1
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Kim J, Kim S, Nam K. Neural Dynamics of Processing Inflectional Morphology: An fMRI Study on Korean Inflected Verbs. Brain Sci 2024; 14:752. [PMID: 39199447 PMCID: PMC11352235 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14080752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2024] [Revised: 07/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed to elucidate the neural mechanisms underpinning the visual recognition of morphologically complex verbs in Korean, a morphologically rich, agglutinative language with inherent polymorphemic characteristics. In an fMRI experiment with a lexical decision paradigm, we investigated whether verb inflection types (base, regular, and irregular) are processed through separate mechanisms or a single system. Furthermore, we explored the semantic influence in processing inflectional morphology by manipulating the semantic ambiguity (homonymous vs. unambiguous) of inflected verbs. The results showed equivalent activation levels in the left inferior frontal gyrus for both regular and irregular verbs, challenging the dichotomy between the two. Graded effects of verb regularity were observed in the occipitotemporal regions, with regular inflections eliciting increased activation in the fusiform and lingual gyri. In the middle occipital gyrus, homonyms showed decreased activation relative to that of unambiguous words, specifically for base and irregular forms. Furthermore, the angular gyrus exhibited significant modulation with all verb types, indicating a semantic influence during morphological processing. These findings support single-system theories and the connectionist framework, challenging the assumptions of purely orthographic morphological decomposition and dual-mechanism accounts. Furthermore, they provide evidence for a semantic influence during morphological processing, with differential reliance on semantic activation for regular and irregular inflections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joonwoo Kim
- Department of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea;
| | - Sangyub Kim
- Department of Psychology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea;
| | - Kichun Nam
- Department of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea;
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2
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Bezsudnova Y, Quinn AJ, Wynn SC, Jensen O. Spatiotemporal Properties of Common Semantic Categories for Words and Pictures. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:1760-1769. [PMID: 38739567 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
The timing of semantic processing during object recognition in the brain is a topic of ongoing discussion. One way of addressing this question is by applying multivariate pattern analysis to human electrophysiological responses to object images of different semantic categories. However, although multivariate pattern analysis can reveal whether neuronal activity patterns are distinct for different stimulus categories, concerns remain on whether low-level visual features also contribute to the classification results. To circumvent this issue, we applied a cross-decoding approach to magnetoencephalography data from stimuli from two different modalities: images and their corresponding written words. We employed items from three categories and presented them in a randomized order. We show that if the classifier is trained on words, pictures are classified between 150 and 430 msec after stimulus onset, and when training on pictures, words are classified between 225 and 430 msec. The topographical map, identified using a searchlight approach for cross-modal activation in both directions, showed left lateralization, confirming the involvement of linguistic representations. These results point to semantic activation of pictorial stimuli occurring at ∼150 msec, whereas for words, the semantic activation occurs at ∼230 msec.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Syanah C Wynn
- University of Birmingham
- Gutenberg University Medical Center Mainz
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3
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Liang X, Huang F, Liu D, Xu M. Brain representations of lexical ambiguity: Disentangling homonymy, polysemy, and their meanings. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2024; 253:105426. [PMID: 38815503 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
In human languages, it is a common phenomenon for a single word to have multiple meanings. This study used fMRI to investigate how the brain processed different types of lexical ambiguity, and how it differentiated the meanings of ambiguous words. We focused on homonyms and polysemy that differed in the relatedness among multiple meanings. Participants (N = 35) performed a prime-target semantic relatedness task, where a specific meaning of an ambiguous word was primed. Results showed that homonyms elicited greater activation in bilateral dorsal prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices than polysemous words, suggesting that these regions may be more engaged in cognitive control when the meanings of ambiguous words are unrelated. Multivariate pattern analysis further revealed that meanings of homonyms with different syntactic categories were represented differently in the frontal and temporal cortices. The findings highlighted the importance of semantic relations and grammatical factors in the brain's representation of lexical ambiguities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyuan Liang
- School of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Chinese Academy of Social Science, Beijing 100102, China
| | - Fuchun Huang
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Danqing Liu
- School of Humanities, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
| | - Min Xu
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
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4
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Ding R, Ten Oever S, Martin AE. Delta-band Activity Underlies Referential Meaning Representation during Pronoun Resolution. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:1472-1492. [PMID: 38652108 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Human language offers a variety of ways to create meaning, one of which is referring to entities, objects, or events in the world. One such meaning maker is understanding to whom or to what a pronoun in a discourse refers to. To understand a pronoun, the brain must access matching entities or concepts that have been encoded in memory from previous linguistic context. Models of language processing propose that internally stored linguistic concepts, accessed via exogenous cues such as phonological input of a word, are represented as (a)synchronous activities across a population of neurons active at specific frequency bands. Converging evidence suggests that delta band activity (1-3 Hz) is involved in temporal and representational integration during sentence processing. Moreover, recent advances in the neurobiology of memory suggest that recollection engages neural dynamics similar to those which occurred during memory encoding. Integrating from these two research lines, we here tested the hypothesis that neural dynamic patterns, especially in delta frequency range, underlying referential meaning representation, would be reinstated during pronoun resolution. By leveraging neural decoding techniques (i.e., representational similarity analysis) on a magnetoencephalogram data set acquired during a naturalistic story-listening task, we provide evidence that delta-band activity underlies referential meaning representation. Our findings suggest that, during spoken language comprehension, endogenous linguistic representations such as referential concepts may be proactively retrieved and represented via activation of their underlying dynamic neural patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Ding
