Advantage In Executive Functions Research Articles

Bilingualism and flexibility in task switching

Abstract This study aimed to closely replicate Wiseheart et al. (Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(1), 141–146, 2016) by investigating the transferability of language-switching skills to nonlinguistic task switching. Current evidence is mixed and there is a need to conduct robust replications in this area. Bilingual (n = 31) and monolingual (n = 47) young adults characterized stimuli by either colour or shape based on a given cue. Modifications include online data collection (as opposed to in-person) and adapting the nonverbal intelligence test used. All other aspects of the study mirror those by Wiseheart et al. Results indicate that the bilinguals exhibited better cognitive flexibility in task switching, as evidenced by a reduced global switch cost compared with monolinguals. In contrast, mixed evidence was found for local switch costs. Findings mirror those reported by Wiseheart et al. and suggest that by employing comparable task-switch paradigms and recruiting samples matched on several key variables, including age, gender, variety of languages spoken, and use of English, bilingualism does seem to confer broader executive function advantages. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical implications to inform future replication studies and advance the bilingual advantage in the switching debate.

Bilingualism, like other types of brain training, does not produce far transfer: It all fits together

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to integrate an important new synthesis of the literature examining the effects of cognitive training on far transfer tests of cognitive ability with the expansive literature testing for bilingual advantages in executive functioning (EF). Approach: The secondary meta-analysis of cognitive training on far transfer reported by Gobet and Sala is compared and contrasted with the many recent meta-analyses for bilingual advantages in EF. Data and Analysis: The Gobet and Sala secondary meta-analysis is based on ten independent meta-analyses with a median of 24 samples per analysis. The meta-analyses of the bilingual advantage in EF are partitioned into nine analyses that focus on inhibition, switching, working memory capacity, and general EF. Findings and Conclusions: Both cognitive training and bilingualism yield overall effects that are not distinguishable from zero when corrected for publication bias. Furthermore, both clusters of meta-analyses show that study quality moderates performance, but that type of experience/training does not. In the absence of a compelling reason for considering bilingual language-language to have a special status in cognitive training, these two conclusions mesh. Originality: Although brain training and the bilingual advantage in EF are both instances of the general hypothesis that practicing cognitive tasks can produce far transfer, they have not been considered as two tests of the same general hypothesis. However, the twin null results resonate and strengthen each other. Significance: If bilingualism does not enhance EF in children and young adults (or maintain it in older adults), the argument that bilingualism enhances EF and/or delays the onset of dementia is substantially weakened. However, it is clear and indisputable that, more broadly, there are important advantages to being able to communicate and connect with more people.

30 Examining the Bilingual Advantage in Executive Functioning in ADHD: A Retrospective Study

Objective:Several studies have found a bilingualism advantage on executive functioning tasks like cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, switching, and working memory in typically developing populations. (Grote et al., 2015, Foy & Mann, 2014). However, some studies have found deficits in inhibitory control and switching for bilingual individuals with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) compared to monolingual individuals and control groups (Bialystok et al., 2017, Mor et al., 2015). They suggest that this disadvantage is due to the burden of managing two language systems which perpetuates the executive dysfunction seen in ADHD. The current study aims to examine if there is a bilingualism advantage in other aspects of executive function, including inhibitory control, planning, problem solving, switching, and working memory among children and adults diagnosed with ADHD.Participants and Methods:The medical records of 170 patients evaluated in an outpatient neuropsychology clinic from 20182022 were reviewed. Sixty participants diagnosed with ADHD, between the ages of 6 and 46 (61.67% male), comprised the final sample. Forty-one were monolingual and 19 were bilingual or multilingual. Language status was based upon patient or parental report. Outcomes on various direct and indirect measures of executive function were examined.Results:Linear regression models, adjusting for age and sex, revealed a significant bilingual advantage on the following measures: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children- Fifth Edition (WISC-V) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) Digit Span Backwards and Digit Span Sequencing, WISC-V Picture Span, and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, 2nd Edition (BRIEF-2) Parent-Report Emotion Regulation Index (ERI). There were no significant differences in scores between monolinguals and bilinguals on the following measures: Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Color-Word Interference Inhibition versus Combined Naming Contrast Score and Inhibition/Switching versus Inhibition Contrast Score, D-KEFS Trail Making Number-Letter Switching versus Combined Number Sequencing and Letter Sequencing Contrast Score, A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, 2nd Edition (NEPSY-2) Naming versus Inhibition Contrast Score and Switching versus Inhibition Contrast Score, Wisconsin Card Sort Task Learning to Learn Index, BRIEF-2 Parent-rated Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI), Cognitive Regulation Index(CRI), and Global Executive Composite(GEC), BRIEF-2 Self-rated BRI, ERI, CRI, and GEC, or BRIEF Adult Version BRI, Metacognitive Index, and GEC.Conclusions:Bilingual status is associated with stronger auditory and visual working memory among people with ADHD, but not with stronger inhibitory control, switching, planning, or problem solving skills. At the same time, there were no significant differences between monolingual and bilingual ADHD patients on BRIEF parent- or self-rated behavioral or cognitive dysregulation. Our results suggest that bilingualism may confer an advantage in some aspects of executive function among a population with weak attention and executive function skills more broadly. Furthermore, we did not find any type of disadvantage for those who are bilingual. Future studies should examine whether lower parental ratings of emotion dysregulation among ADHD patients who are bilingual are due to bilingual children’s better ability to adapt to different situations or cultural differences in parenting practices.

