Brains of Chinese children adopted as babies still respond to Chinese tones

Chinese babies adopted across international borders may not remember the language they heard in their first days, but the words leave a lasting mark on their brains, which respond to Chinese tones more than a decade later, scientists said.

The study published in the on Monday is the first that employs brain imaging scans to show how we process lost language.

"What is kind of striking is that these traces are there even though they don't really need them any more," said co-author Denise Klein of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University.

"The brain is responding to the information."

The study included 48 girls, aged nine to 17. Some were born and raised in a French family, speaking only French. Some were Chinese-born and adopted into French families, and learned to speak only French. Others were fluent in both Chinese and French.

All three groups listened to Chinese language sounds while magnetic resonance imaging scans were taken.

They heard sounds like ma-ma, spoken in slightly different tones. Those with no Putonghua would hear them just as sounds.