1
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Eichner C, Berger P, Klein CC, Friederici AD. Lateralization of dorsal fiber tract targeting Broca's area concurs with language skills during development. Prog Neurobiol 2024; 236:102602. [PMID: 38582324 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2024.102602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Language is bounded to the left hemisphere in the adult brain and the functional lateralization can already be observed early during development. Here we investigate whether this is paralleled by a lateralization of the white matter structural language network. We analyze the strength and microstructural properties of language-related fiber tracts connecting temporal and frontal cortices with a separation of two dorsal tracts, one targeting the posterior Broca's area (BA44) and one targeting the precentral gyrus (BA6). In a large sample of young children (3-6 years), we demonstrate that, in contrast to the BA6-targeting tract, the microstructural asymmetry of the BA44-targeting fiber tract significantly correlates locally with different aspects of development. While the asymmetry in its anterior segment reflects age, the asymmetry in its posterior segment is associated with the children's language skills. These findings demonstrate a fine-grained structure-to-function mapping in the lateralized network and go beyond our current view of language-related human brain maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelius Eichner
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Philipp Berger
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany; Research Group Milestones of Early Cognitive Development, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Cheslie C Klein
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany; Research Group Milestones of Early Cognitive Development, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
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2
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Mueller JL, Weyers I, Friederici AD, Männel C. Individual differences in auditory perception predict learning of non-adjacent tone sequences in 3-year-olds. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1358380. [PMID: 38638804 PMCID: PMC11024384 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1358380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Auditory processing of speech and non-speech stimuli oftentimes involves the analysis and acquisition of non-adjacent sound patterns. Previous studies using speech material have demonstrated (i) children's early emerging ability to extract non-adjacent dependencies (NADs) and (ii) a relation between basic auditory perception and this ability. Yet, it is currently unclear whether children show similar sensitivities and similar perceptual influences for NADs in the non-linguistic domain. We conducted an event-related potential study with 3-year-old children using a sine-tone-based oddball task, which simultaneously tested for NAD learning and auditory perception by means of varying sound intensity. Standard stimuli were A × B sine-tone sequences, in which specific A elements predicted specific B elements after variable × elements. NAD deviants violated the dependency between A and B and intensity deviants were reduced in amplitude. Both elicited similar frontally distributed positivities, suggesting successful deviant detection. Crucially, there was a predictive relationship between the amplitude of the sound intensity discrimination effect and the amplitude of the NAD learning effect. These results are taken as evidence that NAD learning in the non-linguistic domain is functional in 3-year-olds and that basic auditory processes are related to the learning of higher-order auditory regularities also outside the linguistic domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jutta L. Mueller
- Department of Linguistics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Research HUB, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ivonne Weyers
- Department of Linguistics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Claudia Männel
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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3
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Papitto G, Friederici AD, Zaccarella E. Distinct neural mechanisms for action access and execution in the human brain: insights from an fMRI study. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae163. [PMID: 38629799 PMCID: PMC11022341 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Goal-directed actions are fundamental to human behavior, whereby inner goals are achieved through mapping action representations to motor outputs. The left premotor cortex (BA6) and the posterior portion of Broca's area (BA44) are two modulatory poles of the action system. However, how these regions support the representation-output mapping within the system is not yet understood. To address this, we conducted a finger-tapping functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment using action categories ranging from specific to general. Our study found distinct neural behaviors in BA44 and BA6 during action category processing and motor execution. During access of action categories, activity in a posterior portion of BA44 (pBA44) decreased linearly as action categories became less specific. Conversely, during motor execution, activity in BA6 increased linearly with less specific categories. These findings highlight the differential roles of pBA44 and BA6 in action processing. We suggest that pBA44 facilitates access to action categories by utilizing motor information from the behavioral context while the premotor cortex integrates motor information to execute the selected action. This finding enhances our understanding of the interplay between prefrontal cortical regions and premotor cortex in mapping action representation to motor execution and, more in general, of the cortical mechanisms underlying human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Papitto
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Stephanstraße 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity (IMPRS NeuroCom), Stephanstraße 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Stephanstraße 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Stephanstraße 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Mamashli F, Khan S, Hatamimajoumerd E, Jas M, Uluç I, Lankinen K, Obleser J, Friederici AD, Maess B, Ahveninen J. Characterizing directional dynamics of semantic prediction based on inter-regional temporal generalization. bioRxiv 2024:2024.02.13.580183. [PMID: 38405823 PMCID: PMC10888763 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.13.580183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
The event-related potential/field component N400(m) has been widely used as a neural index for semantic prediction. It has long been hypothesized that feedback information from inferior frontal areas plays a critical role in generating the N400. However, due to limitations in causal connectivity estimation, direct testing of this hypothesis has remained difficult. Here, magnetoencephalography (MEG) data was obtained during a classic N400 paradigm where the semantic predictability of a fixed target noun was manipulated in simple German sentences. To estimate causality, we implemented a novel approach based on machine learning and temporal generalization to estimate the effect of inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) on temporal areas. In this method, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier is trained on each time point of the neural activity in IFG to classify less predicted (LP) and highly predicted (HP) nouns and then tested on all time points of superior/middle temporal sub-regions activity (and vice versa, to establish spatio-temporal evidence for or against causality). The decoding accuracy was significantly above chance level when the classifier was trained on IFG activity and tested on future activity in superior and middle temporal gyrus (STG/MTG). The results present new evidence for a model predictive speech comprehension where predictive IFG activity is fed back to shape subsequent activity in STG/MTG, implying a feedback mechanism in N400 generation. In combination with the also observed strong feedforward effect from left STG/MTG to IFG, our findings provide evidence of dynamic feedback and feedforward influences between IFG and temporal areas during N400 generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahimeh Mamashli
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129
| | - Sheraz Khan
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129
| | - Elaheh Hatamimajoumerd
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Mainak Jas
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129
| | - Işıl Uluç
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129
| | - Kaisu Lankinen
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck 23562, Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Burkhard Maess
- MEG and Cortical Networks Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Jyrki Ahveninen
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129
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Cheung VKM, Harrison PMC, Koelsch S, Pearce MT, Friederici AD, Meyer L. Cognitive and sensory expectations independently shape musical expectancy and pleasure. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220420. [PMID: 38104601 PMCID: PMC10725761 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Expectation is crucial for our enjoyment of music, yet the underlying generative mechanisms remain unclear. While sensory models derive predictions based on local acoustic information in the auditory signal, cognitive models assume abstract knowledge of music structure acquired over the long term. To evaluate these two contrasting mechanisms, we compared simulations from four computational models of musical expectancy against subjective expectancy and pleasantness ratings of over 1000 chords sampled from 739 US Billboard pop songs. Bayesian model comparison revealed that listeners' expectancy and pleasantness ratings were predicted by the independent, non-overlapping, contributions of cognitive and sensory expectations. Furthermore, cognitive expectations explained over twice the variance in listeners' perceived surprise compared to sensory expectations, suggesting a larger relative importance of long-term representations of music structure over short-term sensory-acoustic information in musical expectancy. Our results thus emphasize the distinct, albeit complementary, roles of cognitive and sensory expectations in shaping musical pleasure, and suggest that this expectancy-driven mechanism depends on musical information represented at different levels of abstraction along the neural hierarchy. This article is part of the theme issue 'Art, aesthetics and predictive processing: theoretical and empirical perspectives'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent K. M. Cheung
- Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0022, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychology, Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0022, Japan
- Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
| | - Peter M. C. Harrison
- Centre for Music and Science, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Music, 11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP, UK
- Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Stefan Koelsch
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, 5009, Norway
| | - Marcus T. Pearce
- Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London, E1 4NS, UK
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, 8200, Denmark
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0022, Japan
| | - Lars Meyer
- Research Group Language Cycles, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Clinic for Phoniatrics and Pedaudiology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, 48149, Germany