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sanne Ten Oever
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Andrea E Martin
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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5
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Uddén J, Hultén A, Schoffelen JM, Lam N, Harbusch K, van den Bosch A, Kempen G, Petersson KM, Hagoort P. Supramodal Sentence Processing in the Human Brain: fMRI Evidence for the Influence of Syntactic Complexity in More Than 200 Participants. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2022; 3:575-598. [PMID: 37215341 PMCID: PMC10158636 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated two questions. One is: To what degree is sentence processing beyond single words independent of the input modality (speech vs. reading)? The second question is: Which parts of the network recruited by both modalities is sensitive to syntactic complexity? These questions were investigated by having more than 200 participants read or listen to well-formed sentences or series of unconnected words. A largely left-hemisphere frontotemporoparietal network was found to be supramodal in nature, i.e., independent of input modality. In addition, the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LpMTG) were most clearly associated with left-branching complexity. The left anterior temporal lobe showed the greatest sensitivity to sentences that differed in right-branching complexity. Moreover, activity in LIFG and LpMTG increased from sentence onset to end, in parallel with an increase of the left-branching complexity. While LIFG, bilateral anterior temporal lobe, posterior MTG, and left inferior parietal lobe all contribute to the supramodal unification processes, the results suggest that these regions differ in their respective contributions to syntactic complexity related processing. The consequences of these findings for neurobiological models of language processing are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Uddén
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Annika Hultén
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Jan-Mathijs Schoffelen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Nietzsche Lam
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Karin Harbusch
- Department of Computer Science, University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Antal van den Bosch
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Gerard Kempen
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Karl Magnus Petersson
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Peter Hagoort
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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6
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Zhang W, Xiang M, Wang S. The role of left angular gyrus in the representation of linguistic composition relations. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:2204-2217. [PMID: 35064707 PMCID: PMC8996362 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 12/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Language comprehension is compositional: individual words are combined structurally to form larger meaning representations. The neural basis for compositionality is at the center of a growing body of recent research. Previous work has largely used univariate analysis to investigate the question, a technique that could potentially lead to the loss of fined‐grained information due to the procedure of averaging over neural responses. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, the present study examined different types of composition relations in Chinese phrases, using a 1‐back composition relation probe (CRP) task and a 1‐back word probe (WP) task. We first analyzed the data using the multivariate representation similarity analysis, which better captures the fine‐grained representational differences in the stimuli. The results showed that the left angular gyrus (AG) represents different types of composition relations in the CRP task, but no brain areas were identified in the WP task. We also conducted a traditional univariate analysis and found greater activations in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus in the CRP task relative to the WP task. We discuss the methodological and theoretical implications of our findings in the context of the larger language neural network identified in previous studies. Our findings highlight the role of left AG in representing and distinguishing fine‐grained linguistic composition relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjia Zhang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University) Ministry of Education Guangzhou China
- School of Psychology South China Normal University Guangzhou China
| | - Ming Xiang
- Department of Linguistics University of Chicago Chicago Illinois USA
| | - Suiping Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University) Ministry of Education Guangzhou China
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7
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Flick G, Abdullah O, Pylkkänen L. From letters to composed concepts: A magnetoencephalography study of reading. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:5130-5153. [PMID: 34402114 PMCID: PMC8449097 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Language comprehension requires the recognition of individual words and the combination of their meanings to yield complex concepts or interpretations. This combinatory process often requires the insertion of unstated semantic material between words, based on thematic or feature knowledge. For example, the phrase horse barn is not interpreted as a blend of a horse and a barn, but specifically a barn where horses are kept. Previous neuroscientific evidence suggests that left posterior and anterior temporal cortex underpin thematic and feature‐based concept knowledge, respectively, but much remains unclear about how these areas contribute to combinatory language processing. Using magnetoencephalography, we contrasted source‐localized responses to modifier‐noun phrases involving thematic relations versus feature modifications, while also examining how lower‐level orthographic processing fed composition. Participants completed three procedures examining responses to letter‐strings, adjective‐noun phrases, and noun–noun combinations that varied the semantic relations between words. We found that sections of the left anterior temporal lobe, posterior temporal lobe, and cortex surrounding the angular gyrus were all engaged in the minimal composition of adjective‐noun phrases, a more distributed network than in most prior studies of minimal composition. Of these regions, only the left posterior temporal lobe was additionally sensitive to implicit thematic relations between composing words, suggesting that it houses a specialized relational processing component in a wider composition network. We additionally identified a left occipitotemporal progression from orthographic to lexical processing, feeding ventral anterior areas engaged in the combination of word meanings. Finally, by examining source signal leakage, we characterized the degree to which these responses could be distinguished from one another using source estimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graham Flick
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.,NYUAD Research Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Osama Abdullah
- NYUAD Research Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Liina Pylkkänen
