1
|
Chang W, Zhao X, Wang L, Zhou X. Causal role of frontocentral beta oscillation in comprehending linguistic communicative functions. Neuroimage 2024:120853. [PMID: 39270764 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2024] [Revised: 08/28/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Linguistic communication is often considered as an action serving the function of conveying the speaker's goal to the addressee. Although neuroimaging studies have suggested a role of the motor system in comprehending communicative functions, the underlying mechanism is yet to be specified. Here, by two EEG experiments and a tACS experiment, we demonstrate that the frontocentral beta oscillation, which represents action states, plays a crucial part in linguistic communication understanding. Participants read scripts involving two interlocutors and rated the interlocutors' attitudes. Each script included a critical sentence said by the speaker expressing a context-dependent function of either promise, request, or reply to the addressee's query. These functions were behaviorally discriminated, with higher addressee's will rating for the promise than for the reply and higher speaker's will rating for the request than for the reply. EEG multivariate analyses showed that different communicative functions were represented by different patterns of the frontocentral beta activity but not by patterns of alpha activity. Further tACS results showed that, relative to alpha tACS and sham stimulation, beta tACS improved the predictability of communicative functions of request or reply, as measured by the speaker's will rating. These results convergently suggest a causal role of the frontocentral beta activities in comprehending linguistic communications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wenshuo Chang
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiaoxi Zhao
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Lihui Wang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 20030, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China; Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai 200125, China.
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China; Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence for Information Behavior (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Eaves DL, Hodges NJ, Buckingham G, Buccino G, Vogt S. Enhancing motor imagery practice using synchronous action observation. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:1891-1907. [PMID: 36574019 PMCID: PMC11315722 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01768-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we discuss a variety of ways in which practising motor actions by means of motor imagery (MI) can be enhanced via synchronous action observation (AO), that is, by AO + MI. We review the available research on the (mostly facilitatory) behavioural effects of AO + MI practice in the early stages of skill acquisition, discuss possible theoretical explanations, and consider several issues related to the choice and presentation schedules of suitable models. We then discuss considerations related to AO + MI practice at advanced skill levels, including expertise effects, practical recommendations such as focussing attention on specific aspects of the observed action, using just-ahead models, and possible effects of the perspective in which the observed action is presented. In section "Coordinative AO + MI", we consider scenarios where the observer imagines performing an action that complements or responds to the observed action, as a promising and yet under-researched application of AO + MI training. In section "The dual action simulation hypothesis of AO + MI", we review the neurocognitive hypothesis that AO + MI practice involves two parallel action simulations, and we consider opportunities for future research based on recent neuroimaging work on parallel motor representations. In section "AO + MI training in motor rehabilitation", we review applications of AO, MI, and AO + MI training in the field of neurorehabilitation. Taken together, this evidence-based, exploratory review opens a variety of avenues for future research and applications of AO + MI practice, highlighting several clear advantages over the approaches of purely AO- or MI-based practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L Eaves
- School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Nicola J Hodges
- School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Gavin Buckingham
- Department of Sport and Health Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele and Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefan Vogt
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang Y, Chen S, Peng Y, Yang X, Yang J. The Role of the Motor System in L1 and L2 Action Verb Processing for Chinese Learners of English: Evidence from Mu Rhythm Desynchronization. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:268. [PMID: 38667064 PMCID: PMC11047514 DOI: 10.3390/bs14040268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The nature of semantic representation has long been a key question in linguistic research. The Embodied Cognition theory challenges the traditional view of language representation, stating that semantic information stems from the sensory-motor cortex, which is activated automatically during semantic processing. However, most of the evidence comes from monolingual studies; it remains unclear whether second-language (L2) comprehension involves different semantic representations or mirrors the pattern seen in first-language (L1) processing. Therefore, the present study investigated the role of the sensory-motor system in language processing via making Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings during the processing of L1 and L2 action verbs. The results showed that L1 (Chinese) action verbs generated higher mu-event-related desynchronization (ERD) than L1 abstract verbs in the early processing stage (250 ms after verb presentation), and the same phenomenon was also observed for L2 (English). The results also indicated that language modulated the processing of action verbs, with L1 action verbs eliciting stronger ERD than L2 action verbs. These results demonstrate that the sensory-motor cortex plays a crucial role in comprehending both L1 and L2 action verbs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Shifa Chen
- College of Foreign Languages, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; (Y.Z.); (X.Y.); (J.Y.)
| | - Yule Peng
- College of Foreign Languages, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; (Y.Z.); (X.Y.); (J.Y.)
