Biology subjects

Malik-Moraleda, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Malik-Moraleda, S..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Functional characterization of the language network of polyglots and hyperpolyglots with precision fMRI

How do polyglots--individuals who speak five or more languages--process their languages, and what can this population tell us about the language system? Using fMRI, we identified the language network in each of 34 polyglots (including 16 hyperpolyglots with knowledge of 10+ languages) and examined its response to the native language, non-native languages of varying proficiency, and unfamiliar languages. All language conditions engaged all areas of the language network relative to a control condition. Languages that participants rated as higher-proficiency elicited stronger responses, except for the native language, which elicited a similar or lower response than a non-native language of similar proficiency. Furthermore, unfamiliar languages that were typologically related to the participants high-to-moderate-proficiency languages elicited a stronger response than unfamiliar unrelated languages. The results suggest that the language networks response magnitude scales with the degree of engagement of linguistic computations (e.g., related to lexical access and syntactic-structure building). We also replicated a prior finding of weaker responses to native language in polyglots than non-polyglot bilinguals. These results contribute to our understanding of how multiple languages co-exist within a single brain and provide new evidence that the language network responds more strongly to stimuli that more fully engage linguistic computations.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

The universal language network: A cross-linguistic investigation spanning 45 languages and 11 language families.

To understand the architecture of human language, it is critical to examine diverse languages; yet most cognitive neuroscience research has focused on a handful of primarily Indo-European languages. Here, we report an investigation of the fronto-temporo-parietal language network across 45 languages and establish the robustness to cross-linguistic variation of its topography and key functional properties, including left-lateralization, strong functional integration among its brain regions, and functional selectivity for language processing.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

The human language system does not support music processing

Language and music are two human-unique capacities whose relationship remains debated. Some have argued for overlap in processing mechanisms, especially for structure processing. Such claims often concern the inferior frontal component of the language system located within Brocas area. However, others have failed to find overlap. Using a robust individual-subject fMRI approach, we examined the responses of language brain regions to music stimuli, and probed the musical abilities of individuals with severe aphasia. Across four experiments, we obtained a clear answer: music perception does not engage the language system, and judgments about music structure are possible even in the presence of severe damage to the language network. In particular, the language regions responses to music are generally low, often below the fixation baseline, and never exceed responses elicited by non-music auditory conditions, like animal sounds. Further, the language regions are not sensitive to music structure: they show low responses to intact and structure-scrambled music, and to melodies with vs. without structural violations. Finally, in line with past patient investigations, individuals with aphasia who cannot judge sentence grammaticality perform well on melody well-formedness judgments. Thus the mechanisms that process structure in language do not appear to process music, including music syntax.

neuroscience↗