A recent study published in Frontiers in Cognition has found that bilingual mothers and their children show similar levels of brain alignment, or neural synchrony, during playtime regardless of whether they are using their native language or a second language. The research challenges the idea that speaking different languages at home could hinder social bonding between parents and children.
The study involved 15 mother-child pairs. All mothers were non-native English speakers who had reached a high proficiency level (C1), while the children were aged between three and nearly five years old without any reported developmental impairments. During the sessions, researchers used near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning to measure real-time brain activity from both mother and child as they engaged in spontaneous play with toys like Mr. Potato Head and building blocks.
Researchers focused on two key areas of the brain: the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is linked to social thinking and parental sensitivity, and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), which is important for joint attention. "Synchrony in these areas is considered fundamental to social connection, enabling partners to share goals and understand each other's intentions during interaction," according to the study authors.
The analysis showed that interactive play—regardless of whether it was conducted in English or the family's native language—resulted in higher neural synchrony compared to independent play. The strongest synchrony was observed in the PFC for both mothers and children. Differences between specific languages did not reach statistical significance after further testing.
"Of all possible interactions, only the one between directionality and maternal brain region was significant, suggesting that directionality's effect depended on the specific maternal brain region," noted researchers. "No other higher-order interactions reached significance, indicating effects were largely independent."
The findings indicate that it is not necessarily which language is spoken but rather how parents and children interact that most strongly influences their brain-to-brain alignment during shared activities.
"This study suggests that interactive play, particularly when both interactive conditions were combined in an exploratory analysis, is associated with increased neural synchrony between parents and children, with the strongest effects observed in the PFC," said the research team. "The findings suggest that the interaction context, rather than the specific language spoken, plays a larger role in shaping brain-to-brain alignment than participant age in this sample."
Researchers recommend expanding future studies to include more participants from diverse cultural backgrounds to better understand how family dynamics influence parent-child brain connectivity.
