Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to compare brain activation from native Japanese (L1) readers reading hiragana (syllabic) and kanji (logographic) sentences, and English as a second language (L2). Kanji showed more activation than hiragana in right-hemisphere occipito-temporal lobe areas associated with visuospatial…

Neural plasticity in speech acquisition and learning is concerned with the timeline trajectory and the mechanisms of experience-driven changes in the neural circuits that support or disrupt linguistic function. In this selective review, we discuss the role of phonetic learning in language acquisition, the "critical period" of learning, the agents…

Bilingual reading can require more than knowing two languages. Learners must acquire also the writing conventions of their second language, which can differ in its deep mapping principles (writing system) and its visual configurations (script). We review ERP (event-related potential) and fMRI studies of both Chinese-English bilingualism and…

Recent work in the bilingual literature suggests that naming pictures in a second language (L2) differs from naming pictures in the first language (L1) because of effortful lexical retrieval. his finding has received some support in the neuroimaging literature (De Blesser et al., 2003). In the current study, twelve Spanish-English bilinguals, who…

The Rodriguez-Fornells, Rotte, Heinze, Nosselt, and Munte (2002) paper "Brain Potential and Functional MRI Evidence for How to Handle Two Languages with One Brain," is discussed by two of two of its authors, both neuroscientists, and by two language scientists. (Author/VWL)

Discusses theoretical and empirical aspects of the neural bases of the mental lexicon and the mental grammar in the first and second language (L1 and L2). Argues that in the first language, the learning, representation, and processing of lexicon and grammar depend on two well-studies brain memory systems. (Author/VWL)

Cognitive neuropsychological studies of bilingual patients with aphasia have contributed to our understanding of how the brain processes different languages. The question we asked is whether differences in script have any impact on language processing in bilingual aphasic patients who speak languages with different writing systems: Chinese and…