Individual Differences in Bilingual Experience Modulate Executive Control Network and Performance: Behavioral and Structural Neuroimaging Evidence

35 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2020

See all articles by Federico Gallo

Federico Gallo

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Nikolay Novitskiy

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

Andriy Myachykov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Yury Shtyrov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Date Written: January 15, 2020

Abstract

Dual/multiple language use has been suggested to affect human cognition and neural substrates. Nevertheless, considerable variability emerges concerning replicability of such effects, likely originating in the common practice of reducing the spectrum of bilingualism to a dichotomy of presence vs. absence (i.e., bi- vs. monolingualism), thus diluting the role of interindividual variability in bilingual experience in modulating neuroplastic and cognitive changes. To address this, we operationalized the main bilingual experience factors as continuous variables, investigating their effects on executive control (EC) performance and neural substrate deploying a Flanker task and structural MRI. Higher L2 proficiency predicted better executive performance. Moreover, neuroimaging results indicated that bilingualism-related neuroplasticity may peak at a certain stage of bilingual experience and eventually revert, possibly following functional specialization. Indeed, experienced bilinguals optimized behavioral performance independently of volumetric variations in executive areas. We conclude that individual differences in bilingual experience modulate bilingualism’s cognitive and neural consequences.

Keywords: bilingualism, bilingual experience factors, executive control, structural MRI, region-based-morphometry

JEL Classification: Z

Suggested Citation

Gallo, Federico and Novitskiy, Nikolay and Myachykov, Andriy and Shtyrov, Yury, Individual Differences in Bilingual Experience Modulate Executive Control Network and Performance: Behavioral and Structural Neuroimaging Evidence (January 15, 2020). Higher School of Economics Research Paper No. WP BRP 114/PSY/2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3519852 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3519852

Federico Gallo (Contact Author)

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) ( email )

Myasnitskaya street, 20
Moscow, Moscow 119017
Russia

Nikolay Novitskiy

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) ( email )

Shatin, N.T.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Andriy Myachykov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) ( email )

Myasnitskaya street, 20
Moscow, Moscow 119017
Russia

Yury Shtyrov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) ( email )

Myasnitskaya street, 20
Moscow, Moscow 119017
Russia

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