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

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.

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Language control abilities of late bilinguals

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728911000344 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 580-593 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

JULIA FESTMAN

Keyword(s):

Language Proficiency ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Picture Naming ◽

Language Use ◽

Naming Task ◽

The Other ◽

Language Performance ◽

Language Control ◽

Cross Language ◽

Late Bilinguals

Although all bilinguals encounter cross-language interference (CLI), some bilinguals are more susceptible to interference than others. Here, we report on language performance of late bilinguals (Russian/German) on two bilingual tasks (interview, verbal fluency), their language use and switching habits. The only between-group difference was CLI: one group consistently produced significantly more errors of CLI on both tasks than the other (thereby replicating our findings from a bilingual picture naming task). This striking group difference in language control ability can only be explained by differences in cognitive control, not in language proficiency or language mode.

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Language processing in bilinguals

EUROSLA Yearbook ◽

10.1075/eurosla.16.01sab ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 1-24

Author(s):

Laura L. Sabourin ◽

Michèle Burkholder ◽

Santa Vīnerte ◽

Jean-Christophe Leclerc ◽

Christie Brien

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Language Processing ◽

Dual Language ◽

Mental Lexicon ◽

Combine Data ◽

Bilingual Lexicon ◽

Bilingual Processing ◽

Per Se ◽

Language Environment ◽

Age Of Immersion

In this paper we integrate and reinterpret new data from a set of experiments in our lab in order to tease apart many of the factors thought to influence bilingual processing. Specifically we combine data from studies investigating age of immersion (AoI), manner of acquisition (MoA), proficiency and context of bilingualism to (1) investigate the organization of the bilingual mental lexicon and (2) determine the nature of the interaction between bilingualism and cognitive control. We suggest that a naturalistic MoA promotes the integration of the bilingual lexicon, and that an early AoI per se is somewhat less important (though it tends to lead to a more naturalistic MoA). Further, bilinguals with an integrated bilingual lexicon (i.e., naturalistic learners) only develop cognitive control advantages if they are in a dual-language environment.

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The relationship between language control and cognitive control in bilingual aphasia

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728915000061 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 433-452 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

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.

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Veel talen, één brein

Handelingen - Koninklijke Zuid-Nederlandse Maatschappij voor Taal- en Letterkunde en Geschiedenis ◽

10.21825/kzm.v64i0.17468 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 64 ◽

pp. 147-163

Author(s):

Esli Struys

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Language Processing ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

Global Society ◽

Ongoing Research ◽

Bilingual Advantage ◽

Language Control

Multilingualism has become the norm rather than the exception in our global society. Previousresearch has shown that bilingual children have advantages in cognitive control.The reason for this is that during language control they recruit general executive brainregions that are not specified for language. However, the bilingual advantage has beencontested by some studies.This article reports the methodological setup of an ongoing research in Brussels thattries to map the neural correlates, the origin and development of the assumed bilingualadvantage in cognitive control. This can be done by means of two conflict tasks that correspondto the processes involved in multilingual language processing. Besides, two differenttypes of bilingualism are distinguished according to the sociolinguistic environmentthe second language was acquired. Finally, implications for education will be discussed.

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Language distance modulates cognitive control in bilinguals

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-02973-x ◽

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.

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Effects of Prefrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Lexical Access in Chronic Poststroke Aphasia

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair ◽

10.1177/1545968318801551 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (10) ◽

pp. 913-923 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Maria I. Pestalozzi ◽

Marie Di Pietro ◽

Chrisovalandou Martins Gaytanidis ◽

Lucas Spierer ◽

Armin Schnider ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lexical Access ◽

Language Processing ◽

Direct Current ◽

Executive Control ◽

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Lexical Retrieval ◽

Double Blind ◽

Direct Current Stimulation ◽

Word Repetition

Background. A successful interplay between prefrontal and domain-specific language areas is critical for language processing. Previous studies involving people with aphasia have shown that executive control processes might act on lexical-semantic representations during retrieval. Modulating the prefrontal control network by means of noninvasive brain stimulation might, therefore, improve lexical access in people with aphasia. Objective. The present study investigates the effects of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on lexical access in chronic poststroke aphasia. Methods. We report data of 14 participants with chronic poststroke aphasia. We used a sham-tDCS (S-tDCS) controlled and double-blind within-subjects design. Performances in picture naming, verbal fluency, and word repetition were assessed immediately after stimulation. Results. As compared with S-tDCS, anodal tDCS (A-tDCS) improved verbal fluency as well as the speed of naming high frequency words, but not word repetition. Conclusion. The results of our study suggest that the brain network dedicated to lexical retrieval processing can be facilitated by A-tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This finding supports the notion that strengthening executive control functions after stroke could complement speech and language-focused therapy.

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Language Dominance, Verbal Fluency, and Language Control in two Groups of Russian–English Bilinguals

Languages ◽

10.3390/languages3030027 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Elena Shishkin ◽

Peter Ecke

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Color Naming ◽

Lexical Retrieval ◽

Time Of Arrival ◽

Language Dominance ◽

Semantic Cues ◽

Usage Patterns ◽

Self Assessments ◽

Language Control

This study explored language dominance, verbal fluency, and language control abilities of two groups of younger and older Russian–English bilinguals who had spent similar amounts of time as immigrants in the U.S. Verbal fluency tasks (based on letter and semantic cues, including a new method to elicit parallel letter-fluency data for Russian and English) were used to measure the bilinguals’ current lexical retrieval skills in addition to self-assessments of language proficiencies at time of study and time of arrival. Stroop tasks (naming colors with incongruent cues) were used to measure younger and older bilinguals’ ability to control interference during color-naming. Findings demonstrate that the older immigrants were less fluent in L2 naming tasks and that they remained dominant (more proficient) in their L1 whereas the younger immigrants had become relatively balanced bilinguals in terms of proficiency, fluent in both the L1 and L2. Younger and older bilinguals were equally capable of controlling interference across and within the two languages. We propose that it is not balance in bilingual proficiency that positively affects language control abilities, but balance as stability of language systems. Stability of language systems can be achieved if bilingual usage patterns remain relatively constant over several years and if no radical changes in language learning and maintenance efforts are required.

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Cognitive Control in Bilingual Children

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000152 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 74 (2) ◽

pp. 65-73 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Esli Struys ◽

Ghazal Mohades ◽

Peggy Bosch ◽

Maurits van den Noort

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Language Proficiency ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Simon Task ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

Bilingual Group ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Global Accuracy ◽

The Impact

Studies comparing the cognitive control of bilingual and monolingual speakers are inconclusive about the nature and underlying mechanisms of differences in language-related processing. In the present study, in order to disentangle the impact of second-language onset age of acquisition and bilingualism on cognitive control, we compared a group of bilingual Dutch/French children who had started acquisition of both languages at birth (simultaneous bilingual group) to a group of children who had started acquisition of their second language at the age of 3 years (early bilingual group). Both groups had equal proficiency in the two languages. All participants completed an extensive language test battery in Dutch and French and conducted a linguistic (verbal fluency) and a nonlinguistic cognitive control task (the color Simon task). We found higher global accuracy rates for the simultaneous bilingual group on the Simon task. Surprisingly, we did not find any differences in mean reaction time between the two bilingual groups. In conclusion, this study finds no advantage in terms of verbal fluency, but does reveal that acquiring two languages from birth onward gives simultaneous bilingual children an advantage on the Simon task, even over early bilingual children and when second-language proficiency is held constant.

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