Language and the brain: Computational and neuroimaging evidence from Chinese

Within only a few decades, the field of cognitive science has progressed from the mind-as-a-computer metaphor to the integration of mind, brain, behaviour, and culture at multiple levels of analysis and with multiple, convergent tools and methodologies. In particular, the interface between cognitive science and neuroscience has provided fertile ground for transformative research and revolutionary thinking, yielding perspectives that allow for fundamental scientific discoveries and rapid paradigm shifts. This article explores that the study of language, a unique human capacity, has played an important role in this scientific movement. A large body of knowledge has accumulated on the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying language representation and language acquisition. This article focuses on the computational mechanisms and neural signatures based on the recent cross-linguistic computational and neural studies which examine the acquisition, representation, and processing of spoken and written Chinese in the context of both native speakers and second-language learners.