Cerebral organization of language in the mother tongue and second languages

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Our studies take advantage of the linguistic environment of Quebec to look at the brain regions involved in different aspects of language processing in the mother tongue and second languages. We use several methods of investigation (behavioural studies and functional and anatomical brain imaging techniques) and study right-handed monolingual and bilingual volunteers, to explore how learning a specific skill during childhood may determine the functional organization of the adult brain. Our overall goal is to understand the network of brain regions that mediate processing of the sound code, meaning and grammar in our mother tongue and in subsequently learned languages. The research planned seeks to establish to what extent new or expanded cortical regions are recruited during second language acquisition. By studying the organization of the language systems of the brain in adults who have had different and specific alterations of language experience, this approach should reveal neural systems that mediate language and throws light on the debate about 'critical periods' in language acquisition. The outcome of these experiments should also enable us to design more appropriate intervention strategies for individuals who have suffered brain damage close to important language areas.