title: Simultaneous interpreters vs. professional multilingual controls: Group differences in cognitive control as well as brain structure and function.
abstract: There is a vast amount of literature indicating that multiple language expertise leads to positive transfer effects onto other non-language cognitive domains possibly due to enhanced cognitive control. However, there is hardly any evidence about underlying mechanisms on how complex behavior like simultaneous interpreting benefits cognitive functioning in other non-language domains. Therefore, we investigated whether simultaneous interpreters (SIs) exhibit cognitive benefits in tasks measuring aspects of cognitive control compared to a professional multilingual control group. We furthermore investigated in how far potential cognitive benefits are related to brain structure (using voxel-based morphometry) and function (using regions-of-interest-based functional connectivity and graph-analytical measures on low-frequency BOLD signals in resting-state brain data). Concerning cognitive control, the results reveal that SIs exhibit less mixing costs in a task switching paradigm and a dual-task advantage compared to professional multilingual controls. In addition, SIs show more gray matter volume in the left frontal pole (BA 10) compared to controls. Graph theoretical analyses revealed that this region exhibits higher network values for global efficiency and degree and is functionally more strongly connected to the left inferior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus in SIs compared to controls. Thus, the data provide evidence that SIs possess cognitive benefits in tasks measuring cognitive control. It is discussed in how far the central role of the left frontal pole and its stronger functional connectivity to the left inferior frontal gyrus represents a correlate of the neural mechanisms for the observed behavioral effects.
authors.affiliation: University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: max.becker@uke.de.
authors.forename: Maxi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Humboldt University Berlin, Department of Psychology, RudowerChaussee 18, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.affiliation: Medical School Hamburg, Department of Psychology, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Tilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Strobach
authors.affiliation: University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gallinat
authors.affiliation: University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: kuehn@mpib-berlin.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kühn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D011361:Professional Competence; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014163:Transfer, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D014175:Translating
keywords: BA 10; Cognitive control; Frontal pole; Resting state fMRI; Simultaneous interpreting; Voxel-based-morphometry