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Giri A, Mosher JC, Adler A, Pantazis D. An F-ratio-based method for estimating the number of active sources in MEG. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1235192. [PMID: 37780957 PMCID: PMC10537939 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1235192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a powerful technique for studying the human brain function. However, accurately estimating the number of sources that contribute to the MEG recordings remains a challenging problem due to the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the presence of correlated sources, inaccuracies in head modeling, and variations in individual anatomy. Methods To address these issues, our study introduces a robust method for accurately estimating the number of active sources in the brain based on the F-ratio statistical approach, which allows for a comparison between a full model with a higher number of sources and a reduced model with fewer sources. Using this approach, we developed a formal statistical procedure that sequentially increases the number of sources in the multiple dipole localization problem until all sources are found. Results Our results revealed that the selection of thresholds plays a critical role in determining the method's overall performance, and appropriate thresholds needed to be adjusted for the number of sources and SNR levels, while they remained largely invariant to different inter-source correlations, translational modeling inaccuracies, and different cortical anatomies. By identifying optimal thresholds and validating our F-ratio-based method in simulated, real phantom, and human MEG data, we demonstrated the superiority of our F-ratio-based method over existing state-of-the-art statistical approaches, such as the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Minimum Description Length (MDL). Discussion Overall, when tuned for optimal selection of thresholds, our method offers researchers a precise tool to estimate the true number of active brain sources and accurately model brain function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amita Giri
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - John C. Mosher
- Department of Neurology, McGovern Medical School, Texas Institute for Restorative Neurotechnologies, UTHealth, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Amir Adler
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Braude College of Engineering, Karmiel, Israel
| | - Dimitrios Pantazis
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Lee J, Shin JA. The cross-linguistic comparison of perceptual strength norms for Korean, English and L2 English. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1188909. [PMID: 37538997 PMCID: PMC10395129 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1188909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to establish perceptual strength norms for 1,000 words in the languages of Korean, English, and L2 English, in order to investigate the similarity and difference across languages as well as the influence of the environment on semantic processing. The perceptual strength norms, which are a collection of word profiles that summarize how a word is experienced through different sensory modalities including the five common senses and interoception, provide a valuable tool for testing embodiment cognition theory. The results of this study demonstrated that language users had parallel sensory experiences with concepts, and that L2 learners were also able to associate their sensory experiences with linguistic concepts. Additionally, the results highlighted the importance of incorporating interoception as a sensory modality in the development of perceptual strength norms, as it had a negative correlation with both vision and concreteness. This study was the first to establish norms for Korean and L2 English and directly compare languages using the identical and translation-equivalent word list.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonghyun Lee
- Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Ah Shin
- Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Dongguk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Pavlova A, Tyulenev N, Tretyakova V, Skavronskaya V, Nikolaeva A, Prokofyev A, Stroganova T, Chernyshev B. Learning of new associations invokes a major change in modulations of cortical beta oscillations in human adults. Psychophysiology 2023:e14284. [PMID: 36906906 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
Large-scale cortical beta (β) oscillations were implicated in the learning processes, but their exact role is debated. We used MEG to explore the dynamics of movement-related β-oscillations while 22 adults learned, through trial and error, novel associations between four auditory pseudowords and movements of four limbs. As learning proceeded, spatial-temporal characteristics of β-oscillations accompanying cue-triggered movements underwent a major transition. Early in learning, widespread suppression of β-power occurred long before movement initiation and sustained throughout the whole behavioral trial. When learning advanced and performance reached asymptote, β-suppression after the initiation of correct motor response was replaced by a rise in β-power mainly in the prefrontal and medial temporal regions of the left hemisphere. This post-decision β-power predicted trial-by-trial response times (RT) at both stages of learning (before and after the rules become familiar), but with different signs of interaction. When a subject just started to acquire associative rules and gradually improved task performance, a decrease in RT correlated with the increase in the post-decision β-band power. When the participants implemented the already acquired rules, faster (more confident) responses were associated with the weaker post-decision β-band synchronization. Our findings suggest that maximal beta activity is pertinent to a distinct stage of learning and may serve to strengthen the newly learned association in a distributed memory network.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Pavlova
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Department of Psychology, HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Nikita Tyulenev
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Vera Tretyakova
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Valeriya Skavronskaya
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Anastasia Nikolaeva
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Andrey Prokofyev
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Tatiana Stroganova
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Boris Chernyshev
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Department of Psychology, HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Department of Higher Nervous Activity, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Tian L, Chen H, Heikkinen PP, Liu W, Parviainen T. Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Activation in Motor and Language Areas Suggest a Compensatory Role of the Motor Cortex in Second Language Processing. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2023; 4:178-197. [PMID: 37229145 PMCID: PMC10205076 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The involvement of the motor cortex in language understanding has been intensively discussed in the framework of embodied cognition. Although some studies have provided evidence for the involvement of the motor cortex in different receptive language tasks, the role that it plays in language perception and understanding is still unclear. In the present study, we explored the degree of involvement of language and motor areas in a visually presented sentence comprehension task, modulated by language proficiency (L1: native language, L2: second language) and linguistic abstractness (literal, metaphorical, and abstract). Magnetoencephalography data were recorded from 26 late Chinese learners of English. A cluster-based permutation F test was performed on the amplitude of the source waveform for each motor and language region of interest (ROI). Results showed a significant effect of language proficiency in both language and motor ROIs, manifested as overall greater involvement of language ROIs (short insular gyri and planum polare of the superior temporal gyrus) in the L1 than the L2 during 300-500 ms, and overall greater involvement of motor ROI (central sulcus) in the L2 than the L1 during 600-800 ms. We interpreted the over-recruitment of the motor area in the L2 as a higher demand for cognitive resources to compensate for the inadequate engagement of the language network. In general, our results indicate a compensatory role of the motor cortex in L2 understanding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lili Tian
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
- Language and Brain Research Centre, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hongjun Chen
- School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Pyry Petteri Heikkinen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Wenya Liu
