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Open Imaging Index
MRI Brain

Bilingual Language and Cognitive Control fMRI (ds005455)

An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals

Task fMRI and T1-weighted brain MRI of healthy Chinese-English bilingual young adults, collected to compare the neural basis of switching between languages with switching between response rules, with behavioral and language proficiency scores.

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Overview

This dataset holds task fMRI and structural brain MRI from Chinese-English bilingual young adults studied at Beijing Normal University. The authors built it to let researchers compare language control, the ability to switch between two languages, with domain-general cognitive control, the ability to switch between response rules. Both tasks were designed to share the same cue colors, trial timing and run structure so that the two can be compared directly. The data are on OpenNeuro in BIDS format and are described in a 2025 Scientific Data paper.

Composition

77 right-handed, healthy native Chinese speakers took part. The paper gives an age range of 19 to 30 years (mean 22.2) and reports 34 females, while the shared participants.tsv codes 43 subjects as female and 34 as male and lists one subject aged 18. All had passed the College English Test Band 4 and started learning English at about age 9. participants.tsv also holds Raven matrices scores, self-rated proficiency in both languages and reaction times and error rates from a repeat of the language task outside the scanner.

Acquisition

Scans were done on a 3 T Siemens Trio. Each subject did two runs of a picture naming task, where a red or blue frame cued naming in Chinese or English, and two runs of an arrow task, where the arrow color cued pressing the same or the opposite side. Task order was counterbalanced. Each run has 164 echo-planar volumes (TR 2 s, 33 slices). A T1-weighted anatomical scan followed and was defaced before release.

Annotations

There are no image labels. Event files give trial onsets and conditions. Derivatives include MRIQC quality metrics, temporal signal-to-noise maps and single-trial BOLD estimates from a least-squares-separate model.

Known limitations

  • Spoken responses were not recorded in the scanner, so naming accuracy and speed come from a later lab session.
  • Head motion is higher in the naming task than in the arrow task.
  • Sex counts and the minimum age differ between the paper and participants.tsv.
  • OpenNeuro releases the data under CC0, but the authors ask users to follow CC BY-NC-ND terms and not use the data commercially.

Cohort

Aggregate numbers from the sources below. Bars are relative to the 77 subjects.

Sex

  • Female 43 56%
  • Male 34 44%

participants.tsv: sex in File tree and participants.tsv (columns sex and age) of OpenNeuro ds005455 snapshot 1.1.6 (CC0), raw NIfTI files counted per subject folder

Modality

  • MRI 77 100%

sub-*/ folders in File tree and participants.tsv (columns sex and age) of OpenNeuro ds005455 snapshot 1.1.6 (CC0), raw NIfTI files counted per subject folder

Condition

Groups can overlap

  • Healthy control 77 100%

Methods: Participants in Guo et al. 2025, An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals, Scientific Data 12:889

Scanner vendor

  • Siemens Healthineers 77 100%

Methods: Neuroimaging data collection in Guo et al. 2025, An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals, Scientific Data 12:889

Country

  • China 77 100%

Methods: Neuroimaging data collection in Guo et al. 2025, An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals, Scientific Data 12:889

Age

mean 22.2 ± 2.2, range 19 to 30

0
20
40
60
70
10-1920-2930-39

participants.tsv: age in File tree and participants.tsv (columns sex and age) of OpenNeuro ds005455 snapshot 1.1.6 (CC0), raw NIfTI files counted per subject folder; Methods: Participants in Guo et al. 2025, An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals, Scientific Data 12:889

Contrast / sequence

Groups can overlap

  • T1-weighted 77 100%
  • BOLD fMRI 77 100%

sub-*/anat/*_T1w.nii.gz, sub-*/func/*_bold.nii.gz in File tree and participants.tsv (columns sex and age) of OpenNeuro ds005455 snapshot 1.1.6 (CC0), raw NIfTI files counted per subject folder

Field strength

  • 3 T 77 100%

Methods: Neuroimaging data collection in Guo et al. 2025, An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals, Scientific Data 12:889

Contrast combinations

How many subjects have exactly each set of contrasts.

T1wboldSubjects with exactly this set
77

sub-*/anat and sub-*/func in File tree and participants.tsv (columns sex and age) of OpenNeuro ds005455 snapshot 1.1.6 (CC0), raw NIfTI files counted per subject folder

License and access

Our reading of the license, not legal advice. Before you use the data, read the original license and confirm that your use is allowed. We take no responsibility for how you use a dataset. Full disclaimer

Access
Open download

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Access page

Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal

Public domain dedication. Do anything with the data, including commercial use, without asking and without having to give credit.

dataset_description.json of snapshot 1.1.6 states "License" CC0. Its Disclaimer field adds: "Although OpenNeuro requires CC0 licensing, users are ethically expected to comply with CC BY-NC-ND terms as specified in our publication [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05245-9]. Commercial use prohibited." The data descriptor article itself is published under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The CC0 dedication is the license of record; the non-commercial expectation is a stated request of the authors.

Original license text Version read: 1.0 Checked 2026-10-07

What you can do

  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes

What you can share

  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes

What you must do

  • No
  • Share alike No
  • No
  • No
  • Manuscript review No
  • Release code No
  • Return results No
  • Delete after use No

Limits

  • No
  • Location limits No

Citation

Guo T, Liu X, Chen M, Fu Y, Guo T. An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals. Scientific Data 12, 889 (2025). doi:10.1038/s41597-025-05245-9

@article{guo2025,
  title={An fMRI dataset for investigating language control and cognitive control in bilinguals},
  author={Guo, Tingting and Liu, Xuedi and Chen, Mo and Fu, Yongben and Guo, Taomei},
  journal={Scientific Data},
  volume={12},
  pages={889},
  year={2025},
  doi={10.1038/s41597-025-05245-9}
}

Sources

Every number on this page comes from one of these documents. Each chart names the table or page it is taken from. The raw numbers are in stats.csv.