澳大新語 • 2022 UMAGAZINE 26 18 封面專題 • COVER STORY scan the brains of many subjects, but also perform precise image processing steps, including registration and averaging of maps across different brains. ‘Most existing brain atlases use volume-based methods for cross-subject averaging, but recent studies suggest that “surface-based methods” can preserve more detail of cortical activation and connectivity between brain regions,’ says Prof Huang, who adds that the UM brain atlas will be created using some of the latest surface-based mapping methods. Multilingual Macao Ideal for Research Why is Macao the right place for this research project? ‘The co-existence of different languages, cultures, and educational systems in the city allows us to easily recruit research participants from diverse linguistic and social backgrounds,’ says Victoria Lei, a member of CCBS and associate professor in the Department of English. While similar brain atlases have primarily captured English speakers, the UM research team will invite about 250 people to read, speak, listen, or provide simultaneous interpretation between Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Portuguese, or English. When the research participants perform these language tasks, the researchers will scan their brains using an fMRI scanner and collect data on cognitive activity using eye-tracking devices. Using fMRI scans and data, the research team will be able to identify the neural representations and networks of different languages that are related to EF in the brains of monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual people. Researchers will also be able to analyse the activation of brain regions not directly related to language when people perform monolingual and multilingual processing tasks (such as simultaneous interpreting), as well as unimodal and multimodal tasks (such as reading and listening at the same time). In the later stage of this project, the team will also investigate whether language training affects the development of EF. According to Prof Li, the UM Surface-Based Brain Atlas Database, which will be accessible to scientists around the world, will provide fundamental data for cognitive and brain science research in various fields. He believes that the research findings from this project will lead to a deeper understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms of language control and provide useful leads for research in areas such as early childhood education, language teaching, translation training, and neurodegenerative disease prevention. 左起：李麗青教授、張浩云教授、李德鳳教授、黄瑞松教授 From left: Prof Victoria Lei, Prof Zhang Haoyun, Prof Li Defeng, Prof Huang Ruey-Song
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