scholarly journals The Differential Role of Executive Functions in the Cognitive Control of Language Switching

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Jared A. Linck ◽  
John W. Schwieter ◽  
Gretchen Sunderman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Global And Local

Studies of bilingual speech production suggest that different executive functions (EFs) contribute to the cognitive control of language production. However, no study has simultaneously examined the relationship between different EFs and language control during online speech production. The current study examined individual differences in three EFs (working memory updating, inhibitory control, and task-set switching) and their relationship with performance in a trilingual language-switching task for a group of forty-seven native English (L1) speakers learning French (L2) and Spanish (L3). Analyses indicate complex interactions between EFs and language switching: better inhibitory control was related to smaller L1 switch costs, whereas better working memory was related to larger L1 switch costs. Working memory was also related to larger L2 switch costs, but only when switching from L1. These results support theories of cognitive control that implicate both global and local control mechanisms, and suggest unique contributions of each EF to both global and local cognitive control during language switching. Finally, we discuss the implications for theories of multilingual language control.

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).

Inhibitory control predicts language switching performance in trilingual speech production

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
JARED A. LINCK ◽  
JOHN W. SCHWIETER ◽  
GRETCHEN SUNDERMAN
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Control Mechanism ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigated the role of domain-general inhibitory control in trilingual speech production. Taking an individual differences approach, we examined the relationship between performance on a non-linguistic measure of inhibitory control (the Simon task) and a multilingual language switching task for a group of fifty-six native English (L1) speakers learning French (L2) and Spanish (L3). Better inhibitory control was related to reduced switch costs, but only when switching into or out of the more dominant L1, where inhibitory control has been theorized to be most important (Green, 1998). The results provide evidence of a direct link between inhibitory control abilities and language switching capabilities, and suggest constraints on the conditions under which a domain-general inhibitory control mechanism supports language switching.

scholarly journals Inhibitory control training reveals a common neurofunctional basis for generic executive functions and language switching in bilinguals

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Jing Wu ◽  
Mo Chen ◽  
Guillaume Thierry ◽  
Yongben Fu ◽  
Junjie Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Transfer Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Lexical Selection ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Left Caudate ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task

Abstract Background The neural networks underpinning language control and domain-general executive functions overlap in bilinguals, but existing evidence is mainly correlative. Here, we present the first neurofunctional evidence for a transfer effect between (domain-general) inhibitory control and language control through training. We trained Chinese–English bilinguals for 8 days using a Simon task taxing the inhibitory control system, whilst an active control group was trained with a color judgment task that does not tax the inhibitory control system. All participants performed a language-switching task before and after training. It has been suggested that the activity of the left DLPFC was associated with domain-general top-down cognitive control (Macdonald et al. Science 288: 1835–1838, 2000) and bilingual language control (Wang et al. Neuroimage 35: 862–870, 2007). In addition, the dACC was closely related to the conflict detection (Abutalebi et al. Cereb Cortex 18:1496–1505, 2008). Last, the activity of the left caudate has been linked with lexical selection (Abutalebi et al. Cereb Cortex 18:1496–1505, 2008), especially the selection of the weak language (Abutalebi et al. Cortex 49: 905–911, 2013). Therefore, we focused on these three regions of interest (ROIs) where neural changes associated with transfer were expected to occur. Results The results showed a negative correlation between changes in activation levels in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and changes in the switch cost magnitude in the language-switching task in the training group but not in the control group, suggesting that the DLPFC plays a critical role in the transfer effect from domain-general executive functions to language control. However, there was no measurable effect in the anterior cingulate cortex or left caudate nucleus, suggesting that the inhibitory control training increased the neural efficiency for language production in bilinguals in terms of attention shifting and conflict resolution, but the training did not affect conflict detection and lexical selection. Conclusion These findings showed how cognitive training evidence can help establish a causational link between the neural basis of domain-general executive functions and language control in bilinguals.

scholarly journals A comparative analysis of the interrelation between the level of executive functions, which are viewed as cognitive control parameters, and the level of the inner picture of health in students of different ages

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 27-39
Author(s):  
Vera Sergeevna Merenkova ◽  
◽  
Oksana Yevgenyevna Elnikova ◽  
Elena Ivanovna Nikolaeva ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Diagnostic Technique ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Independent Decision

