Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, and Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
BMC Psychol. 2022 Jul 8;10(1):169. doi: 10.1186/s40359-022-00873-x.
While it is well established that second language (L2) learning success changes with age and across individuals, the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for this developmental shift and these individual differences are largely unknown. We will study the behavioral and neural factors that subserve new grammar and word learning in a large cross-sectional developmental sample. This study falls under the NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [Dutch Research Council]) Language in Interaction consortium (website: https://www.languageininteraction.nl/ ).
We will sample 360 healthy individuals across a broad age range between 8 and 25 years. In this paper, we describe the study design and protocol, which involves multiple study visits covering a comprehensive behavioral battery and extensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols. On the basis of these measures, we will create behavioral and neural fingerprints that capture age-based and individual variability in new language learning. The behavioral fingerprint will be based on first and second language proficiency, memory systems, and executive functioning. We will map the neural fingerprint for each participant using the following MRI modalities: T1-weighted, diffusion-weighted, resting-state functional MRI, and multiple functional-MRI paradigms. With respect to the functional MRI measures, half of the sample will learn grammatical features and half will learn words of a new language. Combining all individual fingerprints allows us to explore the neural maturation effects on grammar and word learning.
This will be one of the largest neuroimaging studies to date that investigates the developmental shift in L2 learning covering preadolescence to adulthood. Our comprehensive approach of combining behavioral and neuroimaging data will contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms influencing this developmental shift and individual differences in new language learning. We aim to answer: (I) do these fingerprints differ according to age and can these explain the age-related differences observed in new language learning? And (II) which aspects of the behavioral and neural fingerprints explain individual differences (across and within ages) in grammar and word learning? The results of this study provide a unique opportunity to understand how the development of brain structure and function influence new language learning success.
虽然第二语言（L2）学习的成功会随着年龄和个体的变化而变化已经得到了很好的证实，但导致这种发展转变和个体差异的潜在神经机制在很大程度上仍是未知的。我们将在一个大型的跨年龄发展样本中研究促进新语法和单词学习的行为和神经因素。这项研究属于 NWO（荷兰研究理事会）语言互动联盟（网站：https://www.languageininteraction.nl/）。
我们将在 8 至 25 岁的广泛年龄范围内抽取 360 名健康个体。在本文中，我们描述了研究设计和方案，该方案涉及多个研究访问，涵盖了全面的行为测试和广泛的磁共振成像（MRI）方案。基于这些测量结果，我们将创建行为和神经指纹，以捕获新语言学习中的年龄和个体差异。行为指纹将基于第一语言和第二语言的熟练程度、记忆系统和执行功能。我们将使用以下 MRI 模式为每位参与者绘制神经指纹：T1 加权、弥散加权、静息态功能 MRI 和多个功能 MRI 范式。关于功能 MRI 测量，一半的样本将学习语法特征，另一半将学习新语言的单词。结合所有个体指纹，我们可以探索神经成熟对语法和单词学习的影响。
这将是迄今为止最大的神经影像学研究之一，调查了涵盖青春期到成年期的第二语言学习的发展转变。我们综合的行为和神经影像学数据的方法将有助于理解影响这种发展转变和新语言学习个体差异的机制。我们旨在回答：（I）这些指纹是否根据年龄而有所不同，并且这些指纹能否解释在新语言学习中观察到的年龄相关差异？以及（II）行为和神经指纹的哪些方面可以解释语法和单词学习的个体差异（跨年龄和同年龄内）？这项研究的结果提供了一个独特的机会，可以了解大脑结构和功能的发展如何影响新语言学习的成功。
