Cortical thickness of Broca's area and right homologue is related to grammar learning aptitude and pitch discrimination proficiency
(2019) In Brain and Language 188. p.42-47- Abstract
Aptitude for and proficiency in acquiring new languages varies in the human population but their neural bases are largely unknown. We investigated the influence of cortical thickness on language learning predictors measured by the LLAMA tests and a pitch-change discrimination test. The LLAMA tests are first language-independent assessments of language learning aptitude for vocabulary, phonetic working memory, sound-symbol correspondence (not used in this study), and grammatical inferencing. Pitch perception proficiency is known to predict aptitude for learning new phonology. Results show a correlation between scores in a grammatical meaning-inferencing aptitude test and cortical thickness of Broca's area (r(30) = 0.65, p = 0.0202) and... (More)
Aptitude for and proficiency in acquiring new languages varies in the human population but their neural bases are largely unknown. We investigated the influence of cortical thickness on language learning predictors measured by the LLAMA tests and a pitch-change discrimination test. The LLAMA tests are first language-independent assessments of language learning aptitude for vocabulary, phonetic working memory, sound-symbol correspondence (not used in this study), and grammatical inferencing. Pitch perception proficiency is known to predict aptitude for learning new phonology. Results show a correlation between scores in a grammatical meaning-inferencing aptitude test and cortical thickness of Broca's area (r(30) = 0.65, p = 0.0202) and other frontal areas (r(30) = 0.66, p = 0.0137). Further, a correlation was found between proficiency in discriminating pitch-change direction and cortical thickness of the right Broca homologue (r(30) = 0.57, p = 0.0006). However, no correlations were found for aptitude for vocabulary learning or phonetic working memory. Results contribute to locating cortical regions important for language-learning aptitude.
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- author
- Novén, Mikael LU ; Schremm, Andrea LU ; Nilsson, Markus LU ; Horne, Merle LU and Roll, Mikael LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Broca's area, Cortical thickness, Inferior frontal gyrus, Language learning aptitude
- in
- Brain and Language
- volume
- 188
- pages
- 6 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:30572263
- scopus:85058521570
- ISSN
- 0093-934X
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.12.002
- project
- Tone-Grammar Interaction in the Human Brain: Mechanisms and Applications
- The language melody game (LMG): Learning Swedish word accents using IT and digital media
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 9096812b-c2e2-41e2-a8d6-58fdc082859f
- date added to LUP
- 2019-01-02 13:31:08
- date last changed
- 2024-10-15 14:47:50
@article{9096812b-c2e2-41e2-a8d6-58fdc082859f, abstract = {{<p>Aptitude for and proficiency in acquiring new languages varies in the human population but their neural bases are largely unknown. We investigated the influence of cortical thickness on language learning predictors measured by the LLAMA tests and a pitch-change discrimination test. The LLAMA tests are first language-independent assessments of language learning aptitude for vocabulary, phonetic working memory, sound-symbol correspondence (not used in this study), and grammatical inferencing. Pitch perception proficiency is known to predict aptitude for learning new phonology. Results show a correlation between scores in a grammatical meaning-inferencing aptitude test and cortical thickness of Broca's area (r(30) = 0.65, p = 0.0202) and other frontal areas (r(30) = 0.66, p = 0.0137). Further, a correlation was found between proficiency in discriminating pitch-change direction and cortical thickness of the right Broca homologue (r(30) = 0.57, p = 0.0006). However, no correlations were found for aptitude for vocabulary learning or phonetic working memory. Results contribute to locating cortical regions important for language-learning aptitude.</p>}}, author = {{Novén, Mikael and Schremm, Andrea and Nilsson, Markus and Horne, Merle and Roll, Mikael}}, issn = {{0093-934X}}, keywords = {{Broca's area; Cortical thickness; Inferior frontal gyrus; Language learning aptitude}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{42--47}}, publisher = {{Elsevier}}, series = {{Brain and Language}}, title = {{Cortical thickness of Broca's area and right homologue is related to grammar learning aptitude and pitch discrimination proficiency}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2018.12.002}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.bandl.2018.12.002}}, volume = {{188}}, year = {{2019}}, }