Modeling the bilingual advantage: Do results differ between analysis methods?

Whether bilingualism results in improved executive function is controversial. According to some researchers, putative bilingual advantages can be explained by individual differences in unmeasured non-linguistic variables. Additionally, commonly used models containing exclusively fixed-effects do not account for the data structure inherent in multi-trial behavioral tasks. Mixed-effects models by contrast address both of these issues, allowing for a more valid test of the bilingual advantage hypothesis. The present study aimed to assess whether the choice of analysis method impacted on results when investigating the bilingual advantage in executive function. Simon task data from Mandarin-English speaking Chinese adolescents were analyzed using separate fixed and mixed-effects models. Comparisons between models revealed considerable differences in the pattern of results. Most notable was the observation that a number of previously significant main effects on task performance were no longer significant in a mixed model accounting for the inclusion of multiple trials for each participant. Implications for the bilingual advantage are discussed.

Enhanced neural mechanisms of set shifting in musically trained adolescents and young adults: converging fMRI, EEG, and behavioral evidence.

Musically trained individuals have been found to outperform untrained peers in various tasks for executive functions. Here, we present longitudinal behavioral results and cross-sectional, event-related potential (ERP), and fMRI results on the maturation of executive functions in musically trained and untrained children and adolescents. The results indicate that in school-age, the musically trained children performed faster in a test for set shifting, but by late adolescence, these group differences had virtually disappeared. However, in the fMRI experiment, the musically trained adolescents showed less activity in frontal, parietal, and occipital areas of the dorsal attention network and the cerebellum during the set-shifting task than untrained peers. Also, the P3b responses of musically trained participants to incongruent target stimuli in a task for set shifting showed a more posterior scalp distribution than control group participants' responses. Together these results suggest that the musician advantage in executive functions is more pronounced at an earlier age than in late adolescence. However, it is still reflected as more efficient recruitment of neural resources in set-shifting tasks, and distinct scalp topography of ERPs related to updating and working memory after childhood.

Examining the relation between bilingualism and age of symptom onset in frontotemporal dementia.

Bilingualism is thought to confer advantages in executive functioning, thereby contributing to cognitive reserve and a later age of dementia symptom onset. While the relation between bilingualism and age of onset has been explored in Alzheimer's dementia, there are few studies examining bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In line with previous findings, we hypothesized that bilinguals with behavioral variant FTD would be older at symptom onset compared to monolinguals, but that no such effect would be found in patients with nonfluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia (PPA) or semantic variant PPA. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found no significant difference in age at symptom onset between monolingual and bilingual speakers within any of the FTD variants, and there were no notable differences on neuropsychological measures. Overall, our results do not support a protective effect of bilingualism in patients with FTD-spectrum disease in a U.S. based cohort.

Is There a Bilingual Advantage in Executive Functions in Healthy Adults? A Systematic Review

Research on the benefits of bilingualism for executive functions has produced conflicting findings. This review systematically summarizes the findings of 27 studies from 23 articles on this topic from the last decade, with participants’ ages ranging from 18 to 60. We extracted data on participants’ backgrounds and the results of different task paradigms. We found no significant bilingual advantage in executive functions in healthy adults between 18 and 60 years of age, although the conflicting results make it challenging to draw a decisive conclusion.

