title: Language learning under working memory constraints correlates with microstructural differences in the ventral language pathway.
abstract: The present study combined behavioral measures and diffusion tensor imaging to investigate the neuroanatomical basis of language learning in relation to phonological working memory (WM). Participants were exposed to simplified artificial languages under WM constraints. The results underscore the role of the rehearsal subcomponent of WM in successful speech segmentation and rule learning. Moreover, when rehearsal was blocked task performance was correlated to the white matter microstructure of the left ventral pathway connecting frontal and temporal language-related cortical areas through the extreme/external capsule. This ventral pathway may therefore play an important additional role in language learning when the main dorsal pathway-dependent rehearsal mechanisms are not available.
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08097 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lopez-Barroso
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Diego-Balaguer
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cunillera
authors.forename: Estela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Camara
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Münte
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Fornells
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult