Darcy Mahoney, Ashley

Scholarly Commons@Baptist Health South Florida

Baptist Health South Florida Scholarly Commons @ Baptist Health South Florida All Publications 10-23-2019 Bilingualism enhances preterm-born children’s executive function: An fNIRSstudy Ashley Darcy Mahoney Baptist Health South Florida, AshleyDa@baptisthealth.net Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.baptisthealth.net/se-all-publications Citation Darcy Mahoney, Ashley, "Bilingualism enhances preterm-born children’s executive function: An fNIRSstudy" (2019). All Publications. 3253. https://scholarlycommons.baptisthealth.net/se-all-publications/3253 This Conference Poster -- Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons @ Baptist Health South Florida. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons @ Baptist Health South Florida. For more information, please contact Carrief@baptisthealth.net. IntroductionConclusionsResultsBilingualism enhances preterm-born children’s executive function:An fNIRS studyAshley Darcy Mahoney1, Melissa Baralt2, Anil Thota3, Caitlyn Myland3, Valentina Dargam3, Liliana Rincon-Gonzalez3, Victoria Leon3 , and Ranu Jung31 School of Nursing, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C & Baptist Health South Florida. , 2  Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, Florida International University, Miami, FL,3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FLMethodsAcknowledgements and ReferencesParticipants:16 preterm born children. 9 bilingual, 7 monolinugal. Match on birth characteristics (Gestational age, acuity, birth weight, LOSLanguage category:  Monolingual: English Heritage Speaker: English and receptive Spanish Bilingual: English and Spanish, daily production in bothTriangulated measures of bilingualism:- Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test            4th Ed. (PPVT)- Test de Vocabulario de Imágenes Peabody (TVIP)- Parent ReportBehavioral Measurements of E.F.:Go/No-Go Task- Inhibitory control and response- Accuracy and average reaction time/stimulusDimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS) Task- Cognitive flexibility- Accuracy, number of cards sorted/block and average reaction time/cardNeural E.F. data fNIRS- Neural activation patterns- Prefrontal cortex - OxyHb, DeoxyHb, & Hbtotal      concentration levels- NIRx: NIRScout 16-24• Executive function is critical for goal-directed problemsolving and attention, and is a foundationaltenet for learning throughout the lifespan(Zelazo, 2015).• Research in the field of linguistics and cognitivepsychology show that bilingualism can significantlyenhance executive function (e.g. Bialystok, 2010).This study is the first to compare executive functioningamong monolinguals (English only), bilinguals (fullproductive ability in both Spanish and English), and HeritageSpeakers (varying levels of proficiency; incompleteacquisition). Executive function is measured by standardvalidated assessments and also via Functional Near-InfraredSpectroscopy (fNIRS).Research Questions:1. Are there differences in EF in monolingual versus bilingual preterm-born children, as measured by the DCCS task and the GNG task?2. Are there differences in the neural recruitment of EF in monolingual versus bilingual preterm-born children during the DCCS and GNG task, as measured by functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)?Population Descriptors DCCS TaskGo/No-Go TaskBehaviorally, the bilingual preterm-borm children were significantly faster than the monolingual preterm-born children at tasks of EFNeurally, these results imply that monolingual preterm-born children need to recruit significantly more hbO to be able to perform tasks of EF. What’s more, bilinguals recruited neural tissue differently from monolinguals. Possibly, less effort required necessitates less oxygenated hemoglobin levels.Given that bilingualism confers significant health benefits, it is worth exploring how we can change the national discourse around bilingual curricula in public education given our results: 1. In accordance with past literature, there does seem to be a bilingual ‘edge’ in E.F. especially in speed of task performance for preterm children2. This study also contributes to psycholinguistic theory: productive, creative capacity in the L2 may be a required threshold to reap the benefits of bilingualismStatistical Parametric Mapping (f-static map for 1 subject). Location of fNIRS sources, detectors, and channels*Go/No-Go Protocol adapted for fNIRS. NIRStim. NIRStar.Experimental setup for Go/No-Go Protocol for fNIRS.Optimized for noise reductionPrefrontal cortex optode and headband setup. 8 sources and 7 detectorsDCCS Protocol adapted for fNIRS. NIRStim. NIRStar.Experimental setup for DCCS Protocol for fNIRS. Optimized for noise reductionDCCS Standard and Border Version. Test cards used and rulesBialystok E. (2010). Global-local and trail-making tasks by monolingual and bilingual children: Beyond inhibition. Developmental Psychology, 46, 93-105. Montrul, S. (2016). Heritage language development: Connecting the dots. International Journal of Bilingualism, 22, 530-46.Tetel Andresen, J. & Carter, P. (2016). Languages in the World: How History, Culture, and Politics Shape Language. Wiley-Blackwell.Zelazo, P. D. (2006). The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS): a method of assessing executive function in children. Nature Protocols, 1, 297-301• Special thanks to all our research participants and their families• Thanks to the Adaptive Neural System Laboratory staff and graduate students• Supported by, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kranys Innovation Fund, LanguageLearning Grant• No significant difference in preterm birth weight, gestational age, length of stay, presence or grade of IVH, nor oxygen at day 28• Also no significant difference in SES, operationalized as parental highest year of education completed Oxyhemoglobin:- in both the border and color dimensions, the bilingual preterm-born children showed significantly lower changes in hbO when compared to the monolingual preterm-born children- No significant changes in hbO observed in the shape dimension.Deoxy-hemoglobin: - The monolingual children showed significant increases in hbR levels while the bilingual group showed significant decreases in hbR levels – for all dimensions• Both groups performed similarly in terms of accuracy• Bilingual preterm-born children were significantly faster – on both tests of EF Oxyhemoglobin: The bilingual preterm-born children showed a significantly greater decrease in hbO levels when compared to the monolingual preterm-born children.Deoxy-hemoglobin: The monolingual preterm-born children showed significant increases in hbR levels while bilingual group showed a significant decrease in hbR levels.fNIRS

Bilingualism enhances preterm-born children’s executive function: An fNIRSstudy

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Scholarly Commons@Baptist Health South Florida