Wang ◽  
Chun-Ming Shih ◽  
Chia-Liang Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Aerobic Fitness ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Fitness Level ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Attention Performance ◽  
P3 Amplitude ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. This study aimed to assess whether brain potentials have significant influences on the relationship between aerobic fitness and cognition. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data was collected from 48 young adults when performing a Posner task. Higher aerobic fitness is related to faster reaction times (RTs) along with greater P3 amplitude and shorter P3 latency in the valid trials, after controlling for age and body mass index. Moreover, RTs were selectively related to P3 amplitude rather than P3 latency. Specifically, the bootstrap-based mediation model indicates that P3 amplitude mediates the relationship between fitness level and attention performance. Possible explanations regarding the relationships among aerobic fitness, cognitive performance, and brain potentials are discussed.

A Review of the Role of Cue Processing in Task Switching

2013 ◽  
Vol 221 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Jost ◽  
Wouter De Baene ◽  
Iring Koch ◽  
Marcel Brass
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Task Switch ◽  
Task Set ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Set Switching ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Cue Encoding ◽  
Cue Processing

The role of cue processing has become a controversial topic in research on cognitive control using task-switching procedures. Some authors suggested a priming account to explain switch costs as a form of encoding benefit when the cue from the previous trial is repeated and hence challenged theories that attribute task-switch costs to task-set (re)configuration. A rich body of empirical evidence has evolved that indeed shows that cue-encoding repetition priming is an important component in task switching. However, these studies also demonstrate that there are usually substantial “true” task-switch costs. Here, we review this behavioral, electrophysiological, and brain imaging evidence. Moreover, we describe alternative approaches to the explicit task-cuing procedure, such as the usage of transition cues or the task-span procedure. In addition, we address issues related to the type of cue, such as cue transparency. We also discuss methodological and theoretical implications and argue that the explicit task-cuing procedure is suitable to address issues of cognitive control and task-set switching.

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