Work

Multivariate Decoding and Drift-Diffusion Modeling Reveal Adaptive Control in Trilingual Comprehension

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The Adaptive Control Hypothesis posits varying control demands across language contexts in production, but its role in comprehension is underexplored. We investigated if trilinguals, who manage three dual-language contexts (L1-L2, L2-L3, L1-L3), exhibit differential proactive and reactive control demands during comprehension across these contexts. METHODS: Thirty-six Uyghur-Chinese-English trilinguals completed an auditory word-picture matching task across three dual-language contexts during EEG recording. We employed behavioral analysis, drift-diffusion modeling, event-related potential (ERP) analysis, and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to examine comprehension efficiency, evidence accumulation, and neural mechanisms. The design crossed context (L1-L2, L2-L3, L1-L3) with trial type (switch vs. repetition) and switching direction (to dominant vs. non-dominant language). RESULTS: Despite comparable behavioral performance, drift-diffusion modeling revealed distinct processing profiles across contexts, with the L1-L2 context showing the lowest comprehension efficiency due to slower evidence accumulation. In the L1-L3 context, comprehension-specific proactive control was indexed by a larger P300 and smaller N400 for L1-to-L3 switches. Notably, no reactive control (switch costs) was observed across any dual-language context. MVPA successfully classified contexts and switching directions, revealing distinct spatiotemporal neural patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Trilingual comprehension switching mechanisms differ from production. Reactive control is not essential, while proactive control is context-dependent, emerging only in the high-conflict L1-L3 context. This proactive strategy involves allocating more bottom-up attention to the weaker L3, which, unlike in production, enhances rather than hinders overall efficiency.

Source: Brain Sciences

DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15101046

Authors: Yuanbo Wang, Yingfang Meng, Qiuyue Yang, Ruiming Wang

Institutions: Fujian Normal University, South China Normal University, Anshan Normal University

Language: English

Topic: Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,654

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, South China Normal University, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province