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Wei X, Gunter TC, Adamson H, Schwendemann M, Friederici AD, Goucha T, Anwander A. White matter plasticity during second language learning within and across hemispheres. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2306286121. [PMID: 38175869 PMCID: PMC10786292 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306286121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Adult second language (L2) learning is a challenging enterprise inducing neuroplastic changes in the human brain. However, it remains unclear how the structural language connectome and its subnetworks change during adult L2 learning. The current study investigated longitudinal changes in white matter (WM) language networks in each hemisphere, as well as their interconnection, in a large group of Arabic-speaking adults who learned German intensively for 6 mo. We found a significant increase in WM-connectivity within bilateral temporal-parietal semantic and phonological subnetworks and right temporal-frontal pathways mainly in the second half of the learning period. At the same time, WM-connectivity between the two hemispheres decreased significantly. Crucially, these changes in WM-connectivity are correlated with L2 performance. The observed changes in subnetworks of the two hemispheres suggest a network reconfiguration due to lexical learning. The reduced interhemispheric connectivity may indicate a key role of the corpus callosum in L2 learning by reducing the inhibition of the language-dominant left hemisphere. Our study highlights the dynamic changes within and across hemispheres in adult language-related networks driven by L2 learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuehu Wei
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Thomas C. Gunter
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Helyne Adamson
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Matthias Schwendemann
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Tomás Goucha
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
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7
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Friederici AD, Wittig RM, Anwander A, Eichner C, Gräßle T, Jäger C, Kirilina E, Lipp I, Düx A, Edwards LJ, Girard-Buttoz C, Jauch A, Kopp KS, Paquette M, Pine KJ, Unwin S, Haun DBM, Leendertz FH, McElreath R, Morawski M, Gunz P, Weiskopf N, Crockford C. Brain structure and function: a multidisciplinary pipeline to study hominoid brain evolution. Front Integr Neurosci 2024; 17:1299087. [PMID: 38260006 PMCID: PMC10800984 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2023.1299087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
To decipher the evolution of the hominoid brain and its functions, it is essential to conduct comparative studies in primates, including our closest living relatives. However, strong ethical concerns preclude in vivo neuroimaging of great apes. We propose a responsible and multidisciplinary alternative approach that links behavior to brain anatomy in non-human primates from diverse ecological backgrounds. The brains of primates observed in the wild or in captivity are extracted and fixed shortly after natural death, and then studied using advanced MRI neuroimaging and histology to reveal macro- and microstructures. By linking detailed neuroanatomy with observed behavior within and across primate species, our approach provides new perspectives on brain evolution. Combined with endocranial brain imprints extracted from computed tomographic scans of the skulls these data provide a framework for decoding evolutionary changes in hominin fossils. This approach is poised to become a key resource for investigating the evolution and functional differentiation of hominoid brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Evolution of Brain Connectivity Project, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod, UMR CNRS, University Claude Bernard Lyon, Bron, France
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cornelius Eichner
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Gräßle
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Carsten Jäger
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Medical Faculty, Center of Neuropathology and Brain Research, Paul Flechsig Institute, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Evgeniya Kirilina
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ilona Lipp
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ariane Düx
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for One Health, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Luke J. Edwards
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cédric Girard-Buttoz
- Evolution of Brain Connectivity Project, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod, UMR CNRS, University Claude Bernard Lyon, Bron, France
| | - Anna Jauch
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kathrin S. Kopp
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Paquette
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kerrin J. Pine
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Steve Unwin
- School of Bioscience, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel B. M. Haun
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fabian H. Leendertz
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for One Health, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Richard McElreath
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Markus Morawski
- Medical Faculty, Center of Neuropathology and Brain Research, Paul Flechsig Institute, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nikolaus Weiskopf
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Faculty of Physics and Earth System Sciences, Felix Bloch Institute for Solid State Physics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Evolution of Brain Connectivity Project, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod, UMR CNRS, University Claude Bernard Lyon, Bron, France
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
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8
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van der Burght CL, Friederici AD, Maran M, Papitto G, Pyatigorskaya E, Schroën JAM, Trettenbrein PC, Zaccarella E. Cleaning up the Brickyard: How Theory and Methodology Shape Experiments in Cognitive Neuroscience of Language. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:2067-2088. [PMID: 37713672 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
The capacity for language is a defining property of our species, yet despite decades of research, evidence on its neural basis is still mixed and a generalized consensus is difficult to achieve. We suggest that this is partly caused by researchers defining "language" in different ways, with focus on a wide range of phenomena, properties, and levels of investigation. Accordingly, there is very little agreement among cognitive neuroscientists of language on the operationalization of fundamental concepts to be investigated in neuroscientific experiments. Here, we review chains of derivation in the cognitive neuroscience of language, focusing on how the hypothesis under consideration is defined by a combination of theoretical and methodological assumptions. We first attempt to disentangle the complex relationship between linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience in the field. Next, we focus on how conclusions that can be drawn from any experiment are inherently constrained by auxiliary assumptions, both theoretical and methodological, on which the validity of conclusions drawn rests. These issues are discussed in the context of classical experimental manipulations as well as study designs that employ novel approaches such as naturalistic stimuli and computational modeling. We conclude by proposing that a highly interdisciplinary field such as the cognitive neuroscience of language requires researchers to form explicit statements concerning the theoretical definitions, methodological choices, and other constraining factors involved in their work.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matteo Maran
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Giorgio Papitto
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elena Pyatigorskaya
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Joëlle A M Schroën
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Patrick C Trettenbrein
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication, Leipzig, Germany
- University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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9
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Schroën JAM, Gunter TC, Numssen O, Kroczek LOH, Hartwigsen G, Friederici AD. Causal evidence for a coordinated temporal interplay within the language network. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2306279120. [PMID: 37963247 PMCID: PMC10666120 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306279120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent neurobiological models on language suggest that auditory sentence comprehension is supported by a coordinated temporal interplay within a left-dominant brain network, including the posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pIFG), posterior superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (pSTG/STS), and angular gyrus (AG). Here, we probed the timing and causal relevance of the interplay between these regions by means of concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG). Our TMS-EEG experiments reveal region- and time-specific causal evidence for a bidirectional information flow from left pSTG/STS to left pIFG and back during auditory sentence processing. Adapting a condition-and-perturb approach, our findings further suggest that the left pSTG/STS can be supported by the left AG in a state-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joëlle A. M. Schroën
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Thomas C. Gunter
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Ole Numssen
- Methods and Development Group Brain Networks, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Leon O. H. Kroczek
- Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg93053, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Cognitive and Biological Psychology, Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig04109, Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig04103, Germany
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10
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Bortolato T, Friederici AD, Girard-Buttoz C, Wittig RM, Crockford C. Chimpanzees show the capacity to communicate about concomitant daily life events. iScience 2023; 26:108090. [PMID: 37876805 PMCID: PMC10590744 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
One universal feature of human language is its versatility in communicating about juxtapositions of everyday events. Versatile combinatorial systems of communication can be selected for if (a) several vocal units are flexibly combined into numerous and long vocal sequences and (b) vocal sequences relate to numerous daily life events. We propose (b) is more likely during simultaneous or serial (concomitant) events than single events. We analyzed 9,391 vocal utterances across the repertoire of wild chimpanzees and their events of production. Chimpanzees used vocal sequences across a range of daily life events and twice as often during concomitant than single events. Also, utterance diversity correlated positively with event diversity. Our results show the potential of chimpanzee vocal sequences to convey combined information about numerous daily life events, a step from which generalized combinatoriality could have evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Bortolato
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS UMR 5229, Bron 69500, France
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan 1303, Ivory Coast
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cédric Girard-Buttoz
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS UMR 5229, Bron 69500, France
