Functional Dynamics of Dorsal and Ventral Reading Networks in Bilinguals
Ikusi/ Ireki
Data
2017Egilea
Oliver, Myriam
Carreiras, Manuel
Paz-Alonso, Pedro M.
Myriam Oliver, Manuel Carreiras, Pedro M Paz-Alonso; Functional Dynamics of Dorsal and Ventral Reading Networks in Bilinguals, Cerebral Cortex, Volume 27, Issue 12, 1 December 2017, Pages 5431–5443, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw310
Laburpena
In today’s world, bilingualism is increasingly common. However, it is still unclear how left-lateralized dorsal and ventral
reading networks are tuned to reading in proficient second-language learners. Here, we investigated differences in
functional regional activation and connectivity as a function of L1 and L2 reading, L2 orthographic depth, and task demands.
Thirty-seven late bilinguals with the same L1 and either an opaque or transparent L2 performed perceptual and semantic
reading tasks in L1 and L2 during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. Results revealed stronger
regional recruitment for L2 versus L1 reading and stronger connectivity within the dorsal stream during L1 versus L2
reading. Differences in orthographic depth were associated with a segregated profile of left ventral occipitotemporal (vOT)
coactivation with dorsal regions for the transparent L2 group and with ventral regions for the opaque L2 group. Finally,
semantic versus perceptual demands modulated left vOT engagement, supporting the interactive account of the
contribution of vOT to reading, and were associated with stronger coactivation within the ventral network. Our findings
support a division of labor between ventral and dorsal reading networks, elucidating the critical role of the language used to
read, L2 orthographic depth, and task demands on the functional dynamics of bilingual reading.