- Faculty of Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Tiina Parviainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Bayram M, Palluel-Germain R, Lebon F, Durand E, Harquel S, Perrone-Bertolotti M. Motor imagery training to improve language processing: What are the arguments? Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:982849. [PMID: 36816506 PMCID: PMC9929469 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.982849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies showed that motor expertise was found to induce improvement in language processing. Grounded and situated approaches attributed this effect to an underlying automatic simulation of the motor experience elicited by action words, similar to motor imagery (MI), and suggest shared representations of action conceptualization. Interestingly, recent results also suggest that the mental simulation of action by MI training induces motor-system modifications and improves motor performance. Consequently, we hypothesize that, since MI training can induce motor-system modifications, it could be used to reinforce the functional connections between motor and language system, and could thus lead to improved language performance. Here, we explore these potential interactions by reviewing recent fundamental and clinical literature in the action-language and MI domains. We suggested that exploiting the link between action language and MI could open new avenues for complementary language improvement programs. We summarize the current literature to evaluate the rationale behind this novel training and to explore the mechanisms underlying MI and its impact on language performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariam Bayram
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | | | - Florent Lebon
- Laboratoire INSERM U1093 Cognition, Action, et Plasticité Sensorimotrice, Université de Bourgogne, Faculté des Sciences du Sport (UFR STAPS), Dijon, France,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Edith Durand
- Département d’Orthophonie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada
| | - Sylvain Harquel
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics (CNP) and Brain Mind Institute (BMI), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marcela Perrone-Bertolotti
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France,*Correspondence: Marcela Perrone-Bertolotti,
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Visani E, Garofalo G, Rossi Sebastiano D, Duran D, Craighero L, Riggio L, Buccino G. Grasping the semantic of actions: a combined behavioral and MEG study. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:1008995. [PMID: 36583012 PMCID: PMC9792482 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1008995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
There is experimental evidence that the brain systems involved in action execution also play a role in action observation and understanding. Recently, it has been suggested that the sensorimotor system is also involved in language processing. Supporting results are slower response times and weaker motor-related MEG Beta band power suppression in semantic decision tasks on single action verbs labels when the stimulus and the motor response involve the same effector. Attenuated power suppression indicates decreased cortical excitability and consequent decreased readiness to act. The embodied approach forwards that the simultaneous involvement of the sensorimotor system in the processing of the linguistic content and in the planning of the response determines this language-motor interference effect. Here, in a combined behavioral and MEG study we investigated to what extent the processing of actions visually presented (i.e., pictures of actions) and verbally described (i.e., verbs in written words) share common neural mechanisms. The findings demonstrated that, whether an action is experienced visually or verbally, its processing engages the sensorimotor system in a comparable way. These results provide further support to the embodied view of semantic processing, suggesting that this process is independent from the modality of presentation of the stimulus, including language.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Visani
- Bioengineering Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Division of Neuroscience, Universitity “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milan, Italy,IRCCS San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Dunja Duran
- Bioengineering Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Laila Craighero
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Lucia Riggio
- Unit of Neuroscience, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, Universitity “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milan, Italy,IRCCS San Raffaele, Milan, Italy,*Correspondence: Giovanni Buccino
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Buccino G, Colagè I. Grounding abstract concepts and beliefs into experience: The embodied perspective. Front Psychol 2022; 13:943765. [PMID: 35941951 PMCID: PMC9356303 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.943765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Buccino
- Divisione di Neuroscienze, IRCCS San Raffaele and Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- *Correspondence: Giovanni Buccino
| | - Ivan Colagè
- Faculty of Philosophy, Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome, Italy
- DISF Research Center, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Visani E, Sebastiano DR, Duran D, Garofalo G, Magliocco F, Silipo F, Buccino G. The Semantics of Natural Objects and Tools in the Brain: A Combined Behavioral and MEG Study. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12010097. [PMID: 35053840 PMCID: PMC8774003 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Current literature supports the notion that the recognition of objects, when visually presented, is sub-served by neural structures different from those responsible for the semantic processing of their nouns. However, embodiment foresees that processing observed objects and their verbal labels should share similar neural mechanisms. In a combined behavioral and MEG study, we compared the modulation of motor responses and cortical rhythms during the processing of graspable natural objects and tools, either verbally or pictorially presented. Our findings demonstrate that conveying meaning to an observed object or processing its noun similarly modulates both motor responses and cortical rhythms; being natural graspable objects and tools differently represented in the brain, they affect in a different manner both behavioral and MEG findings, independent of presentation modality. These results provide experimental evidence that neural substrates responsible for conveying meaning to objects overlap with those where the object is represented, thus supporting an embodied view of semantic processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Visani
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Davide Rossi Sebastiano
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Dunja Duran
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
| | - Fabio Magliocco
- Centro Psico-Sociale di Seregno—Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale di Vimercate, 20871 Vimercate, Italy;
| | - Francesco Silipo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Viale Salvatore Venuta, 88100 Germaneto, Italy;
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Garofalo G, Riggio L. Influence of colour on object motor representation. Neuropsychologia 2022; 164:108103. [PMID: 34861284 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Colour conveys specific information about the status/quality of an object; whereas its role in object recognition has been widely studied, little is known about its role in sensorimotor processes. We performed three experiments to assess whether colour influences the motor representation of graspable objects. In Experiment 1, we used a grasp compatibility task, in which participants categorized each object as natural or artifact, by performing reach-to-grasp movements. Response grasps could be compatible or incompatible with the ones normally used to manipulate the objects. Results showed faster reaction times for natural objects displayed in the correct colour compared with both opposite colour and correct colour artifact objects. In Experiment 2, to directly assess the effect of colour on object motor representation, we used an interference task in which an irrelevant object was shown while performing a pre-specified reach-to-grasp movement (i.e., verbal cues: small vs. large). Results highlighted a reversed compatibility effect when objects were shown in their correct colour, but only at the beginning of the movement (10 ms SOA). Finally, we run a third experiment using the same task as in Experiment 2. In this experiment, we compared the grasp compatibility effect driven by natural objects with the grasp compatibility effect driven by dangerous natural objects (e.g., cactus), which are objects that should not elicit a grasping program. The results of Experiment 3 confirm those of Experiment 2, highlighting also specific processes related to dangerous objects. Taken together, these results revealed that colour can be significant for the motor system, highlighting the close link between colour and shape, and also specific processes related to dangerous objects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucia Riggio
