Research Techniques and the Bilingual Brain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23722875 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sibylla LEON GUERRERO (0000-0002-6369-9977, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-11 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal1010.pub2 |
| OpenAlex | W4410749619 |
| ISBN | 9781405198431 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
Research on the bilingual brain seeks to understand the neural processes and structures that underlie the ability to learn and use more than one language. Early neurological research used behavioral methods in conjunction with postmortem anatomical dissections to locate language in discrete brain regions. Modern advances in computing and imaging technology have enabled in vivo, noninvasive, and more direct methods for characterizing interconnected neural structures and functions across the whole brain. This entry provides an overview of research approaches and techniques employed to investigate brain structures and functions relevant to bilingual experience and language processing. While a number of behavioral (e.g., dichotic listening and psychophysics) and online (e.g., eye tracking) techniques allow researchers and clinicians to make inferences about cognition and language processing by measuring physical or verbal responses outside the brain, this entry focuses on more direct techniques capturing structure and activity within the brain itself. Structural techniques include measures of the magnitude, spatial distribution and properties of brain cells, and metabolic by‐products. Functional techniques measure brain activity, either directly capturing electrical currents or magnetic ones produced by groups of neurons or indirectly capturing changes in the biological markers of neural activity, such as glucose consumption, blood flow in the cerebral vasculature, and blood oxygenation. Key research topics examining the bilingual brain are briefly discussed. Lastly, references to key tutorials and in‐depth reviews of the techniques are provided.
Linguistics · Natural language processing · Computer Science · Language Development and Disorders · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Philosophy · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development
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Brain changes associated with language development and learning
| Highly cited | No |
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