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan 1303, Ivory Coast
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS UMR 5229, Bron 69500, France
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan 1303, Ivory Coast
| | - Catherine Crockford
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS UMR 5229, Bron 69500, France
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan 1303, Ivory Coast
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11
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Friederici AD. Evolutionary neuroanatomical expansion of Broca's region serving a human-specific function. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:786-796. [PMID: 37596132 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
The question concerning the evolution of language is directly linked to the debate on whether language and action are dependent or not and to what extent Broca's region serves as a common neural basis. The debate resulted in two opposing views, one arguing for and one against the dependence of language and action mainly based on neuroscientific data. This article presents an evolutionary neuroanatomical framework which may offer a solution to this dispute. It is proposed that in humans, Broca's region houses language and action independently in spatially separated subregions. This became possible due to an evolutionary expansion of Broca's region in the human brain, which was not paralleled by a similar expansion in the chimpanzee's brain, providing additional space needed for the neural representation of language in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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12
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Graessner A, Duchow C, Zaccarella E, Friederici AD, Obrig H, Hartwigsen G. Electrophysiological correlates of basic semantic composition in people with aphasia. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 40:103516. [PMID: 37769366 PMCID: PMC10540050 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
The neuroanatomical correlates of basic semantic composition have been investigated in previous neuroimaging and lesion studies, but research on the electrophysiology of the involved processes is scarce. A large literature on sentence-level event-related potentials (ERPs) during semantic processing has identified at least two relevant components - the N400 and the P600. Other studies demonstrated that these components are reduced and/or delayed in people with aphasia (PWA). However, it remains to be shown if these findings generalize beyond the sentence level. Specifically, it is an open question if an alteration in ERP responses in PWA can also be observed during basic semantic composition, providing a potential future diagnostic tool. The present study aimed to elucidate the electrophysiological dynamics of basic semantic composition in a group of post-stroke PWA. We included 20 PWA and 20 age-matched controls (mean age 58 years) and measured ERP responses while they performed a plausibility judgment task on two-word phrases that were either meaningful ("anxious horse"), anomalous ("anxious wood") or had the noun replaced by a pseudoword ("anxious gufel"). The N400 effect for anomalous versus meaningful phrases was similar in both groups. In contrast, unlike the control group, PWA did not show an N400 effect between pseudoword and meaningful phrases. Moreover, both groups exhibited a parietal P600 effect towards pseudoword phrases, while PWA showed an additional P600 over frontal electrodes. Finally, PWA showed an inverse correlation between the magnitude of the N400 and P600 effects: PWA exhibiting no or even reversed N400 effects towards anomalous and pseudoword phrases showed a stronger P600 effect. These results may reflect a compensatory mechanism which allows PWA to arrive at the correct interpretation of the phrase. When compositional processing capacities are impaired in the early N400 time-window, PWA may make use of a more elaborate re-analysis process reflected in the P600.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Graessner
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Germany; Lise-Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Caroline Duchow
- Lise-Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hellmuth Obrig
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Germany; Lise-Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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13
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Gallardo G, Eichner C, Sherwood CC, Hopkins WD, Anwander A, Friederici AD. Morphological evolution of language-relevant brain areas. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002266. [PMID: 37656748 PMCID: PMC10501646 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Human language is supported by a cortical network involving Broca's area, which comprises Brodmann Areas 44 and 45 (BA44 and BA45). While cytoarchitectonic homolog areas have been identified in nonhuman primates, it remains unknown how these regions evolved to support human language. Here, we use histological data and advanced cortical registration methods to precisely compare the morphology of BA44 and BA45 in humans and chimpanzees. We found a general expansion of Broca's areas in humans, with the left BA44 enlarging the most, growing anteriorly into a region known to process syntax. Together with recent functional and receptorarchitectural studies, our findings support the conclusion that BA44 evolved from an action-related region to a bipartite system, with a posterior portion supporting action and an anterior portion supporting syntactic processes. Our findings add novel insights to the longstanding debate on the relationship between language and action, and the evolution of Broca's area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Gallardo
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cornelius Eichner
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, United States of America
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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14
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Liu Y, Gao C, Wang P, Friederici AD, Zaccarella E, Chen L. Exploring the neurobiology of Merge at a basic level: insights from a novel artificial grammar paradigm. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1151518. [PMID: 37287773 PMCID: PMC10242141 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1151518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Human language allows us to generate an infinite number of linguistic expressions. It's proposed that this competence is based on a binary syntactic operation, Merge, combining two elements to form a new constituent. An increasing number of recent studies have shifted from complex syntactic structures to two-word constructions to investigate the neural representation of this operation at the most basic level. Methods This fMRI study aimed to develop a highly flexible artificial grammar paradigm for testing the neurobiology of human syntax at a basic level. During scanning, participants had to apply abstract syntactic rules to assess whether a given two-word artificial phrase could be further merged with a third word. To control for lower-level template-matching and working memory strategies, an additional non-mergeable word-list task was set up. Results Behavioral data indicated that participants complied with the experiment. Whole brain and region of interest (ROI) analyses were performed under the contrast of "structure > word-list." Whole brain analysis confirmed significant involvement of the posterior inferior frontal gyrus [pIFG, corresponding to Brodmann area (BA) 44]. Furthermore, both the signal intensity in Broca's area and the behavioral performance showed significant correlations with natural language performance in the same participants. ROI analysis within the language atlas and anatomically defined Broca's area revealed that only the pIFG was reliably activated. Discussion Taken together, these results support the notion that Broca's area, particularly BA 44, works as a combinatorial engine where words are merged together according to syntactic information. Furthermore, this study suggests that the present artificial grammar may serve as promising material for investigating the neurobiological basis of syntax, fostering future cross-species studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- Max Planck Partner Group, School of International Chinese Language Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chenyang Gao
- School of Global Education and Development, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Method and Development Group (MEG and Cortical Networks), Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Luyao Chen
- Max Planck Partner Group, School of International Chinese Language Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Educational System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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15
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Wei X, Adamson H, Schwendemann M, Goucha T, Friederici AD, Anwander A. Native language differences in the structural connectome of the human brain. Neuroimage 2023; 270:119955. [PMID: 36805092 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Is the neuroanatomy of the language structural connectome modulated by the life-long experience of speaking a specific language? The current study compared the brain white matter connections of the language and speech production network in a large cohort of 94 native speakers of two very different languages: an Indo-European morphosyntactically complex language (German) and a Semitic root-based language (Arabic). Using high-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI and tractography-based network statistics of the language connectome, we demonstrated that German native speakers exhibited stronger connectivity in an intra-hemispheric frontal to parietal/temporal dorsal language network, known to be associated with complex syntax processing. In comparison, Arabic native speakers showed stronger connectivity in the connections between semantic language regions, including the left temporo-parietal network, and stronger inter-hemispheric connections via the posterior corpus callosum connecting bilateral superior temporal and inferior parietal regions. The current study suggests that the structural language connectome develops and is modulated by environmental factors such as the characteristic processing demands of the native language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuehu Wei
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Helyne Adamson
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthias Schwendemann
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tomás Goucha
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
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16
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Gallardo G, Eichner C, Sherwood CC, Hopkins WD, Anwander A, Friederici AD. Uncovering the Morphological Evolution of Language-Relevant Brain Areas. bioRxiv 2023:2023.03.17.533103. [PMID: 36993711 PMCID: PMC10055248 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.17.533103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Human language is supported by a cortical network involving Broca's area which comprises Brodmann Areas 44 and 45 (BA44, BA45). While cytoarchitectonic homolog areas have been identified in nonhuman primates, it remains unknown how these regions evolved to support human language. Here, we use histological data and advanced cortical registration methods to precisely compare the morphology of BA44 and 45 between humans and chimpanzees. We found a general expansion of Broca's areas in humans, with the left BA44 enlarging the most, growing anteriorly into a region known to process syntax. Together with recent functional studies, our findings show that BA44 evolved from a purely action-related region to a more expanded region in humans, with a posterior portion supporting action and an anterior portion supporting syntactic processes. Furthermore, our findings provide a solution for the longstanding debate concerning the structural and functional evolution of Broca's area and its role in action and language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Gallardo
