Throughout the trajectory of one’s life, an individual acquires new knowledge and skills that require the brain to adapt and accommodate for said skill sets. The ability of the brain to adapt and become flexible to the new behavior is able to happen because of its neuroplasticity, or malleability. Neuroplasticity accounts for all the neuronal changes, such as a change in neural connections, cell shape and size, synaptic strength, and more. In young children, as their brain is in its formative years, engaging in specific activities can increase neuroplasticity that will remain in effect for their lifetime. Activities such as learning or being immersed in a second language as well as learning an instrument can cause neurons to fire more consistently together, resulting in stronger connections. Given that neuroplasticity is affected by age, scientists are more closely observing how the brain differs in those who are exposed to these skill sets from a young age, compared to those who learned later in life. Not only that, but how the brain is affected by someone who has acquired not just one, but both of these specific skills, bilingualism and music training.
In the paper, “Early bilingualism, language attainment, and brain development”, scientists in Montreal researched the differences in bilingual individuals who have learned languages simultaneously from a young age, and individuals who learned a second language sequentially once they had passed their more formative years. What was found outwardly in those who had been exposed to the language from birth, is that they were able to maintain the accent of a native speaker, which those who learned sequentially were not able to emulate as well. Inwardly, PET scans revealed that early exposure led to the development of new synapses, myelination, and increased connections within the brain-language network. Children who were exposed to the languages in their neonatal period had a cascade of biochemicals that ultimately, “...might result in macrostructural changes that manifest as efficient activation during speech, increased size of certain brain-language areas, and stronger connections between distributed brain regions within the language network…,” (Berken et al., 2017). These scientists concluded that simultaneous speakers had more efficient organization of brain function and structure, whereas those who learned sequentially had more limited neuroplasticity that prevented such advanced abilities.
A different and more recent study done in Montreal, with scientists from Concordia University and BRAMS, studied how early bilingualism worked in accordance with early music experience on auditory-motor pathways. In the paper, “What you learn & when you learn it: Impact of early bilingual & music experience on the structural characteristics of auditory-motor pathways”, participants were all proficient bilingual speakers, but had opposing experiences in learning music at a young age. Across all participants, the left long segment (LS) of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) had been greater than the right, the expected asymmetry, and was enhanced in simultaneous speakers. Those with early music training though, had an increased right LS macrostructure which reduced the asymmetry of the brain. “...immersive exposure to an L2 in the first year of life can produce long-term plastic effects on the left LS, which is considered to be largely under genetic control, while deliberate music training in early childhood alters the right LS, whose structure appears more open to experience,” (Vaquero et al., 2020). From this study, the understanding of plasticity in connection to language and music is expanded upon, and the importance of learning during formative years is emphasized as it aids in brain maturation.
Understanding the acquisition of new skills and neuroplasticity is crucial, as both of these studies attested to. Their contribution to the subject will allow for further research to be done, and has also provided a good understanding of why it’s important for young children to acquire new skills, as it’ll benefit them in the long-run.
Works Cited
Berken, Jonathan A., et al. “Early Bilingualism, Language Attainment, and Brain Development.” Neuropsychologia, Pergamon, 1 Sept. 2016, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393216303293.
Vaquero, Lucía, et al. “What You Learn & When You Learn It: Impact of Early Bilingual & Music Experience on the Structural Characteristics of Auditory-Motor Pathways.” NeuroImage, Academic Press, 29 Feb. 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920301762.
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