The effect of bilingualism on executive functions when languages are similar: a comparison between Hungarian–Serbian and Slovak–Serbian young adult bilinguals

Among the factors argued to contribute to a bilingual advantage in executive function (EF), the combination of languages spoken by the bilingual is often overlooked. In this study, we explored the role of language similarity on memory and EF task by comparing performance of three groups of young adults—Hungarian–Serbian and Slovak–Serbian early balanced bilinguals, and Serbian-speaking monolinguals. Slovak is typologically related to Serbian, which are both Slavic, in contrast to Hungarian, which is Finno–Ugric. On the computerized tasks from the CANTAB battery (CANTAB Cognition, 2016, www.cantab.com), differences between monolinguals and bilinguals emerged on the EF tasks: Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) and Attentional Set Shifting (AST), but not the memory tasks: Delayed Matching to Sample (DMS), Paired Associate Learning (PAL), Spatial Working Memory (SWM). Both Hungarian–Serbian and Slovak–Serbian bilinguals outperformed the monolinguals on the more difficult SOC tasks, solved using more than a minimally required number of moves. This is in line with reports that bilinguals perform better under more complex conditions that require more monitoring and switching. However, bilinguals speaking Hungarian and Serbian spent less time preparing to execute the simpler SOC tasks, which can be solved in a minimum of two or three moves; they also exhibited reduced local switching cost and were faster overall on AST than both the Slovak–Serbian bilinguals and Serbian monolinguals. The advantageous performance of speakers of the typologically unrelated languages in our study suggests that these bilinguals may have more efficient attention switching and inhibition systems than bilinguals who speak typologically similar languages.

Bilinguals have more effective executive function: Evidence from an fNIRS study of the neural correlates of cognitive shifting

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: The bilingual advantage in executive function (EF) has recently been explored with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology, but the results are still controversial because of the limited statistical analysis. This study aims to fill the gap by replicating the existing studies and advancing the statistical analysis. Design/methodology/approach: Altogether, 35 preschoolers (aged between 4.1 and 6.3 years, Mage = 5.0 years, SD = 0.59) completed the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Fourth Edition (PPVT-4) and the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. Their behavioral performance and the associated brain activities during the three sessions of the DCCS task were measured using fNIRS. In addition, they were classified into either Bilingual or Monolingual groups based on the PPVT scores. Data and analysis: t-tests and quadratic regression analyses were conducted to examine whether children’s performance in the DCCS was related to their bilingualism and whether the changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) in the prefrontal regions were related to their bilingualism and performance in the DCCS. Findings/conclusions: The behavioral data analysis indicated no significant differences between the monolinguals and bilinguals. However, the fNIRS evidence indicated that (1) the monolinguals had to recruit 15 channels to complete the cognitive shifting of DCCS tasks, whereas the bilinguals only employed 11; (2) the bilinguals had significantly more brain activation with fewer channels in BA 44 than the monolinguals, demonstrating more effective executive function. Originality: This study has advanced the statistical analysis of the HbO changes for the cognitive shifting in the DCCS by confirming the nonlinear U-shape by quadratic regression a better fit than the linear V-shape by GLM. Significance/implications: This finding implies that early bilingual experience has equipped young children with more effective executive function.

The bilingual effect on cognitive development: not an executive function advantage, but a differentiation of mental abilities

ABSTRACT Adopting a different theoretical framework from the one dominating the field, this study explored bilingualism influences on the development and differentiation of mental abilities. Albanian-Turkish bilingual (N = 122) and Albanian-speaking monolingual (N = 129) children, adolescents, and adults were assessed on monitoring, inhibitory control, processing efficiency, fluid reasoning, and vocabulary, and were asked to specify their own language efficiency (a cognizance index). Analyses showed a bilingual advantage in monitoring—adjusting for any fluid reasoning effects—which was larger in children. Moreover, a more pronounced bilingual benefit was observed for the incongruent condition RT of the attention task. Structural equation modelling showed though that the difference between language groups does not lie within the executive function domain (inhibitory control); it rather regards processing efficiency. Analyses also revealed increased differentiation of mental abilities in bilinguals, reflecting enhanced cognitive flexibility. Implications for cognitive developmental and individual differences theories are discussed.

Protocol for a Scoping Review of Research Practices in the Investigation of Bilingual Effects on Inhibition and Attentional Function in Young People

Background: While there is evidence in support of a bilingual advantage in executive function in children and adults, little work supports these effects in young people. This lack of support may result as consequence of a developmental ceiling effect on task performance in this age group. An alternative explanation can be found in the treatment of bilingualism as a categorical variable, and the use of exclusively fixed-effects methods of analysis. These methods treat bilinguals as a homogenous group, ignoring nontrivial differences between participants, and may contribute to this lack of evidence. This scoping review aims is to identify and summarize research practices in the investigation of bilingual effects in inhibition and attentional function in young people.
 Methods: The proposed scoping review will follow the five-stage framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005). Searches will be conducted across five databases using inclusive search strings. Study selection will follow the guidance of the PRISMA-ScR checklist. This review will include both published and unpublished work. A standardized data extraction spreadsheet will be used and data will be presented in tabular and graphic format in alignment with the objectives of the review.
 Discussion: This review aims to provide a current understanding of research practices in the investigation of bilingual effects in young people as well as identify gaps in the literature. This review may also draw attention to methodological trends in the current literature that limit the conclusions researchers can draw.

