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The impact of language proficiency on task-dependent neural activity and functional connectivity: Insights from deafness
Cerebral Cortex. 2026. Vol. 36. No. 1. Article bhaf332.
Our study investigates how language proficiency impacts cognitive processing in the brain. We focused on congenitally and early deaf adults, where individual differences in language access during development significantly influence language proficiency and cognitive function. This variability in language backgrounds and skills, allows us to explore the influence of early language experience on the large-scale brain networks that support cognition. We used functional MRI in a group of deaf adults with diverse language backgrounds and a control group of hearing participants. We hypothesised that differences in language skills would modulate neural responses and functional connectivity in task-related networks during the execution of demanding working memory and planning tasks. Our study revealed that differences in language proficiency, independently of language modality (signed or spoken), are positively correlated with neural activity and functional connectivity within the task-positive network during working memory in deaf adults. Furthermore, compared to hearing participants, the deaf group showed distinct patterns of neural activity and connectivity in task-dependent regions in the working memory experiment. Our findings emphasise the profound impact of early environmental experiences on brain responses during cognitive processing. Specifically, they highlight the role of language proficiency in shaping and supporting higher-order cognition.
Publication based on the results of:
Громенко Е. С., Krongauz M., Антропологический форум 2026 № 70 С. 163–183
The paper describes the construction litso takoy-to natsionalnosti ‘a person of such-and-such an ethnicity’ in Russian with its semantic and pragmatic characteristics. The purpose of the study is to trace the appearance of the construction and analyse how it is used and how it is perceived. Three expressions representing this construction are considered in more ...
Added: September 30, 2026
Поцелуев В. А., Ural-Altaic Studies 2026 Vol. 62 No. 3 P. 62–81
In recent years, the researchers working on Uralic languages within Minimalism seem to have built a consensus on how to define the
position of negation in any language with a negative verb. The main and usually the only argument is based on the work [Mitchell 2006].
The argument is as follows: if the negative verb expresses tense, ...
Added: September 30, 2026
Государственный университет просвещения, 2026.
Настоящее издание представляет собой коллективный труд, посвящённый юбилеям основателей-руководителей научных школ лингвистического факультета Государственного университета просвещения Максименко Ольги Ивановны, доктора филологических наук, профессора, профессора кафедры теории языка, англистики и прикладной лингвистики, Председателя
диссертационного совета 72.2.020.05 и Хухуни Георгия Теймуразовича, доктора филологических
наук, профессора, профессора кафедры теории языка, англистики и прикладной лингвистики.
Цель издания – обобщение современных достижений в ...
Added: September 29, 2026
Zevakhina N., Щипкова А. А., Chinkova A., Voprosy Jazykoznanija 2025 No. 2 P. 105–122
This paper presents experimental evidence for the over-specification (redundant use) of Thai postnominal
numerals in referential communication. The first experiment reveals high rates of over-specification
in oral responses that include Thai postnominal and Russian prenominal numerals tested in a contrastive
multi-number visual context. The second experiment demonstrates lower but still relatively high
rates of over-specification in written responses that ...
Added: September 29, 2026
Вилинбахова Е. Л., Zevakhina N., Terra Linguistica 2025 Т. 16 № 3 С. 13–30
Настоящая работа посвящена исследованию употреблений испанского глагола resultar ‘оказываться’ в рамках эвиденциального подхода и подхода возникновения нового знания, представленных в литературе. Согласно первому подходу, глагол resultar передает
инферентивное значение: субъект оценки делает умозаключение на основании наблюдаемых
результатов. Сторонники второго подхода считают основным компонентом семантики глагола
возникновение нового знания, а инферентивное значение объясняется воздействием других
элементов контекста. В работе каждый ...
Added: September 29, 2026
Zevakhina N., Пономарева П., Краснощёкова С., Acta linguistica Petropolitana 2025 Vol. 21 No. 2 P. 270–286
The paper reports on an experimental study that reveals a difference
between two types of under-informative utterances with the quantifier “nekotoryj”
(‘some’) in Russian. The experiment was conducted as an inference task based on [Geurts,
Pouscoulous 2009; Val Tiel et al. 2016] with some modifications. The experiment
showed that both types of utterances more often have inference-based interpretations
rather than ...
