Subcortical volume and language proficiency in bilinguals and monolinguals: A structural MRI study

Abstract

The current study focused on an understudied but most prominent bilingual population in the U.S. - heritage bilinguals. The current study combined data from eight MRI studies to examine the relationship between language experience and subcortical gray matter volume in 215 heritage Spanish-English bilinguals and 145 English monolinguals, within and between groups. For bilinguals, higher Spanish (L1) proficiency was related to less volume in the bilateral globus pallidus, and higher English (L2) proficiency and earlier English AoA were related to greater volume in the right thalamus, left accumbens, and bilateral globus pallidus. For monolinguals, higher English proficiency was associated with greater volume only in the right pallidum. These results suggest that subcortical gray matter structures are related to the learning of a second language. Future research is encouraged to understand subcortical adaptation in relation to L1 and L2 acquisition from a developmental perspective.

Keywords: Bilingualism; Language; Neuroplasticity; Proficiency; Subcortical volume.