Evolution of love

New Language

Learning a new language can grow one's perspective. Now scientists find that learning languages grows parts of the brain.

They studied the brains of students in the Swedish Armed Forces Interpreter Academy, who were required to learn new languages

at a very fast rate. Many must become fluent in Arabic, Russian and the Persian dialect Dari in just 13 months. The researchers

compared the brains of these students to the brains of medical students who also had to learn a tremendous amount in a very

short period of time, but without the focus on languages. The brains of the language learners exhibited significant new growth in

the hippo-campus and in parts of the cerebral-cortex. The medical students' brains showed no observed growth. The study was in

the journal Neuro Image. Interestingly, the amount of growth in the brains of the linguists correlated with better skills: so those with

better language skills also experienced more growth in the hippo-campus and areas of the cerebral cortex that relate to language.

For other students who had to work harder to improve their language skills, the scientists found greater growth in the motor area of

the cerebral cortex. Where and how much change take place in the brain are linked to how easily one picks up a language.

But it remains to be seen why this is so.