Is there electrophysiological evidence for a bilingual advantage in neural processes related to executive functions?
Date
2020Author
Cespón, Jesús
Carreiras, Manuel
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Jesús Cespón, Manuel Carreiras, Is there electrophysiological evidence for a bilingual advantage in neural processes related to executive functions?, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 118, 2020, Pages 315-330, ISSN 0149-7634, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.030
Abstract
Over the last two decades, a large number of studies have concluded that bilingualism enhances executive
functions. However, other studies have reported no significant results. In addition, it is not clear how bilingualism
might modulate specific executive control processes. Event-related potentials (ERP) are an excellent
technique for identifying whether the neural correlates of executive control processes are strengthened by bilingualism,
given their high temporal resolution. On the basis of previous research into the ERP correlates of
executive functions, we hypothesize that specific ERP differences between monolinguals and bilinguals can be
considered to indicate a bilingual advantage in executive functions. We then review the very limited number of
studies that have investigated ERP differences between monolinguals and bilinguals during the performance of
executive control tasks. Overall, we conclude that the existence of a bilingual advantage in neural processing
related to executive functions remains uncertain and further studies are required. We highlight the utility of
investigating several ERPs that have been ignored by previous studies.