Added: September 29, 2026
Zevakhina N., Voprosy Jazykoznanija 2026 No. 3 P. 54–70
The paper demonstrates that the Russian particle mol exhibits a combination of properties associated
with direct, indirect, and free indirect discourse (FID). First, mol-clauses license shiftable linguistic
items (adverbial indexicals, expressive speech acts, imperatives, evaluative lexical items) not
only in FID, as typically assumed for such linguistic items, but also in indirect discourse. Second,
first- and second-person pronouns in ...
Added: September 29, 2026
Sigdel E., Zevakhina N., Krasnoschekova S., Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Language and Literature 2026 Vol. 23 No. 1 P. 217–234
The paper investigates Russian interrogatives and exclamatives with multiple wh-phrases based on two experiments, with additional support of the data from the Russian National Corpus. Since exclamatives are often viewed parallel to interrogatives, it is important to study both types of clauses with multiple wh-phrases alongside and to look for similarities and/or differences in their ...
Added: September 29, 2026
Zevakhina N., Studi slavistici 2026 Vol. 23 No. 1 P. 111–126
Using syntactic embeddability diagnostics, the paper demonstrates that Russian wh-exclamatives
with the quotation particle mol and/or with the complementizer čto are embeddable and thus
contributes to the ongoing theoretical and cross-linguistic discussion of embedded wh-exclamatives
and their (in)subordination status. This analysis is applicable to rhetorical questions (with the quotation
particle mol and/or with the complementizer čto), which are traditionally ...
Added: September 29, 2026
Алентьева А. А., Новый филологический вестник 2026 Т. 77 № 2 С. 94–103
The article is devoted to research irony in Turgenev’s play A Month in the Country and Friel’s theatre adaptation A Month in the Country. The purpose of the study is to determine how the Irish playwright interprets Turgenev’s plot. Turgenev presents the moral decline of the Russian nobility amid a state of general disorder. Using ...
Added: September 28, 2026
Karpychev V., Malyutina S., Dragoy O., Brain Structure and Function 2026 Vol. 231 Article 69
Language comprehension and production are predominantly supported by the left-lateralized language-related network (LRN). However, right-hemispheric homologs of the language regions can also contribute to language processing, resulting in reduced left-hemispheric language lateralization. To date, it remains unclear whether less left-hemispheric language lateralization is associated with the recruitment of other non-language networks and their interaction with ...
Added: September 28, 2026
Аверьянова Варвара Андреевна, Sherbakova O., Вопросы психолингвистики 2022 Т. 53 № 3 С. 42–61
The article presents the results of the research aimed at building the framework for in-depth analysis of comprehension of implicit meanings in verbal texts. The existing approaches to studying implicit meanings and text comprehension are described, and common features of the cognitive processes underlying text comprehension are highlighted to provide the basis for further research. ...
Added: September 28, 2026
Sherbakova O., Обольская В. А., Вопросы психолингвистики 2023 Т. 55 № 1 С. 112–127
The article describes the second part of the research aimed at developing the framework for studying the comprehension of implicit meanings of verbal texts. The uniqueness of the proposed framework stems from the combination of psychological and linguistic methodologies. We outline the current approaches to the phenomenon of text comprehension along with its classifications available ...
Added: September 28, 2026
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2026.
This collection of papers explores the epic traditions of the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, bringing together insights from remarkable scholars. Topics range from the cuneiform epic of Erra to Homeric epics and Greco-Roman literature, shedding light on the role of epic texts in shaping collective identities and understanding ancient societies. The validity of ...
Added: September 28, 2026
Zaikin A., Vlasenko D., Zakharov D. et al., Diagnostics 2026 Vol. 16 No. 17 Article 2746
Background/Objectives: Synolitic graphs (SGs) were developed for task-based fMRI, where
edge weights encode the discriminative power of pairwise regional features; whether similar
information can be recovered from resting-state data was untested. We benchmarked
SGs for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) classification using the multisite ABIDE-I dataset
(871 subjects: 403 subjects with ASD, 468 typical controls; 17 sites; CC200 atlas). Methods:
Using ...
