A5020367731- Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Reading and Literacy Development
- Language Development and Disorders
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Phonetics and Phonology Research
- Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Multisensory perception and integration
- Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Vascular Malformations Diagnosis and Treatment
- Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications
- Second Language Acquisition and Learning
- Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging
- EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation
- Linguistic Variation and Morphology
- Intracranial Aneurysms: Treatment and Complications
- Fetal and Pediatric Neurological Disorders
- Voice and Speech Disorders
- Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment
- Action Observation and Synchronization
- Vestibular and auditory disorders
McGill University
2015-2024
Centre for Research on Brain Language and Music
2015-2023
Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital
2014-2023
Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience
2021
University of Ottawa
2020
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
2020
Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé
2020
Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod
1998
Royal Victoria Hospital
1998
University of the Witwatersrand
1987-1992
We used positron emission tomography to investigate word generation in subjects whose first language was English but who were also proficient French. These performed three types of lexical search: rhyme based on phonological cues, synonym requiring a semantic search, and translation involving access representation the other language. Two control tasks required repetition each investigated whether word-generation activate similar regions same neural substrates subserve second as first. A...
The neural representation of the languages polyglot speaker has been highly controversial. We used positron emission tomography (PET) to investigate whether production in a second language (L2) involves same substrates as that first (L1) normal bilingual subjects who learned L2 after age 5 years. Comparison cerebral blood flow (CBF) when repeating words and L1 yielded only single significant CBF change: an increase left putamen. hypothesize this region plays specific role for articulation...
Of current interest is how variations in early language experience shape patterns of functional connectivity the human brain. In present study, we compared simultaneous (two languages from birth) and sequential (second learned after age 5 years) bilinguals using a seed-based resting-state MRI approach. We focused on inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) as our ROI, recent studies have demonstrated both neurofunctional neurostructural changes related to second acquisition this cortical area. Stronger...
Significance Using functional MRI we examined the unconscious influence of early experience on later brain outcomes. Internationally adopted (IA) children (aged 9–17 years), who were completely separated from their birth language (Chinese) at 12.8 mo age, average, displayed activation to Chinese linguistic elements that precisely matched native speakers, despite fact IA had no subsequent exposure and conscious recollection language. Importantly, differed monolingual French speakers with...
Abstract Despite the multifactorial space of language experience in which people continuously vary, bilinguals are often dichotomized into ostensibly homogeneous groups. The timing exposure (age acquisition) to a second (L2) is one well-studied construct that known impact processing, cognitive and brain organization, but recent work shows current also crucial determinant these domains. Critically, many indices bilingual inherently subjective based on self-report questionnaires. Such measures...
Due to the ubiquitous nature of language in environment infants, how it affects anatomical structure brain system over lifespan is not well understood. In this study, we investigated effects early experience on adult by examining features individuals born deaf with typical or restricted childhood. Twenty-two adults whose primary was American Sign Language and were first immersed at ages ranging from birth 14 y participated. The control group 21 hearing non-signers. We acquired T1-weighted...
POSITRON emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate cerebral organization in seven subjects who had Mandarin Chinese as their native language (L1), and learned English (L2) later life. When activation from word repetition subtracted verb generation L1 L2, CBF increases were observed for both languages left inferior frontal, dorsolateral temporal parietal cortices, right cerebellum. Direct comparison of the difference between L2 revealed no significant differences. Within-subject...
There is considerable variability in an individual's ability to acquire a second language (L2) during adulthood. Using resting-state fMRI data acquired before training English speakers who underwent 12 week intensive French immersion course, we investigated whether individual differences intrinsic functional connectivity relate person's L2. We focused on two key aspects of processing--lexical retrieval spontaneous speech and reading speed--and computed whole-brain from regions interest the...
Abstract Early experiences may establish a foundation for later learning, however, influences of early language experience on neural processing are unknown. We investigated whether maintenance templates from subsequent processing. Using fMRI, we scanned the following three groups performing French phonological working memory (PWM) task: (1) monolingual children; (2) children adopted China before age 3 who discontinued Chinese and spoke only French; (3) Chinese-speaking learned as second but...
The inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) is a white matter tract that connects the occipital and temporal lobes. ILF abnormalities have been associated with deficits in visual processing language comprehension dementia patients, thus suggesting its integrity important for semantic processing. However, it remains elusive whether microstructural organization per se impacts efficiency healthy brain. present study aims to investigate there an association between ILF's at individual level. We...
The remarkable human capacity for bilingual and multilingual acquisition raises fundamental questions about how the brain develops efficient systems processing multiple languages. In this study, we used neural network models trained on natural speech input to examine these representations emerge. Our show that phonological can self-organize through parallel representations, preserving unique aspects of each language while maintaining shared articulatory features. This structure scaled...
Perception is inherently subjective and the way people categorize or judge world around them can differ. While recent studies have shown how to uncover features of mental representations underlying similarity judgments, they generally ignore individual differences. In this paper, we propose a computational framework based on ”odd-one-out” task identify shared set that describe similarities between stimuli, while allowing for fact different may prioritize these differently. We show prior...
Abstract Learning a specific skill during childhood may partly determine the functional organization of adult brain. This hypothesis led us to study brain activation patterns using positron emission tomography (PET), in which we compared word and nonword repetition 10 right‐handed native English‐speakers (L1) who were proficient their second language, French (L2), was learned after age 5 years. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measured by H 2 15 O intravenous bolus method with...