Child Bilingual Brain Imaging

A research project investigating whether the bilingual experience alters how the brain is connected.

This project runs from 4 June 2018-3 June 2022.

Background
Methodology
Team
Resources

Background

The way our brains develop is influenced by childhood experiences, whether deprived or enriched. Growing strong connections between distant brain regions improves thinking skills such as ignoring distractions, switching between tasks and focusing on tasks.

Although the number of bilingual children is increasing worldwide, we know little about how this enriched language environment influences the brain structure. Are the brains of bilingual children better connected?

Methodology

We will compare MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans and thinking and language skills from bilingual and monolingual school-aged children. The results will tell us whether early bilingualism could improve children’s general school readiness and educational outcomes.

We will look at networks involved in control skills and at networks involved in language skills. Specifically, we will first examine how brain connectivity differs between bilingual and monolingual children.

Secondly, we will examine how age of second language acquisition, language usage, and proficiency in two languages, influences brain connectivity in bilingual children.

Our team

Lead contact: Dr Effrosyni (Froso) Argyri, IOE
Chief investigator: Professor Li Wei, IOE
Dr Sezgi Goksan, IOE
Dr Jonathan Clayden, UCL Institute of Child Health
Dr Frederique Liegeois, UCL Institute of Child Health

Resources

The following video describes a child attending a clinical MRI scan. It will provide a good overview of what to expect if you come to visit us for a research MRI.

Contact us

Child Bilingual Brain Imaging
Department of Culture, Communication and Media
IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society
University College London
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL

email: f.argyri@ucl.ac.uk