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cornelius Eichner
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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17
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Sánchez SM, Schmidt H, Gallardo G, Anwander A, Brauer J, Friederici AD, Knösche TR. White matter brain structure predicts language performance and learning success. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:1445-1455. [PMID: 36399515 PMCID: PMC9921223 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Individual differences in the ability to process language have long been discussed. Much of the neural basis of these, however, is yet unknown. Here we investigated the relationship between long-range white matter connectivity of the brain, as revealed by diffusion tractography, and the ability to process syntactically complex sentences in the participants' native language as well as the improvement thereof by multiday training. We identified specific network motifs by singular value decomposition that indeed related white matter structural connectivity to individual language processing performance. First, for two such motifs, one in the left and one in the right hemisphere, their individual prevalence significantly predicted the individual language performance, suggesting an anatomical predisposition for the individual ability to process syntactically complex sentences. Both motifs comprise a number of cortical regions, but seem to be dominated by areas known for the involvement in working memory rather than the classical language network itself. Second, we identified another left hemispheric network motif, whose change of prevalence over the training period significantly correlated with the individual change in performance, thus reflecting training induced white matter plasticity. This motif comprises diverse cortical areas including regions known for their involvement in language processing, working memory and motor functions. The present findings suggest that individual differences in language processing and learning can be explained, in part, by individual differences in the brain's white matter structure. Brain structure may be a crucial factor to be considered when discussing variations in human cognitive performance, more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stella M Sánchez
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Brain Networks Group, Leipzig, Germany.,Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Helmut Schmidt
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Brain Networks Group, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Computer Science, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Guillermo Gallardo
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jens Brauer
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Friedrich Schiller University, Office of the Vice-President for Young Researchers, Jena, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas R Knösche
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Brain Networks Group, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, TU Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany
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18
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Krause CD, Fengler A, Pino D, Sehm B, Friederici AD, Obrig H. The role of left temporo-parietal and inferior frontal cortex in comprehending syntactically complex sentences: A brain stimulation study. Neuropsychologia 2023; 180:108465. [PMID: 36586718 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Syntactic competence relies on a left-lateralized network converging on hubs in inferior-frontal and posterior-temporal cortices. We address the question whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) over these hubs can modulate comprehension of sentences, whose syntactic complexity systematically varied along the factors embedding depths and canonicity. Semantic content and length of the sentences were kept identical and forced choice picture matching was required after the full sentence had been presented. METHODS We used a single-blind, within-subject, sham-controlled design, applying a-tDCS targeting left posterior tempo-parietal (TP) and left inferior frontal cortex (FC). Stimulation sites were determined by individual neuro-navigation. 20 participants were included of whom 19 entered the analysis. Results were analysed using (generalized) mixed models. In a pilot-experiment in another group of 20 participants we validated the manipulation of syntactic complexity by the two factors embedding depth and argument-order. RESULTS Reaction times increased and accuracy decreased with higher embedding depth and non-canonical argument order in both experiments. Notably a-tDCS over TP enhanced sentence-to-picture matching, while FC-stimulation showed no consistent effect. Moreover, the analysis disclosed a session effect, indicating improvements of task performance especially regarding speed. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that the posterior 'hub' of the neuronal network affording syntactic analysis represents a 'bottleneck', likely due to working-memory capacity and the challenges of mapping semantic to syntactic information allowing for role assignment. While this does not challenge the role of left inferior-frontal cortex for syntax processing and novel-grammar learning, the application of highly established syntactic rules during sentence comprehension may be considered optimized, thus not augmentable by a-tDCS in the uncompromised network. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) over left temporo-parietal cortex enhances comprehension of complex sentences in uncompromised young speakers. Since a-tDCS over left frontal cortex did not elicit any change, the 'bottleneck' for the understanding of complex sentences seems to be the posterior, temporo-parietal rather than the anterior inferior-frontal 'hub' of language processing. Regarding the attested role of inferior-frontal cortex in syntax processing, we suggest that its function is optimized in competent young speakers, preventing further enhancement by (facilitatory) tDCS. Results shed light on the functional anatomy of syntax processing during sentence comprehension; moreover, they open perspectives for research in the lesioned language network of people with syntactic deficits due to aphasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina D Krause
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology & Department of Neurology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital & Faculty of Medicine, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Anja Fengler
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology & Department of Neurology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Department of Special and Inclusive Education, Speech and Language Pedagogy and Pathology, 06110 Halle, Germany
| | - Danièle Pino
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital & Faculty of Medicine, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Bernhard Sehm
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology & Department of Neurology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Clinic for Neurology, University Medicine Halle, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology & Department of Neurology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hellmuth Obrig
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology & Department of Neurology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital & Faculty of Medicine, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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19
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Schaadt G, Werwach A, Obrig H, Friederici AD, Männel C. Maturation of consonant perception, but not vowel perception, predicts lexical skills at 12 months. Child Dev 2023; 94:e166-e180. [PMID: 36716199 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Consonants and vowels differentially contribute to lexical acquisition. From 8 months on, infants' preferential reliance on consonants has been shown to predict their lexical outcome. Here, the predictive value of German-learning infants' (n = 58, 29 girls, 29 boys) trajectories of consonant and vowel perception, indicated by the electrophysiological mismatch response, across 2, 6, and 10 months for later lexical acquisition was studied. The consonant-perception trajectory from 2 to 6 months (β = -2.95) and 6 to 10 months (β = -.91), but not the vowel-perception trajectory, significantly predicted receptive vocabulary at 12 months. These results reveal an earlier predictive value of consonant perception for word learning than previously found, and a particular role of the longitudinal maturation of this skill in lexical acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Schaadt
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Annika Werwach
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hellmuth Obrig
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Claudia Männel
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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20
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Gräßle T, Crockford C, Eichner C, Girard‐Buttoz C, Jäger C, Kirilina E, Lipp I, Düx A, Edwards L, Jauch A, Kopp KS, Paquette M, Pine K, Haun DBM, McElreath R, Anwander A, Gunz P, Morawski M, Friederici AD, Weiskopf N, Leendertz FH, Wittig RM, Albig K, Amarasekaran B, Angedakin S, Anwander A, Aschoff D, Asiimwe C, Bailanda L, Beehner JC, Belais R, Bergman TJ, Blazey B, Bernhard A, Bock C, Carlier P, Chantrey J, Crockford C, Deschner T, Düx A, Edwards L, Eichner C, Escoubas G, Ettaj M, Fedurek P, Flores K, Francke R, Friederici AD, Girard‐Buttoz C, Fortun JG, GoneBi ZB, Gräßle T, Gruber‐Dujardin E, Gunz P, Hartel J, Haun DBM, Henshall M, Hobaiter C, Hofman N, Jaffe JE, Jäger C, Jauch A, Kahemere S, Kirilina E, Klopfleisch R, Knauf‐Witzens T, Kopp KS, Kouima GLM, Lange B, Langergraber K, Lawrenz A, Leendertz FH, Lipp I, Liptovszky M, Theron TL, Lumbu CP, Nzassi PM, Mätz‐Rensing K, McElreath R, McLennan M, Mezö Z, Moittie S, Møller T, Morawski M, Morgan D, Mugabe T, Muller M, Müller M, Njumboket I, Olofsson‐Sannö K, Ondzie A, Otali E, Paquette M, Pika S, Pine K, Pizarro A, Pléh K, Rendel J, Reichler‐Danielowski S, Robbins MM, Forero AR, Ruske K, Samuni L, Sanz C, Schüle A, Schwabe I, Schwalm K, Speede S, Southern L, Steiner J, Stidworthy M, Surbeck M, Szentiks C, Tanga T, Ulrich R, Unwin S, van de Waal E, Walker S, Weiskopf N, Wibbelt G, Wittig RM, Wood K, Zuberbühler K. Sourcing high tissue quality brains from deceased wild primates with known socio‐ecology. Methods Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.14039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Gräßle
- Epidemiology of highly pathogenic microorganisms Robert Koch‐Institute Berlin Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for One Health Greifswald Germany
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Ape Social Mind Lab Institute of Cognitive Science Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS Lyon France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan Ivory Coast
| | - Cornelius Eichner
- Department of Neuropsychology Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Cédric Girard‐Buttoz
- Ape Social Mind Lab Institute of Cognitive Science Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS Lyon France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan Ivory Coast
| | - Carsten Jäger
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
- Paul Flechsig Institute ‐ Center of Neuropathology and Brain Research, Faculty of Medicine Universität Leipzig Germany
| | - Evgeniya Kirilina
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Ilona Lipp
