Neural bases of language switching in high and early proficient bilinguals

The left inferior frontal cortex, the caudate and the anterior cingulate have been proposed as the neural origin of language switching, but most of the studies were conducted in low proficient bilinguals. In the present study, we investigated brain areas involved in language switching in a sample of 19 early, high-proficient Spanish–Catalan bilinguals using a picture naming task that allowed contrasting switch and non-switch trials. Compared to the non-switching condition, language switching elicited greater activation in the head of the left caudate and the pre-SMA/ACC. When the direction of the switching was considered, the left caudate was more associated with forward switching and the pre-SMA/ACC with backward switching. The discussion is focused on the relevance of these brain structures in language control in early, high-proficient bilinguals, and the comparison with previous results in late bilinguals.     

How bilingual experience and executive control influence development in language control among bilingual children

This longitudinal study investigates whether the development in executive control and bilingual experience predicts change in language control in bilingual children. Children were tested twice over the course of 1 year, using the language‐switching paradigm and the Simon task. The participants were Japanese‐English bilingual “returnee” children (ages 7–13), who returned to their first language (L1) environment after spending some years in a second language (L2) dominant environment. Testing these children upon their return to the L1 environment allowed us to disentangle the effect of age from bilingual experience, as they experienced an increase in age but a decrease in L2 exposure over time. Children who had less L2 exposure showed smaller improvement in baseline performance when naming pictures in English (i.e., when English was relevant across all trials). Moreover, development in trials where children had to switch between languages were modulated by development in executive control. That is, children who increased their performance in the English mixed repetition trials also performed better on the executive control task over time. Thus, development in executive control modulated change in language control among bilingual children, suggesting a positive relationship between language control and executive control in children's development.     

Syntactic processing in bilinguals: an fNIRS study

The study of the neural basis of syntactic processing has greatly benefited from neuroimaging techniques. Research on syntactic processing in bilinguals has used a variety of techniques, including mainly functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERP). This paper reports on a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study on syntactic processing in highly proficient young adult speakers of Portuguese (mother tongue) (L1) and French (second language) (L2). They made a syntactic judgment of visually presented sentences, which either did or did not contain noun-verb agreement violations. The results showed that syntactic processing in both languages resulted in significant activation in anterior frontal regions of the left hemisphere and in the temporal superior posterior areas of the right hemisphere, with a more prominent activation for L2 in some areas. These findings corroborate previously reported neuroimaging evidence, showing the suitability of fNIRS for the study of syntactic processing in the bilingual brain.     

Developmental change in the relation between executive functions and symptoms of ADHD and co‐occurring behaviour problems

In a sample of 92 children aged 6–13 years this study investigates the normal developmental change in the relation between executive functioning (EF) and the core behavioural symptoms associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention) as well as symptoms often co‐occurring with childhood hyperactivity (conduct‐ and internalizing problems). EF was assessed by using multiple tests grouped through prior factor analysis, resulting in cognitive measures relating to disinhibition, speed/arousal, verbal working memory, non‐verbal working memory, and fluency. The results showed that although disinhibition was positively related to hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention mainly for the youngest age group, there were no significant age effects for these relations. Instead, age effects were found for the relations between speed/arousal and inattention as well as for the relations between verbal working memory/fluency and inattention. In the oldest age group poor performance on these cognitive measures was associated with high ratings of inattention. For the total sample a relation was obtained between disinhibition and hyperactivity/impulsivity as well as between both working memory measures and internalizing problems. In conclusion, the results from this study suggest that poor inhibition is most clearly associated with ADHD symptoms for younger children, whereas poor functioning with regard to later developing and more complex executive functions such as working memory and fluency is associated with ADHD symptoms for older children. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Socio-economic status,executive functions,and theory of mind ability in adolescents: Relationships with language ability and cortisol

Socio-economic status (SES) is linked to the development of cognitive abilities, particularly language and executive processes. It is unclear whether these represent a single or independent correlates. We studied 110 Ecuadorian youths aged 12–17 with measures of SES, language, executive function, and theory of mind (ToM), a.k.a. mentalizing. A subsample gave hair samples to estimate recent cortisol levels. Restricting analyses to reliable measures, SES was highly associated with language skill, and to a lesser extent with executive function and ToM performance. However, those latter associations were attenuated and non-significant when language ability was controlled for statistically. Systemic cortisol levels were not associated with SES, but were significantly and negatively correlated with ToM, independent of variation in language skills. We conclude that language development underlies most of the impact of SES on executive function and ToM ability of adolescents, but that stress-related cortisol may have an independent, direct effect on mentalizing.     

