Brain network differences in second language learning depend on individual competencies.
Paper
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The authors' code
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- # EEG Dataset and Reproducibility Materials
- This repository contains the data-processing and analysis materials associated with the manuscript:
- > *Brain Network Differences in Second Language Learning Depend on Individual Competencies*
- The manuscript has been accepted for publication in *Imaging Neuroscience*.
- ## Preprocessed EEG dataset
- The preprocessed EEG dataset is publicly archived on Zenodo:
- **DOI:** [10.5281/zenodo.16538184](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16538184)
- The Zenodo dataset contains:
- - Preprocessed EEGLAB datasets (`.set` and `.fdt`) for each participant
- - Separate `pre/` and `post/` session folders
- - The RAGU-compatible TANOVA input file `ragu_exp.mat`
- The Zenodo record contains preprocessed EEG data only. Raw BrainVision EEG files are not included on Zenodo or OSF.
- The preprocessing scripts in this OSF repository document the pipeline applied to the raw EEG data. Analyses beginning with the preprocessed EEG datasets can be reproduced using the files available on Zenodo.
- ## Participant identifiers
- Pseudonymous participant IDs are consistent across the following files:
- - `vocabulary_test_data.csv`
- - `demographic.xlsx`
- - Preprocessed EEG filenames
- - Cartool segmentation outputs, including the `Group1`–`Group4` `ColumnsAsFactors.csv` files
- For the segmentation outputs, please refer to the current files in:
- `04_Translation_Recognition_Task_EEG/Segmentation_analysis/`
- ## OSF repository contents
- This OSF repository contains:
- - Behavioral and EEG analysis scripts written in MATLAB and R
- - EEG preprocessing scripts
- - Vocabulary-test data and analysis materials
- - Recognition-task behavioral analyses
- - ERP and N400 analyses
- - TANOVA and microstate-segmentation analyses
- - Figure files and statistical outputs included in the respective analysis folders
- - Task and stimulus materials
- - Control analyses
- Software dependencies and required directory structures are documented within the corresponding scripts.
- ## Software
- The analyses use software including:
- - MATLAB
- - EEGLAB 2024.1
- - ERPLAB
- - R
- - Cartool
- - RAGU
- Additional R-package dependencies are specified at the beginning of the corresponding analysis scripts.
- ## Citation
- When using the preprocessed EEG dataset, please cite the Zenodo record:
- > Skieresz, N. (2025). *Preprocessed EEG dataset for Brain Network Differences in Second Language Learning Depend on Individual Competencies*. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16538184
- When using the analysis materials, scripts, behavioral data, or task materials, please cite the associated article in *Imaging Neuroscience* and this OSF repository.
- ## Contact
- For questions concerning the dataset or analysis materials, please contact:
- Nicole Skieresz
- [email hidden]
README.md, no license · at the source
Overview
- Faculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, Switzerland
- The LINE (Laboratory for Integrative Neurosciences), Radiology Department, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- The Sense Innovation and Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
Abstract
Integrating new words into an existing semantic network is a core challenge of second language (L2) acquisition. We investigated how evidence-based learning strategies and individual performance relate to the neurocognitive dynamics of vocabulary learning. Eighty-three adults proficient in German or French learned 48 Finnish (L2) nouns over 14 days using a mobile app that systematically varied retrieval practice, corrective feedback, multisensory learning, and distributed learning. Before and after training, EEG was recorded during a translation recognition task designed to elicit the N400, an index of semantic integration. Vocabulary accuracy increased from 0.41% pre-learning to 75.5% post-learning (dz = 3.96), and the N400 incongruity effect increased significantly, F(1, 75) = 99.52, p < .001, η²g = .32, reflecting successful integration of new L2 words into the mental lexicon. High performers showed larger N400 responses, consistent with more differentiated semantic processing. In addition, performance group differences emerged in event-related potential (ERP) template-map preponderance (i.e., the proportion of epoch time points assigned to a given template map), indicating differences in processing dynamics and network configurations. Despite systematic manipulation of learning strategies, no single approach yielded consistent behavioral or neural advantages, suggesting that overall exposure and cumulative practice, rather than any specific strategy, may have been primary contributors to the observed learning gains. ERP template-map analyses further revealed that learning not only increased neural responses but also shifted map preponderance within the N400 window as a function of Session and Congruency, indicating a qualitative reorganization of semantic processing. These findings suggest that vocabulary learning success is more closely related to the degree of semantic integration than to any single instructional strategy.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Repository
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Availability: 1 check, the latest on 3 October 2026: the link answers (HTTP 200)
- 3 October 2026: the link answers (HTTP 200)
1 file
- README.md, Text, 80 lines
The paper's code and data availability statement is in the Data section.
Tracing map
Proposed by the machine: these links were found in the paper and verified at the source, without human review. The map will receive a Zenodo DOI once one of the paper's authors has validated it with their ORCID.
What the map holds:
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- 0 scripts, each with its path and the digest of its content;
- no match between paragraphs and code yet;
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Its JSON (tracing-map.json) is deposited on Zenodo with its DOI once the map is validated.
Data
Datasets cited
- zenodo:16538184, at Zenodo; found in “Data and Code Availability”
Data and Code Availability
Data and analysis scripts supporting the findings of this study are publicly available on the Open Science Framework at https://
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Versions
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Version 1, 3 October 2026: the first record
Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 5 authors, 6 keywords, 13 MeSH terms, 67 references.
Cite
This paper
Skieresz, N. H., Marca, S. C., Murray, M. M., Reber, T. P., & Rothen, N. (2026). Brain network differences in second language learning depend on individual competencies. Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.), 4, IMAG.a.1379. https://
BibTeX
@article{skieresz2026bra
author = {Skieresz, Nicole H and Marca, Sandy C and Murray, Micah M and Reber, Thomas P and Rothen, Nicolas},
title = {{Brain network differences in second language learning depend on individual competencies}},
journal = {Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
volume = {4},
pages = {IMAG.a.1379},
publisher = {MIT Press},
issn = {2837-6056},
doi = {10.1162/
url = {https://
pmid = {42824898},
pmcid = {PMC13628499}
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
AU - Skieresz, Nicole H
AU - Marca, Sandy C
AU - Murray, Micah M
AU - Reber, Thomas P
AU - Rothen, Nicolas
TI - Brain network differences in second language learning depend on individual competencies
T2 - Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
J2 - Imaging Neurosci (Camb)
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/
VL - 4
SP - IMAG.a.1379
SN - 2837-6056
PB - MIT Press
DO - 10.1162/
UR - https://
LA - en
ER -
CSL-JSON
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