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. 2009 Jan 28:12:141-151.
doi: 10.1017/S1366728908003970.

Japanese and English sentence reading comprehension and writing systems: An fMRI study of first and second language effects on brain activation

Augusto Buchweitz  1 , Robert A Mason, Mihoko Hasegawa, Marcel A Just
Affiliations

Japanese and English sentence reading comprehension and writing systems: An fMRI study of first and second language effects on brain activation

Augusto Buchweitz et al. Biling (Camb Engl). .

Abstract

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to compare brain activation from Japanese readers reading hiragana (syllabic) and kanji (logographic) sentences, and English as a second language (L2). Kanji showed more activation than hiragana in right-hemisphere occipito-temporal lobe areas associated with visuospatial processing; hiragana, in turn, showed more activation than kanji in areas of the brain associated with phonological processing. L1 results underscore the difference in visuospatial and phonological processing demands between the systems. Reading in English as compared to either of the Japanese systems showed more activation in inferior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, and angular gyrus. The additional activation in English in these areas may have been associated with an increased cognitive demand for phonological processing and verbal working memory. More generally, L2 results suggest more effortful reading comprehension processes. The study contributes to the understanding of differential brain responses to different writing systems and to reading comprehension in a second language.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of the kanji and hiragana sentences.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Brain areas showing activation for kanji > hiragana (p < .005 uncorrected; T = 3.36; extent threshold voxels = 20; right, a view of the inferior surface of the brain without the cerebellum; ellipses highlight the activation of right-hemisphere inferior and mid temporal gyri).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Brain areas showing activation for hiragana > kanji (p < .005 uncorrected; T = 3.36; extent threshold voxels = 20; top, surface renderings; bottom, coronal view showing SMA activation (MNI coordinate: x = 10; y = –16; z = –56)).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Brain areas showing activation for English > hiragana, English > kanji, and English > Japanese (average hiragana + kanji) (p < .005 uncorrected; T = 3.36; extent threshold voxels = 20; ellipses highlight the loop of activation in the left frontal lobe and left angular gyrus).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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