Neural specialization and reading ability

old_uid14098
titleNeural specialization and reading ability
start_date2014/06/05
schedule09h30-12h30
onlineno
location_infoBât. B, salle de conférence B011
detailsCross-linguistic and neurolinguistic  perspectives on reading and speech processing
summaryThe brain becomes specialized with exposure to the environment. One piece of evidence comes from how the language system shapes brain function. In a cross-linguistic developmental study, we show growing divergence between Chinese reading and English reading from children to adults. We found that specialization is positively correlated with proficiency. For example, there is reduced specialization in children with reading disability. Another example is proficiency effect in bilinguals, where we found greater specialization with higher proficiency in a group of late Chinese-English bilinguals. We also found that specialization can be facilitated by providing more effective instruction. In a series of training studies, we compared writing and visual-only learning in English learners of Chinese, and we found writing training evoked a more native-like brain network, suggesting greater specialization and accommodation. In summary, the brain becomes specialized with language experience and optimal instruction will promote the process of specialization.
responsiblesBureau