Bilingualism across the lifespan: Neuroanatomical correlates

187 p.Recently, an increasing number of studies addressing the neuroanatomical bases of bilingualism have appeared (Garcia-Penton et al., 2016). However, the results are variable and in sorne cases conflicting,and consequen y it is still a matter of debate how brain changes due to bilingual experience.The present study will try to shed sorne light on the field by adding fresh new evidence testing children and elderly high proficient early Spanish-Basque bilinguals, two very typologically different languages . The proposed work will use large-scale brain-mapping techniques to explore the relationship between structure and function, as a more holistic and realistic approach to understanding comprehensively the neural bases of bilingualism. This integrational perspectiva will also promote convergent evidence about the specialization and integration of the neural networks in bilingualism. As such, this work will study the organisation of brain networks,either due to slow changes in brain areas and their wiring (namely, the structural plasticity), or due to fast modulation of their interactions (namely, functional plasticity).This thesis will employ Functional Magnetic Resonance lmaging (fMRI) during resting-state in combination with Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance lmaging (DW-MRI) to determine functional and structural connectivity, respectively. Both techniques will make it possible to model the large-scale structural/functional connectivity maps by means of a high­ dimensional parcellation of the grey matter (GM) in the brain instead of limiting analysis to specific regions of interest, as done in previous studies. A 30 high resolution whole-head anatomical sean (T1-MRI) will be used in order to generate GM parcellations employed in the connectivity analysis, but also to identify regional differential structural patterns associated with bilingualism, using voxel-based and surface-based analyses of the GM. Network­ based statistics (Zalesky et al., 2010) and graph theoretical approaches (Latora & Marchiori, 2001; Rubinov and Spoms, 201O) will be employed to investigate differences between groups in connectiv ity pattems, by isolating sets of regions interconnected differently between groups, and in topological properties of the networks, by measuring global/local efficiency. The main findings of this research on bilingualism across different groups of age (childhood and elderly) suggested that structural brain plasticity related to bilingualism was so small, unstable, subtle and transient that it was very difficult to detect even in lifelong bilinguals. A fact that is consisten! with the curren! ambiguous picture in bilingualism studies (Garcia-Pentón et al.,2016; see also others, Baum & Titone,2014; Costa,& Sebastián-Gallés , 2014; Li, Legault, & Litcofsky, 2014; Paap et al., 2015; de Bruin et al., 2015a). However, this study suggested that even when the brain did not display focal brain differences (i.e. did not show any specialization) it could still show differences at the global level. Specifically,the evidence draws attention that lifelong bilingualism could pinpoint a gain toward a better neural reserve in aging due to the whole-network graph-efficiency observed in elderly lifelono bilinouals

Bilingualism across the lifespan: Neuroanatomical correlates

187 p.Recently, an increasing number of studies addressing the neuroanatomical bases of bilingualism have appeared (Garcia-Penton et al., 2016). However, the results are variable and in sorne cases conflicting,and consequen y it is still a matter of debate how brain changes due to bilingual experience.The present study will try to shed sorne light on the field by adding fresh new evidence testing children and elderly high proficient early Spanish-Basque bilinguals, two very typologically different languages . The proposed work will use large-scale brain-mapping techniques to explore the relationship between structure and function, as a more holistic and realistic approach to understanding comprehensively the neural bases of bilingualism. This integrational perspectiva will also promote convergent evidence about the specialization and integration of the neural networks in bilingualism. As such, this work will study the organisation of brain networks,either due to slow changes in brain areas and their wiring (namely, the structural plasticity), or due to fast modulation of their interactions (namely, functional plasticity).This thesis will employ Functional Magnetic Resonance lmaging (fMRI) during resting-state in combination with Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance lmaging (DW-MRI) to determine functional and structural connectivity, respectively. Both techniques will make it possible to model the large-scale structural/functional connectivity maps by means of a high­ dimensional parcellation of the grey matter (GM) in the brain instead of limiting analysis to specific regions of interest, as done in previous studies. A 30 high resolution whole-head anatomical sean (T1-MRI) will be used in order to generate GM parcellations employed in the connectivity analysis, but also to identify regional differential structural patterns associated with bilingualism, using voxel-based and surface-based analyses of the GM. Network­ based statistics (Zalesky et al., 2010) and graph theoretical approaches (Latora & Marchiori, 2001; Rubinov and Spoms, 201O) will be employed to investigate differences between groups in connectiv ity pattems, by isolating sets of regions interconnected differently between groups, and in topological properties of the networks, by measuring global/local efficiency. The main findings of this research on bilingualism across different groups of age (childhood and elderly) suggested that structural brain plasticity related to bilingualism was so small, unstable, subtle and transient that it was very difficult to detect even in lifelong bilinguals. A fact that is consisten! with the curren! ambiguous picture in bilingualism studies (Garcia-Pentón et al.,2016; see also others, Baum & Titone,2014; Costa,& Sebastián-Gallés , 2014; Li, Legault, & Litcofsky, 2014; Paap et al., 2015; de Bruin et al., 2015a). However, this study suggested that even when the brain did not display focal brain differences (i.e. did not show any specialization) it could still show differences at the global level. Specifically,the evidence draws attention that lifelong bilingualism could pinpoint a gain toward a better neural reserve in aging due to the whole-network graph-efficiency observed in elderly lifelono bilinouals

