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Herff SA, Bonetti L, Cecchetti G, Vuust P, Kringelbach ML, Rohrmeier MA. Hierarchical syntax model of music predicts theta power during music listening. Neuropsychologia 2024; 199:108905. [PMID: 38740179 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Linguistic research showed that the depth of syntactic embedding is reflected in brain theta power. Here, we test whether this also extends to non-linguistic stimuli, specifically music. We used a hierarchical model of musical syntax to continuously quantify two types of expert-annotated harmonic dependencies throughout a piece of Western classical music: prolongation and preparation. Prolongations can roughly be understood as a musical analogue to linguistic coordination between constituents that share the same function (e.g., 'pizza' and 'pasta' in 'I ate pizza and pasta'). Preparation refers to the dependency between two harmonies whereby the first implies a resolution towards the second (e.g., dominant towards tonic; similar to how the adjective implies the presence of a noun in 'I like spicy … '). Source reconstructed MEG data of sixty-five participants listening to the musical piece was then analysed. We used Bayesian Mixed Effects models to predict theta envelope in the brain, using the number of open prolongation and preparation dependencies as predictors whilst controlling for audio envelope. We observed that prolongation and preparation both carry independent and distinguishable predictive value for theta band fluctuation in key linguistic areas such as the Angular, Superior Temporal, and Heschl's Gyri, or their right-lateralised homologues, with preparation showing additional predictive value for areas associated with the reward system and prediction. Musical expertise further mediated these effects in language-related brain areas. Results show that predictions of precisely formalised music-theoretical models are reflected in the brain activity of listeners which furthers our understanding of the perception and cognition of musical structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen A Herff
- Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia; Digital and Cognitive Musicology Lab, College of Humanities, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Leonardo Bonetti
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark; Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Gabriele Cecchetti
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia; Digital and Cognitive Musicology Lab, College of Humanities, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark; Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Martin A Rohrmeier
- Digital and Cognitive Musicology Lab, College of Humanities, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Leshem R, Mashal N. What does metaphoric language say about aggression? The relationships between metaphoric language, impulsivity, and aggression. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2024; 243:104173. [PMID: 38320413 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Aggressive behavior among adolescents has been identified as a serious worldwide problem, especially when combined with trait impulsivity. This study investigates the impact of an overlooked aspect of language, namely, metaphor comprehension, on impulsivity and aggression in adolescents. A total of 204 adolescents completed self-reported questionnaires assessing impulsivity and aggression and underwent tests assessing familiar and less familiar metaphor comprehension. The findings reveal inverse relationships between metaphor comprehension and both impulsivity and aggression. Regarding aggression, notable distinctions were observed in the correlations between familiar and less familiar metaphors with specific aggression types. Additionally, impulsivity was found to mediate the relationship between the comprehension of familiar metaphors and aggression. These results are elucidated in the context of cognitive and executive functions, emphasizing the significance of considering metaphor comprehension as a cognitive process capable of modulating aggressive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rotem Leshem
- Department of Criminology, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
| | - Nira Mashal
- Faculty of Education and Gonda Multidisciplinary, Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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3
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Ventura-Campos N, Ferrando-Esteve L, Epifanio I. The underlying neural bases of the reversal error while solving algebraic word problems. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21654. [PMID: 36522380 PMCID: PMC9755259 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25442-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Problem solving is a core element in mathematical learning. The reversal error in problem solving occurs when students are able to recognize the information in the statement of comparison word problems, but they reverse the relationship between two variables when building the equations. Functional magnetic resonance images were acquired to identify for the first time the neural bases associated with the reversal error. The neuronal bases linked to this error have been used as inputs in 13 classifiers to discriminate between reversal error and non-reversal error groups. We found brain activation in bilateral fronto-parietal areas in the participants who committed reversal errors, and only left fronto-parietal activation in those who did not, suggesting that the reversal error group needed a greater cognitive demand. Instead, the non-reversal error group seems to show that they have developed solid algebraic knowledge. Additionally, the results showed brain activation in the right middle temporal gyrus when comparing the reversal error vs non-reversal error groups. This activation would be associated with the semantic processing which is required to understand the statement and build the equation. Finally, the classifier results show that the brain areas activated could be considered good biomarkers to help us identify competent solvers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noelia Ventura-Campos
- Department of Education and Specific Didactics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de La Plana, Spain
- Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de La Plana, Spain
| | - Lara Ferrando-Esteve
- Department of Education and Specific Didactics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de La Plana, Spain.
- Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de La Plana, Spain.
| | - Irene Epifanio
- Department of Mathematics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de La Plana, Spain
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4
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Han Y, Peng Z, Chen H. Bibliometric assessment of world scholars' international publications related to conceptual metaphor. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1071121. [PMID: 36483716 PMCID: PMC9723161 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1071121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on metaphor has gained increasing attention of world's scholars since the publication of Lakoff and Johnson's collaborated book Metaphors We Live By in 1980. The present study comprises a pioneering review of publications on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). It aimed to use the CiteSpace software to provide a clear overview of international research in relation to CMT. In total, 4,458 bibliometric recordings ranging from 1980 to 2022 were collected from the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection. The descriptive analysis presents the trend of annual publications, the top 10 most prolific journals and the top 10 most productive authors. A document co-citation analysis was conducted via CiteSpace to navigate the key documents in this field. A visualization of keywords and its cluster analysis were conducted to show the research fields and dominant topics. The top 5 keywords with high frequency were language, comprehension, conceptual metaphor, discourse, and figurative language. The most prominent 5 clusters are labeled as right hemisphere, self, time, teacher education, and corpus linguistics. The present review through CiteSpace flags the need for more investigations of CMT from more aspects or interdisciplinary studies, such as metaphor translation, metaphor in literature, metaphor and corpus linguistics, etc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Han
- School of European Language and Culture Studies, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Dalian, China
| | - Zhibin Peng
- Foreign Language Research Department, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
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5
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Huang M, Shen L, Xu S, Huang Y, Huang S, Tang X. Hemispheric Processing of Chinese Scientific Metaphors: Evidence via Hemifield Presentation. Front Psychol 2022; 13:894715. [PMID: 35693491 PMCID: PMC9178182 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of the two hemispheres in processing metaphoric language is controversial. In order to complement current debates, the current divided visual field (DVF) study introduced scientific metaphors as novel metaphors, presenting orientation mapping from the specific and familiar domains to the abstract and unfamiliar domains, to examine hemispheric asymmetry in metaphoric processing. Twenty-four Chinese native speakers from science disciplines took part in the experiment. The participants were presented with four types of Chinese word pairs: scientific metaphors, conventional metaphors, literal word pairs, and unrelated word pairs. The first word in each pair was presented centrally, and the second was presented to the left visual field (the Right Hemisphere) or the right visual field (the Left Hemisphere). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded when participants read the target words and judged whether words in each pair were related. The data demonstrated that both hemispheres were involved at the initial stage of metaphor processing, but the right hemisphere took a more privileged role. The significant activation of the left hemisphere for scientific metaphoric processing supports the fine-coarse coding hypothesis. During right-visual-field presentation, the left hemisphere, responsible for the processing of closely related domains, has to integrate the loosely associated domains of scientific metaphor, which greatly increased cognitive taxes. Moreover, the data of late positive components (LPCs) revealed different hemispheric activation between scientific metaphors and conventional metaphors. Compared with literal pairs, conventional metaphors elicited significantly higher LPCs during right visual field presentation, while the scientific metaphor elicited significantly lower LPCs during left visual field presentation. These results suggest different processing mechanisms between novel metaphors and conventional metaphors and the special role of the right hemisphere in novel metaphoric processing at the later mapping stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Huang
