This document summarizes research on bilingualism and its effects on the brain. It discusses debates around language localization in the brain for monolingual and bilingual individuals. Studies have found both similarities and differences in brain activation for various semantic processing tasks, word definitions, and arithmetic skills between bilingual and monolingual children and adults. However, results have been inconclusive due to challenges defining bilingualism and interference between languages. Selective attention appears enhanced in bilinguals. The debate around language representation in the brain continues as research methods evolve.

1. Zahra Ohldin

2. Brief history of the study of bilingualism in North American culture
Identifies the differences present in bilingual and monolingual
adults
Identifies the differences present in bilingual and monolingual
children
Limits of the study of bilingualism in children and adults
Conclusive Results?

3. Language Localization and the Brain
-Localizationists vs. Anti-localizationists
Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area
Research from the 1950s and 1960s
-Bilingualism as a cognitive deficit/communicative disorder
1980s change in thoughts regarding bilingualism
The language localization debate is BACK!!

4. Bilingual
-Depends on the working definition and the complications in the
various studies are all dependent on how it is defined
Bilinguals vs. monolinguals
-PET scans
Inconclusive results
-Semantic Processing Tasks
Inconclusive results
-Creation of word meaning based on previously unknown words
Inconclusive Results
Mental Representations in Bilingual Children
Significance of Linguistic Organization

5. Bilingual children and monolingual children of Scotland
-Spoke Scottish Gaelic and English
Bilingual and monolingual children of Sardinia
-Spoke Sardinian and Italian
Compared in cognitive control, problem-solving ability, meta-
linguistic awareness, and working memory
Bilingual children demonstrated statistically significant
performances in word definitions and performing arithmetic as
compared to the monolingual children
Selective attention was present in the bilingual children

6. Executive functions and the relation of control and regulation of the
language in use by bilingual European adults
Tests performed via ERPs and fMRIs
Inconclusive results
Activation of certain gyri in the brain as it related to the native
language in both monolinguals and the bilinguals
-Activation of independent pathways as demonstrated by aphasic
bilinguals
Lateral inhibitions perhaps
Dijkstra & Van Heuven present supportive evidence, but Meuter et al.
present not as conclusive evidence especially when recalling numbers

7. Study of Spanish and German bilinguals in Go/NoGo tests as it related
to vowel and consonants for pictures
-Demonstrated partial lateral inhibitions of the Go responses as it
related to the noGo responses for the non-targeted language words
Similar results in a study conducted with Spanish/English bilingual
individuals
-In this particular study, the individuals also demonstrated activation
of the ACC and DLPFC (this was not measured in Fornells’ study)
Spanish and German bilinguals asked to write out genders for words
-As compared to monolinguals, bilinguals demonstrated delayed
reactions as measured by ERPs and denoted more false alarms
“Highly” fluent bilinguals demonstrated activations in ACC and the
left DLPFC

8. Differences in monolingual and bilingual brains
-Hard to definitively prove a causal relationship of the connections of
the neural systems in the brain activating a response or the language
creating a change in the brain
Selective attention is more attuned in bilinguals than monolinguals
Depending on the two languages that are being compared can affect the
results
There is more activation of the ACC and the left DLPFC in bilinguals in
comparison to monolinguals
In bilingual adults, there is more separation of distinct languages that is
not as present in bilingual children (If it is present in children it is not
currently understood fully)
Many contradictory findings that can support various ideas related to
bilingualism and the brain

9. Localization and Anti-Localization debate still present in modern day
discussion as it relates to bilingualism and the brain
Selective attention is more apparent in bilingual adults and children than
their monolingual counterparts
More noted activation of the ACC and the left DLPFC in bilingual
individuals
Inconclusive results for PET scans, fMRIs, and ERPs as it relates to
semantic processing tasks due to language interference
Sometimes the results support cognitive advantages as demonstrated in
the Scottish and Sardinian bilingual children
Higher activation of certain gyri in the brain in bilinguals than
monolinguals
-Aphasic bilinguals research supports the separation of language
pathways

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