Distinctive Frontal and Occipitotemporal Surface Features in Neglectful Parenting.

Although the brain signatures of adaptive human parenting are well documented, the cortical features associated with maladaptive caregiving are underexplored. We investigated whether cortical thickness and surface area vary in a small group of mothers who had neglected their children (24 in the neglect group, NG) compared to a control group of mothers with non-neglectful caregiving (21 in the control group, CG). We also tested whether the cortical differences were related to dyadic mother-child emotional availability (EA) in a play task with their children and whether alexithymia involving low emotional awareness that characterizes the NG could play a role in the cortical-EA associations. Whole-brain analysis of the cortical mantle identified reduced cortical thickness in the right rostral middle frontal gyrus and an increased surface area in the right lingual and lateral occipital cortices for the NG with respect to the CG. Follow-up path analysis showed direct effects of the right rostral middle frontal gyrus (RMFG) on the emotional availability (EA) and on the difficulty to identify feelings (alexithymia factor), with a marginal indirect RMFG-EA effect through this factor. These preliminary findings extend existing work by implicating differences in cortical features associated with neglectful parenting and relevant to mother-child interactive bonding

Distinctive Frontal and Occipitotemporal Surface Features in Neglectful Parenting

Published: 18 March 2021Although the brain signatures of adaptive human parenting are well documented, the cortical features associated with maladaptive caregiving are underexplored. We investigated whether cortical thickness and surface area vary in a small group of mothers who had neglected their children (24 in the neglect group, NG) compared to a control group of mothers with non-neglectful caregiving (21 in the control group, CG). We also tested whether the cortical differences were related to dyadic mother-child emotional availability (EA) in a play task with their children and whether alexithymia involving low emotional awareness that characterizes the NG could play a role in the cortical-EA associations. Whole-brain analysis of the cortical mantle identified reduced cortical thickness in the right rostral middle frontal gyrus and an increased surface area in the right lingual and lateral occipital cortices for the NG with respect to the CG. Follow-up path analysis showed direct effects of the right rostral middle frontal gyrus (RMFG) on the emotional availability (EA) and on the difficulty to identify feelings (alexithymia factor), with a marginal indirect RMFG-EA effect through this factor. These preliminary findings extend existing work by implicating differences in cortical features associated with neglectful parenting and relevant to mother-child interactive bonding.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund, grant number RTI2018‐098149‐B‐I00 to M.J.R. and I.L, and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska‐Curie Individual Fellowship, grant agreement number 893329 to L.G.P

Distinctive Frontal and Occipitotemporal Surface Features in Neglectful Parenting.