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Ariane Düx
- Epidemiology of highly pathogenic microorganisms Robert Koch‐Institute Berlin Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for One Health Greifswald Germany
| | - Luke Edwards
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Anna Jauch
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Kathrin S. Kopp
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Michael Paquette
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Kerrin Pine
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Daniel B. M. Haun
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Richard McElreath
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Markus Morawski
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
- Paul Flechsig Institute ‐ Center of Neuropathology and Brain Research, Faculty of Medicine Universität Leipzig Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
| | - Nikolaus Weiskopf
- Department of Neurophysics Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig Germany
- Felix Bloch Institute for Solid State Physics, Faculty of Physics and Earth Sciences Leipzig University Leipzig Germany
| | - Fabian H. Leendertz
- Epidemiology of highly pathogenic microorganisms Robert Koch‐Institute Berlin Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for One Health Greifswald Germany
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Ape Social Mind Lab Institute of Cognitive Science Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS Lyon France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan Ivory Coast
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21
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Klein CC, Berger P, Goucha T, Friederici AD, Grosse Wiesmann C. Children’s syntax is supported by the maturation of BA44 at 4 years, but of the posterior STS at 3 years of age. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5426-5435. [PMID: 36408641 PMCID: PMC10152089 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Within the first years of life, children learn major aspects of their native language. However, the ability to process complex sentence structures, a core faculty in human language called syntax, emerges only slowly. A milestone in syntax acquisition is reached around the age of 4 years, when children learn a variety of syntactic concepts. Here, we ask which maturational changes in the child’s brain underlie the emergence of syntactically complex sentence processing around this critical age. We relate markers of cortical brain maturation to 3- and 4-year-olds’ sentence processing in contrast to other language abilities. Our results show that distinct cortical brain areas support sentence processing in the two age groups. Sentence production abilities at 3 years were associated with increased surface area in the most posterior part of the left superior temporal sulcus, whereas 4-year-olds showed an association with cortical thickness in the left posterior part of Broca’s area, i.e. BA44. The present findings suggest that sentence processing abilities rely on the maturation of distinct cortical regions in 3- compared to 4-year-olds. The observed shift to more mature regions involved in processing syntactically complex sentences may underlie behavioral milestones in syntax acquisition at around 4 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheslie C Klein
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department of Neuropsychology, , Stephanstraße 1a, Leipzig 04103 , Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Research Group Milestones of Early Cognitive Development, , Stephanstraße 1a, Leipzig 04103 , Germany
| | - Philipp Berger
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department of Neuropsychology, , Stephanstraße 1a, Leipzig 04103 , Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Research Group Milestones of Early Cognitive Development, , Stephanstraße 1a, Leipzig 04103 , Germany
| | - Tomás Goucha
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department of Neuropsychology, , Stephanstraße 1a, Leipzig 04103 , Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department of Neuropsychology, , Stephanstraße 1a, Leipzig 04103 , Germany
| | - Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Research Group Milestones of Early Cognitive Development, , Stephanstraße 1a, Leipzig 04103 , Germany
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22
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Schell M, Friederici AD, Zaccarella E. Neural classification maps for distinct word combinations in Broca's area. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:930849. [PMID: 36405085 PMCID: PMC9671167 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.930849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are equipped with the remarkable ability to comprehend an infinite number of utterances. Relations between grammatical categories restrict the way words combine into phrases and sentences. How the brain recognizes different word combinations remains largely unknown, although this is a necessary condition for combinatorial unboundedness in language. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate pattern analysis to explore whether distinct neural populations of a known language network hub-Broca's area-are specialized for recognizing distinct simple word combinations. The phrases consisted of a noun (flag) occurring either with a content word, an adjective (green flag), or with a function word, a determiner (that flag). The key result is that the distribution of neural populations classifying word combination in Broca's area seems sensitive to neuroanatomical subdivisions within this area, irrespective of task. The information patterns for adjective + noun were localized in its anterior part (BA45) whereas those for determiner + noun were localized in its posterior part (BA44). Our findings provide preliminary answers to the fundamental question of how lexical and grammatical category information interact during simple word combination, with the observation that Broca's area is sensitive to the recognition of categorical relationships during combinatory processing, based on different demands placed on syntactic and semantic information. This supports the hypothesis that the combinatorial power of language consists of some neural computation capturing phrasal differences when processing linguistic input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Schell
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neuroradiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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23
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Berger P, Friederici AD, Grosse Wiesmann C. Maturational Indices of the Cognitive Control Network Are Associated with Inhibitory Control in Early Childhood. J Neurosci 2022; 42:6258-6266. [PMID: 35817578 PMCID: PMC9374117 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2235-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Goal-directed behavior crucially relies on our capacity to suppress impulses and predominant behavioral responses. This ability, called inhibitory control, emerges in early childhood with marked improvements between 3 and 4 years. Here, we ask which brain structures are related to the emergence of this critical ability. Using a multimodal approach, we relate the pronounced behavioral improvements in different facets of 3- and 4-year-olds' (N = 37, 20 female) inhibitory control to structural indices of maturation in the developing brain assessed with MRI. Our results show that cortical and subcortical structure of core regions in the adult cognitive control network, including the PFC, thalamus, and the inferior parietal cortices, is associated with early inhibitory functioning in preschool children. Probabilistic tractography revealed an association of frontoparietal (i.e., the superior longitudinal fascicle) and thalamocortical connections with early inhibitory control. Notably, these associations to brain structure were distinct for different facets of early inhibitory control, often referred to as motivational ("hot") and cognitive ("cold") inhibitory control. Our findings thus reveal the structural brain networks and connectivity related to the emergence of this core faculty of human cognition.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The capacity to suppress impulses and behavioral responses is crucial for goal-directed behavior. This ability, called inhibitory control, develops between the ages of 3 and 4 years. The factors behind this developmental milestone have been debated intensely for decades; however, the brain structure that underlies the emergence of inhibitory control in early childhood is largely unknown. Here, we relate the pronounced behavioral improvements in inhibitory control between 3 and 4 years with structural brain markers of gray matter and white matter maturation. Using a multimodal approach that combines analyses of cortical surface structure, subcortical structures, and white matter connectivity, our results reveal the structural brain networks and connectivity related to this core faculty of human cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Berger
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Research Group Milestones of Early Cognitive Development, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann
- Research Group Milestones of Early Cognitive Development, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
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24
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Wang P, He Y, Maess B, Yue J, Chen L, Brauer J, Friederici AD, Knösche TR. Alpha power during task performance predicts individual language comprehension. Neuroimage 2022; 260:119449. [PMID: 35835340 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Alpha power attenuation during cognitive task performing has been suggested to reflect a process of release of inhibition, increase of excitability, and thereby benefit the improvement of performance. Here, we hypothesized that changes in individual alpha power during the execution of a complex language comprehension task may correlate with the individual performance in that task. We tested this using magnetoencephalography (MEG) recorded during comprehension of German sentences of different syntactic complexity. Results showed that neither the frequency nor the power of the spontaneous oscillatory activity at rest were associated with the individual performance. However, during the execution of a sentences processing task, the individual alpha power attenuation did correlate with individual language comprehension performance. Source reconstruction localized these effects in left temporal-parietal brain regions known to be associated with language processing and their right-hemisphere homologues. Our results support the notion that in-task attenuation of individual alpha power is related to the essential mechanisms of the underlying cognitive processes, rather than merely to general phenomena like attention or vigilance.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Wang
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Brain Networks Group, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Y He
- Philipps University Marburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Marburg, Germany
| | - B Maess
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Brain Networks Group, Leipzig, Germany
| | - J Yue
- Harbin Institute of Technology, Laboratory for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, School of Management, Harbin, China
| | - L Chen
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany; Beijing Normal University, College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing, China
| | - J Brauer
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany; Friedrich Schiller University, Office of the Vice-President for Young Researchers, Jena, Germany
| | - A D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - T R Knösche
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Brain Networks Group, Leipzig, Germany.
