Sarah Cameron

• Cameron, Sarah; Kartushina, Natalia; Lundquist, Björn & Caffarra, Sendy (2026). Linear distance modulates P600 amplitude for gender agreement: An ERP study in Norwegian. Brain Research. ISSN 0006-8993. 1887. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2026.150390. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  ormer ERP studies have shown that linear distance (number of intervening words between two agreeing elements in a sentence) modulates P600 amplitude for gender agreement violations. However, these studies have primarily focused on across-phrase dependencies, making it difficult to tease apart the effects of linear distance from those of structural distance (number of intervening phrases between two agreeing elements in a sentence). Norwegian, an understudied language in gender processing literature, permits manipulation of linear distance while holding structural distance constant. We tested 36 native Norwegian speakers with EEG, comparing three violation types: noun-suffix (within-word), determiner-noun (within-phrase), and noun-predicative adjective (across-phrase). Our aims were to: 1) assess processing of within-word gender violations, which, to our knowledge has not previously been done; 2) examine the effect of linear distance on within-phrase gender agreement by comparing processing of noun-suffix and determiner-noun dependencies; and 3) establish an ERP baseline for Norwegian gender processing. All three violation types elicited P600 responses, indicating repair/reanalysis processes. Noun–predicative adjective violations additionally produced a left anterior negativity, and determiner–noun violations showed a late frontal negativity. The noun-suffix P600 demonstrates that within-word gender violations recruit similar repair mechanisms as between-word violations. Moreover, the noun-suffix P600 was larger than the determiner–noun P600, likely due to either weaker constituent links resulting from longer distance, or longer distances reducing repairs due to a cost–benefit tradeoff. The findings from this study show that 1) within-word violations engage the same reanalysis processes as between-word violations, 2) within-phrase gender agreement processing is sensitive to linear distance, and 3) Norwegian exhibits similar ERP correlates of gender processing as those found for other languages.

• Fyndanis, Valantis; Cameron, Sarah; Hansen, Pernille; Norvik, Monica I. & Simonsen, Hanne Gram (2022). Multilingualism and verbal short-term/working memory: Evidence from academics. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. ISSN 1366-7289. 26(3), p. 490–503. doi: 10.1017/S1366728922000621. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  To date, the evidence regarding the effect of bilingualism/multilingualism on short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) capacity is inconclusive. This study investigates whether multilingualism has a positive effect on the verbal STM and WM capacity of neurotypical middle-aged and older individuals. Eighty-two L1-Norwegian sequential bilingual/ multilingual academics were tested with tasks measuring verbal STM/WM capacity. Degree of bilingualism/multilingualism for each participant was estimated based on a comprehensive questionnaire. Different measures of bilingualism/multilingualism were used. Data on potentially influencing non-linguistic factors were also collected. Correlation and regression analyses showed that multilingualism impacts both verbal STM and verbal WM. In particular, all analyses showed that number of known foreign languages was the strongest predictor of verbal STM and WM capacity. The results are discussed in light of recent studies on the impact of bilingualism on STM/WM and

• Köder, Franziska Maria; Sharma, Curtis; Cameron, Sarah & Garraffa, Maria (2022). The effects of bilingualism on cognition and behaviour in individuals with attention deficits: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology. 13. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1057501. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background: Weaknesses in executive function have persistently been found to be associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), while bilinguals have been argued to show advantages in executive functions. While there has been some research into how bilingualism affects cognitive skills and behaviour in individuals with attention deficits, the question is still very much open. The aim of this systematic review is to gather, synthesise and evaluate existing evidence on how bilingual language experience and attention deficits affect executive function performance and ADHD-related symptoms in children and adults. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search in relevant databases (PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, LLBA) was performed using search strings related to attention difficulties/ADHD and bilingualism. All quantitative studies were included that presented original empirical data on the combined effects of bilingualism and attention levels, regardless of age group and methodology. The screening procedure revealed nine relevant studies. Results: Across the nine identified studies, a total of 2071 participants were tested. Of these, seven studies involved children and two adults. The studies varied considerably with respect to their design and methodology, the targeted executive function skills or behavioural symptoms, as well as their measure of bilingualism and attention levels. Most studies assessed aspects of executive function performance such as interference control, response inhibition, working memory or cognitive flexibility. Three studies looked at the effects of bilingualism on ADHD-related symptoms or ADHD diagnosis. Across the studies, no systematic advantage or disadvantage of bilingualism on cognitive performance or behaviour in people with attention deficits was observed. Conclusion: The limited number of identified studies provide no consistent evidence that bilingualism alleviates or intensifies attention difficulties in adults or children with ADHD. Based on the current state of research, individuals with ADHD and their families should not be concerned that learning additional languages has a negative impact on functioning or cognitive performance.

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• Cameron, Sarah; Gardner, Qingyuan Liu; Chrisikopoulou, Marina & Fyndanis, Chrysovalantis (2024). Processing of time reference in Norwegian: Adverb placement makes a difference. Full text in Research Archive
• Fyndanis, Valantis; Cameron, Sarah; Arcara, Giorgio; Kaldhol, Nina Hagen; Norvik, Monica I. & Simonsen, Hanne Gram (2023). Multilingualism does not affect time reference production in L1: Evidence from academics. Full text in Research Archive
• Fyndanis, Valantis; Cameron, Sarah; Arcara, Giorgio; Kaldhol, Nina Hagen; Norvik, Monica I. & Simonsen, Hanne Gram (2023). Multilingualism does not affect time reference production in L1: Evidence from academics. Full text in Research Archive
• Tonne, Ingebjørg; Onnis, Luca; Rodina, Yulia; Andersen, Mari J. Wikhaug; Steien, Guri Bordal & Gudmundsen, Jenny [Show all 13 contributors for this article] (2023). Multilingual/second language acquisition and learning across the lifespan. Full text in Research Archive
• Fyndanis, Valantis; Cameron, Sarah; Arcara, Giorgio; Kaldhol, Nina Hagen; Norvik, Monica I. & Simonsen, Hanne Gram (2022). Bilingualism/Multilingualism does not affect production of time reference in L1: Evidence from Norwegian academics. Full text in Research Archive
• Fyndanis, Valantis; Cameron, Sarah; Hansen, Pernille; Norvik, Monica I. & Simonsen, Hanne Gram (2022). Sequential multilingualism and verbal short-term/working memory: Evidence from academics. Full text in Research Archive
• Fyndanis, Valantis & Cameron, Sarah Prydz (2019). Cognitive testing: When is it non-verbal? Full text in Research Archive

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