A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Foreign‐Language Vocabulary Learning Enhanced by Phonological Rehearsal: The Role of the Right Cerebellum and Left Fusiform Gyrus |
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| Authors: | Kai Makita Mika Yamazaki Hiroki C Tanabe Takahiko Koike Takanori Kochiyama Hirokazu Yokokawa Haruyo Yoshida Norihiro Sadato |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Physiological Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai), Okazaki 444‐8585, Japan;2. National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki 444‐8585, Japan;3. Child Development Research Center, University of Fukui, Fukui 910‐1193, Japan;4. Department of Social and Human Environment, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan;5. The Hakubi Project, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606‐8502, Japan;6. School of Language and Communication, Kobe University, Kobe 657‐8501, Japan;7. Department of English Education, Osaka Kyoiku University, Kashiwara 582‐8582, Japan;8. Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Fukui 910‐1193, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Psychological research suggests that foreign‐language vocabulary acquisition recruits the phonological loop for verbal working memory. To depict the neural underpinnings and shed light on the process of foreign language learning, we conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging of Japanese participants without previous exposure to the Uzbek language using learning of novel Uzbek words. During encoding, spoken Uzbek words and corresponding visual objects were shown, and subjects either overtly repeated the words (phonological rehearsal) or overtly rehearsed numbers (phonological suppression). Phonological rehearsal improved the encoding performance. A learning‐related decrease in rehearsal‐specific activation was found in the left fusiform gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, and right cerebellum. Recollection of the phonologically rehearsed words activated the right cerebellum and left fusiform gyrus more prominently than recollection of the phonologically suppressed words in a performance‐dependent manner. The phonological loop might provide the temporal and fragile registration of the articulatory pattern that is converted into a more durable form in the right cerebellum, which is in turn integrated with the object information in the fusiform gyrus. |
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