A GENERAL OVERVIEW ON THE EFFECT OF BILINGUALISM ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS IN CHILDREN: INCONSISTENT RESULTS AND MODERATOR FACTORS

In this study, we reviewed recent studies comparing executive function performance of bi and monolingual children. In that respect, we came across 27 studies. Most of these studies report “partial” executive function advantage for bilingual children (i.e., a bilingual advantage is reported only for some tasks within the same study). In this regard, we examined in detail whether the executive function advantage in bilingual children is general or this advantage appears only in specific executive function tasks. Upon this evaluation, we observed that the bilingual advantage is not specific to a particular executive function paradigm or executive function task classification. To better explain these inconsistencies, we assessed and discussed the moderator factors (i.e., second language age of acquisition, language proficiency, language exposure, language interactional context, minority status, and socioeconomic status) that potentially could affect the outcome of studies examining the executive function skills of bilingual children. We concluded that the bilingual advantage on executive functions is linked to the general executive function system rather than a single executive function task; however, these effects cannot consistently be demonstrated due to the ignored moderator factors. Thus, to obtain more precise results, we offered suggestions for future studies that will compare bi and monolingual children on executive function performance. Keywords Bilingualism, childhood period, executive functions

Evidence for executive function advantages in low SES bilingual children. But why do they arise? A commentary on Grote, Scott and Gilger (2021)

In a study comparing executive functions among US Spanish-English bilinguals from low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds to monolinguals of each language, Grote et al. find that bilingual advantages already manifest themselves in pre-school children. This commentary recommends building on this finding, and further investigate the causes underlying the observed executive function (EF) modulations in child bilingualism. A closer investigation of bilingual children’s dominance profiles and their bilingual practices, such as code-switching, may shed light on how bilingualism shapes the developmental trajectory of executive functions. The commentary also challenges the notion of ‘monolingualism’, and discusses whether bilingualism variables should be operationalised in a continuous or in a categorical manner.

The interpreter advantage in executive functions—A systematic review and meta-analysis

Given the heavy cognitive load inherent in language interpreting, interpreters may develop cognitive advantages from managing frequent switching of linguistic codes and working modes. Based on a systematic review of executive functions of inhibiting, shifting and working memory (WM) updating by Nour et al. (2020) and meta-analysis of working memory by Wen and Dong (2019) and Mellinger and Hanson (2019), this research follows the PICOS framework and the PRISMA guideline to synthesize findings from 98 tasks of 29 original studies from International and Chinese databases with a cut-off date of 1st October, 2020. Substantial evidence for an interpreter advantage in shifting was found, but not for inhibition or updating. The meta-analysis showed 1) a moderate to high effect in shifting (g = 0.68, seven WCST effects; g = -0.32, eight switching cost effects); 2) no effect in inhibiting (g = 0.13, six Stroop effects); 3) mixed effects in WM updating. Subgroup analysis on WM updating revealed significant training effects from within-group comparisons (g = 0.58, five 2-back effects; g = 0.71, two L2 listening span effects), but insignificant difference from between-group comparisons (g = -0.03 , five 2-back effects; g = 0.18, five L2 listening span effects ). More reproducible behavioral research with scientific and consistent designs is needed for a clearer understanding of the relationship between interpreting experience and EFs.

Disentangling language status and country-of-origin explanations of the bilingual advantage in preschoolers

Bilingual preschoolers from East Asia outperform monolingual preschoolers from North America or Europe in executive functioning tasks, which has been interpreted as evidence of a bilingual advantage in executive functioning. This study tested whether these differences actually reflect country-of-origin effects given that East Asian preschoolers frequently outperform North American or European children in executive functioning tasks. Consistent with previous findings, Korean–English bilingual preschoolers made fewer errors in an age-appropriate executive functioning task than did English monolingual children in Canada. However, Korean–English bilingual preschoolers performed comparably to Korean monolingual preschoolers in Korea. Differences between Korean and Canadian children’s executive functioning were not attributable to differences in parental cultural values or attitudes. The current findings suggest that differences between East Asian bilingual and North American monolingual preschoolers’ executive functioning is related to differences in country of origin rather than language status.