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Garofalo G, Magliocco F, Silipo F, Riggio L, Buccino G. What matters is the underlying experience: Similar motor responses during processing observed hand actions and hand-related verbs. J Neuropsychol 2022; 16:389-406. [PMID: 34978159 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
It is well-accepted that processing observed actions involves at some extent the same neural mechanisms responsible for action execution. More recently, it has been forwarded that also the processing of verbs expressing a specific motor content is subserved by the neural mechanisms allowing individuals to perform the content expressed by that linguistic material. This view is also known as embodiment and contrasts with a more classical approach to language processing that considers it as amodal. In the present study, we used a go/no-go paradigm, in which participants were requested to respond to real words and pictures and refrain from responding when presented stimuli were pseudowords and scrambled images. Real stimuli included pictures depicting hand- and foot-related actions and verbs expressing hand- and foot-related actions. We, therefore, directly compared the modulation of hand motor responses during the observation of actions and the presentation of verbs, expressing actions in the same category. The results have shown that participants gave slower hand motor responses during the observation of hand actions and the processing of hand-related verbs as than observed foot actions and related verbs. These findings support embodiment showing that whatever the modality of presentation (observed action or verb), the modulation of hand motor responses was similar, thus suggesting that processing seen actions and related verbs shares common mechanisms most likely involving the motor system and the underlying motor experience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gioacchino Garofalo
- Unità di Neuroscienze, Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università di Parma, Italia
| | - Fabio Magliocco
- Centro Psico-Sociale di Seregno - Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale di Vimercate, Seregno, Italia
| | - Francesco Silipo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, Università "Magna Graecia" di Catanzaro, Germaneto, Italia
| | - Lucia Riggio
- Unità di Neuroscienze, Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università di Parma, Italia
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Divisione di Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele and Università San Raffaele, Milano, Italia
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Vitale F, Monti I, Padrón I, Avenanti A, de Vega M. The neural inhibition network is causally involved in the disembodiment effect of linguistic negation. Cortex 2021; 147:72-82. [PMID: 35026556 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Negation applied to action contexts reduces the activation of the motor system. According to the Reusing Inhibition for Negation (RIN) hypothesis, such "disembodiment" effect occurs because understanding negations engages the reuse of inhibitory control mechanisms. Here, we investigated whether the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) - a key area of the inhibitory control system - contributes to primary motor cortex (M1) processing of negated action-sentences. Using a perturb-and-measure paradigm, we applied off-line low-frequency repetitive TMS (rTMS) over the rIFG, before performing a reading task involving action and attentional sentences presented in both affirmative or negative form. During the reading task, motor excitability was assessed by recording motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by single-pulse TMS (spTMS) over the left M1, at two loci in the sentence: the verb or the object. Results show that after sham stimulation (baseline), motor excitability measured on the verb, was reduced for negative, compared to affirmative action sentences. Crucially, neuromodulation of rIFG suppressed this inhibitory effect of negation, since motor excitability was equaled for negative and affirmative action sentences. As expected, no effect of negation was observed for attentional sentences or when the pulse was delivered over the object. Our study confirms that understanding negative action sentences inhibits M1. This effect took place at an early stage of semantic processing (i.e., while processing the verb in our task), and faded at a later time-point. Critically, by highlighting a causal role of rIFG in this motor inhibition, we provide direct neurophysiological support to the RIN hypothesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Vitale
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
| | - Ilaria Monti
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Iván Padrón
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Dipartimento di Psicologia and Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscience Cognitive, Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena Cesena, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica Del Maule Talca, Chile
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Abstract Action Language Processing in Eleven-Year-Old Children: Influence of Upper Limb Movement on Sentence Comprehension. Behav Sci (Basel) 2021; 11:bs11120162. [PMID: 34940097 PMCID: PMC8698763 DOI: 10.3390/bs11120162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Regarding the embodiment of language processing in adults, there is evidence of a close connection between sensorimotor brain areas and brain areas relevant to the processing of action verbs. This thesis is hotly debated and has therefore been thoroughly studied in adults. However, there are still questions concerning its development in children. The present study deals with the processing of action verbs in concrete and abstract sentences in 60 eleven-year-olds using a decision time paradigm. Sixty-five children mirrored arm movements or sat still and rated the semantic plausibility of sentences. The data of the current study suggest that eleven-year-olds are likely to misunderstand the meaning of action verbs in abstract contexts. Their decision times were faster and their error rates for action verbs in concrete sentences were lower. However, the gender of the children had a significant influence on the decision time and the number of errors, especially when processing abstract sentences. Females were more likely to benefit from an arm movement before the decision, while males were better if they sat still beforehand. Overall, children made quite a few errors when assessing the plausibility of sentences, but the female participants more often gave plausibility assessments that deviated from our expectations, especially when processing abstract sentences. It can be assumed that the embodiment of language processing plays some role in 11-year-old children, but is not yet as mature as it is in adults. Especially with regard to the processing of abstract language, the embodied system still has to change and mature in the course of child development.
Collapse
|
16
|
Niccolai V, Klepp A, Schnitzler A, Biermann-Ruben K. Neurophysiological mechanisms of perspective-taking: An MEG investigation of agency. Soc Neurosci 2021; 16:584-593. [PMID: 34452591 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2021.1974546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
According to the embodied cognition framework, sensory and motor areas are recruited during language understanding through simulation processes. Behavioral and imaging findings point to a dependence of the latter on perspective-taking (e.g., first person "I" versus third person "s/he"). The current study aims at identifying possible neurophysiological correlates of perspective in a linguistic context. Twenty healthy participants were measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG) while semantically processing visually presented inflected German verbs in the first- and third-person perspective, simple present tense. Results show that the first-person perspective induces stronger beta (15-25 Hz) desynchronization in the right-hemispheric posterior superior temporal sulcus, ventral posterior cingulate gyrus, and V5/MT+ area; no modulation of sensorimotor cortex emerged. Moreover, a stronger event-related field (ERF) was observed for the first-person perspective at about 150 ms after pronoun-verb onset, originating in occipital and moving to central and left temporal cortical sites. No effect of perspective on sensory gating was found when targeting the N1 component related to tones following the linguistic stimuli. Results indicate an effect of linguistic perspective-taking on brain activation patterns. The contribution of the single brain areas and their role in self-other distinction is further discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Niccolai
