Dynamic effects of bilingualism on brain structure map onto general principles of experience-based neuroplasticity

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68378050%3A90062%2F23%3A00637177" target="_blank" >RIV/68378050:90062/23:00637177 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30326-3" target="_blank" >https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30326-3</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30326-3" target="_blank" >10.1038/s41598-023-30326-3</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Dynamic effects of bilingualism on brain structure map onto general principles of experience-based neuroplasticity

Original language description

Bilingualism has been linked to structural adaptations of subcortical brain regions that are important for controlling multiple languages. However, research on the location and extent of these adaptations has yielded variable patterns, especially as far as the subcortical regions are concerned. Existing literature on bilingualism-induced brain restructuring has so far largely overseen evidence from other domains showing that experience-based structural neuroplasticity often triggers non-linear adaptations which follow expansion-renormalisation trajectories. Here we use generalised additive mixed models to investigate the non-linear effects of quantified bilingual experiences on the basal ganglia and the thalamus in a sample of bilinguals with a wide range of bilingual experiences. Our results revealed that volumes of the bilateral caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens were significantly related to bilingual experiences. Importantly, these followed a non-linear pattern, with increases followed by plateauing in the most experienced bilinguals, suggesting that experience-based volumetric increases are only necessary up to a certain level of bilingual experience. Moreover, the volumes of putamen and thalamus were positively predicted by bilingual experiences. The results offer the first direct evidence that bilingualism, similarly to other cognitively demanding skills, leads to dynamic subcortical structural adaptations which can be nonlinear, in line with expansion-renormalisation models of experience-dependent neuroplasticity.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30103 - Neurosciences (including psychophysiology)

Project

—

Continuities

—

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Scientific Reports

ISSN

2045-2322

e-ISSN

2045-2322

Volume of the periodical

13

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

10

Pages from-to

3428

UT code for WoS article

000943287300025

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85149153472