Although the brain signatures of adaptive human parenting are well documented, the cortical features associated with maladaptive caregiving are underexplored. We investigated whether cortical thickness and surface area vary in a small group of mothers who had neglected their children (24 in the neglect group, NG) compared to a control group of mothers with non-neglectful caregiving (21 in the control group, CG). We also tested whether the cortical differences were related to dyadic mother-child emotional availability (EA) in a play task with their children and whether alexithymia involving low emotional awareness that characterizes the NG could play a role in the cortical-EA associations. Whole-brain analysis of the cortical mantle identified reduced cortical thickness in the right rostral middle frontal gyrus and an increased surface area in the right lingual and lateral occipital cortices for the NG with respect to the CG. Follow-up path analysis showed direct effects of the right rostral middle frontal gyrus (RMFG) on the emotional availability (EA) and on the difficulty to identify feelings (alexithymia factor), with a marginal indirect RMFG-EA effect through this factor. These preliminary findings extend existing work by implicating differences in cortical features associated with neglectful parenting and relevant to mother-child interactive bonding

Automated Discrimination of Brain Pathological State Attending to Complex Structural Brain Network Properties: The Shiverer Mutant Mouse Case

Neuroimaging classification procedures between normal and pathological subjects are sparse and highly dependent of an expert's clinical criterion. Here, we aimed to investigate whether possible brain structural network differences in the shiverer mouse mutant, a relevant animal model of myelin related diseases, can reflect intrinsic individual brain properties that allow the automatic discrimination between the shiverer and normal subjects. Common structural networks properties between shiverer (C3Fe.SWV Mbpshi/Mbpshi, n = 6) and background control (C3HeB.FeJ, n = 6) mice are estimated and compared by means of three diffusion weighted MRI (DW-MRI) fiber tractography algorithms and a graph framework. Firstly, we found that brain networks of control group are significantly more clustered, modularized, efficient and optimized than those of the shiverer group, which presented significantly increased characteristic path length. These results are in line with previous structural/functional complex brain networks analysis that have revealed topologic differences and brain network randomization associated to specific states of human brain pathology. In addition, by means of network measures spatial representations and discrimination analysis, we show that it is possible to classify with high accuracy to which group each subject belongs, providing also a probability value of being a normal or shiverer subject as an individual anatomical classifier. The obtained correct predictions (e.g., around 91.6–100%) and clear spatial subdivisions between control and shiverer mice, suggest that there might exist specific network subspaces corresponding to specific brain disorders, supporting also the point of view that complex brain network analyses constitutes promising tools in the future creation of interpretable imaging biomarkers

Rightward shift in temporal order judgements in the wake of the attentional blink

Cambio hacia la derecha en los juicios de orden temporal durante el
 parpadeo atencional. El orden temporal de dos eventos, cada uno de ellos
 presentado en un hemicampo visual diferente, puede ser juzgado
 correctamente por observadores típicos inclusive cuando la diferencia de
 tiempo entre las presentaciones sea muy pequeña. El presente trabajo analiza
 la influencia de un proceso endógeno sobre el juicio de orden temporal
 (JOT) y nos muestra que la percepción del orden temporal está también
 afectada cuando los recursos atencionales disponibles son reducidos
 mediante un paradigma de parpadeo atencional (PA). A los participantes se
 les presentaron los siguientes estímulos: un primer estímulo visual (T1) en el
 centro de fijación y luego de un intervalo de tiempo variable (280 ó 1030
 ms), un par de estímulos lateralizados (T2). Para la tarea dual con el
 intervalo de tiempo de 280 ms entre T1 y T2, la precisión en el JOT se
 deterioró, evidenciando un PA. Sin embargo, durante el PA en lugar de la
 asimetría favorable al lado izquierdo, aparece un significativo sesgo en
 contra de ese lado

The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: how to turn a hazy view into the full picture

Epub ahead of print 07/09/2015.This article was originally published with errors. This version has been amended. Please see Corrigendum (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2016.1144398).The neuroanatomical bases of bilingualism have recently received intensive attention. However, it is still a matter of debate how the brain structure changes due to bilingual experience since current findings are highly variable. The aim of this review is to examine these structural studies from a methodological perspective and to discuss two major methodological problems that could give rise to this variability. The first problem is sample selection, an issue directly related to the heterogeneous nature of bilingualism. The second problem is the inconsistency in the methods used for the analysis of brain imaging data. This review reveals that although structural changes related to bilingualism have been reported in regions comprising language/cognitive control and language processing, these results are not yet sufficiently numerous or consistent to allow important generalizations to be reached. Consequently, current evidence offers ambiguous support for neural models of bilingualism. This shortcoming in the field is exacerbated by critical methodological differences between studies that only further complicate the matter. We conclude by identifying issues that should be taken into consideration so that studies are more comparable and results are easier to aggregate and interpret. We also point out future directions that would allow for progress in the field.This article was partially supported by grants CONSOLIDERINGENIO2010 CSD2008-00048, PSI2012–32123 and PSI2012– 31448 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, by ERC-2011-ADG-295362 grant from the European Research Council and by the AThEME project funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme [grant number 613465]

