Journal of Applied Psychological Research

Sex Differences in Task-based Functional Connectivity in Balanced Bilinguals

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Linguistics - Faculty of Humanities- Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Investigating sex-related alterations in task-state functional connectivity (FC) within and between brain networks in balanced bilinguals was the goal of the current applied-fundamental research project. Turkish-Persian bilingual PhD students from prestigious public universities in Tehran made up the current statistical population in 2020. In this study, thirty bilinguals—fifteen males and fifteen females—were chosen using the purposivesample method. Every participant was a native Turkish speaker who started learning Persian when they were seven years old. Initially, the sampling was done in 2020 at Tarbiat Modares University’s Linguistics department using working memory tests, L1-L2 assessment interviews, and self-evaluations of L1 and L2. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was then used to gather data during an auditory multilingual task. Grammaticality assessments of alternating L1-L2 sentences were required for the job. The language network’s target regions were chosen to be the left Pars Opercularis (PO) and the left posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus (pSTG). Additionally chosen as target regions in the language control network were the bilateral Planum Temporale (PT), bilateral Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), and bilateral Precentral Gyrus (PreCG). The CONN-fMRI functional Connectivity toolbox v20.b was used for FC, and SPSS-26 was used for statistical analysis. The findings showed that females had more connection within the language network from the left PO to the left pSTG (P = 0.001) than males. Accordingly, women outperformed men in terms of intra-network connectivities. When considered collectively, these results suggested that sex differences were consistently connected with the strength of task-state inter-network and intra-network FCs, confirming the notion of a female advantage in language use.

Keywords

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Journal of Applied Psychological Research
Volume 17, Issue 2
July 2026
Pages 281-300
  • Receive Date: 02 November 2023
  • Revise Date: 28 November 2023
  • Accept Date: 06 February 2024
  • First Publish Date: 06 February 2024
  • Publish Date: 01 July 2026