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Papers by ARTURO HERNANDEZ

Neuroimage, 2003

Recently there has been a renewed interest in cognitive psychology on the effects of the age of w... more Recently there has been a renewed interest in cognitive psychology on the effects of the age of word acquisition (AoA) on lexical processing. In particular, it is currently unclear whether AoA or word frequency are better predictors of word recognition. To date no study has investigated the neural bases of the AoA effect or attempted to dissociate it from word frequency. We report a visual and an auditory event-related fMRI experiment investigating the influence of AoA and word frequency on neural activity, and show that AoA modulates brain areas that are not influenced by word frequency. The precuneus was activated for early learned words across auditory and visual presentation modalities. Additional activity in the auditory cortex was observed specifically for the reading of early acquired words. Late learned words, in contrast, led to a selective activation increase in lateral inferior frontal areas. These findings support models that suggest that early and late learned words are represented differently in the brain. They further allow to specify the nature of the represenational differences, namely that early learned words are represented in the brain in a more sensory manner than late learned words.

Neuroimage, 2001

The current experiment was designed to investigate the nature of cognitive control in within-and ... more The current experiment was designed to investigate the nature of cognitive control in within-and between-language switching in bilingual participants. To examine the neural substrate of language switching we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as subjects named pictures in one language only or switched between languages. Participants were also asked to name (only in English) a separate set of pictures as either the actions or the objects depicted or to switch between these two types of responses on each subsequent picture. Picture naming compared to rest revealed activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which extended down into Broca's area in the left hemisphere. There were no differences in the activation pattern for each language. English and Spanish both activated overlapping areas of the brain. Similarly, there was no difference in activation for naming actions or objects in English. However, there was increased intensity of activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for switching between languages relative to no-switching, an effect which was not observed for naming of actions or objects in English. We suggest that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex serves to attenuate interference that results from having to actively enhance and suppress two languages in alternation. These results are consistent with the view that switching between languages involves increased general executive processing. Finally, our results are consistent with the view that different languages are represented in overlapping areas of the brain in early bilinguals.

Applied Psycholinguistics, 1994

Page 1. Applied Psycholinguists 15 (1994), 417-446 Printed in the United States of America On-lin... more Page 1. Applied Psycholinguists 15 (1994), 417-446 Printed in the United States of America On-line sentence interpretation in Spanish-English bilinguals: What does it mean to be "in between"? ARTURO E. HERNANDEZ, ELIZABETH ...

Journal of Experimental Psychology-learning Memory and Cognition, 1996

Brain and Language, 2000

For many years, researchers investigating the brain bases of bilingualism have concentrated on tw... more For many years, researchers investigating the brain bases of bilingualism have concentrated on two basic questions. The first concerns the nature of language representation. That is, are a bilinguals' two languages represented in distinct or overlapping areas of the brain.

The present study investigated developmental changes in lexical production skills in early sequen... more The present study investigated developmental changes in lexical production skills in early sequential bilinguals, in both Spanish (L1) and English (L2), exploring the effects of age, years of experience and basic-level cognitive processing (specifically the ability to resist interference) within a timed picture-naming task. To assess resistance to interference, naming was compared in low-competition (blocked-single language) vs high-competition (mixed-alternating language) conditions. Participants were 100 individuals, 20 at each of five different age levels (5-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14-16 years & young adults). All had learned Spanish as a first language in the home, with formal English experience beginning at 5 years. Gains were made in both languages across age. However, there was a developmental cross-over from Spanish dominance in the youngest children, through a period of relatively balanced Spanish and English skills in middle childhood, culminating in a clear pattern of English dominance among adolescents and young adults. Although all groups experienced a greater slowing of response times in the mixed-language condition relative to the blocked-language condition, developmental changes in the pattern of speed-accuracy trade-offs in the mixed condition can be interpreted t o reflect a change in the ability to resist cognitive interference during word production. *

Attention Perception & Psychophysics, 1995

Two new procedures were employed to investigate the effects of semantic and grammatical gender on... more Two new procedures were employed to investigate the effects of semantic and grammatical gender on lexical access in Italian and to investigate the interaction of gender with other factors that are known to influence lexical access in other languages. The gender-monitoring task requires a conscious decision about the gender of each noun, whereas the word repetition task does not require explicit attention to gender. In both tasks, single words are presented out of context, under speeded conditions. Both procedures proved to be sensitive indices of word recognition, with reaction times that are closely tied to the point at which words can be uniquely identified (although some processing before and after the uniqueness point was seen). In both tasks, reaction times were strongly affected by phonological factors (e.g., length, number of syllables, and presence of frication on the initial consonant). Phonological transparency of gender marking had a reliable effect on gender monitoring but had no effect on word repetition, suggesting that explicit attention to gender may be a factor affecting utilization of this phonological cue. Semantic factors (including semantic gender) had no effect on performance. Frequency and age of acquisition had very small effects when other factors were controlled. Implications for current models of lexical access are discussed, with special reference to the role of gender.