- School of Foreign Studies, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China
| | - Lexian Shen
- School of Foreign Studies, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China
| | - Shuyuan Xu
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yanhong Huang
- School of Foreign Studies, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China
| | - Shaojuan Huang
- School of Foreign Studies, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China
| | - Xuemei Tang
- School of Foreign Studies, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China
- *Correspondence: Xuemei Tang,
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Noufi T, Zeev-Wolf M. Activating the Right Hemisphere Through Left-Hand Muscle Contraction Improves Novel Metaphor Comprehension. Front Psychol 2021; 12:729814. [PMID: 34744897 PMCID: PMC8570339 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.729814] [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: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The neurotypical brain is characterized by left hemisphere lateralization for most language processing. However, the right hemisphere plays a crucial part when it is required to bring together seemingly unrelated concepts into meaningful expressions, such as in the case of novel metaphors (unfamiliar figurative expressions). The aim of the current study was to test whether it is possible to enhance novel metaphor comprehension through an easy, efficient, and non-invasive method – intentional contraction of the left hand’s muscles, to activate the motor and sensory areas in the contralateral hemisphere. One hundred eighteen neurotypical participants were asked to perform a semantic judgment task involving two-word expressions of four types: literal, conventional metaphors, novel metaphors, or unrelated, while squeezing a rubber ball with their right hand, left hand, or not at all. Results demonstrated that left-hand contraction improved novel metaphor comprehension, as participants were more accurate and quicker in judging them to be meaningful. The findings of the present work provide a simple and efficient method for boosting right hemisphere activation, which can be used to improve metaphoric language comprehension. This method can aid several populations in which right hemisphere function is not fully established, and who struggle with processing figurative language, such as adolescents and individuals on the autistic spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tala Noufi
- Department of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Maor Zeev-Wolf
- Department of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.,Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
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Mariana B, Carolina L, Valeria A, Bautista EA, Silvia K, Lucía AF. Functional anatomy of idiomatic expressions. Brain Topogr 2021; 34:489-503. [PMID: 33948754 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-021-00843-3] [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: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Idiomatic expressions (IE) are groups of words whose meaning is different from the sum of its components. Neural mechanisms underlying their processing are still debated, especially regarding lateralization, main structures involved, and whether this neural network is independent from the spoken language. To investigate the neural correlates of IE processing in healthy Spanish speakers.Twenty one native speakers of Spanish were asked to select one of 4 possible meanings for IE or literal sentences. fMRI scans were performed in a 3.0T scanner and processed by SPM 12 comparing IE vs. literal sentences. Laterality indices were calculated at the group level. IE activated a bilateral, slightly right-sided network comprising the pars triangularis and areas 9 and 10. In the left hemisphere (LH): the pars orbitalis, superior frontal, angular and fusiform gyrus. In the right hemisphere (RH): anterior insula, middle frontal, and superior temporal gyrus. This network reveals the importance of the RH, besides traditional LH areas, to comprehend IE. This agrees with the semantic coding model: the LH activates narrow semantic fields choosing one single meaning and ignoring others, and the RH detects distant semantic relationships, activating diffuse semantic fields. It is also in line with the configuration hypothesis: both meanings, literal and figurative, are executed simultaneously, until the literal meaning is definitively rejected and the figurative one is accepted. Processing IE requires the activation of fronto-temporal networks in both hemispheres. The results concur with previous studies in other languages, so these networks are independent from the spoken language. Understanding these mechanisms sheds light on IE processing difficulties in different clinical populations and must be considered when planning resective surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bendersky Mariana
- Living Anatomy Laboratory, 3rd Normal Anatomy Department, School of Medicine, Buenos Aires University, Paraguay 2155, Buenos Aires, Argentina. .,ENyS (Studies in Neurosciences and Complex Systems), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), National University A. Jauretche (UNAJ), El Cruce Hospital Néstor Kirchner, Avenue Calchaquí 5402, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Lomlomdjian Carolina
- ENyS (Studies in Neurosciences and Complex Systems), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), National University A. Jauretche (UNAJ), El Cruce Hospital Néstor Kirchner, Avenue Calchaquí 5402, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Department of Neurology, Hospital Austral, Pilar, Argentina
| | - Abusamra Valeria
- School of Philosophy and Literature, National Scientific and Technical Research Council-Argentina (CONICET), Buenos Aires University, Puan 480, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Elizalde Acevedo Bautista
- ENyS (Studies in Neurosciences and Complex Systems), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), National University A. Jauretche (UNAJ), El Cruce Hospital Néstor Kirchner, Avenue Calchaquí 5402, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Biomedical Science, Austral University, Mariano Acosta 1611, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,IIMT (Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional), CONICET-Austral University, Derqui-Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Kochen Silvia
- ENyS (Studies in Neurosciences and Complex Systems), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), National University A. Jauretche (UNAJ), El Cruce Hospital Néstor Kirchner, Avenue Calchaquí 5402, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alba-Ferrara Lucía
- ENyS (Studies in Neurosciences and Complex Systems), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), National University A. Jauretche (UNAJ), El Cruce Hospital Néstor Kirchner, Avenue Calchaquí 5402, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Biomedical Science, Austral University, Mariano Acosta 1611, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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8
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Whiteford-Damerall A. The Visual Working Memory Demands of Processing Conventional Metaphoric Language. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.5406/amerjpsyc.134.1.0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
According to the conceptual metaphor theory (CMT; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), conceptual metaphors, such as “Life is a journey,” are used to map the characteristics of abstract domains (e.g., life) onto more accessible concrete domains (e.g., a journey). Uses such as “dead-end job” and “they’re on the right track” are manifestations of this conceptual metaphor. When and how these mappings might be created remains unclear. Bowdle and Gentner’s (2005) career of metaphor hypothesis suggests that metaphors in “X is a Y” form (e.g., “a lawyer is a shark”) undergo a change in the mode of processing as those metaphors transition from novel conceptual pairings to familiar ones. The current study asks whether the associations between conceptually related concepts are accessed while the metaphoric language is processed in working memory (WM) and, if so, whether the role of WM is moderated by familiarity. If processing linguistic applications of conceptual metaphors involves active access of the concrete source domain, processing metaphoric language, like the concrete language it is being mapped onto, should involve activation of concrete representations and recruit more visual WM resources than literal abstract language. Experiment 1 found no difference in the visual WM demands of processing literal language and conventional expressions of conceptual metaphors. Experiment 2 found that novel expressions of conceptual metaphors placed greater demands on visual WM than familiar expressions. Together, these data provide some support for CMT but suggest that familiarity of the linguistic form of the metaphor plays a role in determining processing modality.
