Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34288240›Full record

ArticleHuman brain mapping2021

Cortical and white matter correlates of language-learning aptitudes.

Mikael Novén, Hampus Olsson, Gunther Helms, Merle Horne, Markus Nilsson, Mikael Roll

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Human brain mapping, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Heritable and experience-dependent cortical traits of reading ability.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mikael NovénDepartment of Linguistics and Phonetics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-0256-0522
Hampus OlssonDepartment of Clinical Sciences Lund, Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Gunther HelmsDepartment of Clinical Sciences Lund, Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Merle HorneDepartment of Linguistics and Phonetics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Markus NilssonDepartment of Clinical Sciences Lund, Radiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Mikael RollDepartment of Linguistics and Phonetics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

People learn new languages with varying degrees of success but what are the neuroanatomical correlates of the difference in language-learning aptitude? In this study, we set out to investigate how differences in cortical morphology and white matter microstructure correlate with aptitudes for vocabulary learning, phonetic memory, and grammatical inferencing as measured by the first-language neutral LLAMA test battery. We used ultra-high field (7T) magnetic resonance imaging to estimate the cortical thickness and surface area from sub-millimeter resolved image volumes. Further, diffusion kurtosis imaging was used to map diffusion properties related to the tissue microstructure from known language-related white matter tracts. We found a correlation between cortical surface area in the left posterior-inferior precuneus and vocabulary learning aptitude, possibly indicating a greater predisposition for storing word-figure associations. Moreover, we report negative correlations between scores for phonetic memory and axial kurtosis in left arcuate fasciculus as well as mean kurtosis, axial kurtosis, and radial kurtosis of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III, which are tracts connecting cortical areas important for phonological working memory.

Indexed as

Magnetic Resonance ImagingPsycholinguisticsAdultAptitudeCerebral CortexFemaleHumansLearningMaleWhite MatterYoung Adultcortical morphometrycortical surface areacortical thicknessdwMRIlanguage-learning aptitudeultra-high field

Identifiers

PMID34288240
PMCPMC8449104

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.