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Anne Klepp
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Katja Biermann-Ruben
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Scaltritti M, Job R, Alario FX, Sulpizio S. On the Boundaries between Decision and Action: Effector-selective Lateralization of Beta-frequency Power Is Modulated by the Lexical Frequency of Printed Words. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:2131-2144. [PMID: 32662730 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Current computational and neuroscientific models of decision-making posit a discrete, serial processing distinction between upstream decisional stages and downstream processes of motor-response implementation. We investigated this framework in the context of two-alternative forced-choice tasks on linguistic stimuli, words and pseudowords. In two experiments, we assessed the impact of lexical frequency and action semantics on two effector-selective EEG indexes of motor-response activation: the lateralized readiness potential and the lateralization of beta-frequency power. This allowed us to track potentially continuous streams of processing progressively mapping the evaluation of linguistic stimuli onto corresponding response channels. Whereas action semantics showed no influence on EEG indexes of motor-response activation, lexical frequency affected the lateralization of response-locked beta-frequency power. We argue that these observations point toward a continuity between linguistic processing of word input stimuli and implementation of corresponding choice in terms of motor behavior. This interpretation challenges the commonly held assumption of a discrete processing distinction between decisional and motor-response processes in the context of decisions based on symbolic stimuli.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michele Scaltritti
- Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy.,Fondazione Marica De Vincenzi, ONLUS, Trento, Italy
| | - Remo Job
- Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy.,Fondazione Marica De Vincenzi, ONLUS, Trento, Italy
| | - F-Xavier Alario
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, LPC, France.,University of Pittsburgh
| | - Simone Sulpizio
- Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.,Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Scaltritti M, Suitner C, Peressotti F. Language and motor processing in reading and typing: Insights from beta-frequency band power modulations. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2020; 204:104758. [PMID: 32032864 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2020.104758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2019] [Revised: 12/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Power modulations of the EEG activity within the beta-frequency band were investigated across silent-reading and copy-typing tasks featuring emotionally negative and neutral words in order to clarify the interplay between language and motor processing. In reading, a single desynchronization surfaced 200-600 ms after target presentation, with a stronger power-decrease in lower beta frequencies for neutral compared to negative words. The typing task revealed two distinct desynchronizations. A first one surfaced within spatio-temporal coordinates closely resembling those of the desynchronization observed in the reading task, thus pointing towards a common origin at the level of linguistic processing of the input word stimuli. Additionally, a second motor-related desynchronization surfaced during the typed response, from 700 to 2000 ms after stimulus onset. Here, words' emotional connotation affected the higher beta band. The comparison between tasks thus suggests that different beta desynchronizations reflect distinct EEG landmarks for language and motor processing. Further, the effect of emotional connotation on the motor-related desynchronization of the typing task suggests that language processing can propagate its influence onto the stage of motor response execution, pointing against a serial flow of information from language onto motor processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michele Scaltritti
- Dipartimento di Psicologia e Scienze Cognitive, Università degli Studi di Trento, Corso Bettini 84, 38068 Rovereto, TN, Italy; Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, PD, Italy.
| | - Caterina Suitner
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, PD, Italy.
| | - Francesca Peressotti
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, PD, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Tian L, Chen H, Zhao W, Wu J, Zhang Q, De A, Leppänen P, Cong F, Parviainen T. The role of motor system in action-related language comprehension in L1 and L2: An fMRI study. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2020; 201:104714. [PMID: 31790907 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The framework of embodied cognition has challenged the modular view of a language-cognition divide by suggesting that meaning-retrieval critically involves the sensory-motor system. Despite extensive research into the neural mechanisms underlying language-motor coupling, it remains unclear how the motor system might be differentially engaged by different levels of linguistic abstraction and language proficiency. To address this issue, we used fMRI to quantify neural activations in brain regions underlying motor and language processing in Chinese-English speakers' processing of literal, metaphorical, and abstract language in their L1 and L2. Results overall revealed a response in motor ROIs gradually attenuating in intensity from literal to abstract via metaphorical language in both L1 and L2. Furthermore, contrast analyses between L1 and L2 showed overall greater activations of motor ROIs in the L2. We conclude that motor involvement in language processing is graded rather than all-or-none and that the motor system has a dual-functional role.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lili Tian
- School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China; Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland; Language and Brain Research Center, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing 400031, China
| | - Hongjun Chen
- School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
| | - Wei Zhao
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
| | - Jianlin Wu
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian 116001, China
| | - Qing Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian 116001, China
| | - Ailing De
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian 116001, China
| | - Paavo Leppänen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland
| | - Fengyu Cong
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China; Faculty of Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland
| | - Tiina Parviainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland; Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Stairways to the brain: Transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) modulates a cerebellar-cortical network enhancing verb recovery. Brain Res 2020; 1727:146564. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
|
21
|
Too late to be grounded? Motor resonance for action words acquired after middle childhood. Brain Cogn 2019; 138:105509. [PMID: 31855702 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.105509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 11/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Though well established for languages acquired in infancy, the role of embodied mechanisms remains poorly understood for languages learned in middle childhood and adulthood. To bridge this gap, we examined 34 experiments that assessed sensorimotor resonance during processing of action-related words in real and artificial languages acquired since age 7 and into adulthood. Evidence from late bilinguals indicates that foreign-language action words modulate neural activity in motor circuits and predictably facilitate or delay physical movements (even in an effector-specific fashion), with outcomes that prove partly sensitive to language proficiency. Also, data from newly learned vocabularies suggest that embodied effects emerge after brief periods of adult language exposure, remain stable through time, and hinge on the performance of bodily movements (and, seemingly, on action observation, too). In sum, our work shows that infant language exposure is not indispensable for the recruitment of embodied mechanisms during language processing, a finding that carries non-trivial theoretical, pedagogical, and clinical implications for neurolinguistics, in general, and bilingualism research, in particular.
