Adults vary in how easily they learn new languages. While previous studies suggest this variability may be due to the distribution of groups of brain areas involved in attention, control and memory, a direct link has been lacking. Using a large sample of participants (101 people), Gangyi Feng, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues explored whether individual differences in the organization of these brain systems can explain variability in language learning in adulthood. This work was published in JNeurosci.