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.,NYUAD Research Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.,Department of Linguistics, New York University, New York, New York, USA
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8
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Law R, Pylkkänen L. Lists with and without Syntax: A New Approach to Measuring the Neural Processing of Syntax. J Neurosci 2021; 41:2186-2196. [PMID: 33500276 PMCID: PMC8018759 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1179-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In the neurobiology of syntax, a methodological challenge is to vary syntax while holding semantics constant. Changes in syntactic structure usually correlate with changes in meaning. We approached this challenge from a new angle. We deployed word lists-typically, the unstructured control in studies of syntax-as both test and control stimuli. Three-noun lists ("lamps, dolls, guitars") were embedded in sentences ("The eccentric man hoarded lamps, dolls, guitars…") and in longer lists ("forks, pen, toilet, rodeo, lamps, dolls, guitars…"). This allowed us to minimize contributions from lexical semantics and local phrasal combinatorics: the same words occurred in both conditions, and in neither case did the list items locally compose into phrases (e.g., "lamps" and "dolls" do not form a phrase). Crucially, the list partakes in a syntactic tree in one case but not the other. Lists-in-sentences increased source-localized MEG activity at ∼250-300 ms from each of the list item onsets in the left inferior frontal cortex, at ∼300-350 ms in the left anterior temporal lobe and, most reliably, at ∼330-400 ms in left posterior temporal cortex. In contrast, the main effects of semantic association strength, which we also varied, localized in the left temporoparietal cortex, with high associations increasing activity at ∼400 ms. This dissociation offers a novel characterization of the structure versus word meaning contrast in the brain: the frontotemporal network that is familiar from studies of sentence processing can be driven by the sheer presence of global sentence structure, while associative semantics has a more posterior neural signature.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human languages all have a syntax, which both enables the infinitude of linguistic creativity and determines what is grammatical in a language. The neurobiology of syntactic processing has, however, been challenging to characterize despite decades of study. One reason is pure manipulations of syntax are difficult to design. The approach here offers a novel control of two variables that are notoriously hard to keep constant when syntax is manipulated: word meaning and phrasal combinatorics. The same noun lists occurred inside longer lists and sentences, while semantic associations also varied. Our MEG results show that classic frontotemporal language regions can be driven by sentence structure even when local semantic contributions are absent. In contrast, the left temporoparietal junction tracks associative relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Law
- NYUAD Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Liina Pylkkänen
- NYUAD Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Department of Linguistics, New York University, New York, New York 10003
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9
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Iwabuchi T, Makuuchi M. When a sentence loses semantics: Selective involvement of a left anterior temporal subregion in semantic processing. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:929-942. [PMID: 33103315 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15022] [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: 01/03/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Although the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) has been associated with semantic processing, the role of this region in syntactic structure building of sentences remains a subject of debate. Functional neuroimaging studies contrasting well-formed sentences with word lists lacking syntactic structure have produced mixed results. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined whether the left ATL is selectively involved in semantic processing or also plays a role in syntactic structure building by manipulating syntactic complexity and meaningfulness in a novel way. To deprive semantic/pragmatic information from a sentence, we replaced all content words with pronounceable meaningless placeholders. We conducted an experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial design with factors of SEMANTICS (natural sentences [NAT]; sentences with placeholders [SPH]) and SYNTAX (the basic Japanese Subject-Object-Verb [SOV] word order; a changed Object-Subject-Verb [OSV] word order). A main effect of SEMANTICS (NAT > SPH) was found in the left ATL, as well as in the ventral occipitotemporal regions. The opposite contrast (SPH > NAT) revealed activation in the dorsal regions encompassing Brodmann area 44, the premotor area, and the parietal cortex in the left hemisphere. We found no main effect of SYNTAX (OSV > SOV) in a subregion of the left ATL that was more responsive to natural sentences than meaningless sentences. These results indicate selective involvement of a subregion of the left ATL in semantic/pragmatic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiki Iwabuchi
- Section of Neuropsychology, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Michiru Makuuchi
- Section of Neuropsychology, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
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10
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Hoffman P, Tamm A. Barking up the right tree: Univariate and multivariate fMRI analyses of homonym comprehension. Neuroimage 2020; 219:117050. [PMID: 32534964 PMCID: PMC7443701 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Homonyms are a critical test case for investigating how the brain resolves ambiguity in language and, more generally, how context influences semantic processing. Previous neuroimaging studies have associated processing of homonyms with greater engagement of regions involved in executive control of semantic processing. However, the precise role of these areas and the involvement of semantic representational regions in homonym comprehension remain elusive. We addressed this by combining univariate and multivariate fMRI analyses of homonym processing. We tested whether multi-voxel activation patterns could discriminate between presentations of the same homonym in different contexts (e.g., bark following tree vs. bark following dog). The ventral anterior temporal lobe, implicated in semantic representation but not previously in homonym comprehension, showed this meaning-specific coding, despite not showing increased mean activation for homonyms. Within inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a key site for semantic control, there was a dissociation between pars orbitalis, which also showed meaning-specific coding, and pars triangularis, which discriminated more generally between semantically related and unrelated word pairs. IFG effects were goal-dependent, only occurring when the task required semantic decisions, in line with a top-down control function. Finally, posterior middle temporal cortex showed a hybrid pattern of responses, supporting the idea that it acts as an interface between semantic representations and the control system. The study provides new evidence for context-dependent coding in the semantic system and clarifies the role of control regions in processing ambiguity. It also highlights the importance of combining univariate and multivariate neuroimaging data to fully elucidate the role of a brain region in semantic cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Hoffman
