In language production, inhibitory control is assumed to be the primary mechanism responsible for successful bilingual processing. To convey messages in one language, bilinguals must inhibit the unintended language. However, it remains unclear whether the same mechanism works in bilingual comprehension. Following up and expanding on Declerck and Philipp (2018, ‘Is inhibition implemented during bilingual production and comprehension? n–2 language repetition costs unchained’, Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, vol. 33, pp. 608–617), the present study investigates whether inhibition is involved in the linguistic identification system during bilingual comprehension with the n − 2 repetition paradigm. This is the second study exploring comprehension with this methodological setup to date. We used an auditory word–picture matching task with Chinese late trilinguals who learned their two non-native languages (L2 English and L3 Spanish) via formal school instruction. Our results indicate that participants responded faster in the n − 2 repetition trials (i.e., when the target language in the n and n − 2 trials matched). That is, we observed an n − 2 repetition benefit effect, a novel finding in this literature that goes counter the n − 2 repetition cost effect reported in previous studies using production-based tasks. In addition, our results underscore the complex interplay between proficiency and use and the resulting dynamics within the bilingual lexicon. We discuss the results in light of the different bilingual representation and processing models.

Multilingual language control is commonly investigated using picture-naming paradigms with explicit instructions when to switch between languages. In daily life, language switching also occurs without external cues. Cued language-switching tasks usually show a switch cost (i.e., slower responses on switch than non-switch trials). Findings of switch costs in response times are mixed for voluntary language switching. This pre-registered study uses a bilingual picture-naming paradigm to compare voluntary and cued language switching in 25 highly proficient Dutch-English bilinguals using EEG. We analysed the N2 ERP component and midfrontal theta oscillations, two common electrophysiological markers of cognitive control in task and language switching. We observed significantly smaller behavioural switch costs in the voluntary task. This suggests that voluntary language switching is less effortful than switching based on external cues. However, we found no electrophysiological switch effects in either task. We discuss factors which may contribute to the inconsistency between behavioural and electrophysiological findings.

This study aimed to delineate profiles of self-regulation among sexually abused children and their association with behavior problems using a person-centered approach. A sample of 223 children aged six to 12, their parents, and teachers were recruited in specialized intervention centers. Latent profile analysis revealed four profiles: (1) Dysregulated, (2) Inhibited, (3) Flexibly Regulated, and (4) Parent Perceived Self-Regulation. Children from the Flexibly Regulated profile showed relatively low behavior problems, and those from the Dysregulated profile were characterized by high behavior problems. Children from the Parent Perceived Self-Regulation profile showed overall good adaptation, although teachers reported higher behavior problems than parents. Children from the Inhibited profile, characterized by the highest level of inhibition but low parent-rated emotion regulation competencies and executive functions, showed the highest level of internalizing behavior problems, indicating that high inhibition does not necessarily translate to better adaptation. Results also show a moderation effect of sex. Being assigned to the Inhibited profile was associated with decreased externalizing behaviors in boys and increased internalizing behaviors in girls. This study underscores the complexity of self-regulation in sexually abused children and supports the need to adopt a multi-method and multi-informant approach when assessing these children.

A broad and extensive literature has investigated the cognitive consequences of bilingualism on cognitive control. Results from these studies, while controversial, support the conclusion that speaking a second language confers non-linguistic benefits. Whether other related linguistic experiences, such as dialect use, confer similar benefits remains an underexplored and open question. The common use of a diverse range of local dialects across China provides ideal conditions under which to explore this question. Using a dialectally heterogeneous sample of Mandarin-English bilingual young adults (n = 74), the present study investigated whether differences in dialect proficiency impacted on inhibition and attentional control while accounting for variation in language experience. Dialect proficiency was not associated with improved performance on the Simon task, Attention Network Test, or Flanker task, suggesting no benefits in inhibition or attentional control. Considerations for future studies investigating the influence of Chinese dialect experience on cognitive control are discussed.

We consider a Poisson autoregressive process whose parameters depend on the past of the trajectory. We allow these parameters to take negative values, modelling inhibition. More precisely, the model is the stochastic process $(X_n)_{n\ge0}$ with parameters $a_1,\ldots,a_p \in \mathbb{R}$, $p\in\mathbb{N}$, and $\lambda \ge 0$, such that, for all $n\ge p$, conditioned on $X_0,\ldots,X_{n-1}$, $X_n$ is Poisson distributed with parameter $(a_1 X_{n-1} + \cdots + a_p X_{n-p} + \lambda)_+$. This process can be regarded as a discrete-time Hawkes process with inhibition and a memory of length p. In this paper we initiate the study of necessary and sufficient conditions of stability for these processes, which seems to be a hard problem in general. We consider specifically the case $p = 2$, for which we are able to classify the asymptotic behavior of the process for the whole range of parameters, except for boundary cases. In particular, we show that the process remains stochastically bounded whenever the solution to the linear recurrence equation $x_n = a_1x_{n-1} + a_2x_{n-2} + \lambda$ remains bounded, but the converse is not true. Furthermore, the criterion for stochastic boundedness is not symmetric in $a_1$ and $a_2$, in contrast to the case of non-negative parameters, illustrating the complex effects of inhibition.

