Multimodal measures of the interaction between cognition and language experience

语言经验是影响神经认知的一个重要因素；然而，与语言经验相关的认知和神经可塑性变化背后的基本过程的问题在很大程度上仍然没有答案。这项拟议的研究将采用综合多模式认知神经科学的方法，从大脑和行为的角度解决语言经验对认知的影响(S)的问题。语言体验将以一种连续和多方面的方式(如第二语言学习年龄、自我报告的语言使用模式、客观的熟练程度衡量标准)进行衡量，并与语言和非语言领域不同执行功能过程的行为衡量(即心理定势转换、工作记忆的更新和监控以及抑制)有关。行为分析的结果将为后续的研究提供依据，这些研究将使用脑电(EEG)和磁共振成像(MRI)来考察语言经验对大脑功能和结构的影响。执行功能任务将在记录脑电活动(即EEG)的同时和在MRI扫描期间执行。通过将这两种方法结合起来，将获得有关神经过程的时间和与任务表现有关的特定大脑区域的信息。此外，测量大脑结构和静止状态下的大脑活动(即独立于任务的活动)将确定大脑的解剖差异以及可能与不同语言经验相关的内在大脑连接的差异。将进行的一系列实验将进一步加深我们对语言经验因素的理解，这些因素对塑造大脑和行为非常重要，并开始解决这些变化的机制问题(S)。鉴于双语和多种语言的普遍存在，理解语言体验如何影响认知和大脑过程是至关重要的。目前的研究采用多方法方法和综合实验范式，其结果将对当前关于语言经验对认知和大脑可塑性影响的基本过程的认识做出重大贡献。这项拟议的研究将为未来的研究提供基础和框架，该研究将考察语言经验对早期大脑发育、语言和认知处理的影响，包括跨不同语言和不同人群的影响。

Language experience is an important factor that influences neurocognition; however, questions about the fundamental processes underlying the cognitive and neuroplastic changes that are related to language-experience remain largely unanswered. The proposed research will take a comprehensive multimodal cognitive neuroscience approach to address questions about the influence(s) of language experience on cognition in terms of the brain and behaviour. Language experience will be measured in a continuous and multifaceted way (e.g., age of second language learning, self-reported language usage patterns, objective measures of proficiency) and related to behavioural measures of different executive function processes (i.e., mental set shifting, updating and monitoring of working memory, and inhibition) in both the verbal and the non-verbal domains. The results of the behavioural analysis will inform subsequent studies that will examine the influence of language experience on brain function and structure using electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Executive function tasks will be performed while electrical brain activity (i.e., EEG) is recorded and during MRI scanning. By combining these two methods, information about both the timing of neural processes and the specific brain regions implicated in task performance will be obtained. Additionally, measures of brain structure and brain activity at rest (i.e., task-independent activity) will identify anatomical differences in the brain and differences in intrinsic brain connectivity that may be associated with different language experiences. The series of experiments that will be undertaken will further our understanding of the language experience factors that are important in shaping the brain and behaviour and start to address questions about the mechanism(s) of these changes. Given the ubiquity of bi- and multi-lingualism, understanding how language experience influences cognition and brain processes is essential. The results from the current research that uses a multi-method approach and comprehensive experimental paradigms will yield results that make significant contributions to current knowledge of the fundamental processes underlying language experience-related effects on cognition and brain plasticity. The proposed research will provide the foundations and framework for future research that examines the effects of language experience on early brain development, language and cognitive processing, including across different languages and in diverse populations.