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Andres Tamm
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
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11
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Clarke A. Dynamic activity patterns in the anterior temporal lobe represents object semantics. Cogn Neurosci 2020; 11:111-121. [PMID: 32249714 PMCID: PMC7446031 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2020.1742678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is considered a crucial area for the representation of transmodal concepts. Recent evidence suggests that specific regions within the ATL support the representation of individual object concepts, as shown by studies combining multivariate analysis methods and explicit measures of semantic knowledge. This research looks to further our understanding by probing conceptual representations at a spatially and temporally resolved neural scale. Representational similarity analysis was applied to human intracranial recordings from anatomically defined lateral to medial ATL sub-regions. Neural similarity patterns were tested against semantic similarity measures, where semantic similarity was defined by a hybrid corpus-based and feature-based approach. Analyses show that the perirhinal cortex, in the medial ATL, significantly related to semantic effects around 200 to 400 ms, and were greater than more lateral ATL regions. Further, semantic effects were present in low frequency (theta and alpha) oscillatory phase signals. These results provide converging support that more medial regions of the ATL support the representation of basic-level visual object concepts within the first 400 ms, and provide a bridge between prior fMRI and MEG work by offering detailed evidence for the presence of conceptual representations within the ATL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Clarke
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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12
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Isolating syntax in natural language: MEG evidence for an early contribution of left posterior temporal cortex. Cortex 2020; 127:42-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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13
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MacGregor LJ, Rodd JM, Gilbert RA, Hauk O, Sohoglu E, Davis MH. The Neural Time Course of Semantic Ambiguity Resolution in Speech Comprehension. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:403-425. [PMID: 31682564 PMCID: PMC7116495 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Semantically ambiguous words challenge speech comprehension, particularly when listeners must select a less frequent (subordinate) meaning at disambiguation. Using combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) and EEG, we measured neural responses associated with distinct cognitive operations during semantic ambiguity resolution in spoken sentences: (i) initial activation and selection of meanings in response to an ambiguous word and (ii) sentence reinterpretation in response to subsequent disambiguation to a subordinate meaning. Ambiguous words elicited an increased neural response approximately 400-800 msec after their acoustic offset compared with unambiguous control words in left frontotemporal MEG sensors, corresponding to sources in bilateral frontotemporal brain regions. This response may reflect increased demands on processes by which multiple alternative meanings are activated and maintained until later selection. Disambiguating words heard after an ambiguous word were associated with marginally increased neural activity over bilateral temporal MEG sensors and a central cluster of EEG electrodes, which localized to similar bilateral frontal and left temporal regions. This later neural response may reflect effortful semantic integration or elicitation of prediction errors that guide reinterpretation of previously selected word meanings. Across participants, the amplitude of the ambiguity response showed a marginal positive correlation with comprehension scores, suggesting that sentence comprehension benefits from additional processing around the time of an ambiguous word. Better comprehenders may have increased availability of subordinate meanings, perhaps due to higher quality lexical representations and reflected in a positive correlation between vocabulary size and comprehension success.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer M. Rodd
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London
| | | | - Olaf Hauk
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Ediz Sohoglu
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
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14
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Balancing Prediction and Sensory Input in Speech Comprehension: The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Word Recognition in Context. J Neurosci 2018; 39:519-527. [PMID: 30459221 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3573-17.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Revised: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Spoken word recognition in context is remarkably fast and accurate, with recognition times of ∼200 ms, typically well before the end of the word. The neurocomputational mechanisms underlying these contextual effects are still poorly understood. This study combines source-localized electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic (EMEG) measures of real-time brain activity with multivariate representational similarity analysis to determine directly the timing and computational content of the processes evoked as spoken words are heard in context, and to evaluate the respective roles of bottom-up and predictive processing mechanisms in the integration of sensory and contextual constraints. Male and female human participants heard simple (modifier-noun) English phrases that varied in the degree of semantic constraint that the modifier (W1) exerted on the noun (W2), as in pairs, such as "yellow banana." We used gating tasks to generate estimates of the probabilistic predictions generated by these constraints as well as measures of their interaction with the bottom-up perceptual input for W2. Representation similarity analysis models of these measures were tested against electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic brain data across a bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal language network. Consistent with probabilistic predictive processing accounts, we found early activation of semantic constraints in frontal cortex (LBA45) as W1 was heard. The effects of these constraints (at 100 ms after W2 onset in left middle temporal gyrus and at 140 ms in left Heschl's gyrus) were only detectable, however, after the initial phonemes of W2 had been heard. Within an overall predictive processing framework, bottom-up sensory inputs are still required to achieve early and robust spoken word recognition in context.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human listeners recognize spoken words in natural speech contexts with remarkable speed and accuracy, often identifying a word well before all of it has been heard. In this study, we investigate the brain systems that support this important capacity, using neuroimaging techniques that can track real-time brain activity during speech comprehension. This makes it possible to locate the brain areas that generate predictions about upcoming words and to show how these expectations are integrated with the evidence provided by the speech being heard. We use the timing and localization of these effects to provide the most specific account to date of how the brain achieves an optimal balance between prediction and sensory input in the interpretation of spoken language.
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15
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Jung J, Visser M, Binney RJ, Lambon Ralph MA. Establishing the cognitive signature of human brain networks derived from structural and functional connectivity. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:4023-4038. [PMID: 30120553 PMCID: PMC6267264 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1734-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Numerous neuroimaging studies have identified various brain networks using task-free analyses. While these networks undoubtedly support higher cognition, their precise functional characteristics are rarely probed directly. The frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes contain the majority of the tertiary association cortex, which are key substrates for higher cognition including executive function, language, memory, and attention. Accordingly, we established the cognitive signature of a set of contrastive brain networks on the main tertiary association cortices, identified in two task-independent datasets. Using graph-theory analysis, we revealed multiple networks across the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortex, derived from structural and functional connectivity. The patterns of network activity were then investigated using three task-active fMRI datasets to generate the functional profiles of the identified networks. We employed representational dissimilarity analysis on these functional data to quantify and compare the representational characteristics of the networks. Our results demonstrated that the topology of the task-independent networks was strongly associated with the patterns of network activity in the task-active fMRI. Our findings establish a direct relationship between the brain networks identified from task-free datasets and higher cognitive functions including cognitive control, language, memory, visuospatial function, and perception. Not only does this study support the widely held view that higher cognitive functions are supported by widespread, distributed cortical networks, but also it elucidates a methodological approach for formally establishing their relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- JeYoung Jung
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU), Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences (Zochonis Building), University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Maya Visser
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU), Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences (Zochonis Building), University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Grupo de Neuropslcología y NeuroLmagen Functional, University Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana, Castellón, Spain
| | - Richard J Binney
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU), Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences (Zochonis Building), University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - Matthew A Lambon Ralph
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU), Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences (Zochonis Building), University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
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16
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Zhao L, Chen C, Shao L, Wang Y, Xiao X, Chen C, Yang J, Zevin J, Xue G. Orthographic and Phonological Representations in the Fusiform Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:5197-5210. [PMID: 27664959 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental and neural representations of words are at the core of understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms of reading. Despite extensive studies, the nature of visual word representation remains highly controversial due to methodological limitations. In particular, it is unclear whether the fusiform cortex contains only abstract orthographic representation, or represents both lower and higher level orthography as well as phonology. Using representational similarity analysis, we integrated behavioral ratings, computational models of reading and visual object recognition, and neuroimaging data to examine the nature of visual word representations in the fusiform cortex. Our results provided clear evidence that the middle and anterior fusiform represented both phonological and orthographic information. Whereas lower level orthographic information was represented at every stage of the ventral visual stream, abstract orthographic information was increasingly represented along the posterior-to-anterior axis. Furthermore, the left and right hemispheres were tuned to high- and low-frequency orthographic information, respectively. These results help to resolve the long-standing debates regarding the role of the fusiform in reading, and have significant implications for the development of psychological, neural, and computational theories of reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Libo Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Chunhui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Luying Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Yapeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Xiaoqian Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
| | - Chuansheng Chen
- Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Jianfeng Yang
- School of Psychology, Shanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, PR China
| | - Jason Zevin
- Department of Linguistics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Gui Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China
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17
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Segaert K, Mazaheri A, Hagoort P. Binding language: structuring sentences through precisely timed oscillatory mechanisms. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:2651-2662. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Katrien Segaert
- School of Psychology; University of Birmingham; Edgbaston Birmingham UK
- Centre for Human Brain Health; University of Birmingham; Birmingham UK
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics; Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Ali Mazaheri
- School of Psychology; University of Birmingham; Edgbaston Birmingham UK
- Centre for Human Brain Health; University of Birmingham; Birmingham UK
| | - Peter Hagoort
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics; Nijmegen The Netherlands
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging; Donders Institute for Brain; Cognition and Behaviour; Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen The Netherlands
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18
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Połczyńska M, Japardi K, Curtiss S, Moody T, Benjamin C, Cho A, Vigil C, Kuhn T, Jones M, Bookheimer S. Improving language mapping in clinical fMRI through assessment of grammar. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2017; 15:415-427. [PMID: 28616382 PMCID: PMC5458087 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2016] [Revised: 05/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Brain surgery in the language dominant hemisphere remains challenging due to unintended post-surgical language deficits, despite using pre-surgical functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) and intraoperative cortical stimulation. Moreover, patients are often recommended not to undergo surgery if the accompanying risk to language appears to be too high. While standard fMRI language mapping protocols may have relatively good predictive value at the group level, they remain sub-optimal on an individual level. The standard tests used typically assess lexico-semantic aspects of language, and they do not accurately reflect the complexity of language either in comprehension or production at the sentence level. Among patients who had left hemisphere language dominance we assessed which tests are best at activating language areas in the brain. Method We compared grammar tests (items testing word order in actives and passives, wh-subject and object questions, relativized subject and object clauses and past tense marking) with standard tests (object naming, auditory and visual responsive naming), using pre-operative fMRI. Twenty-five surgical candidates (13 females) participated in this study. Sixteen patients presented with a brain tumor, and nine with epilepsy. All participants underwent two pre-operative fMRI protocols: one including CYCLE-N grammar tests (items testing word order in actives and passives, wh-subject and object questions, relativized subject and object clauses and past tense marking); and a second one with standard fMRI tests (object naming, auditory and visual responsive naming). fMRI activations during performance in both protocols were compared at the group level, as well as in individual candidates. Results The grammar tests generated more volume of activation in the left hemisphere (left/right angular gyrus, right anterior/posterior superior temporal gyrus) and identified additional language regions not shown by the standard tests (e.g., left anterior/posterior supramarginal gyrus). The standard tests produced more activation in left BA 47. Ten participants had more robust activations in the left hemisphere in the grammar tests and two in the standard tests. The grammar tests also elicited substantial activations in the right hemisphere and thus turned out to be superior at identifying both right and left hemisphere contribution to language processing. Conclusion The grammar tests may be an important addition to the standard pre-operative fMRI testing. We added comprehensive grammar tests to standard presurgical fMRI of language. The grammar tests generated more volume of activation bilaterally. The tests identified additional language regions not shown by the standard tests. The grammar tests may be an important addition to standard pre-operative fMRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Połczyńska
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
| | - Kevin Japardi
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | | | - Teena Moody
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | | | - Andrew Cho
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Celia Vigil
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Taylor Kuhn
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Michael Jones
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Susan Bookheimer
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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19
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Samu D, Campbell KL, Tsvetanov KA, Shafto MA, Tyler LK. Preserved cognitive functions with age are determined by domain-dependent shifts in network responsivity. Nat Commun 2017; 8:14743. [PMID: 28480894 PMCID: PMC5424147 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthy ageing has disparate effects on different cognitive domains. The neural basis of these differences, however, is largely unknown. We investigated this question by using Independent Components Analysis to obtain functional brain components from 98 healthy participants aged 23-87 years from the population-based Cam-CAN cohort. Participants performed two cognitive tasks that show age-related decrease (fluid intelligence and object naming) and a syntactic comprehension task that shows age-related preservation. We report that activation of task-positive neural components predicts inter-individual differences in performance in each task across the adult lifespan. Furthermore, only the two tasks that show performance declines with age show age-related decreases in task-positive activation of neural components and decreasing default mode (DM) suppression. Our results suggest that distributed, multi-component brain responsivity supports cognition across the adult lifespan, and the maintenance of this, along with maintained DM deactivation, characterizes successful ageing and may explain differential ageing trajectories across cognitive domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dávid Samu
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), University of Cambridge and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Karen L. Campbell
- Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), University of Cambridge and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Kamen A. Tsvetanov
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), University of Cambridge and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Meredith A. Shafto
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), University of Cambridge and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Lorraine K. Tyler
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), University of Cambridge and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
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20
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Wu C, Zheng Y, Li J, Wu H, She S, Liu S, Ning Y, Li L. Brain substrates underlying auditory speech priming in healthy listeners and listeners with schizophrenia. Psychol Med 2017; 47:837-852. [PMID: 27894376 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291716002816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Under 'cocktail party' listening conditions, healthy listeners and listeners with schizophrenia can use temporally pre-presented auditory speech-priming (ASP) stimuli to improve target-speech recognition, even though listeners with schizophrenia are more vulnerable to informational speech masking. METHOD Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, this study searched for both brain substrates underlying the unmasking effect of ASP in 16 healthy controls and 22 patients with schizophrenia, and brain substrates underlying schizophrenia-related speech-recognition deficits under speech-masking conditions. RESULTS In both controls and patients, introducing the ASP condition (against the auditory non-speech-priming condition) not only activated the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and left posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG), but also enhanced functional connectivity of the left STG/pMTG with the left caudate. It also enhanced functional connectivity of the left STG/pMTG with the left pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus (TriIFG) in controls and that with the left Rolandic operculum in patients. The strength of functional connectivity between the left STG and left TriIFG was correlated with target-speech recognition under the speech-masking condition in both controls and patients, but reduced in patients. CONCLUSIONS The left STG/pMTG and their ASP-related functional connectivity with both the left caudate and some frontal regions (the left TriIFG in healthy listeners and the left Rolandic operculum in listeners with schizophrenia) are involved in the unmasking effect of ASP, possibly through facilitating the following processes: masker-signal inhibition, target-speech encoding, and speech production. The schizophrenia-related reduction of functional connectivity between the left STG and left TriIFG augments the vulnerability of speech recognition to speech masking.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Wu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health,Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education),Peking University,Beijing,People's Republic of China
| | - Y Zheng
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University,Guangzhou,People's Republic of China
| | - J Li
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University,Guangzhou,People's Republic of China
| | - H Wu
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University,Guangzhou,People's Republic of China
| | - S She
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University,Guangzhou,People's Republic of China
| | - S Liu
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University,Guangzhou,People's Republic of China
| | - Y Ning
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University,Guangzhou,People's Republic of China
| | - L Li
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health,Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education),Peking University,Beijing,People's Republic of China
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21
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Zhuang J, Devereux BJ. Phonological and syntactic competition effects in spoken word recognition: evidence from corpus-based statistics. LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND NEUROSCIENCE 2017; 32:221-235. [PMID: 28164141 PMCID: PMC5214227 DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2016.1241886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
As spoken language unfolds over time the speech input transiently activates multiple candidates at different levels of the system - phonological, lexical, and syntactic - which in turn leads to short-lived between-candidate competition. In an fMRI study, we investigated how different kinds of linguistic competition may be modulated by the presence or absence of a prior context (Tyler 1984; Tyler et al. 2008). We found significant effects of lexico-phonological competition for isolated words, but not for words in short phrases, with high competition yielding greater activation in left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and posterior temporal regions. This suggests that phrasal contexts reduce lexico-phonological competition by eliminating form-class inconsistent cohort candidates. A corpus-derived measure of lexico-syntactic competition was associated with greater activation in LIFG for verbs in phrases, but not for isolated verbs, indicating that lexico-syntactic information is boosted by the phrasal context. Together, these findings indicate that LIFG plays a general role in resolving different kinds of linguistic competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhuang
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC27710, USA
- Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Barry J. Devereux
- Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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22
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Regel S, Kotz SA, Henseler I, Friederici AD. Left inferior frontal gyrus mediates morphosyntax: ERP evidence from verb processing in left-hemisphere damaged patients. Cortex 2016; 86:156-171. [PMID: 28011396 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Revised: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Neurocognitive models of language comprehension have proposed different mechanisms with different neural substrates mediating human language processing. Whether the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) is engaged in morpho-syntactic information processing is currently still controversially debated. The present study addresses this issue by examining the processing of irregular verb inflection in real words (e.g., swim > swum > swam) and pseudowords (e.g., frim > frum > fram) by using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in neurological patients with lesions in the LIFG involving Broca's area as well as healthy controls. Different ERP patterns in response to the grammatical violations were observed in both groups. Controls showed a biphasic negativity-P600 pattern in response to incorrect verb inflections whereas patients with LIFG lesions displayed a N400. For incorrect pseudoword inflections, a late positivity was found in controls, while no ERP effects were obtained in patients. These findings of different ERP patterns in the two groups strongly indicate an involvement of LIFG in morphosyntactic processing, thereby suggesting brain regions' specialization for different language functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Regel
- Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Sonja A Kotz
- Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany; Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Ilona Henseler
- Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
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23
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Campbell KL, Samu D, Davis SW, Geerligs L, Mustafa A, Tyler LK. Robust Resilience of the Frontotemporal Syntax System to Aging. J Neurosci 2016; 36:5214-27. [PMID: 27170120 PMCID: PMC4863058 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4561-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Revised: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Brain function is thought to become less specialized with age. However, this view is largely based on findings of increased activation during tasks that fail to separate task-related processes (e.g., attention, decision making) from the cognitive process under examination. Here we take a systems-level approach to separate processes specific to language comprehension from those related to general task demands and to examine age differences in functional connectivity both within and between those systems. A large population-based sample (N = 111; 22-87 years) from the Cambridge Centre for Aging and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) was scanned using functional MRI during two versions of an experiment: a natural listening version in which participants simply listened to spoken sentences and an explicit task version in which they rated the acceptability of the same sentences. Independent components analysis across the combined data from both versions showed that although task-free language comprehension activates only the auditory and frontotemporal (FTN) syntax networks, performing a simple task with the same sentences recruits several additional networks. Remarkably, functionality of the critical FTN is maintained across age groups, showing no difference in within-network connectivity or responsivity to syntactic processing demands despite gray matter loss and reduced connectivity to task-related networks. We found no evidence for reduced specialization or compensation with age. Overt task performance was maintained across the lifespan and performance in older, but not younger, adults related to crystallized knowledge, suggesting that decreased between-network connectivity may be compensated for by older adults' richer knowledge base. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding spoken language requires the rapid integration of information at many different levels of analysis. Given the complexity and speed of this process, it is remarkably well preserved with age. Although previous work claims that this preserved functionality is due to compensatory activation of regions outside the frontotemporal language network, we use a novel systems-level approach to show that these "compensatory" activations simply reflect age differences in response to experimental task demands. Natural, task-free language comprehension solely recruits auditory and frontotemporal networks, the latter of which is similarly responsive to language-processing demands across the lifespan. These findings challenge the conventional approach to neurocognitive aging by showing that the neural underpinnings of a given cognitive function depend on how you test it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Campbell
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom,
| | - Dávid Samu
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
| | - Simon W Davis
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708
| | - Linda Geerligs
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom, and
| | - Abdur Mustafa
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom, and
| | - Lorraine K Tyler
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
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Fonteneau E, Bozic M, Marslen-Wilson WD. Brain Network Connectivity During Language Comprehension: Interacting Linguistic and Perceptual Subsystems. Cereb Cortex 2015; 25:3962-76. [PMID: 25452574 PMCID: PMC4585526 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The dynamic neural processes underlying spoken language comprehension require the real-time integration of general perceptual and specialized linguistic information. We recorded combined electro- and magnetoencephalographic measurements of participants listening to spoken words varying in perceptual and linguistic complexity. Combinatorial linguistic complexity processing was consistently localized to left perisylvian cortices, whereas competition-based perceptual complexity triggered distributed activity over both hemispheres. Functional connectivity showed that linguistically complex words engaged a distributed network of oscillations in the gamma band (20-60 Hz), which only partially overlapped with the network supporting perceptual analysis. Both processes enhanced cross-talk between left temporal regions and bilateral pars orbitalis (BA47). The left-lateralized synchrony between temporal regions and pars opercularis (BA44) was specific to the linguistically complex words, suggesting a specific role of left frontotemporal cross-cortical interactions in morphosyntactic computations. Synchronizations in oscillatory dynamics reveal the transient coupling of functional networks that support specific computational processes in language comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Fonteneau
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mirjana Bozic
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
| | - William D. Marslen-Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
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25
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Shafto MA, Tyler LK, Dixon M, Taylor JR, Rowe JB, Cusack R, Calder AJ, Marslen-Wilson WD, Duncan J, Dalgleish T, Henson RN, Brayne C, Matthews FE. The Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) study protocol: a cross-sectional, lifespan, multidisciplinary examination of healthy cognitive ageing. BMC Neurol 2014; 14:204. [PMID: 25412575 PMCID: PMC4219118 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-014-0204-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 316] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As greater numbers of us are living longer, it is increasingly important to understand how we can age healthily. Although old age is often stereotyped as a time of declining mental abilities and inflexibility, cognitive neuroscience reveals that older adults use neural and cognitive resources flexibly, recruiting novel neural regions and cognitive processes when necessary. Our aim in this project is to understand how age-related changes to neural structure and function interact to support cognitive abilities across the lifespan. METHODS/DESIGN We are recruiting a population-based cohort of 3000 adults aged 18 and over into Stage 1 of the project, where they complete an interview including health and lifestyle questions, a core cognitive assessment, and a self-completed questionnaire of lifetime experiences and physical activity. Of those interviewed, 700 participants aged 18-87 (100 per age decile) continue to Stage 2 where they undergo cognitive testing and provide measures of brain structure and function. Cognition is assessed across multiple domains including attention and executive control, language, memory, emotion, action control and learning. A subset of 280 adults return for in-depth neurocognitive assessment in Stage 3, using functional neuroimaging experiments across our key cognitive domains.Formal statistical models will be used to examine the changes that occur with healthy ageing, and to evaluate age-related reorganisation in terms of cognitive and neural functions invoked to compensate for overall age-related brain structural decline. Taken together the three stages provide deep phenotyping that will allow us to measure neural activity and flexibility during performance across a number of core cognitive functions. This approach offers hypothesis-driven insights into the relationship between brain and behaviour in healthy ageing that are relevant to the general population. DISCUSSION Our study is a unique resource of neuroimaging and cognitive measures relevant to change across the adult lifespan. Because we focus on normal age-related changes, our results may contribute to changing views about the ageing process, lead to targeted interventions, and reveal how normal ageing relates to frail ageing in clinicopathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meredith A Shafto
- />Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Lorraine K Tyler
- />Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Marie Dixon
- />Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Jason R Taylor
- />School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
| | - James B Rowe
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
- />Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- />Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rhodri Cusack
- />Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Andrew J Calder
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
| | - William D Marslen-Wilson
- />Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
| | - John Duncan
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
- />Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
| | - Richard N Henson
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
| | - Carol Brayne
- />Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Cam-CAN
- />Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
- />School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
- />MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
- />Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- />Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Cambridge, UK
- />Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7 Canada
- />Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- />Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- />MRC Biostatistics Unit, Institute of Public Health, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SR UK
| | - Fiona E Matthews
- />MRC Biostatistics Unit, Institute of Public Health, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SR UK
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Davis SW, Zhuang J, Wright P, Tyler LK. Age-related sensitivity to task-related modulation of language-processing networks. Neuropsychologia 2014; 63:107-15. [PMID: 25172389 PMCID: PMC4410794 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Revised: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
It is widely assumed that cognitive functions decline with age and that these decrements are associated with age-related changes in patterns of functional activity. However, these functional changes may be due to age-related increased responsiveness to task demands and not to other cognitive processes on which neural and behavioural responses rely, since many ageing studies use task paradigms that may not be orthogonal to the cognitive function being investigated. Here we test this hypothesis in adults aged 20–86 years by combining measures of language comprehension, functional connectivity and neural integrity to identify functional networks activated in two language experiments with varying task demands. In one, participants listened to spoken sentences without performing an overt task (the natural listening condition) while in the other they performed a task in response to the same sentences. Using task-based ICA of fMRI, we identified a left-lateralised frontotemporal network associated with syntactic analysis, which remained consistently activated regardless of task demands. In contrast, in the task condition only a separate set of components showed task-specific activity in Opercular, Frontoparietal, and bilateral PFC. Only the PFC showed age-related increases in activation which, furthermore, was strongly mediated by grey matter health. These results suggest that, contrary to prevailing views, age-related changes in cognitive activation may be due in part to differential responses to task-related processes. Ageing effects on brain activity may be over-estimated due to demands of tasks. Age differences in PFC network activity were present only during an active task. This age-related increase is largely accounted for by grey matter morphology. Results suggest that age-related changes may be due to task-related processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon W Davis
- Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
| | - Jie Zhuang
- Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Paul Wright
- Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Lorraine K Tyler
- Centre for Speech, Language and the Brain, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
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Poeppel D. The neuroanatomic and neurophysiological infrastructure for speech and language. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2014; 28:142-9. [PMID: 25064048 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2014.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2014] [Revised: 06/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
New tools and new ideas have changed how we think about the neurobiological foundations of speech and language processing. This perspective focuses on two areas of progress. First, focusing on spatial organization in the human brain, the revised functional anatomy for speech and language is discussed. The complexity of the network organization undermines the well-regarded classical model and suggests looking for more granular computational primitives, motivated both by linguistic theory and neural circuitry. Second, focusing on recent work on temporal organization, a potential role of cortical oscillations for speech processing is outlined. Such an implementational-level mechanism suggests one way to deal with the computational challenge of segmenting natural speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Poeppel
- Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322 Frankfurt, Germany.
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28
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Abstract
A hallmark of human language is that we combine lexical building blocks retrieved from memory in endless new ways. This combinatorial aspect of language is referred to as unification. Here we focus on the neurobiological infrastructure for syntactic and semantic unification. Unification is characterized by a high-speed temporal profile including both prediction and integration of retrieved lexical elements. A meta-analysis of numerous neuroimaging studies reveals a clear dorsal/ventral gradient in both left inferior frontal cortex and left posterior temporal cortex, with dorsal foci for syntactic processing and ventral foci for semantic processing. In addition to core areas for unification, further networks need to be recruited to realize language-driven communication to its full extent. One example is the theory of mind network, which allows listeners and readers to infer the intended message (speaker meaning) from the coded meaning of the linguistic utterance. This indicates that sensorimotor simulation cannot handle all of language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Hagoort
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
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Representational similarity analysis reveals commonalities and differences in the semantic processing of words and objects. J Neurosci 2014; 33:18906-16. [PMID: 24285896 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3809-13.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the meanings of words and objects requires the activation of underlying conceptual representations. Semantic representations are often assumed to be coded such that meaning is evoked regardless of the input modality. However, the extent to which meaning is coded in modality-independent or amodal systems remains controversial. We address this issue in a human fMRI study investigating the neural processing of concepts, presented separately as written words and pictures. Activation maps for each individual word and picture were used as input for searchlight-based multivoxel pattern analyses. Representational similarity analysis was used to identify regions correlating with low-level visual models of the words and objects and the semantic category structure common to both. Common semantic category effects for both modalities were found in a left-lateralized network, including left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LpMTG), left angular gyrus, and left intraparietal sulcus (LIPS), in addition to object- and word-specific semantic processing in ventral temporal cortex and more anterior MTG, respectively. To explore differences in representational content across regions and modalities, we developed novel data-driven analyses, based on k-means clustering of searchlight dissimilarity matrices and seeded correlation analysis. These revealed subtle differences in the representations in semantic-sensitive regions, with representations in LIPS being relatively invariant to stimulus modality and representations in LpMTG being uncorrelated across modality. These results suggest that, although both LpMTG and LIPS are involved in semantic processing, only the functional role of LIPS is the same regardless of the visual input, whereas the functional role of LpMTG differs for words and objects.
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