A new study published in Cerebral Cortex (Oxford University Press) explores the intricate relationship between brain activity, language processing, and individual differences in cognitive and linguistic skills. Led by Irene Balboni and first co-authored by Alessandra Rampinini. The study, titled "Brain activation for language and its relationship to cognitive and linguistic measures", involved testing 152 participants on a wide range of cognitive and linguistic abilities and scanning their brains using fMRI during story listening.
This work was performed in the context of the Aptitude work package of the NCCR Evolving Language, with co-PIs Raphael Berthele and Narly Golestani, with the invaluable help of Olga Kepinska.
The findings provide valuable insights into how the brain processes language:
- Convergence: Language, cognition, and phonological skills converge in the brain
- Role of Literacy: In typical readers, literacy integrates more strongly, supporting more efficient processing.
- Alternative Strategies: Readers with difficulties rely more on lower-level sensorimotor regions, pointing to complementary neural strategies.
The study emphasizes the importance of a multimodal approach to understanding individual differences in language abilities. By combining behavioral and neuroimaging data, the research highlights how cognitive and linguistic skills interact with neural processing, offering new perspectives on literacy and language learning.
The full paper is available here: https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/35/8/bhaf231/8250007?login=false
About the Paper
Title: Brain activation for language and its relationship to cognitive and linguistic measures
Authors: Irene Balboni, Alessandra Rampinini, Olga Kepinska, Raphael Berthele, Narly Golestani
Journal: Cerebral Cortex, Volume 35, Issue 8, August 2025
DOI: doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf231
Abstract
Language learning and use relies on domain-specific, domain-general cognitive and sensory-motor functions. Using fMRI during story listening and behavioral tests, we investigated brain-behavior associations between linguistic and non-linguistic measures in individuals with varied multilingual experience and reading skills, including typical reading participants (TRs) and dyslexic readers (DRs). Partial Least Square Correlation revealed a main component linking cognitive, linguistic, and phonological measures to amodal/associative brain areas. A second analysis only in TRs revealed a stronger association between cognitive, linguistic, literacy and phonological skills within the same brain network as in the full sample, suggesting better speech-print convergence in TRs. In this sample, an additional component involving speed, automatization, and lexical access was associated with less involvement in unimodal, lower-level auditory, and motor brain areas. The complementarity between the two components likely reflects TRs’ reduced reliance on lower-level sensorimotor regions and greater engagement of higher-level cortices and skills. Overall, our work suggests convergence between behavioral measures of linguistic, domain-general cognitive and domain-specific non-linguistic skill, and between these behavioral measures and neural processing of language. This convergence is greater in TRs, suggesting more integrated processing in this group. Our work advocates a comprehensive, multimodal approach to understanding individual differences in language abilities and experience.