Collapse
|
22
|
Klepp A, van Dijk H, Niccolai V, Schnitzler A, Biermann-Ruben K. Action verb processing specifically modulates motor behaviour and sensorimotor neuronal oscillations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15985. [PMID: 31690784 PMCID: PMC6831701 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52426-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding action-related language recruits the brain’s motor system and can interact with motor behaviour. The current study shows MEG oscillatory patterns during verb-motor priming. Hand and foot verbs were followed by hand or foot responses, with faster reaction times for congruent conditions. In ROIs placed in the hand/arm and foot/leg portions of the sensorimotor cortex, this behavioural priming effect was accompanied by modulations in MEG oscillatory patterns preceding the responses. Power suppression in the alpha/beta frequency bands was reduced in congruent conditions in the body-part-specific ROIs. These results imply that the verb-motor priming effect may be a direct consequence of motor cortex contributions to action word processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Klepp
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | | | - Valentina Niccolai
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katja Biermann-Ruben
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Transcranial direct current stimulation influences bilingual language control mechanism: evidence from cross-frequency coupling. Cogn Neurodyn 2019; 14:203-214. [PMID: 32226562 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-019-09561-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Revised: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
How to better suppress the interference from the non-target language when switching from one language to the other in bilingual production? The current study applied transcranial direct current stimulation over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to modulate language control measured by cross-frequency coupling. We found that switching to L2 was more modulated by F4-F3 alpha-beta phase-amplitude compared to switching to L1 after receiving the anodal stimulation at the language task schema phase. These findings suggest that anodal stimulation affects the selection of the target language task schema by enhancing the activation of frontal areas and facilitating the coordination between the left and the right frontal hemispheres.
Collapse
|
24
|
Beltrán D, Morera Y, García-Marco E, de Vega M. Brain Inhibitory Mechanisms Are Involved in the Processing of Sentential Negation, Regardless of Its Content. Evidence From EEG Theta and Beta Rhythms. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1782. [PMID: 31440181 PMCID: PMC6694754 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The two-step process account of negation understanding posits an initial representation of the negated events, followed by a representation of the actual state of events. On the other hand, behavioral and neurophysiological studies provided evidence that linguistic negation suppresses or reduces the activation of the negated events, contributing to shift attention to the actual state of events. However, the specific mechanism of this suppression is poorly known. Recently, based on the brain organization principle of neural reuse (Anderson, 2010), it has been proposed that understanding linguistic negation partially relies upon the neurophysiological mechanisms of response inhibition. Specifically, it was reported that negated action-related sentences modulate EEG signatures of response inhibition (de Vega et al., 2016; Beltrán et al., 2018). In the current EEG study, we ponder whether the reusing of response inhibition processes by negation is constrained to action-related contents or consists of a more general-purpose mechanism. To this end, we employed the same dual-task paradigm as in our prior study—a Go/NoGo task embedded into a sentence comprehension task—but this time including both action and non-action sentences. The results confirmed that the increase of theta power elicited by NoGo trials was modulated by negative sentences, compared to their affirmative counterparts, and this polarity effect was statistically similar for both action- and non-action-related sentences. Thus, a general-purpose inhibitory control mechanism, rather than one specific for action language, is likely operating in the comprehension of sentential negation to produce the transition between alternative representations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David Beltrán
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Yurena Morera
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Enrique García-Marco
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Centro Asociado de La Laguna, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain.,Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Europea de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Drijvers L, van der Plas M, Özyürek A, Jensen O. Native and non-native listeners show similar yet distinct oscillatory dynamics when using gestures to access speech in noise. Neuroimage 2019; 194:55-67. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
|
26
|
Pavlova AA, Butorina AV, Nikolaeva AY, Prokofyev AO, Ulanov MA, Bondarev DP, Stroganova TA. Effortful verb retrieval from semantic memory drives beta suppression in mesial frontal regions involved in action initiation. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3669-3681. [PMID: 31077488 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The contribution of the motor cortex to the semantic retrieval of verbs remains a subject of debate in neuroscience. Here, we examined whether additional engagement of the cortical motor system was required when access to verbs semantics was hindered during a verb generation task. We asked participants to produce verbs related to presented noun cues that were either strongly associated with a single verb to prompt fast and effortless verb retrieval, or were weakly associated with multiple verbs and more difficult to respond to. Using power suppression of magnetoencephalography beta oscillations (15-30 Hz) as an index of cortical activation, we performed a whole-brain analysis in order to identify the cortical regions sensitive to the difficulty of verb semantic retrieval. Highly reliable suppression of beta oscillations occurred 250 ms after the noun cue presentation and was sustained until the onset of verbal response. This was localized to multiple cortical regions, mainly in the temporal and frontal lobes of the left hemisphere. Crucially, the only cortical regions where beta suppression was sensitive to the task difficulty, were the higher order motor areas on the medial and lateral surfaces of the frontal lobe. Stronger activation of the premotor cortex and supplementary motor area accompanied the effortful verb retrieval and preceded the preparation of verbal responses for more than 500 ms, thus, overlapping with the time window of verb retrieval from semantic memory. Our results suggest that reactivation of verb-related motor plans in higher order motor circuitry promotes the semantic retrieval of target verbs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna A Pavlova
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Anna V Butorina
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Anastasia Y Nikolaeva
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Andrey O Prokofyev
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Maxim A Ulanov
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Centre for Cognition and Decision making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Denis P Bondarev
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Kurchatov Complex of NBICS Nature-Like Technologies, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Tatiana A Stroganova
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
How meaning unfolds in neural time: Embodied reactivations can precede multimodal semantic effects during language processing. Neuroimage 2019; 197:439-449. [PMID: 31059796 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on how the brain construes meaning during language use has prompted two conflicting accounts. According to the 'grounded view', word understanding involves quick reactivations of sensorimotor (embodied) experiences evoked by the stimuli, with simultaneous or later engagement of multimodal (conceptual) systems integrating information from various sensory streams. Contrariwise, for the 'symbolic view', this capacity depends crucially on multimodal operations, with embodied systems playing epiphenomenal roles after comprehension. To test these contradictory hypotheses, the present magnetoencephalography study assessed implicit semantic access to grammatically constrained action and non-action verbs (n = 100 per category) while measuring spatiotemporally precise signals from the primary motor cortex (M1, a core region subserving bodily movements) and the anterior temporal lobe (ATL, a putative multimodal semantic hub). Convergent evidence from sensor- and source-level analyses revealed that increased modulations for action verbs occurred earlier in M1 (∼130-190 ms) than in specific ATL hubs (∼250-410 ms). Moreover, machine-learning decoding showed that trial-by-trial classification peaks emerged faster in M1 (∼100-175 ms) than in the ATL (∼345-500 ms), with over 71% accuracy in both cases. Considering their latencies, these results challenge the 'symbolic view' and its implication that sensorimotor mechanisms play only secondary roles in semantic processing. Instead, our findings support the 'grounded view', showing that early semantic effects are critically driven by embodied reactivations and that these cannot be reduced to post-comprehension epiphenomena, even when words are individually classified. Briefly, our study offers non-trivial insights to constrain fine-grained models of language and understand how meaning unfolds in neural time.