Introduction. The paper analyses the interrelation between a person’s cognitive control and their inner picture of health, which is a component of the person’s conscious attitude to one’s health, at different stages of ontogenesis. The purpose of the research is to analyze the relationships between the level of one’s executive functions development (inhibitory control and working memory) and the level of the internal picture of health (hereinafter IPH) in primary school age, adolescence and early adulthood. Materials and Methods. The research into how executive functions (inhibitory control and working memory) and the IPH are interrelated was based upon the analysis and study of scholarly literature and the experimental work which involved methods of inhibitory control assessment (Vergunov, Nikolaeva), a technique for assessing visual working memory (Rasumnikova, Savinykh) and a quick modified child’s diagnostic technique (Nikolaeva et al.) used for assessing the IPH. The obtained data were processed by means of the quantitative and qualitative data analyses methods and the SPSS-21 programme pack. The total number of the experiment participants was 262 people, among them primary schoolchildren (9.8 ± 0.8 years, n = 66), adolescents (12.8 ± 1.5 years, n = 101) and university students (20.4 ± 1.3 years, n = 95). Results. It was found that neither of the working memory parameters was associated with the IPH level in any of the three groups. The inhibitory control, however, had different interconnections with the students’ IPH at different age stages. It was found that only in adolescents the inhibitory control is closely associated with the IPH, which is proved by their independent decision-making regarding their behaviour and attitude to health at this age. The found interconnection decreases in early adulthood, which may indicate the presence of some additional factors affecting both the IPH and inhibitory control. Conclusions. The connection between the IPH and the person’s executive functions depends on the person’s age and it is most evident in adolescence. Keywords Inhibitory control; Working memory; Internal health picture; Primary school children; Adolescence; Early adulthood.

scholarly journals Language Dominance and Sociolinguistic Experience Are Related to Language Control and Domain-General Monitoring Control: An Investigation in Bilinguals Who Live in a Minority/Majority Sociolinguistic Setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruilin Wu ◽  
Esli Struys
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Language Dominance ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Cross Domain ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Domain Generality ◽  
Language Control

Bilingual language control in production tasks with language switches is supposed to be linked to domain-general cognitive control. In the present study, we investigated the role of language dominance, measured on a continuous scale, in the relationship between measures of language control elicited through language switching in a picture naming task and non-linguistic cognitive control induced by stimulus-response interference in a Simon task. In our sample of bilinguals who speak both a minority and majority language (language pair of Uyghur-Chinese), the results showed that as bilinguals were more L2-dominant, a pattern of reversed asymmetry switch costs in language control, i.e., larger L2 than L1 switch costs, was observed. Furthermore, the findings showed that recent exposure to the L1 minority language was associated with the change in language switch costs in terms of both response latencies and accuracy rates. This suggests a role for sociolinguistic context in bilingual language control. Concerning cross-domain generality, globally sustained language control was found to be correlated with domain-general monitoring control in response latencies for all bilingual participants. It lends support to the idea that bilinguals tap into monitoring control in the context of language switching. Additionally, the cross-domain overlap was found between two non-equivalent measures (global language control vs. cognitive inhibitory control) in response latencies, specifically for L1-dominant bilinguals. This suggests that language dominance may have an impact on cross-domain generality in language-switching processes.

scholarly journals Inhibitory Control Training Reveals a Common Neurofunctional Basis for Generic Executive Functions and Language Switching in Bilinguals

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Jing Wu ◽  
Mo Chen ◽  
Guillaume Thierry ◽  
Yongben Fu ◽  
Junjie Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Transfer Effect ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task

Abstract Background: The neural networks underpinning language control and domain-general executive functions overlap in bilinguals, but existing evidence is mainly correlative. Here, we present the first neurofunctional evidence for a transfer effect between (domain-general) inhibitory control and language control through training. We trained Chinese-English bilinguals for 8 days using a Simon task taxing the inhibitory control system, whilst an active control group was trained with a color judgment task that does not tax the inhibitory control system. All participants performed a language-switching task before and after training.Results: The results showed a negative correlation between changes in activation levels in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and changes in the switch cost magnitude in the language-switching task in the training group but not in the control group, suggesting that the DLPFC plays a critical role in the transfer effect from domain-general executive functions to language control. However, there was no measurable effect in the anterior cingulate cortex or left caudate nucleus, suggesting that the inhibitory control training increased the neural efficiency for language production in bilinguals in terms of attention shifting and conflict resolution, but the training did not affect conflict detection and lexical selection.Conclusion: These findings showed how cognitive training evidence can help establish a causational link between the neural basis of domain-general executive functions and language control in bilinguals.

