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English and Spanish Bilinguals’ Language Processing: An ALE-Based Meta-analysis of Neuroimaging Studies

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Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision (PRCV 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14431))

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Abstract

The neural mechanisms underlying language processing in English and Spanish bilinguals remain a topic of intense investigation. No neuroimaging meta-analyses about English and Spanish bilinguals’ language processing, nevertheless, appeared in the past. In this meta-analysis, Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) technique was used to synthesize findings from 13 neuroimaging studies of total 231 Spanish-English or English-Spanish bilinguals. Results showed that there existed 6 peaks in 4 activated brain regions during Spanish processing and 13 peaks in 11 activated brain regions during English processing. In addition, results revealed two distinct peaks of two brain regions commonly activated during language processing across both languages: right insula and left precentral gyrus which may become potential markers for individuals who are bilingual in both English and Spanish. In addition, we found no significant difference in activation between English and Spanish, indicating that these two languages may engage similar neural pathways during language processing.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 62207021), in part by the Basic Research Program for the Natural Science of Shaanxi Province of China under Grant 2022JM134, and in part by the start-up foundation from Xi’an International Studies University (No. KYQDF202138).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of English Studies, Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an, 710128, China

    Linqiao Liu & Aoke Zheng

  2. Key Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience of Language, Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an, 710128, China

    Linqiao Liu, Yan He & Aoke Zheng

Authors
  1. Linqiao Liu
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  2. Yan He
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  3. Aoke Zheng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan He .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

    Qingshan Liu

  2. Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

    Hanzi Wang

  3. Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China

    Zhanyu Ma

  4. Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Weishi Zheng

  5. Peking University, Beijing, China

    Hongbin Zha

  6. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Xilin Chen

  7. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Liang Wang

  8. Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

    Rongrong Ji

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Liu, L., He, Y., Zheng, A. (2024). English and Spanish Bilinguals’ Language Processing: An ALE-Based Meta-analysis of Neuroimaging Studies. In: Liu, Q., et al. Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision. PRCV 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14431. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8540-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8540-1_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-8539-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-8540-1

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