Added: August 27, 2026
Kochetkova E., Machinskaya R., Human Physiology 2025 Vol. 51 No. 6 P. 580–590
Growing evidence suggests the specific systems for emotional information maintenance and processing in working memory, highlighting the role of cognitive domains in emotional awareness. The question of neural basis of social-emotional processing in working memory remains open. We hypothesized that the neural systems supporting working memory for emotional processing may rely on shared ‘core’ networks ...
Added: April 15, 2026
Pechenkova E., Паникратова Я. Р., Королькова О. А. et al., Вестник рентгенологии и радиологии 2025 Т. 106 № 6 С. 192–206
Background. Individual activation maps based on brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data cannot yet be applied to refine a patient's diagnosis and prognosis. However, tracking activation dynamics in the same patient during the course of treatment or rehabilitation can be useful for assessing their efficacy. Population-based studies often fail to identify clinically significant activation parameters ...
Added: April 2, 2026
Паникратова Я. Р., Королькова О. А., Пчелинцева М. Е. et al., Национальный психологический журнал 2026 Т. 21 № 2 С. 144–158
Background.
Working memory (WM) declines with ageing. Despite a large body of relevant studies, changes in verbal and nonverbal WM, relevant specifically for healthy aging, and their brain correlates, remain understudied.Objectives. Our study aimed to analyse changes in maintenance and updating of verbal and nonverbal material in WM in healthy ageing (i.e., the absence of cognitive ...
Added: April 2, 2026
Паникратова Я. Р., Пчелинцева М. Е., Егорова М. В. et al., Психиатрия, психотерапия и клиническая психология 2025 Т. 16 № 4 С. 528–543
Working memory (WM) may largely determine human cognitive capabilities and, consequently, daily functioning and performance in leading activity for diverse ages. Therefore, WM training seems to be relevant for both healthy individuals and patients with neurological or mental conditions of a broad age range. The kinds of WM training described in the literature are highly ...
Added: March 15, 2026
Sergunin A. A., , in: The Russian Arctic in the 2010s and 2020s: Selected Articles from the Arctic Yearbook.: Peterborough: North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network, 2025. P. 300–314.
Russian Arctic cities acknowledge the need to build sustainable development strategies (SDSs) to ensure their long-term socio-economic and ecological viability. They try to create proper conceptual, legal and institutional settings for the development and implementation of such strategies. First and foremost, the Arctic cities aim to create and develop an efficient strategy planning system, which is seen as a necessary precondition ...
Added: January 7, 2026
Pechenkova E., Королькова О. А., Паникратова Я. Р. et al., В кн.: Когнитивная наука в Москве: новые исследования. Материалы конференции 25 – 26 июня 2025.: М.: Буки Веди, 2025. С. 394–399.
Working memory (WM) is a system for the short-term storage and processing of a limited amount of information required for a current cognitive activity. WM largely determines a person's cognitive abilities throughout life and has been shown to decline with aging. This decline affects WM updating to a greater degree than maintenance and is more ...
Added: December 29, 2025
Грищенко Д. И., Falikman M., Pechenkova E. et al., В кн.: Когнитивная наука в Москве: новые исследования. Материалы конференции 25 – 26 июня 2025.: М.: Буки Веди, 2025. С. 153–157.
The human gaze is a significant source of information during social interactions, and as such, it has been the focus of intensive study by researchers from various scientific disciplines for many decades. Two types of social gaze that develop sequentially in phylogeny and ontogeny are gaze following and mutual gaze. Previous behavioral research has identified ...
Added: December 29, 2025
Schoenmaekers C., Jillings S., Mortaheb S. et al., NPJ MICROGRAVITY 2025 Vol. 11 Article 71
Long-duration spaceflight affects otolith-mediated ocular counter-roll (OCR) and brain function, but the relationship between these changes is unclear. This study examines whether OCR changes correlate with functional connectivity (FC) changes in the vestibular network in the same cosmonauts after a long-duration (6-month) spaceflight mission. Using a human vestibular atlas, we found that changes in FC ...
Added: December 28, 2025
Del Maschio N., Bellini C., Giannachi M. et al., Brain Structure and Function 2025 Vol. 230 Article 55
Reading is a core feature of human communication that develops throughout intensive academic training. Recently, a group of studies examined whether neuroanatomical variants that predate literacy acquisition may influence reading abilities at later stages of life, yielding mixed results. To complement and expand previous knowledge, we used multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate whether ...
Added: December 12, 2025