Bilingual advantages in executive functioning: Evidence from a low-income sample

Recent research suggests that bilinguals might exhibit advantages in several areas of executive function, including working memory, inhibitory control, and attentional control. However, few studies have examined potential bilingual advantages within lower socioeconomic status (SES) populations. Here we addressed this gap in the literature by investigating whether low-SES Spanish–English bilingual preschoolers exhibited advantages in executive function relative to two monolingual control groups (English, Spanish). Across three experiments, bilingual children exhibited superior performance on two different measures of visual–spatial memory, as well as measures of inhibitory and attentional control. These results suggest that bilinguals exhibit broad advantages in executive function during the preschool years, and these advantages are evident within a disadvantaged, low-SES population.

Trajectories of verbal fluency and executive functions in multilingual and monolingual children and adults: A cross-sectional study

The development of verbal fluency is associated with the maturation of executive function skills, such as the ability to inhibit irrelevant information, shift between tasks, and hold information in working memory. Some evidence suggests that multilinguistic upbringing may underpin disadvantages in verbal fluency and lexical retrieval, but can also afford executive function advantages beyond the language system including possible beneficial effects in older age. This study examined the relationship between verbal fluency and executive function in 324 individuals across the lifespan by assessing the developmental trajectories of English monolingual and multilingual children aged 7–15 years (N = 154) and adults from 18 to 80 years old (N = 170). The childhood data indicated patterns of improvement in verbal fluency and executive function skills as a function of age. Multilingual and monolingual children had comparable developmental trajectories in all linguistic and non-linguistic measures used in the study with the exception of planning, for which monolingual children showed a steeper improvement over the studied age range relative to multilingual children. For adults, monolinguals and multilingual participants had comparable performance on all measures with the exception of nonverbal inhibitory control and response times on the Tower of London task: monolinguals showed a steeper decline associated with age. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that verbal fluency was associated with working memory and fluid intelligence in monolingual participants but not in multilinguals. These findings raise the possibility that early acquisition of an additional language may impact on the development of the functional architecture serving high-level human cognition.

Línguas em conflito: modelos de acesso lexical a partir do input ortográfico em bilíngues e multilíngues e o efeito do multilinguismo sobre as funções executivas

O fenômeno do bilinguismo é a premissa essencial da tradução. Este trabalho apresenta modelos cognitivos contemporâneos que explicam o acesso lexical de bilíngues e multilíngues para o reconhecimento de palavras escritas, a partir de experimentos com homógrafos interlinguais. São abordados os trabalhos sobre conflito entre duas ou mais línguas,e como seus achados convergem para a hipótese de acesso não-seletivo ao léxico, o que elucida o impacto do bilinguismo nos processos de leitura etradução. Como objetivo secundário, e a partir de uma perspectiva neurocientífica, também descrevemos as mudanças no cérebro e nos processos mentais decorrentes à experiência do bilinguismo e do multilinguismo. Os estudos mostram vantagens nas funções executivas (atualização, inibição e flexibilidade mental) e mudanças estruturais e funcionais em circuitos, especialmente envolvendo os córtices pré-frontais bilateralmente. Estas mudanças têm sido apontadas como fatores importantes de proteção (reserva cognitiva e cerebral) frente a diferentes situações de perdaneural.

Searching for the bilingual advantage in executive functions in speakers of Hunsrückisch and other minority languages: a literature review

The issue of a bilingual advantage on executive functions has been a hotbed for research and debate. Brazilian studies with the minority language Hunsrückisch have failed to replicate the finding of a bilingual advantage found in international studies with majority languages. This raises the question of whether the reasons behind the discrepant results are related to the language’s minority status. The goal of this paper was to investigate the bilingual advantage on executive functions in studies with minority languages. This is a literature review focusing on state of the art literature on bilingualism and executive functions; as well as a qualitative analysis of the selected corpus in order to tackle the following questions: (1) is there evidence of a bilingual advantage in empirical studies involving minority languages? (2) are there common underlying causes for the presence or absence of the bilingual advantage? (3) can factors pertaining to the language’s minority status be linked to the presence or absence of a bilingual advantage? The analysis revealed that studies form a highly variable group, with mixed results regarding the bilingual advantage, as well as inconsistent controlling of social, cognitive and linguistic factors, as well as different sample sizes. As such, it was not possible to isolate which factors are responsible for the inconsistent results across studies. It is hoped this study will provide an overview that can serve as common ground for future studies involving the issue of a bilingual advantage with speakers of minority languages.

Do Muiltinguals Have an Executive Function Advantage? Evidence from Chinese Bilingual and Trilinguals.

Do Muiltinguals Have an Executive Function Advantage? Evidence from Chinese Bilingual and Trilinguals.