Evaluation of executive functions in children and adolescents with familial Mediterranean fever

The aim of the present study was to investigate neuropsychological test performance in children and adolescents with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). A total of 88 children and adolescents aged 8 to 17 years were included, 52 with FMF and 36 healthy controls. After the participants were administered the Children Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), they completed the battery tests of the Central Nervous System Vital Signs (CNSVS), a neurocognitive test battery, via computer. The battery calculates seven domain scores (Memory, Psychomotor Speed, Processing Speed, Reaction Time, Complex Attention, Executive Function, and Cognitive Flexibility) and a summary score (Neurocognition Index [NCI]). A statistically significant difference between the FMF and control groups was found in six out of seven domains, where the scores of the participants with FMF were found to be significantly lower than those of the control participants (p < .05). Although the mean Reaction Time score of the participants with FMF was found to be lower than that of the control participants, the finding was not statistically significant (p > .05). The mean CDI and SCARED scores of the participants with FMF were found to be significantly higher than those of the control participants (p < .05). Low scores in the Processing Speed and Psychomotor Speed domains of the CNSVS were significantly correlated with higher SCARED scores (r = ?.37, p = .01). Impaired cognitive functions should be taken into consideration in children and adolescents with FMF when assessing and managing this population.     

Bilingual aphasia and language control: A follow-up fMRI and intrinsic connectivity study

In a world that is becoming more multilingual, bilingual aphasia is a clinical problem with a major clinical impact. However, at present we lack causal explanations of the many features of recovery patterns and there is no consensus about the language in which the patient should receive speech therapy. Further advance requires an understanding of the dynamics of recovery. In a novel longitudinal, single-case study, we combine fMRI and dynamic causal modeling to examine the effects of specific language treatment for picture naming on the representation and control of language areas during the course of recovery. Improved performance in the treated language was associated with increased activation in language areas. Consistent with theoretical expectations, causal modeling indicated increased connectedness of the control and language networks for the treated language. This functional approach holds great promise for investigating recovery patterns and the effects of specific language treatment in bilingual aphasic patients.     

Sensitive caregiving and reward responsivity: A novel mechanism linking parenting and executive functions development in early childhood

Sensitive caregiving is an essential aspect of positive parenting that influences executive functions development, but the mechanisms underlying this association are less clear. Using data from the Family Life Project, a large prospective longitudinal sample of 1292 families residing in rural, predominately low-income communities, the current study examined whether sensitive caregiving impacts executive functions development by shaping behavioral reward processing systems in early postnatal life. Results indicated that higher levels of sensitive caregiving during infancy were associated with heightened reward responsivity at age 4, which in turn predicted superior executive functions ability at age 5. Notably, children's reward responsivity partially mediated the relationship between sensitive caregiving in infancy and executive functions ability at school entry. These findings add to prior work on early experience and children's executive functions and highlight caregiver scaffolding of developing reward processing systems as a potential foundational mechanism for supporting adaptive behavior and self-regulation across the lifespan.     

双语即时切换下非目标语言语音和语义的激活状态

本研究采用双语即时切换范式, 探讨非熟练中英双语者在对目标语言(启动词)语音或语义的加工过程中非目标语言的激活状态。实验1设置了与启动词的翻译对等词存在语音相关或无关的两类配对词, 要求被试进行语音判断任务, 结果表明, 不论哪种切换条件, 两类配对词在反应时和P200成分上都没有差异, 说明目标语言在语音加工过程中非目标语言的语音层面没有得到自动激活, 从而没有产生启动效应。实验2则设置了语义相关和无关配对词, 并进行语义判断任务, 结果在两种切换条件下都发现明显的语义启动效应及N400差异, 说明非目标语言在语义层面上有得到自动激活, 但激活的程度表现出切换方向上的不一致, L1-L2切换下的语义启动量要明显大于L2-L1, 并且L1-L2的N400差异主要表现在前部脑区, 持续时间更久, 而L2-L1的N400差异主要表现在后部脑区, 但持续时间较短, 表明对于非熟练的双语者来说, 不同切换方向下对共享语义表征的激活加工是不一样的。     

Relations between key executive functions and aggression in childhood

The present study examined relationships between three key executive functions (working memory, inhibition, and mental set-shifting) and multiple types of aggression in a general population sample of 9-year-old children. One hundred and forty-eight children completed a battery of executive function tasks and were rated on aggression by their primary teachers. All executive function (EF) composites were related to a composite measure of aggression. Working memory (WM) was most consistently related to the different types of aggression (overt, relational, reactive, and proactive), whereas inhibition and mental set-shifting only were related to relational and reactive aggression, respectively. Specificity in relations (studied as independent contributions) was generally low with the exception of the relation between WM and relational aggression. Taken together, our results highlight the roles of WM and relational aggression in EF-aggression relations in middle childhood.     

