A neuroimaging study of semantic representation in first and second languages

ABSTRACT

The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to extend the embodied cognition account of language processing to second language (L2). Twenty L2 English speakers and ten native (L1) English speakers were asked to judge the semantic relatedness of English words. Behavioural data showed that L1 speakers performed the task more quickly and accurately as compared to L2 English speakers. Neurocognitive data indicated that L2 action word processing induced greater brain activation than object word processing in key language regions. In addition, although both L1 and L2 processing recruited a large brain network, significant differences were observed: L1 processing of nouns and verbs engaged a more integrated brain network connecting key language areas with sensorimotor and semantic integration nodes; for L2 processing, the connections between the semantic integration hub and sensorimotor regions were not strongly engaged. The present study sheds light on the neurocognitive representation of L2 embodied semantics.

KEYWORDS:

• First language
• second language
• embodied cognition
• nouns and verbs
• brain networks

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (BCS-1533625) to PL and by the Guangdong Pearl River Talents Plan Innovative and Entrepreneurial Team grant (2016ZT06S220), the Innovative School Project in Higher Education of Guangdong, China (GWTP-GC-2017-01), the Social Science Key Research Grant of University in Guangdong Province (2018WZDXM005) to JY, Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong (2020) to RW, and the MOE Project of Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities in P.R. China (17JJD740004) to XZ. XZ and JY contributed equally to this study. We thank Shinyi Fang, Xun Sun, and the staff at the two imaging centres at Penn State University and South China Normal University for their assistance in data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Science Foundation: [Grant Number BCS-1533625]; Social Science Key Research Grant of University in Guangdong Province: [Grant Number 2018WZDXM005]; the MOE Project of Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities in P.R. China: [Grant Number 17JJD740004]; Guangdong Pearl River Talents Plan Innovative and Entrepreneurial Team grant: [Grant Number 2016ZT06S220]; the Innovative School Project in Higher Education of Guangdong: [Grant Number GWTP-GC-2017-01].