Aims:

The present study aims to examine: (1) the relationship between young children’s bilingualism and their performance in the Dimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS) task; and (2) whether prefrontal activation was associated with children’s bilingualism and executive function.

Methodology:

Children performed three sessions of the DCCS and their brain activity during the task was measured using functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Data and analysis:

A sample of bilingual children (N = 49) was recruited from a preschool with an English immersion program. We examined whether children’s performance in the DCCS was related to their bilingualism and whether the changes in oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal regions were related to their bilingualism and performance in the DCCS.

Findings/conclusions:

Results showed that children’s English ability was significantly correlated with their behavioral performance in DCCS, and predicted children’s group membership (pass or perseverate). Furthermore, children in the pass group significantly activated the prefrontal cortex than those in the perseverate group, and activation in the prefrontal region was significantly correlated with children’s English ability.

Originality:

The current study first examined the effect of children’s bilingualism on their executive function and prefrontal activation.

中文翻译：

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fNIRS对双语幼儿执行功能的检查

目的：

本研究旨在检查：（1）幼儿双语能力与其在“维卡变更排序”（DCCS）任务中的表现之间的关系；（2）前额叶激活是否与儿童的双语能力和执行功能有关。

方法：

儿童进行了三节DCCS，并使用功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）测量了他们在任务期间的大脑活动。

数据与分析：

从一所英语浸入式学前班的幼儿园招募了一个双语儿童样本（N = 49）。我们检查了儿童在DCCS中的表现是否与他们的双语能力有关，以及前额叶区域含氧血红蛋白的变化是否与他们在DCCS中的双语能力和表现有关。

结果/结论：

结果表明，儿童的英语能力与他们在DCCS中的行为表现显着相关，并预测了儿童的团体成员资格（通过或坚持不懈）。此外，通过组的儿童比持久性组的儿童显着激活前额叶皮层，并且前额区的激活与儿童的英语能力显着相关。

独创性：

当前的研究首先检查了儿童双语对他们的执行功能和前额叶激活的影响。