Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults

Zhenghan Qi; Sara D Beach; Amy S Finn; Jennifer Minas; Calvin Goetz; Brian Chan; John D E Gabrieli

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.005

Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults

Neuropsychologia. 2017 Apr:98:177-191. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.005. Epub 2016 Oct 11.

Authors

Zhenghan Qi¹, Sara D Beach², Amy S Finn³, Jennifer Minas⁴, Calvin Goetz⁵, Brian Chan⁶, John D E Gabrieli⁷

Affiliations

¹ McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 27737775
PMCID: PMC5885768
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.005

Abstract

Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual's native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information.

Keywords: Adult language learning; Event-related potential; Individual differences; N400; P600.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Acoustic Stimulation
Adult
Brain Mapping*
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials / physiology*
Female
Humans
Individuality
Language*
Learning / physiology*
Male
Semantics
Time Factors
Verbal Learning / physiology*
Vocabulary
Young Adult

Grants and funding

T32 DC000038/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States