Distinct cortical areas associated with native and second languages
Abstract
The ability to acquire and use several languages selectively is a unique and essential human capacity. Here we investigate the fundamental question of how multiple languages are represented in a human brain. We applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine the spatial relationship between native and second languages in the human cortex, and show that within the frontal-lobe language-sensitive regions (Broca's area), second languages acquired in adulthood ('late' bilingual subjects) are spatially separated from native languages. However, when acquired during the early language acquisition stage of development ('early' bilingual subjects), native and second languages tend to be represented in common frontal cortical areas. In both late and early bilingual subjects, the temporal-lobe language-sensitive regions (Wernicke's area) also show effectively little or no separation of activity based on the age of language acquisition. This discovery of language-specific regions in Broca's area advances our understanding of the cortical representation that underlies multiple language functions.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Infants and children exposed to a second language showed overlapping BOLD signal patterns when processing both languages in adulthood, but adults who became fluent in a second language after the first decade of life recruited different neural networks to process their second language.
“Another study demonstrated that infants and children exposed to a second language showed overlapping BOLD signal patterns when processing both languages in adulthood, but adults who became fluent in a second language after the first decade of life (mean age 11.2 years old) recruited different neural networks to process their second language”
From Does puberty mark a transition in sensitive periods for plasticity in the associative neocortex? (2017) · cites this paper as Kim et al., 1997
Cites
The assessment and analysis of handedness: The Edinburgh inventory
Oldfield, R. C. (1971) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(71)90067-4 · Cited by 35,900 · see citing works
Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain
Talairach, J., & Tournoux, P. (1988) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 11,798 · see citing works
Co-planar stereotaxic atlas of the human brain
Laitinen, L. (1989) · Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery · doi:10.1016/0303-8467(89)90128-5 · Cited by 7,565 · see citing works
Oxygenation‐sensitive contrast in magnetic resonance image of rodent brain at high magnetic fields
Ogawa, S., Lee, T., Nayak, A. S., & Glynn, P. (1990) · Magnetic Resonance in Medicine · doi:10.1002/mrm.1910140108 · Cited by 2,269 · see citing works
MRI-PET Registration with Automated Algorithm
Woods, R. P., Mazziotta, J. C., & Cherry, A. S. R. (1993) · Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography · doi:10.1097/00004728-199307000-00004 · Cited by 1,636 · see citing works
The Organization of Language and the Brain
Geschwind, N. (1970) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.170.3961.940 · Cited by 1,141 · see citing works
Lesion analysis in neuropsychology
Damásio, H., & Damásio, A. R. (1989) · Oxford University Press eBooks · Cited by 881 · see citing works
Brain organization for language from the perspective of electrical stimulation mapping
Ojemann, G. A. (1983) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00015491 · Cited by 714 · see citing works
Lesion Analysis in Neuropsychology
Poeck, K. (1990) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/0166-2236(90)90028-9 · Cited by 528 · see citing works
Cortical organization of language
Ojemann, G. (1991) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.11-08-02281.1991 · Cited by 492 · see citing works
The neural substrates underlying word generation: A bilingual functional-imaging study
Klein, D., Milner, B., Zatorre, R. J., Meyer, E., & Evans, A. C. (1995) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.92.7.2899 · Cited by 457 · see citing works
PET Studies of Phonetic Processing of Speech: Review, Replication, and Reanalysis
Zatorre, R. J., Meyer, E., GJEDDE, A. H., & Evans, A. C. (1996) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/6.1.21 · Cited by 422 · see citing works
Human Brain Anatomy in Computerized Images
Damásio, H. (2005) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195165616.001.0001 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Learning and representation in speech and language
Kuhl, P. K. (1994) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/0959-4388(94)90128-7 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Functional magnetic resonance imaging of Brocaʼs area during internal speech
Hinke, R. M., Hu, X., Stillman, A. E., Kim, S.-G., Merkle, H., Salmi, R., & Ugurbil, K. (1993) · NeuroReport · doi:10.1097/00001756-199306000-00018 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Functional anatomy of language processing: Neuroimaging and the problem of individual variability
Steinmetz, H., & Seitz, R. J. (1991) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(91)90030-c · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Joy Hirsch, C., DeLaPaz, R. L., Relkin, N. R., Victor, J. D., Kim, K., Li, T., Borden, P., Rubin, N., & Shapley, R. M. (1995) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.92.14.6469 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Self-citationCortical Mapping for Defining the Limits of Tumor Resection
Black, P. M., & Ronner, S. F. (1987) · Neurosurgery · doi:10.1227/00006123-198706000-00016 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Language functions explored in normal subjects by positron emission tomography: A critical review
Démonet, J., Wise, R., & Frackowiak, R. S. J. (1993) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.460010105 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Human Brain Anatomy in Computerized Images
Damásio, H., & Woods, R. P. (1995) · Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography · doi:10.1097/00004728-199511000-00011 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Gómez‐Tortosa, E., Martin, E. M., Gaviria, M., et al. (1995) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1006/brln.1995.1014 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
On the representation of multiple languages in the brain: Old problems and new directions
Zatorre, R. J. (1989) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1016/0093-934x(89)90056-4 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Brain electrical mechanisms of bilingual speech management: an initial investigation
Petsche, H., Etlinger, S. C., & Filz, O. (1993) · Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/0013-4694(93)90134-h · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Cranial neuroimaging and clinical neuroanatomy
Yousry, T. A. (2005) · Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.038224 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Sensitivity‐enhanced echo‐planar MRI at 1.5T using a 5 × 5 mesh dome resonator
Meyer, K. L., Kim, K., Li, T., et al. (1996) · Magnetic Resonance in Medicine · doi:10.1002/mrm.1910360416 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationIctal language shift in a polyglot.