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Marron TR, Berant E, Axelrod V, Faust M. Spontaneous cognition and its relationship to human creativity: A functional connectivity study involving a chain free association task. Neuroimage 2020; 220:117064. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 05/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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Joue G, Boven L, Willmes K, Evola V, Demenescu LR, Hassemer J, Mittelberg I, Mathiak K, Schneider F, Habel U. Metaphor processing is supramodal semantic processing: The role of the bilateral lateral temporal regions in multimodal communication. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2020; 205:104772. [PMID: 32126372 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2020.104772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Revised: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This paper presents an fMRI study on healthy adult understanding of metaphors in multimodal communication. We investigated metaphors expressed either only in coverbal gestures ("monomodal metaphors") or in speech with accompanying gestures ("multimodal metaphors"). Monomodal metaphoric gestures convey metaphoric information not expressed in the accompanying speech (e.g. saying the non-metaphoric utterance, "She felt bad" while dropping down the hand with palm facing up; here, the gesture alone indicates metaphoricity), whereas coverbal gestures in multimodal metaphors indicate metaphoricity redundant to the speech (e.g. saying the metaphoric utterance, "Her spirits fell" while dropping the hand with palm facing up). In other words, in monomodal metaphors, gestures add information not spoken, whereas the gestures in multimodal metaphors can be redundant to the spoken content. Understanding and integrating the information in each modality, here spoken and visual, is important in multimodal communication, but most prior studies have only considered multimodal metaphors where the gesture is redundant to what is spoken. Our participants watched audiovisual clips of an actor speaking while gesturing. We found that abstract metaphor comprehension recruited the lateral superior/middle temporal cortices, regardless of the modality in which the conceptual metaphor is expressed. These results suggest that abstract metaphors, regardless of modality, involve resources implicated in general semantic processing and are consistent with the role of these areas in supramodal semantic processing as well as the theory of embodied cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Joue
- Human Technology Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056 Aachen, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Linda Boven
- School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Klaus Willmes
- Section Neuropsychology, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Vito Evola
- Human Technology Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056 Aachen, Germany; Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology, Dahlmannstraße 2, 53113 Bonn, Germany; Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, New University of Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Liliana R Demenescu
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Julius Hassemer
- Human Technology Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Irene Mittelberg
- Human Technology Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Klaus Mathiak
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; JARA, Translational Brain Medicine, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Frank Schneider
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, School of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
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Elucidating the role of selective attention, divergent thinking, language abilities, and executive functions in metaphor generation. Neuropsychologia 2020; 142:107458. [PMID: 32275968 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Revised: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Metaphoric language is one of the most common expressions of creative cognition in everyday life. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying metaphor generation remain largely unexplained. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between various cognitive functions and both novel and conventional metaphor generation. Ninety-five undergraduate students were administered a metaphor generation task that assesses novel and conventional metaphor generation, along with a battery of different cognitive measures: vocabulary; divergent thinking (Tel Aviv Creativity Test), working memory (WM) via digit span tests, executive functions (EFs) using the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire, and selective attention (lateralized global-local digit task). Results of a path analysis indicated that - whereas only selective attention contributed to conventional metaphor generation - selective attention, divergent thinking, and EFs contributed to novel metaphor generation beyond vocabulary and WM. Thus, the results indicate that although both novel and conventional metaphor generation are linked to attentional resources and inhibitory control, the greater creativity inherent in novel metaphor generation appears to reflect a more complex set of cognitive processes than conventional metaphor generation.
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12
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Hemispheric differences in perceptual integration during language comprehension: An ERP study. Neuropsychologia 2020; 139:107353. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Calvo N, Abrevaya S, Martínez Cuitiño M, Steeb B, Zamora D, Sedeño L, Ibáñez A, García AM. Rethinking the Neural Basis of Prosody and Non-literal Language: Spared Pragmatics and Cognitive Compensation in a Bilingual With Extensive Right-Hemisphere Damage. Front Psychol 2019; 10:570. [PMID: 30941077 PMCID: PMC6433823 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Above and beyond the critical contributions of left perisylvian regions to language, the neural networks supporting pragmatic aspects of verbal communication in native and non-native languages (L1s and L2, respectively) have often been ascribed to the right hemisphere (RH). However, several reports have shown that left-hemisphere activity associated with pragmatic domains (e.g., prosody, indirect speech, figurative language) is comparable to or even greater than that observed in the RH, challenging the proposed putative role of the latter for relevant domains. Against this background, we report on an adult bilingual patient showing preservation of pragmatic verbal skills in both languages (L1: Spanish, L2: English) despite bilateral damage mainly focused on the RH. After two strokes, the patient sustained lesions in several regions previously implicated in pragmatic functions (vast portions of the right fronto-insulo-temporal cortices, the bilateral amygdalae and insular cortices, and the left putamen). Yet, comparison of linguistic and pragmatic skills with matched controls revealed spared performance on multiple relevant tasks in both her L1 and L2. Despite mild difficulties in some aspects of L2 prosody, she showed no deficits in comprehending metaphors and idioms, or understanding indirect speech acts in either language. Basic verbal skills were also preserved in both languages, including verbal auditory discrimination, repetition of words and pseudo-words, cognate processing, grammaticality judgments, equivalent recognition, and word and sentence translation. Taken together, the evidence shows that multiple functions of verbal communication can be widely spared despite extensive damage to the RH, and that claims for a putative relation between pragmatics and the RH may have been overemphasized in the monolingual and bilingual literature. We further discuss the case in light of previous reports of pragmatic and linguistic deficits following brain lesions and address its relation to cognitive compensation in bilingual patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noelia Calvo
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, National University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Sofía Abrevaya
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Macarena Martínez Cuitiño
- Faculty of Psychology, National University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.,Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Brenda Steeb
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dolores Zamora
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.,Department of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile.,Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, Australian Research Council, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
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14
