Brain structure predicts the learning of foreign speech sounds

BBC News:

Dr Narly Golestani from UCL's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience said the brain's white matter was involved in the efficient processing of sound information into the lower levels of the brain - known as the primary cortex.

Its fibres are involved in connecting brain regions together. Fast language learners had a greater volume, and that may mean they have more or perhaps thicker fibres, she said.

"The bigger picture is that we are starting to understand that brain shape and structure can be informative about people's abilities or pathologies - why people are good at some things and not others is evident from these scans," she said.

White brain matter is involved in connecting different parts of the brain together, and greater amounts of this could indicate an increased ability to process sound.

In faster learners, brain scans showed a greater volume of white matter in the left auditory region known as Heschl's gyrus, where sound is processed.

And there was a difference in its position in the right brain hemisphere between faster and slower learners.

The researchers also found there was greater asymmetry in the volume of the parietal lobes, which are also involved in the processing of speech sound in the left hemisphere of the brain.

Previous research suggested that having a talent for music was linked to the structure of grey matter in the brain.

This latest research could be extended to other applications, Dr Narly said.

"We can start to make predictions regarding whether people will be good at something or not based on their brain structure," she said," or diagnose clinical problems."

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