Schwartz, M. S. (1994) · Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.57.1.121 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Imaging Cognition II: An Empirical Review of 275 PET and fMRI Studies
Cabeza, R., & Nyberg, L. (2000) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/08989290051137585 · Cited by 3,598 · see citing works
Birdsong and human speech: common themes and mechanisms
Doupe, A. J., & Kuhl, P. K. (1999) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.22.1.567 · Cited by 1,633 · see citing works
Hensch, T. K. (2004) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144327 · Cited by 1,300 · see citing works
Bilingual language production: The neurocognition of language representation and control
Abutalebi, J., & Green, D. (2007) · Journal of Neurolinguistics · doi:10.1016/j.jneuroling.2006.10.003 · Cited by 1,302 · see citing works
Bilingual experience and executive functioning in young children
Carlson, S. M., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2008) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00675.x · Cited by 1,052 · see citing works
Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain
Mechelli, A., Crinion, J. T., Noppeney, U., O'Doherty, J., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S., & Price, C. J. (2004) · Nature · doi:10.1038/431757a · Cited by 1,005 · see citing works
A new view of language acquisition
Kuhl, P. K. (2000) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.97.22.11850 · Cited by 773 · see citing works
Brain potentials reveal unconscious translation during foreign language comprehension
Thierry, G., & Wu, Y. J. (2007) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0609927104 · Cited by 728 · see citing works
Age and second language acquisition and processing: A selective overview
Birdsong, D. (2006) · Language Learning · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2006.00353.x · Cited by 544 · see citing works
Neville, H. J., Bavelier, D., Corina, D., Rauschecker, J., Karni, A., Lalwani, A., Braun, A., Clark, V., Jezzard, P., & Turner, R. (1998) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.95.3.922 · Cited by 514 · see citing works
Transient activation of inferior prefrontal cortex during cognitive set shifting
Konishi, S., Nakajima, K., Uchida, I., Kameyama, M., Nakahara, K., Sekihara, K., & Miyashita, Y. (1998) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/283 · Cited by 401 · see citing works
In search of the language switch: an fMRI study of picture naming in Spanish-English bilinguals
Hernandez, A. E., Martinez, A., & Kohnert, K. (2000) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1006/brln.1999.2278 · Cited by 360 · see citing works
Nature, nurture, and development: from evangelism through science toward policy and practice
Rutter, M. (2002) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00388 · Cited by 309 · see citing works
Marian, V., Spivey, M., & Hirsch, J. (2003) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1016/s0093-934x(02)00535-7 · Cited by 302 · see citing works
Chinese–English Bilinguals Reading English Hear Chinese
Wu, Y. J., & Thierry, G. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1602-10.2010 · Cited by 307 · see citing works
An ERP study of second language learning after childhood: effects of proficiency.
Ojima, S., Nakata, H., & Kakigi, R. (2005) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/0898929055002436 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
Li, S.-C. (2003) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.171 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
Feldman, R. (2015) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579415000048 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
Beyond sensory substitution—learning the sixth sense
Nagel, S. K., Carl, C., Kringe, T., Märtin, R., & König, P. (2005) · Journal of Neural Engineering · doi:10.1088/1741-2560/2/4/r02 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Does puberty mark a transition in sensitive periods for plasticity in the associative neocortex?
Piekarski, D. J., Johnson, C. M., Boivin, J. R., Thomas, A. W., Lin, W. C., Delevich, K., M. Galarce, E., & Wilbrecht, L. (2017) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2016.08.042 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
An event-related fMRI study of implicit phrase-level syntactic and semantic processing
Kang, A. M., Constable, R. T., Gore, J. C., & Avrutin, S. (1999) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.1999.0493 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Martin, C. D., Dering, B., Thomas, E. M., & Thierry, G. (2009) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.04.025 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Critical periods in language acquisition and language attrition
Pallier, C. (2007) · Studies in Bilingualism · doi:10.1075/sibil.33.11pal · Cited by 99 · see citing works
The impact of second language learning on semantic and nonsemantic first language reading
Nosarti, C., Mechelli, A., Green, D. W., & Price, C. J. (2010) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhp101 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Reach Out and Read: evidence based approach to promoting early child development
Zuckerman, B., & Khandekar, A. (2010) · Current Opinion in Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/mop.0b013e32833a4673 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
A comparison of sensory-motor activity during speech in first and second languages
Simmonds, A. J., Wise, R. J. S., Dhanjal, N. S., & Leech, R. (2011) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00343.2011 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
The functional anatomy and connectivity of thought insertion and alien control of movement
Walsh, E., Oakley, D. A., Halligan, P. W., Mehta, M. A., & Deeley, Q. (2015) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2014.09.012 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Neural correlates of foreign-language learning in childhood: a 3-year longitudinal ERP study.
Ojima, S., Nakamura, N., Matsuba-Kurita, H., Hoshino, T., & Hagiwara, H. (2011) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn.2010.21425 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kim, K. H. S., Relkin, N. R., Lee, K.-M., & Hirsch, J.
- Affiliations
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- ORCID
- Relkin, Norman R.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 1997-07-10
- Volume
- 388
- Issue
- 6638
- Pages
- 171-174
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1883204536
- Cited by
- 1,071
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 67 · 2016: 41 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 41 · 2013: 39 · 2012: 40
- FWCI
- 17.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Dana Foundation
- William T. Morris Foundation
- National Cancer Institute
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Keywords
- bilingualism, second language, mother tongue, Broca's area, Wernicke's area, age of language acquisition, late bilinguals, early bilinguals, frontal lobe, temporal lobe
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Brain Mapping, Female, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Language, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Temporal Lobe, Multilingualism
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