Collapse
|
28
|
Hayek D, Flöel A, Antonenko D. Role of Sensorimotor Cortex in Gestural-Verbal Integration. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:482. [PMID: 30574078 PMCID: PMC6291781 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Action comprehension that is related to language or gestural integration has been shown to engage the motor system in the brain, thus providing preliminary evidence for the gestural-verbal embodiment concept. Based on the involvement of the sensorimotor cortex (M1) in language processing, we aimed to further explore its role in the cognitive embodiment necessary for gestural-verbal integration. As such, we applied anodal (excitatory) and sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left M1 (with reference electrode over the contralateral supraorbital region) during a gestural-verbal integration task where subjects had to make a decision about the semantic congruency of the gesture (prime) and the word (target). We used a cross-over within-subject design in young subjects. Attentional load and simple reaction time (RT) tasks served as control conditions, applied during stimulation (order of three tasks was counterbalanced). Our results showed that anodal (atDCS) compared to sham tDCS (stDCS) reduced RTs in the gestural-verbal integration task, specifically for incongruent pairs of gestures and verbal expressions, with no effect on control task performance. Our findings provide evidence for the involvement of the sensorimotor system in gestural-verbal integration performance. Further, our results suggest that functional modulation induced by sensorimotor tDCS may be specific to gestural-verbal integration. Future studies should now evaluate the modulatory effect of tDCS on semantic congruency by using tDCS over additional brain regions and include assessments of neural connectivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dayana Hayek
- Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Neurology, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Agnes Flöel
- Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Neurology, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Daria Antonenko
- Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Neurology, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Pulvermüller F. Neurobiological Mechanisms for Semantic Feature Extraction and Conceptual Flexibility. Top Cogn Sci 2018; 10:590-620. [DOI: 10.1111/tops.12367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Revised: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory Department of Philosophy and Humanities WE4, Freie Universität Berlin
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Drijvers L, Özyürek A, Jensen O. Alpha and Beta Oscillations Index Semantic Congruency between Speech and Gestures in Clear and Degraded Speech. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:1086-1097. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Previous work revealed that visual semantic information conveyed by gestures can enhance degraded speech comprehension, but the mechanisms underlying these integration processes under adverse listening conditions remain poorly understood. We used MEG to investigate how oscillatory dynamics support speech–gesture integration when integration load is manipulated by auditory (e.g., speech degradation) and visual semantic (e.g., gesture congruency) factors. Participants were presented with videos of an actress uttering an action verb in clear or degraded speech, accompanied by a matching (mixing gesture + “mixing”) or mismatching (drinking gesture + “walking”) gesture. In clear speech, alpha/beta power was more suppressed in the left inferior frontal gyrus and motor and visual cortices when integration load increased in response to mismatching versus matching gestures. In degraded speech, beta power was less suppressed over posterior STS and medial temporal lobe for mismatching compared with matching gestures, showing that integration load was lowest when speech was degraded and mismatching gestures could not be integrated and disambiguate the degraded signal. Our results thus provide novel insights on how low-frequency oscillatory modulations in different parts of the cortex support the semantic audiovisual integration of gestures in clear and degraded speech: When speech is clear, the left inferior frontal gyrus and motor and visual cortices engage because higher-level semantic information increases semantic integration load. When speech is degraded, posterior STS/middle temporal gyrus and medial temporal lobe are less engaged because integration load is lowest when visual semantic information does not aid lexical retrieval and speech and gestures cannot be integrated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Asli Özyürek
- Radboud University
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
De Marco D, De Stefani E, Bernini D, Gentilucci M. The effect of motor context on semantic processing: A TMS study. Neuropsychologia 2018; 114:243-250. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
32
|
Action-Related Speech Modulates Beta Oscillations During Observation of Tool-Use Gestures. Brain Topogr 2018; 31:838-847. [DOI: 10.1007/s10548-018-0641-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
|
33
|
Gianelli C. Embodied language and perspective taking in light of movement disorders. Cortex 2018; 100:226-231. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
34
|
Drijvers L, Özyürek A, Jensen O. Hearing and seeing meaning in noise: Alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations predict gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:2075-2087. [PMID: 29380945 PMCID: PMC5947738 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
During face‐to‐face communication, listeners integrate speech with gestures. The semantic information conveyed by iconic gestures (e.g., a drinking gesture) can aid speech comprehension in adverse listening conditions. In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study, we investigated the spatiotemporal neural oscillatory activity associated with gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension. Participants watched videos of an actress uttering clear or degraded speech, accompanied by a gesture or not and completed a cued‐recall task after watching every video. When gestures semantically disambiguated degraded speech comprehension, an alpha and beta power suppression and a gamma power increase revealed engagement and active processing in the hand‐area of the motor cortex, the extended language network (LIFG/pSTS/STG/MTG), medial temporal lobe, and occipital regions. These observed low‐ and high‐frequency oscillatory modulations in these areas support general unification, integration and lexical access processes during online language comprehension, and simulation of and increased visual attention to manual gestures over time. All individual oscillatory power modulations associated with gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension predicted a listener's correct disambiguation of the degraded verb after watching the videos. Our results thus go beyond the previously proposed role of oscillatory dynamics in unimodal degraded speech comprehension and provide first evidence for the role of low‐ and high‐frequency oscillations in predicting the integration of auditory and visual information at a semantic level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linda Drijvers
- Radboud University, Centre for Language Studies, Erasmusplein 1, 6525 HT, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Asli Özyürek
- Radboud University, Centre for Language Studies, Erasmusplein 1, 6525 HT, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ole Jensen
- School of Psychology, Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Hills Building, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Semantic discrimination impacts tDCS modulation of verb processing. Sci Rep 2017; 7:17162. [PMID: 29215039 PMCID: PMC5719444 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17326-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Motor cortex activation observed during body-related verb processing hints at simulation accompanying linguistic understanding. By exploiting the up- and down-regulation that anodal and cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) exert on motor cortical excitability, we aimed at further characterizing the functional contribution of the motor system to linguistic processing. In a double-blind sham-controlled within-subjects design, online stimulation was applied to the left hemispheric hand-related motor cortex of 20 healthy subjects. A dual, double-dissociation task required participants to semantically discriminate concrete (hand/foot) from abstract verb primes as well as to respond with the hand or with the foot to verb-unrelated geometric targets. Analyses were conducted with linear mixed models. Semantic priming was confirmed by faster and more accurate reactions when the response effector was congruent with the verb's body part. Cathodal stimulation induced faster responses for hand verb primes thus indicating a somatotopical distribution of cortical activation as induced by body-related verbs. Importantly, this effect depended on performance in semantic discrimination. The current results point to verb processing being selectively modifiable by neuromodulation and at the same time to a dependence of tDCS effects on enhanced simulation. We discuss putative mechanisms operating in this reciprocal dependence of neuromodulation and motor resonance.
