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Online Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Reveals the Dynamic Interaction Between Language Control and Processing in Bilingual Word Production
Poster Session D, Saturday, October 26, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm, Great Hall 3 and 4
Junjie Wu1, Yannan Ji1, Xinping Pu1, Qiping Wang2, Guoli Yan1, Xin Wang3; 1Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China, 2Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, 3Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Language production in bilinguals relies on the collaborative interaction of two neural systems — the language control system (e.g., the right inferior frontal gyrus, rIFG) and the language processing system (e.g., the left superior temporal gyrus, lSTG). However, the causal dynamics between these two systems during bilingual language production remain elusive. To explore this, our study applied online transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the rIFG and lSTG in 21 Chinese-English bilinguals performing a language-switching task. TMS was administered within seven 100-ms time windows (TW1-TW7) following the picture presentation. We observed TW-specific enhancements of language control, evidenced by significant decreases in switching costs relative to sham stimulation. This phenomenon occurred during stimulation of the rIFG in TW1, TW2, TW4, and TW5, and of the lSTG in TW2 and TW5. These findings indicate a double-strike top-down control mechanism underpinned by the pathway from the rIFG to the lSTG, potentially during stages of the language task schema and the lemma selection. Our study provides the first causal evidence of the dynamic interaction between language control and processing systems during bilingual word production.
Topic Areas: Multilingualism, Language Production