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Yi YG, Kim DY, Shim WH, Oh JY, Kim HS, Jung M. Perilesional and homotopic area activation during proverb comprehension after stroke. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01202. [PMID: 30588768 PMCID: PMC6346665 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Revised: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The mechanism of functional recovery in right hemisphere (RH) stroke patients when attempting to comprehend a proverb has not been identified. We previously reported that there is bilateral hemisphere involvement during proverb comprehension in the normal population. However, the underlying mechanisms of proverb comprehension following a right middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction have not yet been fully elucidated. METHODS We here compared the brain regions activated by literal sentences and by opaque or transparent proverbs in right MCA infarction patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Experimental stimuli included 18 opaque proverbs, 18 transparent proverbs, and 18 literal sentences that were presented pseudorandomly in 1 of 3 predesigned sequences. RESULTS Fifteen normal adults and 17 right MCA infarction patients participated in this study. The areas of the brain in the stroke patients involved in understanding a proverb compared with a literal sentence included the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and frontal pole, right anterior cingulate gyrus/paracingulate gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), middle temporal gyrus (MTG), precuneus, and supramarginal gyrus (SMG). When the proverbs were presented to these stroke patients in the comprehension tests, the left supramarginal, postcentral gyrus, and right paracingulate gyrus were activated for the opaque proverbs compared to the transparent proverbs. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the functional recovery of language in stroke patients can be explained by perilesional activation, which is thought to arise from the regulation of the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter system, and by homotopic area activation which has been characterized by decreased transcallosal inhibition and astrocyte involvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- You Gyoung Yi
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Dae Yul Kim
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
| | - Woo Hyun Shim
- Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
| | - Joo Young Oh
- Asan Institute for Life Science, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Ho Sung Kim
- Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
| | - Minji Jung
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
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15
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Marron TR, Lerner Y, Berant E, Kinreich S, Shapira-Lichter I, Hendler T, Faust M. Chain free association, creativity, and the default mode network. Neuropsychologia 2018; 118:40-58. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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16
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Segal D, Gollan TH. What's left for balanced bilinguals? Language proficiency and item familiarity affect left-hemisphere specialization in metaphor processing. Neuropsychology 2018; 32:866-879. [PMID: 30160502 DOI: 10.1037/neu0000467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To characterize the hemispheric processing of metaphors in bilinguals compared with monolinguals and to determine the role of language proficiency in hemispheric lateralization. METHOD Fifty-seven English-dominant Spanish-English bilinguals and 57 English speaking monolinguals participated in a divided visual field study. The two groups performed a semantic judgment task with metaphorical, literal, and unrelated word pairs presented either to the right visual field/left hemisphere or to the left visual field/right hemisphere. RESULTS Bilinguals processed metaphors more slowly and less accurately than monolinguals in both visual field presentations but there was no difference between the groups in the symmetry of processing-both groups showed a left hemisphere advantage. In bilinguals, the efficiency of processing within the left, but not the right, hemisphere was predicted by language dominance scores (i.e., English minus Spanish picture naming scores). Additionally, in all participants, the left hemisphere was more sensitive than the right hemisphere to metaphor familiarity; the latter in turn was sensitive to metaphor familiarity only in balanced bilinguals (not in unbalanced bilinguals and monolinguals). CONCLUSION These results suggest that even though bilinguals are less efficient, they rely on the same underlying cognitive mechanisms as monolinguals in linguistic processing of metaphors. Moreover, whereas the right hemisphere is coarsely affected by language proficiency, the left hemisphere, and metaphor processing therein, is more sensitive to small variations in linguistic experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorit Segal
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego
| | - Tamar H Gollan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego
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17
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Kenett YN, Gold R, Faust M. Metaphor Comprehension in Low and High Creative Individuals. Front Psychol 2018; 9:482. [PMID: 29686639 PMCID: PMC5900434 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The comprehension of metaphors involves the ability to activate a broader, more flexible set of semantic associations in order to integrate the meanings of the weakly related parts of the metaphor into a meaningful linguistic expression. Previous findings point to a relation between levels of creativity and efficiency in processing metaphoric expressions, as measured by reaction times (RTs) and error rates. Furthermore, recent studies have found that more creative individuals exhibit a relatively more flexible semantic memory structure compared to less creative individuals, which may facilitate their comprehension of novel metaphors. In the present study, lower and higher creative individuals performed a semantic relatedness judgment task on word pairs. These word pairs comprised four types of semantic relations: novel metaphors, conventional metaphors, literal word pairs, and meaningless word pairs. We hypothesized that the two groups will perform similarly in comprehending the literal, unrelated, and the conventional metaphoric word pairs. However, with respect to novel metaphors, we predicted that higher creative individuals will demonstrate better performance compared to lower creative individuals, as indicated by smaller RTs and more accurate responses. Our main finding shows that higher creative individuals were faster in comprehending both types of metaphors, conventional and novel, compared to lower creative individuals. Furthermore, higher creative individuals were significantly more accurate than lower creative individual only in comprehending novel metaphors. The findings are discussed in light of previous findings regarding the relation between metaphor comprehension, semantic memory, and creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoed N Kenett
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Rinat Gold
- Department of Communication Disorders, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Miriam Faust
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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18
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Briner SW, Schutzenhofer MC, Virtue SM. Hemispheric processing in conventional metaphor comprehension: The role of general knowledge. Neuropsychologia 2018; 114:101-109. [PMID: 29614252 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.03.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Revised: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This study explored the relation between general knowledge and the hemispheric processing of metaphoric expressions in college age students. We hypothesized that prior knowledge influences how the hemispheres process metaphors in these individuals. In this study, 97 young (college-aged) adults completed a general knowledge and vocabulary test, and were then divided into high-knowledge/high-vocabulary and low-knowledge/low-vocabulary groups. Next, participants viewed word pairs consisting of conventional metaphors, novel metaphors, word pairs with a literal meaning, and unrelated word pairs. The first word in each pair was presented centrally, and the second was presented to the right visual field-left hemisphere (rvf-LH) or the left visual field-right hemisphere (lvf-RH), and participants indicated whether each pair was a meaningful expression. Accuracy results showed an interaction between general knowledge and visual-field hemisphere. Low-knowledge participants were more accurate for metaphors presented to the rvf-LH than the lvf-RH, whereas high-knowledge participants showed no accuracy differences between the hemispheres. We also found an interaction between vocabulary and visual field-hemisphere for conventional metaphors. Specifically, low-vocabulary participants showed a left-hemisphere accuracy advantage, but high-vocabulary participants showed similar accuracy patterns in both hemispheres. These results suggest that young adult readers who have more general knowledge process conventional metaphors similarly in both hemispheres, whereas young adult readers who have less general knowledge may rely more heavily on left-hemisphere processes during conventional metaphor comprehension.
