Мячиков Андрей Викторович

Bilingualism and Reserve: Etiology of Successful Aging

2021 · CHAPTER · en

In bilingualism research, there is a rapidly growing interest towards potential neuroprotective mechanisms against age-related cognitive decline, supported by dual and multiple language use. In this brief review, we discuss existing evidence, which generally suggests that bilingualism may foster neuroplastic changes resulting in beneficial consequences for the brain both at the structural level and at the functional one during later stages of life. First, we outline the interplay between the neural function and the bilingual experience. We then propose how bilingual and multilingual experience may protect the mind and the brain from the age-related cognitive decline and its consequences. We continue by discussing the notions of cognitive and brain reserve and contextualize existing findings from bilingualism literature with regard to this newly proposed reserve framework. We highlight how bilingualism-induced neural and cognitive changes may pave the way for the development of the neural foundations of reserve: both at the neuroanatomical and at the cognitive levels. We conclude our review by proposing possible models of bilingualism-induced successful aging.

Языковая аттриция: механизмы возникновения, особенности изучения и перспективы дальнейших исследований

2021 · ARTICLE · ru

Данный теоретический обзор посвящен прояснению понятия «языковая аттриция» путем определения феноменологических и контекстуальных особенностей его использования, обсуждения связанных с определением понятия противоречий, а также предложения потенциальных направлений будущих исследований. Обзор начинается с рассмотрения различных подходов к определению феномена аттриции и связанных с этим несоответствий. Затем в работе обсуждаются механизмы, лежащие в основе языковой аттриции, и рассматриваются имеющиеся доказательства, подтверждающие различные исходные гипотезы. В конце обзора нами предпринимается попытка заложить основу для построения единой теоретической основы феномена аттриции, позволяющей обобщить имеющиеся эмпирические данные. Для этого мы предлагаем применить строгий нейробиологический подход к поиску нейронных маркеров языковой аттриции в различных лингвистических областях, выдвигая гипотетические экспериментальные способы выявления нейронных следов аттриции и формулируя прогнозы для каждой из предложенных экспериментальных парадигм.

Behavioral and Neurophysiological Correlates of Orthographic Learning in L1 and L2 Alphabets

2021 · CHAPTER · en

The acquisition of new orthographic representations is a rapid and highly automatic process in monolingual readers. Our study extends existing research to biliterate populations, addressing the impact of phonological inconsistencies across native (L1) and second language (L2) alphabets during orthographic learning. Behavioral and EEG signals were collected from a group of 24 Russian-English biliterates via a reading-aloud task using familiar and novel words repeated across ten consecutive blocks in three Script conditions: (1) native Cyrillic, (2) non-native Roman, and (3) ambiguous (phonologically inconsistent graphemes shared by L1 and L2 alphabets). Linear mixed-effects modelling of both behavioral and ERP data revealed reliable Block x Lexicality x Script interactions, indicating that naming latencies and brain activity changed differently across training blocks for novel and familiar words and, importantly, depending on script presentation. Particularly, novel words presented in the ambiguous script showed longer naming latencies and slower reading automatization than those presented in L1 and L2 alphabets. Nonetheless, despite this interference, their naming latencies matched those of familiar words before the end of the training, suggesting the attribution of their representations in the reader's lexicon. The enhancement of early brain responses observed for these stimuli alongside their training confirmed the improvement in their orthographic analysis and lexical access. Critically, this pattern of results was not found for familiar, already represented words, which exhibited a suppression of their brain activity across repetitions. Overall, our results indicate that phonological inconsistency interferes with novel word encoding but it does not prevent efficient attribution of orthographic representations.

Biliteracy and acquisition of novel written words: the impact of phonological conflict between L1 and L2 scripts

2021 · ARTICLE · en

The acquisition of new orthographic representations is a rapid and accurate process in proficient monolingual readers. The present study used biliterate and bialphabetic population to address the impact of phonological inconsistencies across the native (L1) and second (L2) alphabets. Naming latencies were collected from 50 Russian–English biliterates through a reading-aloud task with familiar and novel word forms repeated across 10 blocks. There were three Script conditions: (1) native Cyrillic, (2) non-native Roman, and (3) Ambiguous (with graphically identical, but phonologically inconsistent graphemes shared by both alphabets). Our analysis revealed the main effect of Script on both reading and orthographic learning: naming latencies during training were longer for the ambiguous stimuli, particularly for the novel ones. Nonetheless, novel word forms in the ambiguous condition approached the latencies for the familiar words along the exposures, although this effect was faster in the phonologically consistent trials. Post-training tests revealed similarly successful performance patterns for previously familiar and newly trained forms, indicating successful rapid acquisition of the latter. Furthermore, we found the highest free recall rates for the ambiguous stimuli. Overall, our results indicate that phonological inconsistency initially interferes with the efficiency of novel word encoding. Nevertheless, it does not prevent efficient attribution of orthographic representations; instead, the knowledge of two distinct alphabets supports a more efficient learning and a better memory for ambiguous stimuli via enhancing their encoding and retrieval.