There is accumulating evidence that distinct forms of domain-general inhibition underlie the selection of lexical candidates from among co-activated representations in single-word production. It is less clear whether similar control processes are engaged in the resolution of syntactic conflict in sentence production. This study assessed the relative contribution of three types of inhibitory control operating at different stages of information processing to syntactic interference resolution in an active-passive voice production task. Inhibition of response execution (the anti-saccade effect) and resolution of representational conflict (the flanker effect) were related to the occurrence of repairs and sentence onset latencies in passive voice trials. The results suggest not only that general-purpose mechanisms may be in place that resolve conflict regardless of whether it stems from syntactic or non-syntactic (non-verbal) representations, but also that they operate at dissociable processing stages.

Curiosity and creativity are central pillars of human growth and invention. Although they have been studied extensively in isolation, the relationship between them has not yet been established. We propose that both curiosity and creativity emanate from the same mechanism of novelty seeking. We first present a synthesis showing that curiosity and creativity are affected similarly by a number of key cognitive faculties such as memory, cognitive control, attention, and reward. We then review empirical evidence from neuroscience research, indicating that the same brain regions are involved in both curiosity and creativity, focusing on the interplay between three major brain networks: the default mode network, the salience network, and the executive control network. After substantiating the link between curiosity and creativity, we propose a novelty-seeking model (NSM) that underlies them and suggests that the manifestation of the NSM is governed by one's state of mind.

This study investigated the engagement of domain-general cognitive control during the comprehension of dense code-switching sentences. Stimulus-locked event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured while L1-dominant Chinese–English bilinguals read switch and non-switch sentences. The results of the reading task revealed language dominance effects on the N400, left anterior negativity (LAN) and late positive component (LPC). The language dominance effects at lexical level (i.e., on the N400 and LAN) were modulated by individual differences in monitoring capacity. In contrast, inhibition capacity predicted code-switching costs at the sentence level (i.e., for the LPC component). The results suggest that proactive monitoring and reactive inhibition affect different processing stages during the comprehension of dense code-switching sentences. These findings partially align with processing models of code-switching incorporating a dual control mode perspective and contribute new insight into the dynamic interplay between reactive and proactive control processes.

The present study investigates current proposals that priming is a mechanism of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in bilinguals by aiming to boost CLI through priming. In two cross-linguistic structural priming experiments with less-proficient adolescent (Study 1) and more highly proficient adult German-English learners (Study 2), we assess whether structural priming enhances CLI for well-formed, dispreferred, and ungrammatical structures. L2 learners in both studies showed CLI in their production, in particular for structures with word order overlap. They also exhibited short-term cross-linguistic priming of grammatical L1-L2 word orders in L2 English, which extended to longer-term priming among the more highly proficient learners in Study 2. However, there was no evidence that cross-linguistic priming increased the use of dispreferred or ungrammatical L1-based word orders in L2 English in either study. Rather, the overall production of these word orders decreased. Together, these results suggest that, while cross-linguistic priming leads learners to increase the use of shared, grammatical L1-L2 word orders, it leads to the inhibition of non-shared ungrammatical structures in L2 production. We conclude that priming has asymmetrical effects on CLI of grammatical and ungrammatical L1-based structures in the L2.

Leishmania spp. are parasitic protozoa that cause leishmaniasis, a disease endemic in 98 countries. Leishmania promastigotes are transmitted by the vector and differentiate into amastigotes within phagocytic cells of the vertebrate host. To survive in multiple and hostile environments, the parasite has several virulence factors. Oligopeptidase B (OPB) is a serine peptidase present in prokaryotes, some eukaryotes and some higher plants. It has been considered a virulence factor in trypanosomatids, but only a few studies, performed with Old World species, analysed its role in Leishmania virulence or infectivity.

L. (L.) amazonensis is an important agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil. The L. (L.) amazonensis OPB encoding gene has been sequenced and analysed in silico but has never been expressed. In this work, we produced recombinant L. (L.) amazonensis OPB and showed that its pH preferences, Km and inhibition patterns are similar to those reported for L. (L.) major and L. (L.) donovani OPBs. Since Leishmania is known to secrete OPB, we performed in vitro infection assays using the recombinant enzyme. Our results showed that active OPB increased in vitro infection by L. (L.) amazonensis when present before and throughout infection. Our findings suggest that OPB is relevant to L. (L.) amazonensis infection, and that potential drugs acting through OPB will probably be effective for Old and New World Leishmania species. OPB inhibitors may eventually be explored for leishmaniasis chemotherapy.