ariah wong. sleep talking (somniloquy) the utterance of speech or sounds during sleep without...
TRANSCRIPT
Native Language Shifts Across Sleep-wake States in Bilingual Sleeptalkers
Juan A. Pareja, Eloy de Pablos, Ana B. Caminero, Isabel Millán and José L. Dobato
Ariah Wong
Introduction
Sleep talking (somniloquy)the utterance of speech or sounds
during sleep without simultaneous subjective detailed awareness of the event.
mumbled nonsense to coherent sentences
More frequent in children & teenagers
Associated with REM & NREM sleep
Purpose
Study which language is used when healthy bilingual individuals are sleep talking
Dominant bilinguals – use dominant language to sleep talk
Balanced bilinguals – use?
Method
Subjects681 Children
336 males, 341 females, 4 unknown Age 3-17 (mean age: 9.0) 3 bilingual schools in northern Spain
Languages: Spanish & Euskera
Male336
Fe-male 341
??? 4
Method
ProcedureParents completed self-administered
questionnaire What was the 1st language learned by your
child? Does your child sleep talk? If yes, how
frequent and in what language?Reliable answers
Skip questions in doubt Contact investigator to clarify any
questions
Results
383 of 680 subjects were sleep talking (56.3%)
Results
< 1 night 1-2 nights 3-4 nights 5-8 nights > 8 nights
0
20
40
60
80
100
Frequency of Sleep talking
# per Month
% o
f S
ub
jects
Results
Euskera Spanish Both0
102030405060708090
100
Language used in Sleep talking
EuskeraSpanishBoth w/o pref-erence
Native Languages
% o
f S
ub
jects
Discussion
Balanced bilingualsSleep talk in either language (no
preference) Dominant bilinguals
Mostly sleep talk in the dominant language
Discussion
Less than 4% of dominant bilinguals sleep talked in their non-dominant language
Language shift:Due to emotional stressDifferent language organization
Learn languages early = same brain areas Learn one language earlier, one later =
different brain areas
Discussion
StrengthsEasy to read, organizedGood sample size & balance of genders
LimitationsNo clear hypothesisBasing study on parents’ opinionsNo relation to specific brain structures
Frontal & temporal cortex, basal ganglia?
Discussion
Future researchUse video surveillance/recording systemGender differences Multilinguals (know 2+ languages)Sleep is related to anatomical &
physiological structure of languageNarrower age range
References
American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2001). The international classification of sleep disorders: diagnostic and coding manual. 157-159.
Arkin, AM. (1966). Sleep talking: a review. Journal of nervous and mental disease, 143, 101-122.
Arkin, AM., Toth, MF., Baker, J., & Hastey, JM. (1970). The frequency of sleep talking in the laboratory among chronic sleeptalkers and good dream recallers. Journal of nervous and mental disease, 151(9), 369-374
Pareja, JA., de Pablos, E., Caminero, AB., Millan, I., & Dobato, JL. (1999). Native language shifts across sleep-wake states in bilingual sleeptalkers. Sleep, 22(2), 243-247.
Any Questions?