title: Grey matter volume in the cerebellum is related to the processing of grammatical rules in a second language: a structural voxel-based morphometry study.
abstract: The experience of learning and using a second language (L2) has been shown to affect the grey matter (GM) structure of the brain. Importantly, GM density in several cortical and subcortical areas has been shown to be related to performance in L2 tasks. Here, we show that bilingualism can lead to increased GM volume in the cerebellum, a structure that has been related to the processing of grammatical rules. Additionally, the cerebellar GM volume of highly proficient L2 speakers is correlated to their performance in a task tapping on grammatical processing in an L2, demonstrating the importance of the cerebellum for the establishment and use of grammatical rules in an L2.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, University of Reading, Harry Pitt Building, Whiteknights, RG6 6AL, Reading, Berkshire, UK, c.pliatsikas@reading.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pliatsikas
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johnstone
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marinis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005385:Fingers; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008037:Linguistics; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009043:Motor Activity; D019303:Multilingualism; D036421:Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated; D009929:Organ Size; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011699:Putamen / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D055815:Young Adult