The modulatory role of second language proficiency on performance monitoring: evidence from a saccadic countermanding task in high and low proficient bilinguals.

Niharika Singh,Ramesh K Mishra

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01481

Niharika Singh, Ramesh K Mishra

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01481

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Abstract

We compared Hindi-English bilinguals differing in their L2 proficiency on a saccadic countermanding task which taps inhibitory control as well as monitoring. We particularly explored whether response inhibition and performance monitoring within the oculomotor domain are affected by language proficiency in bilinguals. There were two different oculomotor redirect tasks: Visually Guided Redirect (VGR) task (Experiment1) and Memory Guided Redirect (MGR) task (Experiment 2). In the redirect task, typically a target is presented and the subject is required to make a saccade (no-step trials), unless a new target appears on a different location after some delay from the first target onset (step trials). On such trials participants are required to inhibit and cancel the saccade to the first target and programme a saccade to the new target. Using trial switch reaction time (TSRT), the time taken to inhibit the initiated saccade to the first target as a measure of response inhibition and post-step slowing as a measure of performance monitoring. The results showed the high proficient bilinguals displayed more post-step slowing on the no-step trials as compared to the low proficient bilinguals for both VGR and MGR versions of the task. Secondly, both the high and low proficient bilinguals exhibited comparable TSRT in both VGR and MGR task, showing no modulatory effects of language proficiency on the response inhibition. These results suggest that language proficiency may have an effect on performance monitoring, but not the inhibitory control per se. Thus, we infer that higher proficiency may lead to superior cognitive flexibility and an ability to adjust behavior that facilitates the attainment of the cognitive goal. These findings are in consonance with other current studies that suggest a top-down effect of bilingualism on action control systems.

Highlights

Number of non-canceled step saccades On step trials when participants failed to inhibit the saccade to the first target and made an erroneous saccade toward it, it was counted as a non-canceled step saccade
We compared whether the two groups differed on successfully inhibiting saccades to the first target on the step trials, by calculating the number of non-canceled saccades for each target step delay (TSD)
The finding on trial switch reaction time (TSRT) was further reflected in correlation analysis, showing no association between L2 proficiency and the TSRT, showing no effect of language proficiency on the amount of time taken to cancel the initiated response on the step trials

Summary

Introduction

Bilingualism has been known to positively influence several cognitive skills such as conflict resolution (Green, 1998; Bialystok, 1999; Bialystok et al, 2004, 2005, 2008; Bialystok and Martin, 2004); selective attention (Colzato et al, 2008; Friesen et al, 2014), monitoring (Costa et al, 2008, 2009; Singh and Mishra, 2013); anticipation (Kovács and Mehler, 2009); and top down control (Hernández et al, 2012) etc. We examined how second language proficiency affects performance monitoring and response inhibition in bilinguals in the oculomotor domain

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Results

Conclusion