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19
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Diaz MT, Eppes A. Factors Influencing Right Hemisphere Engagement During Metaphor Comprehension. Front Psychol 2018; 9:414. [PMID: 29643825 PMCID: PMC5883147 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the left hemisphere is critical for language, clinical, behavioral, and neuroimaging research suggest that the right hemisphere also contributes to language comprehension. In particular, research has suggested that figurative language may be one type of language that preferentially engages right hemisphere regions. However, there is disagreement about whether these regions within the right hemisphere are sensitive to figurative language per se or to other factors that co-vary with figurativeness. In this article, we will review the neuroimaging literature on figurative language processing, focusing on metaphors, within the context of several theoretical perspectives that have been proposed about hemispheric function in language. Then we will examine three factors that may influence right hemisphere engagement: novelty, task difficulty, and context. We propose that factors that increase integration demands drive right hemisphere involvement in language processing, and that such recruitment is not limited to figurative language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele T Diaz
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Anna Eppes
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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20
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Saban-Bezalel R, Mashal N. Comprehension and Hemispheric Processing of Irony in Schizophrenia. Front Psychol 2017; 8:943. [PMID: 28659841 PMCID: PMC5468428 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies focusing on the comprehension of figurative language among schizophrenia patients (SZ) reveal their difficulties comprehending such language and their tendency to interpret it literally. The present study investigated hemispheric processing and comprehension of irony in 16 SZ patients and 18 typically developing (TD) adults. Two experimental tasks were used: an online divided visual field experiment and an offline irony questionnaire. The results show an atypical reversal of hemispheric processing of irony in SZ patients as compared to TD adults. While the TD group demonstrated a right hemisphere advantage in processing irony, SZ patients demonstrated a left hemisphere advantage. Greater comprehension of irony was associated with decreased negative symptoms. In addition, under conditions that not involving a time restriction, the SZ patients’ performance improved. Our findings reinforce those of previous studies suggesting that brain lateralization is atypical in SZ patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nira Mashal
- The School of Education, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat Gan, Israel.,Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat Gan, Israel
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21
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Saban-Bezalel R, Hess S, Dolfin D, Hermesh H, Vishne T, Mashal N. Hemispheric processing of idioms in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2017.1325893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ronit Saban-Bezalel
- School of Education, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- School of Health Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
| | - Shmuel Hess
- Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel
| | - Dror Dolfin
- Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel
| | - Hagai Hermesh
- Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel
- Sackler Faculty of Medical, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
| | - Tali Vishne
- Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, Bnei Brak, Israel
| | - Nira Mashal
- Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, Bnei Brak, Israel
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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22
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Hemispheric involvement in the processing of Chinese idioms: An fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 2016; 87:12-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.04.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2015] [Revised: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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23
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Saban-Bezalel R, Mashal N. Hemispheric Processing of Idioms and Irony in Adults With and Without Pervasive Developmental Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2016; 45:3496-508. [PMID: 26070277 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2496-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies on individuals with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) have pointed to difficulties in comprehension of figurative language. Using the divided visual field paradigm, the present study examined hemispheric processing of idioms and irony in 23 adults with PDD and in 24 typically developing (TD) adults. The results show that adults with PDD were relatively unimpaired in understanding figurative language. While the TD group demonstrated a right hemisphere advantage in processing the non-salient meanings of idioms as well as the ironic endings of paragraphs, the PDD group processed these stimuli bilaterally. Our findings suggest that brain lateralization is atypical in adults with PDD. Successful performance along with bilateral brain activation suggests that the PDD group uses a compensation mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nira Mashal
- The School of Education Bar Ilan University, 52900, Ramat Gan, Israel.
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
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24
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Thompson HE, Henshall L, Jefferies E. The role of the right hemisphere in semantic control: A case-series comparison of right and left hemisphere stroke. Neuropsychologia 2016; 85:44-61. [PMID: 26945505 PMCID: PMC4863527 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.02.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2015] [Revised: 02/28/2016] [Accepted: 02/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Semantic control processes guide conceptual retrieval so that we are able to focus on non-dominant associations and features when these are required for the task or context, yet the neural basis of semantic control is not fully understood. Neuroimaging studies have emphasised the role of left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in controlled retrieval, while neuropsychological investigations of semantic control deficits have almost exclusively focussed on patients with left-sided damage (e.g., patients with semantic aphasia, SA). Nevertheless, activation in fMRI during demanding semantic tasks typically extends to right IFG. To investigate the role of the right hemisphere (RH) in semantic control, we compared nine RH stroke patients with 21 left-hemisphere SA patients, 11 mild SA cases and 12 healthy, aged-matched controls on semantic and executive tasks, plus experimental tasks that manipulated semantic control in paradigms particularly sensitive to RH damage. RH patients had executive deficits to parallel SA patients but they performed well on standard semantic tests. Nevertheless, multimodal semantic control deficits were found in experimental tasks involving facial emotions and the 'summation' of meaning across multiple items. On these tasks, RH patients showed effects similar to those in SA cases - multimodal deficits that were sensitive to distractor strength and cues and miscues, plus increasingly poor performance in cyclical matching tasks which repeatedly probed the same set of concepts. Thus, despite striking differences in single-item comprehension, evidence presented here suggests semantic control is bilateral, and disruption of this component of semantic cognition can be seen following damage to either hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah E Thompson
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, UK.
| | - Lauren Henshall
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, UK
| | - Elizabeth Jefferies
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, UK
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25
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Pritchett LK, Vaid J, Tosun S. Of black sheep and white crows: Extending the bilingual dual coding theory to memory for idioms. COGENT PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2015.1135512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lena K. Pritchett
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Jyotsna Vaid
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Sumeyra Tosun
- Department of Psychology, Süleyman Şah University, Fatih Mh Eski Ankara Asfalti Uzeri No. 28 Orhanli, Tuzla Istanbul 34956, Turkey
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26
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Gibson L, Atchley RA, Voyer D, Diener US, Gregersen S. Detection of sarcastic speech: The role of the right hemisphere in ambiguity resolution. Laterality 2015; 21:549-567. [DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2015.1105246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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27
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Saban-Bezalel R, Mashal N. The effects of intervention on the comprehension of irony and on hemispheric processing of irony in adults with ASD. Neuropsychologia 2015; 77:233-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Revised: 08/22/2015] [Accepted: 09/03/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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28
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Gouldthorp B. Hemispheric differences in the processing of contextual information during language comprehension. Laterality 2015; 20:348-70. [DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2014.979194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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29
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Vulchanova M, Saldaña D, Chahboun S, Vulchanov V. Figurative language processing in atypical populations: the ASD perspective. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:24. [PMID: 25741261 PMCID: PMC4330886 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 01/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper is intended to provide a critical overview of experimental and clinical research documenting problems in figurative language processing in atypical populations with a focus on the Autistic Spectrum. Research in the comprehension and processing of figurative language in autism invariably documents problems in this area. The greater paradox is that even at the higher end of the spectrum or in the cases of linguistically talented individuals with Asperger syndrome, where structural language competence is intact, problems with extended language persist. If we assume that figurative and extended uses of language essentially depend on the perception and processing of more concrete core concepts and phenomena, the commonly observed failure in atypical populations to understand figurative language remains a puzzle. Various accounts have been offered to explain this issue, ranging from linking potential failure directly to overall structural language competence (Norbury, 2005; Brock et al., 2008) to right-hemispheric involvement (Gold and Faust, 2010). We argue that the dissociation between structural language and figurative language competence in autism should be sought in more general cognitive mechanisms and traits in the autistic phenotype (e.g., in terms of weak central coherence, Vulchanova et al., 2012b), as well as failure at on-line semantic integration with increased complexity and diversity of the stimuli (Coulson and Van Petten, 2002). This perspective is even more compelling in light of similar problems in a number of conditions, including both acquired (e.g., Aphasia) and developmental disorders (Williams Syndrome). This dissociation argues against a simple continuity view of language interpretation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mila Vulchanova
- Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheim, Norway
| | - David Saldaña
- Individual Differences, Language and Cognition Lab, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of SevilleSeville, Spain
| | - Sobh Chahboun
- Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheim, Norway
| | - Valentin Vulchanov
- Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheim, Norway
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30
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Fenwick ME, Kubas HA, Witzke JW, Fitzer KR, Miller DC, Maricle DE, Harrison GL, Macoun SJ, Hale JB. Neuropsychological Profiles of Written Expression Learning Disabilities Determined by Concordance-Discordance Model Criteria. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-CHILD 2015; 5:83-96. [PMID: 25671391 DOI: 10.1080/21622965.2014.993396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Children with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have disparate neuropsychological processing deficits that interfere with academic achievement in spelling, writing fluency, and/or written expression (WE). Although there are multiple potential causes of WE SLD, there is a paucity of research exploring this critical academic skill from a neuropsychological perspective. This study examined the neuropsychological profiles of WE SLD subtypes defined using the concordance-discordance model (C-DM) of SLD identification. Participants were drawn from a sample of 283 children (194 boys, 89 girls) aged 6 years to 16 years old (M(age) = 9.58 years, SD = 2.29 years) referred for comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations in school settings and subsequently selected based on C-DM determined spelling, writing fluency, and WE SLD. WE SLD subtypes differed on several psychomotor, memory, and executive function measures (F range = 2.48-5.07, p range = .049 to <.001), suggesting that these children exhibit distinct patterns of neuropsychological processing strengths and weaknesses. Findings have relevance for differential diagnosis of WE subtypes, discriminating WE SLD subtypes from low WE achievement, and developing differentiated evidence-based instruction and intervention for children with WE SLD. Limitations and future research will be addressed.
