title: Activation of writing-specific brain regions when reading Chinese as a second language. Effects of training modality and transfer to novel characters.
abstract: We examined the implication of training modality on the cortical representation of Chinese words in adult second language learners of Chinese. In particular, we tested the implication of the neural substrates of writing in a reading task. The brain network sustaining finger writing was defined neuroanatomically based on an independent functional localizer. We examined the brain activations elicited by Chinese words learned via writing vs. pronunciation, and by novel untrained words, within regions of interest (ROIs) defined according to the position of the activation peaks in the localizer, and at the whole brain level. We revealed activations in the reading task that overlapped with several parts of the finger writing network. In addition, our results provide evidence that the neural substrates of writing are differentially involved in reading depending on the stored knowledge for words, as revealed by the fine-grained response of several regions including the left superior parietal lobule and left precentral gyrus / superior frontal sulcus to the experimental manipulations. Training modality and the linguistic properties of the characters also impacted the response of the left mid-fusiform gyrus, confirming its involvement as the brain region where linguistic, visual and sensorimotor information converge during orthographic processing. At the behavioral level, global handwriting quality during the training sessions was positively correlated to the final translation performance. Our results demonstrate substantial overlap in the neural substrates of reading and writing, and indicate that some regions sustaining handwriting are differentially involved in reading depending on the type of knowledge associated with words.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LPL-UMR 7309, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France; Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC-UMR 7291, 13005 Marseille, France. Electronic address: aurelie.lagarrigue@blri.fr.
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lagarrigue
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC-UMR 7291, 13005 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Marieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Longcamp
authors.affiliation: Centre IRM Fonctionnelle de Marseille, INT-UMR 7289, CNRS Université Aix Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Jean Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Anton
authors.affiliation: Centre IRM Fonctionnelle de Marseille, INT-UMR 7289, CNRS Université Aix Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nazarian
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LPL-UMR 7309, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prévot
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC-UMR 7291, 13005 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Velay
authors.affiliation: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LPL-UMR 7309, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France.
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Frenck-Mestre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D019303:Multilingualism; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011932:Reading; D014956:Writing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chinese characters; Handwriting; Reading; Second language learning; fMRI