Neuroimage, 2003

Recently there has been a renewed interest in cognitive psychology on the effects of the age of w... more Recently there has been a renewed interest in cognitive psychology on the effects of the age of word acquisition (AoA) on lexical processing. In particular, it is currently unclear whether AoA or word frequency are better predictors of word recognition. To date no study has investigated the neural bases of the AoA effect or attempted to dissociate it from word frequency. We report a visual and an auditory event-related fMRI experiment investigating the influence of AoA and word frequency on neural activity, and show that AoA modulates brain areas that are not influenced by word frequency. The precuneus was activated for early learned words across auditory and visual presentation modalities. Additional activity in the auditory cortex was observed specifically for the reading of early acquired words. Late learned words, in contrast, led to a selective activation increase in lateral inferior frontal areas. These findings support models that suggest that early and late learned words are represented differently in the brain. They further allow to specify the nature of the represenational differences, namely that early learned words are represented in the brain in a more sensory manner than late learned words.

Neuroimage, 2001

The current experiment was designed to investigate the nature of cognitive control in within-and ... more The current experiment was designed to investigate the nature of cognitive control in within-and between-language switching in bilingual participants. To examine the neural substrate of language switching we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as subjects named pictures in one language only or switched between languages. Participants were also asked to name (only in English) a separate set of pictures as either the actions or the objects depicted or to switch between these two types of responses on each subsequent picture. Picture naming compared to rest revealed activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which extended down into Broca's area in the left hemisphere. There were no differences in the activation pattern for each language. English and Spanish both activated overlapping areas of the brain. Similarly, there was no difference in activation for naming actions or objects in English. However, there was increased intensity of activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for switching between languages relative to no-switching, an effect which was not observed for naming of actions or objects in English. We suggest that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex serves to attenuate interference that results from having to actively enhance and suppress two languages in alternation. These results are consistent with the view that switching between languages involves increased general executive processing. Finally, our results are consistent with the view that different languages are represented in overlapping areas of the brain in early bilinguals.

Applied Psycholinguistics, 1994

Page 1. Applied Psycholinguists 15 (1994), 417-446 Printed in the United States of America On-lin... more Page 1. Applied Psycholinguists 15 (1994), 417-446 Printed in the United States of America On-line sentence interpretation in Spanish-English bilinguals: What does it mean to be "in between"? ARTURO E. HERNANDEZ, ELIZABETH ...

Journal of Experimental Psychology-learning Memory and Cognition, 1996

Brain and Language, 2000

For many years, researchers investigating the brain bases of bilingualism have concentrated on tw... more For many years, researchers investigating the brain bases of bilingualism have concentrated on two basic questions. The first concerns the nature of language representation. That is, are a bilinguals' two languages represented in distinct or overlapping areas of the brain.

The present study investigated developmental changes in lexical production skills in early sequen... more The present study investigated developmental changes in lexical production skills in early sequential bilinguals, in both Spanish (L1) and English (L2), exploring the effects of age, years of experience and basic-level cognitive processing (specifically the ability to resist interference) within a timed picture-naming task. To assess resistance to interference, naming was compared in low-competition (blocked-single language) vs high-competition (mixed-alternating language) conditions. Participants were 100 individuals, 20 at each of five different age levels (5-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14-16 years & young adults). All had learned Spanish as a first language in the home, with formal English experience beginning at 5 years. Gains were made in both languages across age. However, there was a developmental cross-over from Spanish dominance in the youngest children, through a period of relatively balanced Spanish and English skills in middle childhood, culminating in a clear pattern of English dominance among adolescents and young adults. Although all groups experienced a greater slowing of response times in the mixed-language condition relative to the blocked-language condition, developmental changes in the pattern of speed-accuracy trade-offs in the mixed condition can be interpreted t o reflect a change in the ability to resist cognitive interference during word production. *

Attention Perception & Psychophysics, 1995

Two new procedures were employed to investigate the effects of semantic and grammatical gender on... more Two new procedures were employed to investigate the effects of semantic and grammatical gender on lexical access in Italian and to investigate the interaction of gender with other factors that are known to influence lexical access in other languages. The gender-monitoring task requires a conscious decision about the gender of each noun, whereas the word repetition task does not require explicit attention to gender. In both tasks, single words are presented out of context, under speeded conditions. Both procedures proved to be sensitive indices of word recognition, with reaction times that are closely tied to the point at which words can be uniquely identified (although some processing before and after the uniqueness point was seen). In both tasks, reaction times were strongly affected by phonological factors (e.g., length, number of syllables, and presence of frication on the initial consonant). Phonological transparency of gender marking had a reliable effect on gender monitoring but had no effect on word repetition, suggesting that explicit attention to gender may be a factor affecting utilization of this phonological cue. Semantic factors (including semantic gender) had no effect on performance. Frequency and age of acquisition had very small effects when other factors were controlled. Implications for current models of lexical access are discussed, with special reference to the role of gender.