fMRI for exploring simultaneous interpreting

Barbara Ahrens | Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Eliza Kalderon | University of Mainz | FTSK in Germersheim, Germany

Christoph M. Krick | Saarland University Hospital, Germany

Wolfgang Reith | Saarland University Hospital, Germany

After a review of the literature on the use of brain-imaging techniques in the study of conference interpreting, the paper reports on a preliminary fMRI study in which 6 student interpreters alternated between simultaneous interpreting from Spanish into German (B into A) and free speech production in German (A language). Significant statistical differences were found between the two activities, and active brain areas were identified for each. One finding which raises interesting questions is that a brain area specialized in hand movement was activated during SI.

Published online: 25 February 2010
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.88.20ahr

Cited by

Cited by 5 other publications

Ahrens, Barbara

2011. In Handbook of Translation Studies [Handbook of Translation Studies, 2], ► pp. 105 ff.

Ahrens, Barbara

2017. In The Handbook of Translation and Cognition, ► pp. 445 ff.

Gile, Daniel

2015. In Psycholinguistic and Cognitive Inquiries into Translation and Interpreting [Benjamins Translation Library, 115], ► pp. 41 ff.

Hervais-Adelman, Alexis & Laura Babcock

2020. The neurobiology of simultaneous interpreting: Where extreme language control and cognitive control intersect. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 23:4 ► pp. 740 ff.

Wu, Huijun, Hongjie Yan, Yang Yang, Min Xu, Yuhu Shi, Weiming Zeng, Jiewei Li, Jian Zhang, Chunqi Chang & Nizhuan Wang

2020. Occupational Neuroplasticity in the Human Brain: A Critical Review and Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 14

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 may 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.