Impact of technological immersion and sensorimotor engagement on performance and brain plasticity in short-term second language vocabulary training

Classroom-based language learning has typically taken place in relatively static body positions, but research suggests that embodied learning through sensorimotor engagement and technical immersion, using virtual realities, can significantly enhance learning outcomes. Recent research has linked differences in the learning context to different cortical structures within the language learning network. In this study, we investigated the effect of technical immersion and sensorimotor engagement on performance in behavior and gray matter volume in the brain after a single 20-min language learning task. We tested two learning environments: a low-embodied desktop-based virtual environment (dVE) using a computer screen and a high-embodied immersive virtual reality (iVR) environment using a head-mounted display, as well as a no training group. We assessed morphological brain changes using magnetic resonance imaging at 7 Tesla before and after training. Participants with less sensorimotor engagement, compared to those with high, performed significantly better and showed higher gray matter volume in the left angular gyrus, a key hub region for vocabulary training within the language network, as well as in the left middle temporal gyrus, a region associated with lexical semantic processing. However, we could not identify a difference between the dVE and iVR groups. Our results suggest that both virtual platforms, although different in the level of immersion and whole-body involvement, rely on similar cortical structures within the language learning network. Furthermore, sensorimotor engagement might have a stronger influence on performance and related brain changes than the learning context itself.