Bilingual brain training: A neurobiological framework of how bilingual experience improves executive function
By Andrea Stocco, Brianna L. Yamasaki, Rodion Natalenko, Chantel S. Prat. International Journal of Bilingualism, 2012
135 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Individuals who develop bilingually typically outperform monolinguals on tests of executive functions. This advantage likely reflects enhanced prefrontal function, but the mechanisms that underlie this improvement are still poorly understood. This article describes a theory on the nature of the neural underpinnings of improved executive function in bilinguals. Specifically, we propose that growing up in a bilingual environment trains a gating system in the striatum that flexibly routes information to the prefrontal cortex. This article is divided into three sections. Firstly, literature establishing a three-way connection between bilingualism, executive function, and fronto-striatal loops is summarized. Secondly, a computational model of information processing in the basal ganglia is described, illustrating how the striatal nuclei function to transfer information between cortical regions under prerequisite conditions. Finally, this model is extended to describe how bilingualism may “train the brain,” enabling improved performance under conditions of competitive information selection during information transfer. Theoretical implications and predictions of this theory are discussed.
Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/857b518fd5dbf698bdabce2dd973e181ef1dbba9
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In Cognitive Neuroscience
Citations in the corpus
- Understanding bilingual brain function and structure changes? U bet! A unified bilingual experience trajectory model (2020, background): “Neural correlates of efficiency (as discussed by the BAPSS framework, CRM and DRM) include preferential recruitment of subcortical structures (specifically caudate, putamen, and thalamus) (Stocco et al., 2014) and posterior regions such as the occipital lobes and cerebellum (Grundy et al., 2017; Pli”