Distinct cortical areas associated with native and second languages
Abstract
The ability to acquire and use several languages selectively is a unique and essential human capacity. Here we investigate the fundamental question of how multiple languages are represented in a human brain. We applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine the spatial relationship between native and second languages in the human cortex, and show that within the frontal-lobe language-sensitive regions (Broca's area), second languages acquired in adulthood (`late' bilingual subjects) are spatially separated from native languages. However, when acquired during the early language acquisition stage of development (`early' bilingual subjects), native and second languages tend to be represented in common frontal cortical areas. In both late and early bilingual subjects, the temporal-lobe language-sensitive regions (Wernicke's area) also show effectively little or no separation of activity based on the age of language acquisition. This discovery of language-specific regions in Broca's area advances our understanding of the cortical representation that underlies multiple language functions.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- July 1997
- Bibcode:
- 1997Natur.388..171K