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How bilingualism modulates selective attention in children

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Phelps, Jacqueline 
Attaheri, Adam 
Bozic, Mirjana 

Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pThere is substantial evidence that learning and using multiple languages modulates selective attention in children. The current study investigated the mechanisms that drive this modification. Specifically, we asked whether the need for constant management of competing languages in bilinguals increases attentional capacity, or draws on the available resources such that they need to be economised to support optimal task performance. Monolingual and bilingual children aged 7–12 attended to a narrative presented in one ear, while ignoring different types of interference in the other ear. We used EEG to capture the neural encoding of attended and unattended speech envelopes, and assess how well they can be reconstructed from the responses of the neuronal populations that encode them. Despite equivalent behavioral performance, monolingual and bilingual children encoded attended speech differently, with the pattern of encoding across conditions in bilinguals suggesting a redistribution of the available attentional capacity, rather than its enhancement.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

Article, /631/378, /631/477, article

Journal Title

Scientific Reports

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2045-2322

Volume Title

12

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC