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Brain Sciences
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The Impact of Language(s), Social Environment and Culture on Brain...
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The Impact of Language(s), Social Environment and Culture on Brain Development and Function

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurolinguistics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2024 | Viewed by 2459

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Em. Jean-Marie Annoni

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Guest Editor
Department of Neurosciences, Universite de Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Interests: bilingual brain; aphasia; neurodegeneration; language recovery; cognitive neurosciences
Dr. Narges Radman

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Psychiatry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2. School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Interests: language; bilingual brain; aphasia; neurodegeneration
Prof. Dr. Alfred Njamnshi

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Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Central Hospital Yaoundé, Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I & Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), Yaoundé, Cameroon
Interests: stroke epilepsy; neurosciences and environment
Prof. Dr. Frederic Assal

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Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Interests: dementia; language aphasia; cognitive neurosciences

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Clinical and experimental data evidence that language offers an excellent model of the brain–environment relationship. Activities, such as learning to speak, act and sing, and the acquisition of a foreign language, modify cognitive processes and brain networks related to linguistic and nonlinguistic functions. In the same manner, language relearning after aphasia induces neural changes. Finally, language interventions in neurodegenerative diseases such as primary progressive aphasia or Alzheimer’s disease also result in functional and structural brain changes. However, all these changes are influenced by linguistic, cultural, and social contexts.

This Special Issue aims to highlight current perspectives on our understanding of brain reorganization after language training in real-world situations, language learning, but also multilingual and multi-communicative settings, as well as in language disorders. It will particularly focus on (i) language changes focusing on bilingualism and/or dialects; (ii) the assessment of aphasia: dialectal, social, and cultural issues iii) stroke-related or neurodegenerative aphasias: cross-cultural issues (iii) rehabilitation after aphasia from culturally, socially, and linguistically diverse background. We welcome articles that deepen our understanding of genetic and environmental, language-related brain plasticity.

Prof. Dr. Em. Jean-Marie Annoni
Dr. Narges Radman
Prof. Dr. Alfred Njamnshi
Prof. Dr. Frederic Assal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • language
  • brain development
  • aphasia
  • language acquisition
  • bilingual brain

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1251 KiB  
Article
Does Diglossia Impact Brain Structure? Data from Swiss German Early Diglossic Speakers
by Lea Berger, Michael Mouthon, Lea B. Jost, Sandra Schwab, Selma Aybek and Jean-Marie Annoni
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(4), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14040304 - 23 Mar 2024
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Abstract
(1) Background: Bilingualism has been reported to shape the brain by inducing cortical changes in cortical and subcortical language and executive networks. Similar yet different to bilingualism, diglossia is common in Switzerland, where the German-speaking population switches between an everyday spoken Swiss German [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Bilingualism has been reported to shape the brain by inducing cortical changes in cortical and subcortical language and executive networks. Similar yet different to bilingualism, diglossia is common in Switzerland, where the German-speaking population switches between an everyday spoken Swiss German (CH-GER) dialect and the standard German (stGER) used for reading and writing. However, no data are available for diglossia, defined as the use of different varieties or dialects of the same language, regarding brain structure. The aim of our study is to investigate if the presence of this type of diglossia has an impact on the brain structure, similar to the effects seen in bilingualism. (2) Methods: T1-weighted anatomical MRI scans of participants were used to compare the grey matter density and grey matter volume of 22 early diglossic CH-GER-speaking and 20 non-diglossic French-speaking right-handed university students, matched for age, linguistics and academic background. The images were processed with Statistical Parametric Mapping SPM12 and analyzed via voxel- and surface-based morphometry. (3) Results: A Bayesian ANCOVA on the whole brain revealed no differences between the groups. Also, for the five regions of interest (i.e., planum temporale, caudate nucleus, ACC, DLPFC and left interior parietal lobule), no differences in the cortical volume or thickness were found using the same statistical approach. (4) Conclusion: The results of this study may suggest that early diglossia does not shape the brain structure in the same manner as bilingualism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Language(s), Social Environment and Culture on Brain Development and Function)
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Review

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18 pages, 306 KiB  
Review
AI and Aphasia in the Digital Age: A Critical Review
by Adam John Privitera, Siew Hiang Sally Ng, Anthony Pak-Hin Kong and Brendan Stuart Weekes
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(4), 383; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14040383 - 16 Apr 2024
Viewed by 868
Abstract
Aphasiology has a long and rich tradition of contributing to understanding how culture, language, and social environment contribute to brain development and function. Recent breakthroughs in AI can transform the role of aphasiology in the digital age by leveraging speech data in all [...] Read more.
Aphasiology has a long and rich tradition of contributing to understanding how culture, language, and social environment contribute to brain development and function. Recent breakthroughs in AI can transform the role of aphasiology in the digital age by leveraging speech data in all languages to model how damage to specific brain regions impacts linguistic universals such as grammar. These tools, including generative AI (ChatGPT) and natural language processing (NLP) models, could also inform practitioners working with clinical populations in the assessment and treatment of aphasia using AI-based interventions such as personalized therapy and adaptive platforms. Although these possibilities have generated enthusiasm in aphasiology, a rigorous interrogation of their limitations is necessary before AI is integrated into practice. We explain the history and first principles of reciprocity between AI and aphasiology, highlighting how lesioning neural networks opened the black box of cognitive neurolinguistic processing. We then argue that when more data from aphasia across languages become digitized and available online, deep learning will reveal hitherto unreported patterns of language processing of theoretical interest for aphasiologists. We also anticipate some problems using AI, including language biases, cultural, ethical, and scientific limitations, a misrepresentation of marginalized languages, and a lack of rigorous validation of tools. However, as these challenges are met with better governance, AI could have an equitable impact. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Language(s), Social Environment and Culture on Brain Development and Function)
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