A plausible role of imagination in pretend play,counterfactual reasoning,and executive functions

A notable observation is the similarities in the cognitive processes of pretend play (PP) and counterfactual reasoning (CFR) as both involve thinking about alternatives to reality. It is argued by Weisberg and Gopnik (Cogn. Sci., 37, 2013, 1368) that alternative thinking in PP and CFR is underpinned by an imaginary representational capacity but few studies have empirically investigated this link. We use a variable latent modelling approach to test a hypothetical model of the structural relationship of PP and CFR predicting that if PP and CFR are cognitively similar; they should have similar patterns of associations with Executive Functions (EFs). Data were collected on PP, CFR, EFs and Language from 189 children (M = 4.8 years, males = 101, females = 88). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that measures of PP and CFR loaded onto single latent constructs and were significantly correlated (r = .51, p = .001) with each other. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that EF accounted for unique significant variance in both PP (β = 21) and CFR (β = 22). The results of the structural equation modelling revealed that the data were a good fit for the hypothetical model. We discuss the plausible role of a general underlying imaginative representational capacity to explain similarities in the cognitive mechanisms of different states of alternative thinking like PP and CFR.     

Theory of mind and its relationship with executive functions and emotion recognition in borderline personality disorder

Impaired social cognition has been claimed to be a mechanism underlying the development and maintenance of borderline personality disorder (BPD). One important aspect of social cognition is the theory of mind (ToM), a complex skill that seems to be influenced by more basic processes, such as executive functions (EF) and emotion recognition. Previous ToM studies in BPD have yielded inconsistent results. This study assessed the performance of BPD adults on ToM, emotion recognition, and EF tasks. We also examined whether EF and emotion recognition could predict the performance on ToM tasks. We evaluated 15 adults with BPD and 15 matched healthy controls using different tasks of EF, emotion recognition, and ToM. The results showed that BPD adults exhibited deficits in the three domains, which seem to be task‐dependent. Furthermore, we found that EF and emotion recognition predicted the performance on ToM. Our results suggest that tasks that involve real‐life social scenarios and contextual cues are more sensitive to detect ToM and emotion recognition deficits in BPD individuals. Our findings also indicate that (a) ToM variability in BPD is partially explained by individual differences on EF and emotion recognition; and (b) ToM deficits of BPD patients are partially explained by the capacity to integrate cues from face, prosody, gesture, and social context to identify the emotions and others' beliefs.     

Improving executive functions in 5‐ and 6‐year‐olds: Evaluation of a small group intervention in prekindergarten and kindergarten children

Research suggests a central role of executive functions for children's cognitive and social development during preschool years, especially in promoting school readiness. Interventions aiming to improve executive functions are therefore being called for. The present study examined the effect of a small group intervention implemented in kindergarten settings focusing on basic components of executive functions, i.e., working memory, interference control and cognitive flexibility. A total of 135 children enrolled in Swiss prekindergarten (5‐year‐olds) and kindergarten (6‐year‐olds) were involved. Results revealed that the small group intervention promoted gains in all three included components of executive functions: prekindergarten children substantially improved their working memory and cognitive flexibility processes, whereas significant training effects were found for the kindergarten children in interference control. Implications of these findings for early intervention programs and for tailoring preschool curricula are discussed, particularly with respect to children's school readiness. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

语音记忆和中央执行功能在不同年级儿童解码和语言理解中的作用

选取256名三～六年级儿童,采用相关分析、结构方程模型等方法考察了语音记忆和中央执行功能在不同年级儿童的解码和语言理解中的作用。结果显示,在低年级阶段,语音记忆和刷新对解码存在显著预测作用,转换和刷新对语言理解存在显著预测作用;在高年级阶段,只有刷新对解码保持着稳定的预测作用。这表明,语音记忆和中央执行功能对儿童的解码和语言理解存在不同的影响,并且这种影响会随着年级的增长发生变化。