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31
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Forgács B, Bardolph MD, Amsel BD, DeLong KA, Kutas M. Metaphors are physical and abstract: ERPs to metaphorically modified nouns resemble ERPs to abstract language. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:28. [PMID: 25713520 PMCID: PMC4322728 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 01/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Metaphorical expressions very often involve words referring to physical entities and experiences. Yet, figures of speech such as metaphors are not intended to be understood literally, word-by-word. We used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to determine whether metaphorical expressions are processed more like physical or more like abstract expressions. To this end, novel adjective-noun word pairs were presented visually in three conditions: (1) Physical, easy to experience with the senses (e.g., “printed schedule”); (2) Abstract, difficult to experience with the senses (e.g., “conditional schedule”); and (3) novel Metaphorical, expressions with a physical adjective, but a figurative meaning (e.g., “thin schedule”). We replicated the N400 lexical concreteness effect for concrete vs. abstract adjectives. In order to increase the sensitivity of the concreteness manipulation on the expressions, we divided each condition into high and low groups according to rated concreteness. Mirroring the adjective result, we observed a N400 concreteness effect at the noun for physical expressions with high concreteness ratings vs. abstract expressions with low concreteness ratings, even though the nouns per se did not differ in lexical concreteness. Paradoxically, the N400 to nouns in the metaphorical expressions was indistinguishable from that to nouns in the literal abstract expressions, but only for the more concrete subgroup of metaphors; the N400 to the less concrete subgroup of metaphors patterned with that to nouns in the literal concrete expressions. In sum, we not only find evidence for conceptual concreteness separable from lexical concreteness but also that the processing of metaphorical expressions is not driven strictly by either lexical or conceptual concreteness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bálint Forgács
- Kutas Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, CA, USA ; Cognitive Development Center, Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University Budapest, Hungary ; Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes Paris, France
| | - Megan D Bardolph
- Kutas Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ben D Amsel
- Kutas Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Katherine A DeLong
- Kutas Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Marta Kutas
- Kutas Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
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32
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Shen Y, Aharoni BE, Mashal N. Taxonomic and ad hoc categorization within the two cerebral hemispheres. Laterality 2015; 20:517-29. [PMID: 25644310 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2015.1006235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A typicality effect refers to categorization which is performed more quickly or more accurately for typical than for atypical members of a given category. Previous studies reported a typicality effect for category members presented in the left visual field/right hemisphere (RH), suggesting that the RH applies a similarity-based categorization strategy. However, findings regarding the typicality effect within the left hemisphere (LH) are less conclusive. The current study tested the pattern of typicality effects within each hemisphere for both taxonomic and ad hoc categories, using words presented to the left or right visual fields. Experiment 1 tested typical and atypical members of taxonomic categories as well as non-members, and Experiment 2 tested typical and atypical members of ad hoc categories as well as non-members. The results revealed a typicality effect in both hemispheres and in both types of categories. Furthermore, the RH categorized atypical stimuli more accurately than did the LH. Our findings suggest that both hemispheres rely on a similarity-based categorization strategy, but the coarse semantic coding of the RH seems to facilitate the categorization of atypical members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeshayahu Shen
- a Program of Cognitive Studies of Language Use , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel
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Zeev-Wolf M, Faust M, Levkovitz Y, Harpaz Y, Goldstein A. Magnetoencephalographic evidence of early right hemisphere overactivation during metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia. Psychophysiology 2015; 52:770-81. [PMID: 25603893 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2014] [Accepted: 12/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Whereas language processing in neurotypical brains is left lateralized, individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) display a bilateral or reversed pattern of lateralization. We used MEG to investigate the implications of this atypicality on fine (left hemisphere) versus coarse (right hemisphere) semantic processing. Ten SZ and 14 controls were presented with fine (conventional metaphor, literal, and unrelated expressions) and coarse (novel metaphor) linguistic stimuli. Results showed greater activation of the right hemisphere for novel metaphors and greater bilateral activation for unrelated expressions at the M170 window in SZ. Moreover, at the M350, SZ showed reduced bilateral activation. We conclude that SZ are overreliant on early-stage coarse semantic processing. As a result, they jump too quickly to remote conclusions, with limited control over the meanings they form. This may explain one of the core symptoms of the disorder-loose associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maor Zeev-Wolf
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.,Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Miriam Faust
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.,Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Yechiel Levkovitz
- Emotion-Cognition Research Center, The Shalvata Mental Health Care Center, Hod-Hasharon, Israel.,Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Yuval Harpaz
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.,Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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Obert A, Gierski F, Calmus A, Portefaix C, Declercq C, Pierot L, Caillies S. Differential bilateral involvement of the parietal gyrus during predicative metaphor processing: an auditory fMRI study. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2014; 137:112-119. [PMID: 25193417 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2014.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 08/01/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Despite the growing literature on figurative language processing, there is still debate as to which cognitive processes and neural bases are involved. Furthermore, most studies have focused on nominal metaphor processing without any context, and very few have used auditory presentation. We therefore investigated the neural bases of the comprehension of predicative metaphors presented in a brief context, in an auditory, ecological way. The comprehension of their literal counterparts served as a control condition. We also investigated the link between working memory and verbal skills and regional activation. Comparisons of metaphorical and literal conditions revealed bilateral activation of parietal areas including the left angular (lAG) and right inferior parietal gyri (rIPG) and right precuneus. Only verbal skills were associated with lAG (but not rIPG) activation. These results indicated that predicative metaphor comprehension share common activations with other metaphors. Furthermore, individual verbal skills could have an impact on figurative language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Obert
- C2S Laboratory (EA6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France.