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25
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Werwach A, Männel C, Obrig H, Friederici AD, Schaadt G. Longitudinal trajectories of electrophysiological mismatch responses in infant speech discrimination differ across speech features. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 56:101127. [PMID: 35763917 PMCID: PMC9250001 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Infants rapidly advance in their speech perception, electrophysiologically reflected in the transition from an immature, positive-going to an adult-like, negative-going mismatch response (MMR) to auditory deviancy. Although the MMR is a common tool to study speech perception development, it is not yet completely understood how different speech contrasts affect the MMR’s characteristics across development. Thus, a systematic longitudinal investigation of the MMR’s maturation depending on speech contrast is necessary. We here longitudinally explored the maturation of the infant MMR to four critical speech contrasts: consonant, vowel, vowel-length, and pitch. MMRs were obtained when infants (n = 58) were 2, 6 and 10 months old. To evaluate the maturational trajectory of MMRs, we applied second-order latent growth curve models. Results showed positive-going MMR amplitudes to all speech contrasts across all assessment points that decreased over time towards an adult-like negativity. Notably, the developmental trajectories of speech contrasts differed, implying that infant speech perception matures with different rates and trajectories throughout the first year, depending on the studied auditory feature. Our results suggest that stimulus-dependent maturational trajectories need to be considered when drawing conclusions about infant speech perception development reflected by the infant MMR. Understanding speech perception development requires longitudinal investigations. The Mismatch Response (MMR) is valuable to study infants’ speech perception. We investigated the infant MMR longitudinally across three assessment points. MMRs to different speech features became more mature during infants’ first year. Different MMR trajectories imply feature-dependent maturation of speech perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Werwach
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Leipzig, Liebigstr. 16, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Claudia Männel
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Leipzig, Liebigstr. 16, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany; Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Hellmuth Obrig
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Leipzig, Liebigstr. 16, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Gesa Schaadt
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 33, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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26
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Girard-Buttoz C, Zaccarella E, Bortolato T, Friederici AD, Wittig RM, Crockford C. Chimpanzees produce diverse vocal sequences with ordered and recombinatorial properties. Commun Biol 2022; 5:410. [PMID: 35577891 PMCID: PMC9110424 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03350-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The origins of human language remains a major question in evolutionary science. Unique to human language is the capacity to flexibly recombine a limited sound set into words and hierarchical sequences, generating endlessly new sentences. In contrast, sequence production of other animals appears limited, stunting meaning generation potential. However, studies have rarely quantified flexibility and structure of vocal sequence production across the whole repertoire. Here, we used such an approach to examine the structure of vocal sequences in chimpanzees, known to combine calls used singly into longer sequences. Focusing on the structure of vocal sequences, we analysed 4826 recordings of 46 wild adult chimpanzees from Taï National Park. Chimpanzees produced 390 unique vocal sequences. Most vocal units emitted singly were also emitted in two-unit sequences (bigrams), which in turn were embedded into three-unit sequences (trigrams). Bigrams showed positional and transitional regularities within trigrams with certain bigrams predictably occurring in either head or tail positions in trigrams, and predictably co-occurring with specific other units. From a purely structural perspective, the capacity to organize single units into structured sequences offers a versatile system potentially suitable for expansive meaning generation. Further research must show to what extent these structural sequences signal predictable meanings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Girard-Buttoz
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 BRON, Lyon, France. .,Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. .,Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tatiana Bortolato
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 BRON, Lyon, France.,Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.,Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 BRON, Lyon, France.,Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.,Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 BRON, Lyon, France. .,Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. .,Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
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27
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Papadimitriou CH, Friederici AD. Bridging the Gap Between Neurons and Cognition Through Assemblies of Neurons. Neural Comput 2021; 34:291-306. [PMID: 34915560 DOI: 10.1162/neco_a_01463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
During recent decades, our understanding of the brain has advanced dramatically at both the cellular and molecular levels and at the cognitive neurofunctional level; however, a huge gap remains between the microlevel of physiology and the macrolevel of cognition. We propose that computational models based on assemblies of neurons can serve as a blueprint for bridging these two scales. We discuss recently developed computational models of assemblies that have been demonstrated to mediate higher cognitive functions such as the processing of simple sentences, to be realistically realizable by neural activity, and to possess general computational power.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, D-04303 Leipzig, Germany
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28
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Qi T, Schaadt G, Friederici AD. Associated functional network development and language abilities in children. Neuroimage 2021; 242:118452. [PMID: 34358655 PMCID: PMC8463838 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
During childhood, the brain is gradually converging to the efficient functional architecture observed in adults. How the brain's functional architecture evolves with age, particularly in young children, is however, not well understood. We examined the functional connectivity of the core language regions, in association with cortical growth and language abilities, in 175 young children in the age range of 4 to 9 years. We analyzed the brain's developmental changes using resting-state functional and T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging data. The results showed increased functional connectivity strength with age between the pars triangularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus and left temporoparietal regions (cohen's d = 0.54, CI: 0.24 - 0.84), associated with children's language abilities. Stronger functional connectivity between bilateral prefrontal and temporoparietal regions was associated with better language abilities regardless of age. In addition, the stronger functional connectivity between the left inferior frontal and temporoparietal regions was associated with larger surface area and thinner cortical thickness in these regions, which in turn was associated with superior language abilities. Thus, using functional and structural brain indices, coupled with behavioral measures, we elucidate the association of functional language network development, language ability, and cortical growth, thereby adding to our understanding of the neural basis of language acquisition in young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Qi
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Gesa Schaadt
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Education and Psychology, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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29
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Marimon M, Hofmann A, Veríssimo J, Männel C, Friederici AD, Höhle B, Wartenburger I. Children's Learning of Non-adjacent Dependencies Using a Web-Based Computer Game Setting. Front Psychol 2021; 12:734877. [PMID: 34803816 PMCID: PMC8595475 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.734877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Infants show impressive speech decoding abilities and detect acoustic regularities that highlight the syntactic relations of a language, often coded via non-adjacent dependencies (NADs, e.g., is singing). It has been claimed that infants learn NADs implicitly and associatively through passive listening and that there is a shift from effortless associative learning to a more controlled learning of NADs after the age of 2 years, potentially driven by the maturation of the prefrontal cortex. To investigate if older children are able to learn NADs, Lammertink et al. (2019) recently developed a word-monitoring serial reaction time (SRT) task and could show that 6-11-year-old children learned the NADs, as their reaction times (RTs) increased then they were presented with violated NADs. In the current study we adapted their experimental paradigm and tested NAD learning in a younger group of 52 children between the age of 4-8 years in a remote, web-based, game-like setting (whack-a-mole). Children were exposed to Italian phrases containing NADs and had to monitor the occurrence of a target syllable, which was the second element of the NAD. After exposure, children did a "Stem Completion" task in which they were presented with the first element of the NAD and had to choose the second element of the NAD to complete the stimuli. Our findings show that, despite large variability in the data, children aged 4-8 years are sensitive to NADs; they show the expected differences in r RTs in the SRT task and could transfer the NAD-rule in the Stem Completion task. We discuss these results with respect to the development of NAD dependency learning in childhood and the practical impact and limitations of collecting these data in a web-based setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireia Marimon
- Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Andrea Hofmann
- Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Early Childhood Education Research, University of Applied Sciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - João Veríssimo
- Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Claudia Männel
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Barbara Höhle
- Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Isabell Wartenburger
- Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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30
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Finkl T, Hahne A, Friederici AD, Gerber J, Mürbe D, Anwander A. Language Without Speech: Segregating Distinct Circuits in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex 2021; 30:812-823. [PMID: 31373629 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Language is a fundamental part of human cognition. The question of whether language is processed independently of speech, however, is still heavily discussed. The absence of speech in deaf signers offers the opportunity to disentangle language from speech in the human brain. Using probabilistic tractography, we compared brain structural connectivity of adult deaf signers who had learned sign language early in life to that of matched hearing controls. Quantitative comparison of the connectivity profiles revealed that the core language tracts did not differ between signers and controls, confirming that language is independent of speech. In contrast, pathways involved in the production and perception of speech displayed lower connectivity in deaf signers compared to hearing controls. These differences were located in tracts towards the left pre-supplementary motor area and the thalamus when seeding in Broca's area, and in ipsilateral parietal areas and the precuneus with seeds in left posterior temporal regions. Furthermore, the interhemispheric connectivity between the auditory cortices was lower in the deaf than in the hearing group, underlining the importance of the transcallosal connection for early auditory processes. The present results provide evidence for a functional segregation of the neural pathways for language and speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Finkl
- Saxonian Cochlear Implant Centre, Phoniatrics and Audiology, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, Germany
| | - Anja Hahne
- Saxonian Cochlear Implant Centre, Phoniatrics and Audiology, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Johannes Gerber
- Neuroradiology, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Dirk Mürbe
- Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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31
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Paul M, Männel C, van der Kant A, Mueller JL, Höhle B, Wartenburger I, Friederici AD. Gradual development of non-adjacent dependency learning during early childhood. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 50:100975. [PMID: 34139635 PMCID: PMC8217683 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Transition between developmental stages of non-adjacent dependency (NAD) learning. Children between 1 and 3 years of age showed learning of NADs in a foreign language. Brain responses revealed associative NAD learning, triggered by passive listening. Gradual decrease of the strength of associative non-adjacent dependency learning.
In order to become proficient native speakers, children have to learn the morpho-syntactic relations between distant elements in a sentence, so-called non-adjacent dependencies (NADs). Previous research suggests that NAD learning in children comprises different developmental stages, where until 2 years of age children are able to learn NADs associatively under passive listening conditions, while starting around the age of 3–4 years children fail to learn NADs during passive listening. To test whether the transition between these developmental stages occurs gradually, we tested children’s NAD learning in a foreign language using event-related potentials (ERPs). We found ERP evidence of NAD learning across the ages of 1, 2 and 3 years. The amplitude of the ERP effect indexing NAD learning, however, decreased with age. These findings might indicate a gradual transition in children’s ability to learn NADs associatively. Cognitively, this transition might be driven by children’s increasing knowledge of their native language, hindering NAD learning in novel contexts. Neuroanatomically, maturation of the prefrontal cortex might play a crucial role, promoting top-down learning, affecting bottom-up, associative learning. In sum, our study suggests that NAD learning under passive listening conditions undergoes a gradual transition between different developmental stages during early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariella Paul
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany; Psychology of Language Research Group, University of Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Claudia Männel
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany; Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Anne van der Kant
- Cognitive Sciences, Dept. Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jutta L Mueller
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Osnabrück University, Germany; Institute of Linguistics, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Höhle
- Cognitive Sciences, Dept. Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Isabell Wartenburger
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany; Cognitive Sciences, Dept. Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany
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32
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Wang P, Knösche TR, Chen L, Brauer J, Friederici AD, Maess B. Functional brain plasticity during L1 training on complex sentences: Changes in gamma-band oscillatory activity. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:3858-3870. [PMID: 33942956 PMCID: PMC8288093 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The adult human brain remains plastic even after puberty. However, whether first language (L1) training in adults can alter the language network is yet largely unknown. Thus, we conducted a longitudinal training experiment on syntactically complex German sentence comprehension. Sentence complexity was varied by the depth of the center embedded relative clauses (i.e., single or double embedded). Comprehension was tested after each sentence with a question on the thematic role assignment. Thirty adult, native German speakers were recruited for 4 days of training. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) data were recorded and subjected to spectral power analysis covering the classical frequency bands (i.e., theta, alpha, beta, low gamma, and gamma). Normalized spectral power, time‐locked to the final closure of the relative clause, was subjected to a two‐factor analysis (“sentence complexity” and “training days”). Results showed that for the more complex sentences, the interaction of sentence complexity and training days was observed in Brodmann area 44 (BA 44) as a decrease of gamma power with training. Moreover, in the gamma band (55–95 Hz) functional connectivity between BA 44 and other brain regions such as the inferior frontal sulcus and the inferior parietal cortex were correlated with behavioral performance increase due to training. These results show that even for native speakers, complex L1 sentence training improves language performance and alters neural activities of the left hemispheric language network. Training strengthens the use of the dorsal processing stream with working‐memory‐related brain regions for syntactically complex sentences, thereby demonstrating the brain's functional plasticity for L1 training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Wang
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesBrain Networks GroupLeipzigGermany
| | - Thomas R. Knösche
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesBrain Networks GroupLeipzigGermany
| | - Luyao Chen
- Beijing Normal UniversityCollege of Chinese Language and CultureBeijing
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesDepartment of NeuropsychologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Jens Brauer
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesDepartment of NeuropsychologyLeipzigGermany
- Friedrich Schiller UniversityOffice of the Vice‐President for Young ResearchersJenaGermany
| | - Angela D. Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesDepartment of NeuropsychologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Burkhard Maess
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesBrain Networks GroupLeipzigGermany
