title: Early setting of grammatical processing in the bilingual brain.
abstract: The existence of a "critical period" for language acquisition is controversial. Bilingual subjects with variable age of acquisition (AOA) and proficiency level (PL) constitute a suitable model to study this issue. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the effects of AOA and PL on neural correlates of grammatical and semantic judgments in Italian-German bilinguals who learned the second language at different ages and had different proficiency levels. While the pattern of brain activity for semantic judgment was largely dependent on PL, AOA mainly affected the cortical representation of grammatical processes. These findings support the view that both AOA and PL affect the neural substrates of second language processing, with a differential effect on grammar and semantics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Charité, Humboldt-University, Schumannstr. 20-21, 10117 Berlin, Germany. isabell.wartenburger@charite.de
authors.forename: Isabell
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wartenburger
authors.forename: Hauke R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Heekeren
authors.forename: Jubin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abutalebi
authors.forename: Stefano F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Cappa
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villringer
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Perani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007807:Language Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D011699:Putamen / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*