| | - Fabien Gierski
- C2S Laboratory (EA6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France; Adult Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
| | - Arnaud Calmus
- C2S Laboratory (EA6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sébastopol Hospital, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
| | - Christophe Portefaix
- Imaging Department, Maison Blanche Hospital, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France; CReSTIC Laboratory (EA 3804), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
| | - Christelle Declercq
- C2S Laboratory (EA6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
| | - Laurent Pierot
- Imaging Department, Maison Blanche Hospital, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
| | - Stéphanie Caillies
- C2S Laboratory (EA6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
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A dataset of metaphors from the italian literature: exploring psycholinguistic variables and the role of context. PLoS One 2014; 9:e105634. [PMID: 25244522 PMCID: PMC4171463 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2013] [Accepted: 07/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Defining the specific role of the factors that affect metaphor processing is a fundamental step for fully understanding figurative language comprehension, either in discourse and conversation or in reading poems and novels. This study extends the currently available materials on everyday metaphorical expressions by providing the first dataset of metaphors extracted from literary texts and scored for the major psycholinguistic variables, considering also the effect of context. A set of 115 Italian literary metaphors presented in isolation (Experiment 1) and a subset of 65 literary metaphors embedded in their original texts (Experiment 2) were rated on several dimensions (word and phrase frequency, readability, cloze probability, familiarity, concreteness, difficulty and meaningfulness). Overall, literary metaphors scored around medium-low values on all dimensions in both experiments. Collected data were subjected to correlation analysis, which showed the presence of a strong cluster of variables-mainly familiarity, difficulty, and meaningfulness-when literary metaphor were presented in isolation. A weaker cluster was observed when literary metaphors were presented in the original contexts, with familiarity no longer correlating with meaningfulness. Context manipulation influenced familiarity, concreteness and difficulty ratings, which were lower in context than out of context, while meaningfulness increased. Throughout the different dimensions, the literary context seems to promote a global interpretative activity that enhances the open-endedness of the metaphor as a semantic structure constantly open to all possible interpretations intended by the author and driven by the text. This dataset will be useful for the design of future experimental studies both on literary metaphor and on the role of context in figurative meaning, combining ecological validity and aesthetic aspects of language.
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Argyriou P, Byfield S, Kita S. Semantics is crucial for the right-hemisphere involvement in metaphor processing: Evidence from mouth asymmetry during speaking. Laterality 2014; 20:191-210. [DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2014.951654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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37
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Mashal N, Coblentz S. Creative Interpretations of Novel Conceptual Combinations in Aging. CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2014.901071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Kavé G, Gavrieli R, Mashal N. Stronger left-hemisphere lateralization in older versus younger adults while processing conventional metaphors. Laterality 2014; 19:705-17. [PMID: 24708103 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2014.905584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Thirty younger (age 20-30) and 30 older (age 69-85) right-handed Hebrew speakers performed a semantic judgement task while processing literal word pairs and conventional metaphors, presented in the divided visual field paradigm. Older adults responded more accurately to conventional metaphors in the right visual field/left hemisphere versus the left visual field/right hemisphere, whereas younger adults showed no lateralization. Vocabulary scores cancelled group differences in lateralization. An additional lexical decision task replicated the main finding of left-hemisphere lateralization in older but not in younger participants. We suggest that accumulated knowledge increases left-hemisphere lateralization on tasks of language comprehension in older relative to younger adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gitit Kavé
- a Department of Education and Psychology , The Open University , Ra'anana 43537 , Israel
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39
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Zeev-Wolf M, Goldstein A, Levkovitz Y, Faust M. Fine-coarse semantic processing in schizophrenia: A reversed pattern of hemispheric dominance. Neuropsychologia 2014; 56:119-28. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2013] [Revised: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Forgács B, Lukács A, Pléh C. Lateralized processing of novel metaphors: disentangling figurativeness and novelty. Neuropsychologia 2014; 56:101-9. [PMID: 24418155 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2012] [Revised: 10/09/2013] [Accepted: 01/04/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
One of the intriguing and sometimes controversial findings in figurative language research is a right-hemisphere processing advantage for novel metaphors. The current divided visual field study introduced novel literal expressions as a control condition to assess processing novelty independent of figurativeness. Participants evaluated word pairs belonging to one of the five categories: (1) conventional metaphorical, (2) conventional literal, (3) novel metaphorical, (4) novel literal, and (5) unrelated expressions in a semantic decision task. We presented expressions without sentence context and controlled for additional factors including emotional valence, arousal, and imageability that could potentially influence hemispheric processing. We also utilized an eye-tracker to ensure lateralized presentation. We did not find the previously reported right-hemispherical processing advantage for novel metaphors. Processing was faster in the left hemisphere for all types of word pairs, and accuracy was also higher in the right visual field - left hemisphere. Novel metaphors were processed just as fast as novel literal expressions, suggesting that the primary challenge during the comprehension of novel expressions is not a serial processing of salience, but perhaps a more left hemisphere weighted semantic integration. Our results cast doubt on the right-hemisphere theory of metaphors, and raise the possibility that other uncontrolled variables were responsible for previous results. The lateralization of processing of two word expressions seems to be more contingent on the specific task at hand than their figurativeness or saliency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bálint Forgács
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Department of Cognitive Science, Egry József utca 1, T building, V. 506, 1111 Budapest, Hungary; Central European University (CEU), Department of Cognitive Science, Frankel Leó út 30-34, 1023 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Agnes Lukács
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Department of Cognitive Science, Egry József utca 1, T building, V. 506, 1111 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Csaba Pléh
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Department of Cognitive Science, Egry József utca 1, T building, V. 506, 1111 Budapest, Hungary; Eszterházy Károly College, Doctoral School of Education, Eszterházy tér 1, 3300 Eger, Hungary.
