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Foreign language modulates neural responses to instructed fear: an fMRI study in bilinguals
Poster Session A, Friday, September 12, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, Field House
Tatiana Davydova1, María Baena Pérez1, Eva Caderón Rubio1, Lidón Marin Marin2, Marc Lluis Vives3, Víctor Costumero1; 1Jaume I University, 2Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom, 3Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Introduction The use of a non-native language (L2) has been associated with reduced emotional resonance, particularly for negative emotions such as fear. While previous studies explored how using L2 affects the processing and regulation of negative emotions (Dang et al., 2023; Dylman & Bjärtå, 2019; Jończyk et al., 2016, 2024; Ortigosa et al., 2024; Ortigosa-Beltrán et al., 2023; Vives et al., 2021; Wu & Thierry, 2012), less is understood about how L2 influences fear learning. Prior psychophysiological study of instructed fear conditioning in Spanish/English bilinguals showed reduced fear responses when participants received threat-related instructions in their L2 compared to their first language (L1) (García-Palacios et al., 2018). However, no neuroimaging studies have yet examined the neural basis underlying this effect. In this fMRI study, we investigated how language context (L1 vs. L2) and bilingualism type (unbalanced vs. balanced) modulate neural responses to instructed fear across two experiments. Methods and Results In Experiment 1, two groups of Spanish/English unbalanced bilinguals completed the instructed fear task in either their L1 (Native group) or L2 (Foreign group). The fMRI task consisted of a bilingual adaptation of instructed fear conditioning task (Phelps et al., 2001). ROI analyses showed significantly greater activation during the threat versus safe condition in bilateral nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in participants who completed the task in their L1 compared to L2. Whole-brain analyses showed greater activation of ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in L1. Experiment 2 included 117 Spanish/Catalan participants divided into four groups based on bilingualism type (unbalanced vs. balanced) and task language (reported L1 vs. L2). The results revealed a significant interaction between bilingualism type and task language in the dorsal ACC (dACC), pregenual ACC (pgACC), and the right NAcc. Post-hoc analyses showed that the unbalanced L1 group showed significantly greater activity to threat appraisal compared to the balanced L1 group in all three regions, and greater activity in the pgACC and right NAcc compared to the unbalanced L2 group. In balanced bilinguals, the L2 group showed higher activity in the dACC. Finally, no significant differences were observed between the two L2 groups and between the unbalanced L1 and balanced L2 groups in any of the ROIs. Conclusions The results of this study provide the first neuroimaging evidence that instructed fear learning is modulated by language context and bilingualism type. The higher activation in the ACC and NAcc during threat appraisal in unbalanced bilinguals’ L1 suggests greater emotional resonance of fear instructions when they are received in the native or dominant language compared to L2. On the other hand, attenuated fear response in balanced bilinguals compared to unbalanced bilinguals when both groups performed the task in their L1 suggests that language exposure and use may play a modulatory role on fear learning even in the first language. These results have important implications for bilingual emotional processing and potential clinical applications in fear processing and regulation.
Topic Areas: Multilingualism,