Attriters and Bilinguals: What’s in a Name?

2021 · ARTICLE · en

The use of language as a universal tool for communication and interaction is the backbone of human society. General sociocultural milieu and specific contextual factors can strongly influence various aspects of linguistic experience, including language acquisition and use and the respective internal neurolinguistic processes. This is particularly relevant in the case of bilingualism, which encompasses a diverse set of linguistic experiences, greatly influenced by societal, cultural, educational, and personal factors. In this perspective piece, we focus on a specific type of linguistic experience: non-pathological first-language (L1) attrition - a phenomenon that is strongly tied to immersion in non-L1 environments. We present our view on what may be the essence of L1 attrition and suggest ways of examining it as a type of bilingual experience,

First Language Attrition: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and What It Can Be

2021 · ARTICLE · en

This review aims at clarifying the concept of first language attrition by tracing its limits, identifying its phenomenological and contextual constraints, discussing controversies associated with its definition, and suggesting potential directions for future research. We start by reviewing different definitions of attrition as well as associated inconsistencies. We then discuss the underlying mechanisms of first language attrition and review available evidence supporting different background hypotheses. Finally, we attempt to provide the groundwork to build a unified theoretical framework allowing for generalizable results. To this end, we suggest the deployment of a rigorous neuroscientific approach, in search of neural markers of first language attrition in different linguistic domains,

Grounding Novel Words Into Emotion: ERP Investigation

2021 · ARTICLE · en

Learning novel words is crucial for efficient communication abilities. While previous research has extensively addressed mechanisms of novel word representation at surface levels, little is known about the formation of new word-forms and corresponding modality-specific representations attributed via perceptual, motor, or emotional systems. In order to address this question, here we recorded EEG in 20 participants while they were trained with 16 novel visual word-forms in association with linguistic and meaningful emotional sounds.

Abstracts and authors of the 8th International Conference on Spatial Cognition: Cognition and Action in a Plurality of Spaces (ICSC 2021)

2021 · ARTICLE · en

Access to time words engage a complex spatial mapping where individual concepts are represented along horizontal, vertical, and sagittal axes. However, most existing studies demonstrate spatial biases in individual time units (i.e., months, days of the week, or hours of the day) using different experimental tasks and paradigms while few studies attempt to compare access to the distinct time concepts within a single study by using a uniform and comparable experimental protocol. Here, we used time units (days, months, hours) with hypothesized left (e.g., Monday) and right (e.g., Saturday) spatial biases in a horizontal line bisection study. We investigated whether horizontal time flow is perceived uniformly across different mea- surement units. Fifty-seven native Russian speakers (37 females, age 21.5 ± 4.1 years) listened to time words before using mouse cursor to indicate where that unit may be located on a horizontal line with extreme points biasing left, right, or central positioning of the pro- cessed word. Task-related reaction times (RTs) and response coordinates were recorded and analyzed using ANOVAs. Our anal- yses revealed (1) direction-congruent shift in participants’ responses (x-coordinates, mouse endpoint) as well as (2) faster RTs in congruent conditions (e.g., left semantic bias ? left position) for all time units. However, a reliable main effect of Unit Type indicated that RTs were graded in the following order: hours \ days \ months. We conclude that while left-to-right mapping of time concepts is relatively uni- versal, the horizontal mapping is stronger for hours and days of the week, as compared to months.

Exploring time interval estimation for familiar and unfamiliar musical pieces

2021 · CHAPTER · en

Understanding Language Attrition through Orthography

2021 · ARTICLE · en

The decay in the proficiency of the native language (L1), known as first language attrition, is one of the least understood phenomena associated with the acquisition of a second language (L2). Indeed, the exact cause for the deterioration in L1 performance, be that either the interference from L2 acquisition or the less frequent use of L1, still remains elusive. In this opinion paper, we focus on one largely understudied aspect of L1 attrition—namely, the erosion of the L1 orthographic knowledge under the influence of L2 orthography. In particular, we propose to study differences in orthographic processing between mono- and bilingual populations as an approach, which, in turn, will allow to address both cognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying L1 attrition. We discuss relevant experimental paradigms, variable manipulations and appropriate research methods that may help disentangle the largely debated question of L2 interference vs. L1 disuse, clarifying the nature of the L1 orthographic attrition.