Bilingual speakers have to control their languages to avoid interference, which may be achieved by enhancing the target language and/or inhibiting the nontarget language. Previous research has provided evidence that bilinguals may use inhibition (e.g., Jackson, Swainson, Cunnington, & Jackson, 2001), which is reflected in the N2 component of the event-related potential (ERP). In the current study, we investigated the dynamics of inhibitory control by measuring the N2 during language switching and repetition in picture naming. We recorded the EEG of 30 unbalanced Dutch-English bilinguals in a cued language-switching task. Participants had to name pictures in Dutch or English depending on the cue. A run of same-language trials could be short (two or three trials) or long (five or six trials). We assessed whether RTs and N2 changed over the course of same-language runs, and at a switch between languages.
For further information regarding the current research data, please contact Xiaochen Zheng (x.zheng@donders.ru.nl).