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Effects of multilingual experience on oscillatory dynamics in working memory

Poster C48 in Poster Session C, Friday, October 7, 10:15 am - 12:00 pm EDT, Millennium Hall

Sergio Miguel Pereira Soares^1,2, Yanina Prystauka³, Vincent DeLuca³, Jason Rothman^3,4; ¹University of Konstanz, ²Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, ³UiT The Arctic University of Norway, ⁴Nebrija University

At least under specific conditions of individual-level experience/engagement with multilingual language exposure and use, bi-/multilingualism can lead to structural and functional brain adaptations (Bialystok & Craik, 2022). However, the effects of bi-/multilingualism on the neural underpinnings of working memory (WM) remain understudied. Research using time-frequency representations (TFRs) has shown that WM tasks (e.g., N-back task) modulate power within theta- and alpha frequency bands. These power modulations have been linked to a greater engagement of the WM control system (Riddle et al., 2020). Herein, we use EEG with a WM task (N-back task: 0-, 1-, and 2-back), to investigate if/how group and individual language experience differences modulate neurocognitive oscillatory dynamics. The N-back is an especially appropriate task given recent proposals that situate potential mechanisms for bilingual effects to neurocognition squarely within the broader attentional control system (Bialystok & Craik, 2022): beyond its obvious WM component, the N-Back task builds in complexity incrementally and thus progressively taxes the attentional system. EEG and behavioral data were collected from 28 early bilinguals and 32 late-acquired L2 learners. Participants also completed the Language and Social Background Questionnaire (LSBQ). TFRs were computed for the 0-back-, 1-back and 2-back trials. Two WM (cognitive) loads were calculated: low WM load (difference between 1-back and 0-back conditions) and high WM load (difference between 2-back and 1-back conditions). These measures were used as (i) comparison between early- and later acquired bilinguals (via cluster-based permutations analysis), (ii) a function of individual differences in language experience using continuous measures of bilingualism derived from the LSBQ (group level), and (iii) behavioral performance predictors. We predicted greater brain engagement in early- compared to late bilinguals, specifically increased (frontal) theta activation followed by (frontoparietal) alpha suppression, especially in the high WM load situation. Furthermore, we hypothesized the degree of active bilingualism to predict changes in alpha and beta bands in both early and late bilinguals. Finally, we predicted a correlation between reaction times (RTs) and power within the alpha- and theta bands. We observed significant differences (mostly in theta and alpha frequency bands) between groups for both the low and high WM load conditions. Furthermore, individual differences analyses revealed significant correlations between age, age of acquisition, and usage of the non-societal language in Social environments with theta, alpha and beta band activity for both high WM loads and low WM loads. Finally, when correlating alpha power with RTs, early bilinguals showed a negative correlation while later bilinguals show a positive correlation (for the high WM load situation only). These findings indicate adaptations towards differential brain recruitment to deal with the memory (cognitive) demands associated with variation in language experience which crucially have implications for domain-general control processes. References Bialystok, E., & Craik, F. I. (2022). How does bilingualism modify cognitive function? Attention to the mechanism. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 1-24. Riddle, J., Scimeca, J. M., Cellier, D., Dhanani, S., & D’Esposito, M. (2020). Causal evidence for a role of theta and alpha oscillations in the control of working memory. Current Biology, 30(9), 1748-1754.

Topic Areas: Multilingualism, Control, Selection, and Executive Processes