Language-switch costs and dual-response costs in bimodal bilingual language production

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 418-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILY KAUFMANN ◽  
ANDREA M. PHILIPP
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Dual Response ◽  
Single Response ◽  
Mixing Costs ◽  
German Sign Language

In communication, different forms of language combinations are possible for bimodal bilinguals, who use a spoken and a signed language. They can either switch from one language to another (language switching) or produce a word and a sign simultaneously (language blending). The present study examines language control mechanisms in language switching and simultaneous bimodal language production, comparing single-response (German or German Sign Language) and dual-response trials (Blend of the German word and the German Sign Language sign). There were three pure blocks, one for each Target-response (German, German Sign Language, Blend), as well as mixed blocks, in which participants switched between all three Target-responses. We observed language mixing costs, switch costs and dual-response costs. Further, the data pattern showed a specific dual-response advantage for switching into a Blend (i.e., a dual-response trial), indicating the specific nature of a blended response in bimodal bilingual language production.

scholarly journals Linking inhibitory control to math achievement via comparison of conflicting decimal numbers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linsah Coulanges ◽  
Roberto A. Abreu-Mendoza ◽  
Sashank Varma ◽  
Melina Uncapher ◽  
Adam Gazzaley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Math Achievement ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
Whole Number ◽  
Calculation Skills ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Number Knowledge

The relationship between executive functions (EF) and academic achievement is well-established, but leveraging this insight to improve educational outcomes remains elusive. Here, we propose a framework for relating the role of specific EF on specific precursor skills that support later academic learning. Specifically, we hypothesize that executive functions contribute to general math skills both directly – supporting the online execution of problem solving strategies – and indirectly – supporting the acquisition of precursor mathematical content. We test this hypothesis by examining the contribution of inhibitory control on processing rational numbers pairs which conflict with individual’s prior whole number knowledge and on general math knowledge. In 97 college students (79 female, age = 20.63 years), we collected three measures of EF: working memory (backwards spatial span), inhibition (color-word Stroop) and cognitive flexibility (task switching), and timed and untimed standardized measures of math achievement. Our target precursor skill was a decimals comparison task where correct responses were inconsistent with prior whole number knowledge (e.g. 0.27 vs. 0.9). Participants performed worse on these trials relative to the consistent decimals pairs (e.g. 0.2 vs. 0.87). Individual differences on incongruent Stroop trials predicted performance on inconsistent decimal comparisons, which in turn predicted performance on both timed and untimed measures of math achievement. With respect to relating inhibitory control to math achievement, incongruent Stroop performance was an independent predictor of untimed calculation skills after accounting for age, working memory and cognitive flexibility. Finally, we found that inconsistent decimals performance partially mediated the relationship between inhibition and untimed math achievement, consistent with the hypothesis that mathematical precursor skills can explain the relationships between executive functions and academic outcomes, making them promising targets for intervention.

scholarly journals Executive Function Training in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: Study Protocol

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Krawczyk ◽  
Kihwan Han ◽  
David Martinez ◽  
Jelena Rakic ◽  
Matthew Kmiecik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Chronic Phase ◽  
Post Injury

Abstract Background: Some individuals who sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) continue to experience significant cognitive impairments chronically (months-to-years post-injury). Many tests of executive function are insensitive to these executive function impairments, as such impairments may only appear during complex daily life conditions. Daily life often requires us to divide our attention and focus on abstract goals. In the current study, we compare the effects of two one-month electronic cognitive rehabilitation programs for individuals with chronic TBI. The active program (Expedition: Strategic Advantage) focuses on improving goal-directed executive functions including working memory, planning, long-term memory, and inhibitory control by challenging participants to accomplish life-like cognitive simulations. The challenge level of the simulations increase in accordance with participant achievement. The control intervention (Expedition: Informational Advantage) is identical to the active; however, the cognitive demand level is capped preventing participants from advancing beyond a set level. We will evaluate these interventions with a military veteran TBI population. Methods: One hundred individuals will be enrolled in this double-blinded clinical trial (all participants and testers are blinded to condition). Each individual will be randomly assigned to one of two interventions. The primary anticipated outcomes are improvement of daily life cognitive function skills and daily life functions. These are measured by a daily life performance task, which tests cognitive skills, and a survey that evaluates daily life functions. Secondary outcomes are also predicted to include improvements in working memory, attention, planning, and inhibitory control as measured by a neuropsychological test battery. Lastly, neuroimaging measures will be used to evaluate changes in brain networks supporting cognition pre-intervention and post-intervention. Discussion: We will test whether electronically delivered cognitive rehabilitation aimed at improving daily life functional skills will provide cognitive and daily life functional improvements for individuals in the chronic phase of TBI recovery (greater than three months post-injury). We aim to better understand the cognitive processes involved in recovery and the characteristics of individuals most likely to benefit. This study will also address the potential to observe generalizability, or transfer, from a software-based cognitive training tool toward daily life improvement. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03704116 (retrospectively registered) https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03704116?term=tbi+krawczyk&rank=1 Keywords: Cognitive rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury, executive functions, daily life functions, memory, attention, planning. Support: Joint Warfighter Program; U. S. Dept. of Defense W81XWH-16-1-0053

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