![]() ![]() In terms of the impact of bilingualism on brain structure, a common tool for investigating differences in gray matter (GM) is voxel-based morphometry (VBM Ashburner and Friston, 2000, 2005 Mechelli et al., 2005 Ashburner, 2007 Douaud et al., 2007). It is therefore important to understand where consistencies and inconsistencies exist across the literature of bilingualism and the brain, both for the current understanding of the neuroscience of language and learning and in planning future studies to adequately address the gaps in the existing knowledge base. (2016), has outlined how the variability in sample selection and methodology have led to a lack of generalizability of results across studies, and relatively little neuroanatomical support for major theories of bilingualism. Along with the importance of understanding the potential benefits of multi-language learning comes the concern of heterogeneity of samples in studies of bilingualism and the brain due to the roles of factors such as age of acquisition and how the second language is learned. The proposed gains of learning a second language do come with some caveats, for example, age of acquisition appears to play a strong role in cognitive and brain changes associated with bilingualism ( Berken et al., 2017) and immersion in the language being learned may also impact structural changes observed in the brain ( Stein et al., 2014). While there are different theories on how these benefits develop and manifest themselves ( Green and Abutalebi, 2013 Abutalebi and Green, 2016 Grundy et al., 2017), the aforementioned reviews detail the evidence that suggest benefits to acquiring multiple languages exist. Benefits of learning multiple languages have been discussed and debated at length ( Bialystok, 2017 Antoniou, 2019), and recent reviews have discussed topics including general cognitive benefits, enhanced neuroplasticity, and protection against aging ( Baum and Titone, 2014 Li et al., 2014 Bialystok et al., 2016 Grundy et al., 2017). However, it also holds relevance more broadly in the realm of understanding how the brain is able to acquire a skill, taking advantage of language learning being a very common task. Future studies will need to include larger, more well-defined samples and interrogate more fine-grained anatomical features such as cortical thickness and surface area in order to more fully examine the anatomical changes associated with bilingualism across the lifespan.īilingualism continues to be a topic of intense interest, providing a unique lens into the study of the neuroscience of language. This suggests that for VBM studies of bilingual and monolingual adults there is considerable heterogeneity of results that complicate the understanding of the bilingual brain. However, when the one pediatric study was removed, the analysis revealed no consistent results across the studies included in this meta-analysis. The analysis (sixteen foci, from ten contrasts across eight studies) resulted in one cluster located primarily within the anterior lobe of the right cerebellum. Here, we engage in an activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies of GM for cases that directly compare bilingual and monolingual subjects in a whole-brain analysis. Overall, this and heterogeneity of study samples and methodology have led to a lack of clear anatomical support for major theories. While the literature on structural differences between bilinguals and monolinguals is robust, relatively few studies of gray matter (GM) have directly compared bilinguals with monolinguals in a whole-brain analysis. Psychology Department, Dominican University, River Forest, IL, United Statesīilingualism is of great interest to the neuroscience of language, and understanding the anatomical changes associated with second language learning help inform theories of bilingual advantage across the lifespan. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |