LAUSR

Simultaneous language interpreting (SLI) places extreme requirements on the cognitive control skills (Yudes et al., 2011; Hervais-Adelman et al., 2015) acquired by multilinguals through intensive training and practice (Chernov, 2004). Not only does SLI involve constant concurrent retrieval of words and collocations in the source and target languages, it also requires their retention and manipulation in working memory, tracking both source and target discourse as well as performing repeated language switching (Moser, 1978; Moser-Mercer et al., 2000; Christoffels et al., 2006). Previous research has shown that systematic SLI practice causes structural neuroplasticity in simultaneous interpreters (SIs). Specifically, Elmer et al. (2014) provided evidence for reduced gray matter volumes in SIs compared to multilingual controls. To further explore neuroplasticity in SIs, Elmer and Kühnis (2016) predicted the existence of functional cortical connectivity changes induced by exposure to SLI. Based on the dual-stream model of speech processing (cf. Hickok, 2012), and the assumption that SLI practice places high demands on sensory-to-articulation mapping, Elmer and Kühnis (2016) analyzed two preselected regions of interest (ROIs) within the dorsal stream, namely BA 41/42 (auditory-related cortex), and BA 44/45 (Broca's area), expecting them to be more functionally coupled in SIs than in multilingual control subjects. In the experiment, 12 professional SIs and the same number of multilinguals with no SLI experience were tested in a mixed and unmixed auditory semantic decision task which consisted in judging word congruency by pressing one of the buttons. In the unmixed condition the words were delivered sequentially in the same language (German or English), while in the mixed condition the languages were different. Consistent with the prediction, analysis of EEG data revealed stronger functional coupling in the theta band (∼4–7 Hz) between the ROIs in SIs than in controls. This result is very interesting because it suggests that SLI proficiency may be a matter of not only structural, but also functional changes in the brain. In this commentary we offer several methodological considerations. First, the experimental task only included English and German words, and other language combinations may have produced a different pattern of results. For example, the authors could have included another Koshkin and Ossadtchi Functional Connectivity Facilitates Language Translation experimental condition with French and English word pairs. This would have required almost no effort in recruiting extra participants: the autobiographical data show that all of the SIs rated their proficiency in French at least 3 on a scale …