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Brain Engagement During a Cognitive Flexibility Task Relates to Academic Performance in English Learners.

Tehila NugielMackenzie E MitchellDamion V DemeterAnnaCarolina GarzaPaul T CirinoArturo E HernandezJenifer JuranekJessica A Church
Published in: Mind, brain and education : the official journal of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (2023)
English Learners (ELs), students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, are a fast-growing, understudied, group of students in the U.S. with unique learning challenges. Cognitive flexibility-the ability to switch between task demands with ease-may be an important factor in learning for ELs as they have to manage learning in their non-dominant language and access knowledge in multiple languages. We used functional MRI to measure cognitive flexibility brain activity in a group of Hispanic middle school ELs ( N = 63) and related it to their academic skills. We found that brain engagement during the cognitive flexibility task was related to both out-of-scanner reading and math measures. These relationships were observed across the brain, including in cognitive control, attention, and default mode networks. This work suggests the real-world importance of cognitive flexibility for adolescent ELs, where individual differences in brain engagement were associated with educational outcomes.
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