A Semantic Model to Study Neural Organization of Language in Bilingualism
Figure 5
Some snapshots of the model response at some instant of the simulations, performed when the object (i.e., its four features) is given as input to the network. The upper panels describe activity in the feature areas, while the bottom panels represent the activity in the lexical area. The L2 word is represented by neuron activity in position 20, 30 of the lexical area, while the corresponding L1 word is represented by activity in position 5, 5. Results of three simulations are given, characterized by a different proficiency of the second language: beginning of L2 training (a), after a weak L2 training (b), and after a prolonged L2 training (c). It is worth noting that, at the beginning of training and after a weak training, the external object can evoke only the L1 word without any significant activity of the L2 word. Conversely, after prolonged training, the external object simultaneously evokes both the L1 word and the L2 word, despite the presence of a competitive mechanism. This requires the participation of a higher-level mechanism (perhaps inhibitory) to resolve the conflict.
