Grey Matter Volume in the Cerebellum is Related to the Processing of Grammatical Rules in a Second Language: A Structural Voxel-based Morphometry Study

The experience of learning and using a second

language (L2) has been shown to affect the grey matter

(GM) structure of the brain. Importantly, GM density in

several cortical and subcortical areas has been shown to be

related to performance in L2 tasks. Here, we show that bilingualism

can lead to increasedGMvolume in the cerebellum, a

structure that has been related to the processing of grammatical

rules. Additionally, the cerebellar GM volume of highly

proficient L2 speakers is correlated to their performance in a

task tapping on grammatical processing in an L2, demonstrating

the importance of the cerebellum for the establishment and

use of grammatical rules in an L2.