Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
Life

'Lost' languages get ingrained in brain

Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Nov, 2014 11:19 AM
    Traces of the mother tongue that babies learn remain in the brain years later even if they totally stop using the language, as can happen in cases of international adoption, finds research.
     
    The study offers the first neural evidence that traces of the “lost” language remain in the brain.
     
    “The infant brain forms representations of language sounds, but we wanted to see whether the brain maintains these representations later in life even if the person is no longer exposed to the language,” said first author Lara Pierce from McGill University in Canada.
     
    The researchers analysed functional MRI scans of 48 girls between nine and 17-years old.
     
    One group was born and raised unilingual in a French-speaking family. The second group had Chinese-speaking children adopted as infants who later became unilingual French speaking with no conscious recollection of Chinese. The third group were fluently bilingual in Chinese and French.
     
    Scans were taken while the three groups listened to the same Chinese language sounds.
     
    “The brain activation pattern of the adopted Chinese who ‘lost’ or totally discontinued the language matched the one for those who continued speaking Chinese since birth,” Pierce said.
     
    The neural representations supporting this pattern could only have been acquired during the first months of life, Pierce explained.
     
    The study suggests that early-acquired information is not only maintained in the brain, but unconsciously influences brain processing for years, perhaps for life - potentially indicating a special status for information acquired during optimal periods of development. 
     
    The study appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    MORE Life ARTICLES

    Life stressors driving teenage girls towards depression

    Life stressors driving teenage girls towards depression
    More and more teenage girls are falling into the depression trap and this may be the result of girls' greater exposure to stressful interpersonal...

    Life stressors driving teenage girls towards depression

    Good experiences are best shared: Study

    Good experiences are best shared: Study
    If you are planning to visit your dream destination all alone, think again! Researchers have found that undergoing an experience with another...

    Good experiences are best shared: Study

    How women know when to say 'yes' to sex

    How women know when to say 'yes' to sex
    By studying the genes in fruit flies that control mate choice, researchers at the Case Western Reserve University found one gene that, when...

    How women know when to say 'yes' to sex

    Abusive bosses can make employees counter-productive

    Abusive bosses can make employees counter-productive
    Employees who are verbally abused by supervisors are more likely to "act out" at work - doing everything from taking a too-long lunch break to stealing...

    Abusive bosses can make employees counter-productive

    Those Potted Perennials Can Make It Through The Winter - If You Prep Correctly

    Those Potted Perennials Can Make It Through The Winter - If You Prep Correctly
    In simpler times, container gardening was small-scale landscaping using flowering annuals. Enjoy their colour for one season and go with something new the next.

    Those Potted Perennials Can Make It Through The Winter - If You Prep Correctly

    As More Workers Get Inked, Some Companies Are Easing Rules Around Visible Tattoos

    As More Workers Get Inked, Some Companies Are Easing Rules Around Visible Tattoos
    TORONTO - When Rob Dale decided to wear a short-sleeved dress shirt on a warm fall day, his choice of clothing didn't cross his mind until he arrived at a business breakfast event  — and then he suddenly felt uncomfortable.

    As More Workers Get Inked, Some Companies Are Easing Rules Around Visible Tattoos