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Published in: Brain Structure and Function 5/2021

01-06-2021 | Original Article

fMRI evidence reveals emotional biases in bilingual decision making

Authors: Yuying He, Francesco Margoni, Yanjing Wu, Huanhuan Liu

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 5/2021

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Abstract

Research indicates that the foreign language effect on decision making can be partially explained by a reduction in emotional response in the second language. In this fMRI study, we aimed at elucidating the neural mechanisms underpinning the interaction between language and emotion in decision making. Across multiple trials, Chinese–English bilinguals were asked to decide whether to gamble in a Gambling task, and received feedbacks either in L1 (Chinese) or in L2 (English). If they gambled, feedbacks were either positively or negatively valenced words; if they did not gamble, feedback was the word ‘safe’. We assessed how emotionally valenced words were processed in the two languages, and how this processing influenced subsequent decision making. Overall, we found evidence that in L2 context, but not in L1 context, loss aversion was mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) which also showed strong functional connectivity with the visual cortex, suggesting an avoidance mechanism for negative stimuli in L2. However, we also found an enhanced response to positive feedbacks in L2 compared to L1, as evidenced by greater activation of the hippocampus for win feedbacks compared to safe feedbacks in L2, eventually resulting in a greater tendency to gamble. Thus, foreign language influenced decision making by both regulating emotional response to negative stimuli and enhancing emotional response to positive stimuli. This study helps unveiling the neural bases of the interaction between language and emotion in the foreign language context.
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Metadata
Title
fMRI evidence reveals emotional biases in bilingual decision making
Authors
Yuying He
Francesco Margoni
Yanjing Wu
Huanhuan Liu
Publication date
01-06-2021
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Brain Structure and Function / Issue 5/2021
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02246-3

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