“Hazy” or “jumbled”? Putting together the pieces of the bilingual puzzle

Published online: 12 Feb 2016Six commentaries [Bialystok, E. (2015). How hazy views become full pictures. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1074255; de Bruin, A., & Della Sala, S. (2015) The importance of language use when studying the neuroanatomical basis of bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1082608; Green, D. W., & Abutalebi, J. (2015). Language control and the neuroanatomy of bilingualism: In praise of variety. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:0.1080/23273798.2015.1084428; Kroll, J. and Chiarello, C. (2015). Language experience and the brain: Variability, neuroplasticity, and bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1086009; Luk, G., & Pliatsikas, C. (2015). Converging diversity to unity: Commentary on the neuroanatomy of bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience; Paap, K. (2015). The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: Will winds of change lift the fog? Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1082607] were produced in relation to the review “The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: How to turn a hazy view into the full picture” (García-Pentón, L., Fernández, Y., Costello, B., Duñabeitia, J. A., & Carreiras, M. (2015). The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: How to turn a hazy view into the full picture. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1068944). In the review, we argued that the available evidence for structural changes in bilingualism offers ambiguous support for current neural models of bilingualism and that this shortcoming in the field is exacerbated by critical methodological differences between studies. Thus, best practices need to be established for studying and modelling bilingualism. The commentaries bring to the discussion new perspectives and highlight additional challenges. Our response addresses the issues raised under two broad topics: the need to connect structural findings with behavioural and functional data, and a series of methodological concerns that are critical if the field is to advance.This article was partially supported by the Severo Ochoa program grant [SEV-2015-0490], and by grants from CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 [CSD2008-00048], from the MINECO [PSI2012-32123, PSI2012-31448], from the Basque Government [PI-2015-1-27] and from the European Research Council [ERC-2011-ADG-295362]

“Hazy” or “jumbled”? Putting together the pieces of the bilingual puzzle

Published online: 12 Feb 2016Six commentaries [Bialystok, E. (2015). How hazy views become full pictures. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1074255; de Bruin, A., & Della Sala, S. (2015) The importance of language use when studying the neuroanatomical basis of bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1082608; Green, D. W., & Abutalebi, J. (2015). Language control and the neuroanatomy of bilingualism: In praise of variety. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:0.1080/23273798.2015.1084428; Kroll, J. and Chiarello, C. (2015). Language experience and the brain: Variability, neuroplasticity, and bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1086009; Luk, G., & Pliatsikas, C. (2015). Converging diversity to unity: Commentary on the neuroanatomy of bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience; Paap, K. (2015). The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: Will winds of change lift the fog? Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1082607] were produced in relation to the review “The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: How to turn a hazy view into the full picture” (García-Pentón, L., Fernández, Y., Costello, B., Duñabeitia, J. A., & Carreiras, M. (2015). The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: How to turn a hazy view into the full picture. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1068944). In the review, we argued that the available evidence for structural changes in bilingualism offers ambiguous support for current neural models of bilingualism and that this shortcoming in the field is exacerbated by critical methodological differences between studies. Thus, best practices need to be established for studying and modelling bilingualism. The commentaries bring to the discussion new perspectives and highlight additional challenges. Our response addresses the issues raised under two broad topics: the need to connect structural findings with behavioural and functional data, and a series of methodological concerns that are critical if the field is to advance.This article was partially supported by the Severo Ochoa program grant [SEV-2015-0490], and by grants from CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 [CSD2008-00048], from the MINECO [PSI2012-32123, PSI2012-31448], from the Basque Government [PI-2015-1-27] and from the European Research Council [ERC-2011-ADG-295362]