López-Rojas Cristina, Csilinkó Anikó, Bajo Mª Teresa, Marful Alejandra
Research Center for Mind, Brain and Behaviour, 18011 Granada, Spain.
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain.
Brain Sci. 2023 Feb 20;13(2):365. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13020365.
Language influences how we process information from multiple domains. Thus, working in first (L1) or second language (L2) can modulate bilinguals' performance on basic activities, such as visual search, decision-making, or reading. However, few studies have explored the role of L1 and L2 processing during an essential ability, such as Prospective Memory (PM). This type of memory allows us to set intentions to perform in the future (e.g., to attend an appointment). Thus, this is a novel study that allows us to explore the influence of bilingual language processing on certain cognitive abilities, which have not been deeply studied yet, such as the recall of future intentions. Thereby, this study aimed to explore the neural and behavioural correlates of bilinguals during L1 and L2 processing in a PM task where participants had to carry out an ongoing task while recovering a prospective intention given a PM cue. Importantly, the nature of the PM cue (focal or non-focal) varied the monitoring demands of the task. Behavioural and Event-Related Potential (ERP) results indicated greater engagement of monitoring processes in the PM task during L2 processing. Specifically, in L2, we found lower accuracy rates in the ongoing task and smaller amplitude differences between the focal and non-focal conditions in the P3b. Altogether, these findings suggest an impairment in prospective processing due to working in L2 contexts, supporting previous research on the impact of the bilingual experience over PM.
语言会影响我们对来自多个领域的信息的处理方式。因此，使用母语（L1）或第二语言（L2）进行工作会调节双语者在诸如视觉搜索、决策或阅读等基本活动中的表现。然而，很少有研究探讨在诸如前瞻记忆（PM）这种基本能力过程中L1和L2处理的作用。这种记忆类型使我们能够设定未来要执行的意图（例如，去赴约）。因此，这是一项新颖的研究，使我们能够探究双语语言处理对某些尚未深入研究的认知能力的影响，比如对未来意图的回忆。从而，本研究旨在探究在一项前瞻记忆任务中，双语者在L1和L2处理过程中的神经和行为相关性，在该任务中，参与者必须在执行一项正在进行的任务的同时，根据前瞻记忆提示找回一个前瞻意图。重要的是，前瞻记忆提示的性质（焦点或非焦点）改变了任务的监控需求。行为和事件相关电位（ERP）结果表明，在L2处理过程中，前瞻记忆任务中的监控过程参与度更高。具体而言，在L2中，我们发现在正在进行的任务中准确率较低，并且在P3b中焦点和非焦点条件之间的振幅差异较小。总之，这些发现表明在L2环境中工作会导致前瞻处理受损，支持了先前关于双语经历对前瞻记忆影响的研究。