Collapse
|
36
|
Klepp A, Niccolai V, Sieksmeyer J, Arnzen S, Indefrey P, Schnitzler A, Biermann-Ruben K. Body-part specific interactions of action verb processing with motor behaviour. Behav Brain Res 2017; 328:149-158. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2016] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
|
37
|
Schaller F, Weiss S, Müller HM. EEG beta-power changes reflect motor involvement in abstract action language processing. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2017; 168:95-105. [PMID: 28189047 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2017.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2016] [Revised: 12/20/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Brain oscillations in the α- and β-range become suppressed during motor processing and motor imagery. It has recently been discussed that such power changes also occur during action language processing. In our study, we compared β2-oscillations (16-25Hz) during the observation of prototypical arm movements (revealed via motion tracking) as well as during semantic processing of concrete and abstract sentences containing arm-related action verbs. Whereas we did find a strong desynchronization in the β2-range during action observation, the processing of action sentences evoked a rather weak desynchronization. However, this desynchronization occurred for action verbs in both concrete and abstract contexts. These results might indicate a tendency for abstract action language to be processed similar to concrete action language rather than abstract sentences. The oscillation patterns reflect the close relationship between language comprehension and motor functions - one of the core claims of current theories on embodied cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Schaller
- Experimental Neurolinguistics Group, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Cognitive Interaction Technology" (CITEC), Inspiration 1, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Sabine Weiss
- Experimental Neurolinguistics Group, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Cognitive Interaction Technology" (CITEC), Inspiration 1, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Horst M Müller
- Experimental Neurolinguistics Group, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Cognitive Interaction Technology" (CITEC), Inspiration 1, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Processing graspable object images and their nouns is impaired in Parkinson's disease patients. Cortex 2017; 100:32-39. [PMID: 28413070 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
According to embodiment, the recruitment of the motor system is necessary to process language material expressing a motor content. Coherently, an impairment of the motor system should affect the capacity to process language items with a motor content. The aim of the present study was to assess the capacity to process graspable objects and their nouns in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and healthy controls. Participants saw photos and nouns depicting graspable and non-graspable objects. Scrambled images and pseudo-words served as control stimuli. At 150 msec after stimulus presentation, they had to respond when the stimulus referred to a real object, and refrain from responding when it was meaningless (go-no go paradigm). In the control group, participants gave slower motor responses for stimuli (both photos and nouns) related to graspable objects as compared to non-graspable ones. This in keeping with data obtained in a previous study with young healthy participants. In the PD group, motor responses were similar for both graspable and non-graspable items. Moreover, error number was significantly greater than in controls. These findings support the notion that when the motor circuits are lesioned, like in PD, patients do not show the typical modulation of motor responses and have troubles in processing graspable objects and their nouns.
Collapse
|
39
|
Buccino G, Colagè I, Gobbi N, Bonaccorso G. Grounding meaning in experience: A broad perspective on embodied language. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 69:69-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.07.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2016] [Revised: 05/29/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
|
40
|
Niccolai V, Klepp A, Indefrey P, Schnitzler A, Biermann-Ruben K. EP 27. Modulatory effect of motor cortex stimulation on semantic priming. Clin Neurophysiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.05.082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
41
|
Abstract
Theories of embodied cognition positing that sensorimotor areas are indispensable during language comprehension are supported by neuroimaging and behavioural studies. Among others, the auditory system has been suggested to be important for understanding sound-related words (visually presented) and the motor system for action-related words. In this behavioural study, using a sound detection task embedded in a lexical decision task, we show that in participants with high lexical decision performance sound verbs improve auditory perception. The amount of modulation was correlated with lexical decision performance. Our study provides convergent behavioural evidence of auditory cortex involvement in word processing, supporting the view of embodied language comprehension concerning the auditory domain.
Collapse
|
42
|
Buccino G, Marino BFM. Response: Commentary: Viewing photos and reading nouns of natural graspable objects similarly modulate motor responses. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:524. [PMID: 26441617 PMCID: PMC4585231 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Accepted: 09/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Buccino
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, Università “Magna Graecia” di CatanzaroCatanzaro, Italy
- IRCCS NeuromedPozzilli, Italy
- *Correspondence: Giovanni Buccino,
| | | |
Collapse
|