Native language differences in the structural connectome of the human brain

Is the neuroanatomy of the language structural connectome modulated by the life-long experience of speaking a specific language? The current study compared the brain white matter connections of the language and speech production network in a large cohort of 94 native speakers of two very different languages: an Indo-European mor-phosyntactically complex language (German) and a Semitic root-based language (Arabic). Using high-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI and tractography-based network statistics of the language connectome, we demonstrated that German native speakers exhibited stronger connectivity in an intra-hemispheric frontal to parietal/temporal dorsal language network, known to be associated with complex syntax processing. In comparison, Arabic native speakers showed stronger connectivity in the connections between semantic language regions, including the left temporo-parietal network, and stronger inter-hemispheric connections via the posterior corpus callosum con-necting bilateral superior temporal and inferior parietal regions. The current study suggests that the structural language connectome develops and is modulated by environmental factors such as the characteristic processing demands of the native language.

Automated summary

The current study investigated the differences in brain white matter connections between native speakers of German and Arabic. German speakers showed stronger connectivity in a language network associated with complex syntax processing, while Arabic speakers exhibited stronger connectivity between semantic language regions and inter-hemispheric connections. These findings suggest that the structural language connectome is influenced by the linguistic characteristics of the native language.