Transient selective aphasia in highly proficient bilinguals triggered by electrical stimulation of the left superior temporal gyrus.

ABSTRACT: Are an individual's first (L1) and second (L2) languages represented in shared or distinct brain territories? Using intraoperative electrical stimulation mapping (ESM) in two Basque-Spanish bilinguals with non-growing lesions-thus avoiding confounding effects of adaptive plasticity-this study identified distinct language representations within the left temporal lobe. Stimulation of posterior and anterior superior temporal gyri induced language-selective aphasias, whereas stimulation of the mid-temporal region and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus produced naming errors without language specificity. These findings highlight both shared and distinct loci for L1 and L2, advancing our understanding of bilingual brain organization.

SUBMITTER: Quinones I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11972172 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature