A neural signature of automatic lexical access in bilinguals
Bilingualism is often associated with beneficial effects on cognitive control and top-down processes. The present study aimed at bypassing these processes to assess automatic visual word recognition in bilinguals. Using fast periodic visual stimulation, we recorded frequency-tagged word-selective EEG responses in French monolinguals and late bilinguals (German native, French as second language). Words were presented centrally within rapid (10 Hz) sequences of letter strings varying in word-likeness, i.e., consonant strings, non-words, pseudo-words, while participants performed an orthogonal task. Automatic word-selective brain responses in the occipito-temporal cortex arose almost exclusively for the languages mastered by participants: two in bilinguals vs. one in monolinguals. Importantly, the amplitude of bilinguals responses to words within consonant strings were unaffected by the native vs. late-learnt status of the language. Furthermore, for all and only known languages, word-selective responses were reduced by embedding them in pseudo-words relative to non-words, both derived from the same language as the words. This word-likeness effect highlights the lexical nature of the recorded brain visual responses. A cross-language word-likeness effect was observed only in bilinguals and only with pseudo-words derived from the native language, indicating an experience-based tuning to language. Taken together these findings indicate that the amount of exposure to a language determines the engagement of neural resources devoted to word processing in the occipito-temporal visual cortex. We conclude that automatic lexical coding occurs at early visual processing in bilinguals and monolinguals alike, and that language exposure determines the competition strength of a language.