title: Cognitive control of language production in bilinguals involves a partly independent process within the domain-general cognitive control network: evidence from task-switching and electrical brain activity.
abstract: In highly proficient, early bilinguals, behavioural studies of the cost of switching language or task suggest qualitative differences between language control and domain-general cognitive control. By contrast, several neuroimaging studies have shown an overlap of the brain areas involved in language control and domain-general cognitive control. The current study measured both behavioural responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) from bilinguals who performed picture naming in single- or mixed-language contexts, as well as an alphanumeric categorisation task in single- or mixed-task context. Analysis of switch costs during the mixed-context conditions showed qualitative differences between language control and domain-general cognitive control. A 2 × 2 ANOVA of the ERPs, with domain (linguistic, alphanumeric) and context (single, mixed) as within-participant factors, revealed a significant interaction, which also suggests a partly independent language-control mechanism. Source estimations revealed the neural basis of this mechanism to be in bilateral frontal-temporal areas.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Sciences, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Magezi
authors.forename: Asaid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khateb
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mouthon
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spierer
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Annoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D019303:Multilingualism; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology