The perisylvian language network and language analytical abilities

Kepinska, O.; Lakke, E.A.J.F.; Dutton, E.M.; Caspers, J.; Schiller, N.O. (2017)

Article / Letter to editor

Aiming at exploring the brain’s structural organisation underlying successful second

language learning, we investigate the anatomy of the perisylvian language network in a group of

healthy adults, consisting of participants with high and average language analytical abilities. Utilising

deterministic tractography, six tracts per participant (left and right long direct segment, left and right

indirect anterior segment and left and right indirect posterior segment) were virtually dissected and

measurements pertaining to their microstructural organisation were collected. Our results obtained

by means of linear discriminant analysis pointed to mean diffusivity (MD) values of three tracts (right

anterior, left long and left anterior segments) as best discriminating between the two groups. By far

the highest coefficient was obtained for the MD values of the right anterior segment, pointing to the

role of the right white matter fronto-parietal connectivity for superior language learning abilities. The

results imply the importance of attentional processes and reasoning abilities for successful L2

acquisition, and support previous findings concerning right-hemispheric involvement in language

learning.

• All authors: Kepinska, O.; Lakke, E.A.J.F.; Dutton, E.M.; Caspers, J.; Schiller, N.O.
• Date: 2017-07-11
• Journal: Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
• Volume: 144
• Pages: 96 - 101
• DOI: doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2017.07.003