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41
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Neural pathway in the right hemisphere underlies verbal insight problem solving. Neuroscience 2014; 256:334-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2013] [Revised: 09/19/2013] [Accepted: 10/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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42
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Mashal N, Itkes O. The effects of emotional valence on hemispheric processing of metaphoric word pairs. Laterality 2013; 19:511-21. [PMID: 24328525 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2013.862539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Cieślicka AB. Do nonnative language speakers chew the fat and spill the beans with different brain hemispheres? Investigating idiom decomposability with the divided visual field paradigm. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2013; 42:475-503. [PMID: 23161392 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-012-9232-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore possible cerebral asymmetries in the processing of decomposable and nondecomposable idioms by fluent nonnative speakers of English. In the study, native language (Polish) and foreign language (English) decomposable and nondecomposable idioms were embedded in ambiguous (neutral) and unambiguous (biasing figurative meaning) context and presented centrally, followed by laterally presented target words related to the figurative meaning of the idiom or literal meaning of the last word of the idiom. The target appeared either immediately at sentence offset (Experiment 1), or 400 ms (Experiment 2) after sentence offset. Results are inconsistent with the Idiom Decomposition Hypothesis (Gibbs et al. in Mem Cogn 17:58-68, 1989a; J Mem Lang 28:576-593, 1989b) and only partially consistent with the idea of the differential cerebral involvement in processing (non)decomposable idioms [the Fine/Coarse Coding Theory, Beeman (Right hemisphere language comprehension: perspectives from cognitive neuroscience, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 1998)]. A number of factors, rather than compositionality per se, emerge as crucial in determining idiom processing, such as language status (native vs. nonnative), salience, or context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna B Cieślicka
- Department of Psychology and Communication, Texas A&M International University, 5201 University Boulevard, Laredo, TX, 78041-1900, USA,
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Subramaniam K, Beeman M, Faust M, Mashal N. Positively valenced stimuli facilitate creative novel metaphoric processes by enhancing medial prefrontal cortical activation. Front Psychol 2013; 4:211. [PMID: 23637686 PMCID: PMC3636463 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2012] [Accepted: 04/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a subject is symbolic of another unrelated object. In the present study, we examined neural patterns associated with both novel unfamiliar and conventional familiar metaphoric processing, and how these patterns are modulated by affective valence. Prior to fMRI scanning, participants received a list of word pairs (novel unfamiliar metaphors as well as conventional familiar metaphors) and were asked to denote the valence (positive, negative, or neutral) of each word pair. During scanning, participants had to decide whether the word pairs formed meaningful or meaningless expressions. Results indicate that participants were faster and more accurate at deciding that positively valenced metaphors were meaningful compared to neutral metaphors. These behavioral findings were accompanied by increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and the right inferior parietal lobe (RIPL). Specifically, positively valenced novel unfamiliar metaphors elicited activation in these brain regions in addition to the left superior temporal gyrus when compared to neutral novel metaphors. We also found that the mPFC and PCC mediated the processing of positively valenced metaphors when compared to negatively valenced metaphors. Positively valenced conventional metaphors, however, elicited different neural signatures when contrasted with either neutral or negatively valenced conventional metaphors. Together, our results indicate that positively valenced stimuli facilitate creative metaphoric processes (specifically novel metaphoric processes) by mediating attention and cognitive control processes required for the access, integration, and selection of semantic associations via modulation of the mPFC. The present study is important for the development of neural accounts of emotion-cognition interactions required for creativity, language, and successful social functioning in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karuna Subramaniam
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco San Francisco, CA, USA
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45
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Hemispheric asymmetry in interpreting novel literal language: An event-related potential study. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:907-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2012] [Revised: 09/27/2012] [Accepted: 01/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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46
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Mashal N, Vishne T, Laor N, Titone D. Enhanced left frontal involvement during novel metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia: evidence from functional neuroimaging. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2013; 124:66-74. [PMID: 23291493 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2011] [Revised: 11/18/2012] [Accepted: 11/19/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The neural basis involved in novel metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia is relatively unknown. Fourteen people with schizophrenia and fourteen controls were scanned while they silently read novel metaphors, conventional metaphors, literal expressions, and meaningless word-pairs. People with schizophrenia showed reduced comprehension of both novel and conventional metaphors. Furthermore, while controls showed enhanced brain activation in right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for novel metaphors versus meaningless word-pairs, people with schizophrenia showed an over-activation of left IFG and middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Direct comparison between the groups revealed greater activation in left precuneus for both novel metaphors and literal expressions vs. baseline for individuals with schizophrenia. Direct comparison for novel metaphors vs. literal expressions also revealed increased activation for individuals with schizophrenia in left MFG. These results suggest that the inefficient processing of novel metaphors in schizophrenia involves compensatory recruitment of additional brain regions that include the left MFG and left precuneus.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Mashal
- School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
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47
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Hughes AJ, Rutherford BJ. Hemispheric interaction, task complexity, and emotional valence: evidence from naturalistic images. Brain Cogn 2012; 81:167-75. [PMID: 23262171 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2012.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2012] [Revised: 10/24/2012] [Accepted: 11/12/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Two experiments extend the ecological validity of tests of hemispheric interaction in three novel ways. First, we present a broad class of naturalistic stimuli that have not yet been used in tests of hemispheric interaction. Second, we test whether probable differences in complexity within the class of stimuli are supported by outcomes from measures of hemispheric interaction. Third, we use a procedure that presents target stimuli at fixation rather than at a lateralized location in order to more closely approximate normal viewing behavior. Images of positive or negative valence were presented with a lateralized distractor or no distractor at all. Response time and accuracy to determine whether an image was pleasant or unpleasant was measured. Results found that positive images were more quickly and accurately processed by the left hemisphere alone, while negative images were more quickly processed when the hemispheres interacted, and were more accurately processed when the hemispheres interacted than the left hemisphere alone. The findings support the idea that hemispheric interaction costs the performance of a simple task and benefits the performance of a complex task, and that the respective cost or gain is mediated by the pattern of laterality for emotional processing.
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48
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Faust M, Ben-Artzi E, Vardi N. Semantic processing in native and second language: evidence from hemispheric differences in fine and coarse semantic coding. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2012; 123:228-233. [PMID: 23098917 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2012] [Revised: 09/12/2012] [Accepted: 09/18/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies suggest that whereas the left hemisphere (LH) is involved in fine semantic processing, the right hemisphere (RH) is uniquely engaged in coarse semantic coding including the comprehension of distinct types of language such as figurative language, lexical ambiguity and verbal humor (e.g., Chiarello, 2003; Faust, 2012). The present study examined the patterns of hemispheric involvement in fine/coarse semantic processing in native and non-native languages using a split visual field priming paradigm. Thirty native Hebrew speaking students made lexical decision judgments of Hebrew and English target words preceded by strongly, weakly, or unrelated primes. Results indicated that whereas for Hebrew pairs, priming effect for the weakly-related word pairs was obtained only for RH presented target words, for English pairs, no priming effect for the weakly-related pairs emerged for either LH or RH presented targets, suggesting that coarse semantic coding is much weaker for a non-native than native language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Faust
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain-Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
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49
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Subramaniam K, Faust M, Beeman M, Mashal N. The Repetition Paradigm: Enhancement of novel metaphors and suppression of conventional metaphors in the left inferior parietal lobe. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:2705-2719. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2011] [Revised: 06/07/2012] [Accepted: 07/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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50
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Bohrn IC, Altmann U, Jacobs AM. Looking at the brains behind figurative language—A quantitative meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies on metaphor, idiom, and irony processing. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:2669-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.07.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2012] [Revised: 05/28/2012] [Accepted: 07/10/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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