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Graessner A, Zaccarella E, Friederici AD, Obrig H, Hartwigsen G. Dissociable contributions of frontal and temporal brain regions to basic semantic composition. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab090. [PMID: 34159319 PMCID: PMC8212833 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic composition is the ability to combine single words to form complex meanings and is an essential component for successful communication. Evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests that semantic composition engages a widely distributed left-hemispheric network, including the anterior temporal lobe, the inferior frontal gyrus and the angular gyrus. To date, the functional relevance of these regions remains unclear. Here, we investigate the impact of lesions to key regions in the semantic network on basic semantic composition. We conducted a multivariate lesion-behaviour mapping study in 36 native German speaking participants with chronic lesions to the language network after left-hemispheric stroke. During the experiment, participants performed a plausibility judgement task on auditorily presented adjective-noun phrases that were either meaningful (‘anxious horse’), anomalous (‘anxious salad’) or had the noun replaced by a pseudoword (‘anxious gufel’), as well as a single-word control condition (‘horse’). We observed that reduced accuracy for anomalous phrases is associated with lesions in left anterior inferior frontal gyrus, whereas increased reaction times for anomalous phrases correlates with lesions in anterior-to-mid temporal lobe. These results indicate that anterior inferior frontal gyrus is relevant for accurate semantic decisions, while anterior-to-mid temporal lobe lesions lead to slowing of the decision for anomalous two-word phrases. These differential effects of lesion location support the notion that anterior inferior frontal gyrus affords executive control for decisions on semantic composition while anterior-to-mid temporal lobe lesions slow the semantic processing of the individual constituents of the phrase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Graessner
- Lise-Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hellmuth Obrig
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise-Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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34
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van der Burght CL, Friederici AD, Goucha T, Hartwigsen G. Pitch accents create dissociable syntactic and semantic expectations during sentence processing. Cognition 2021; 212:104702. [PMID: 33857845 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The language system uses syntactic, semantic, as well as prosodic cues to efficiently guide auditory sentence comprehension. Prosodic cues, such as pitch accents, can build expectations about upcoming sentence elements. This study investigates to what extent syntactic and semantic expectations generated by pitch accents can be dissociated and if so, which cues take precedence when contradictory information is present. We used sentences in which one out of two nominal constituents was placed in contrastive focus with a third one. All noun phrases carried overt syntactic information (case-marking of the determiner) and semantic information (typicality of the thematic role of the noun). Two experiments (a sentence comprehension and a sentence completion task) show that focus, marked by pitch accents, established expectations in both syntactic and semantic domains. However, only the syntactic expectations, when violated, were strong enough to interfere with sentence comprehension. Furthermore, when contradictory cues occurred in the same sentence, the local syntactic cue (case-marking) took precedence over the semantic cue (thematic role), and overwrote previous information cued by prosody. The findings indicate that during auditory sentence comprehension the processing system integrates different sources of information for argument role assignment, yet primarily relies on syntactic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantijn L van der Burght
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tomás Goucha
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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35
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Chen L, Goucha T, Männel C, Friederici AD, Zaccarella E. Hierarchical syntactic processing is beyond mere associating: Functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence from a novel artificial grammar. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:3253-3268. [PMID: 33822433 PMCID: PMC8193521 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Grammar is central to any natural language. In the past decades, the artificial grammar of the AnBn type in which a pair of associated elements can be nested in the other pair was considered as a desirable model to mimic human language syntax without semantic interference. However, such a grammar relies on mere associating mechanisms, thus insufficient to reflect the hierarchical nature of human syntax. Here, we test how the brain imposes syntactic hierarchies according to the category relations on linearized sequences by designing a novel artificial “Hierarchical syntactic structure‐building Grammar” (HG), and compare this to the AnBn grammar as a “Nested associating Grammar” (NG) based on multilevel associations. Thirty‐six healthy German native speakers were randomly assigned to one of the two grammars. Both groups performed a grammaticality judgment task on auditorily presented word sequences generated by the corresponding grammar in the scanner after a successful explicit behavioral learning session. Compared to the NG group, we found that the HG group showed a (a) significantly higher involvement of Brodmann area (BA) 44 in Broca's area and the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG); and (b) qualitatively distinct connectivity between the two regions. Thus, the present study demonstrates that the build‐up process of syntactic hierarchies on the basis of category relations critically relies on a distinctive left‐hemispheric syntactic network involving BA 44 and pSTG. This indicates that our novel artificial grammar can constitute a suitable experimental tool to investigate syntax‐specific processes in the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luyao Chen
- College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing Normal University, Beijing.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tomás Goucha
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Claudia Männel
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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36
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Liebig J, Friederici AD, Neef NE. Erratum to "Auditory brainstem measures and genotyping boost the prediction of literacy: A longitudinal study on early markers of dyslexia" [Dev. Cognit. Neurosci. 46 (2020) 100869]. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 48:100889. [PMID: 33485804 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Liebig
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Cell Therapy, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Perlickstr. 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany; School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Nicole E Neef
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg August University, Robert Koch Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Georg August University, Robert Koch Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
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37
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Zaccarella E, Papitto G, Friederici AD. Language and action in Broca's area: Computational differentiation and cortical segregation. Brain Cogn 2020; 147:105651. [PMID: 33254030 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Actions have been proposed to follow hierarchical principles similar to those hypothesized for language syntax. These structural similarities are claimed to be reflected in the common involvement of certain neural populations of Broca's area, in the Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG). In this position paper, we follow an influential hypothesis in linguistic theory to introduce the syntactic operation Merge and the corresponding motor/conceptual interfaces. We argue that actions hierarchies do not follow the same principles ruling language syntax. We propose that hierarchy in the action domain lies in predictive processing mechanisms mapping sensory inputs and statistical regularities of action-goal relationships. At the cortical level, distinct Broca's subregions appear to support different types of computations across the two domains. We argue that anterior BA44 is a major hub for the implementation of the syntactic operation Merge. On the other hand, posterior BA44 is recruited in selecting premotor mental representations based on the information provided by contextual signals. This functional distinction is corroborated by a recent meta-analysis (Papitto, Friederici, & Zaccarella, 2020). We conclude by suggesting that action and language can meet only where the interfaces transfer abstract computations either to the external world or to the internal mental world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiliano Zaccarella
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Giorgio Papitto
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany; International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
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38
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Eichner C, Paquette M, Mildner T, Schlumm T, Pléh K, Samuni L, Crockford C, Wittig RM, Jäger C, Möller HE, Friederici AD, Anwander A. Increased sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio in diffusion-weighted MRI using multi-echo acquisitions. Neuroimage 2020; 221:117172. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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39
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Trettenbrein PC, Papitto G, Friederici AD, Zaccarella E. Functional neuroanatomy of language without speech: An ALE meta-analysis of sign language. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:699-712. [PMID: 33118302 PMCID: PMC7814757 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sign language (SL) conveys linguistic information using gestures instead of sounds. Here, we apply a meta‐analytic estimation approach to neuroimaging studies (N = 23; subjects = 316) and ask whether SL comprehension in deaf signers relies on the same primarily left‐hemispheric cortical network implicated in spoken and written language (SWL) comprehension in hearing speakers. We show that: (a) SL recruits bilateral fronto‐temporo‐occipital regions with strong left‐lateralization in the posterior inferior frontal gyrus known as Broca's area, mirroring functional asymmetries observed for SWL. (b) Within this SL network, Broca's area constitutes a hub which attributes abstract linguistic information to gestures. (c) SL‐specific voxels in Broca's area are also crucially involved in SWL, as confirmed by meta‐analytic connectivity modeling using an independent large‐scale neuroimaging database. This strongly suggests that the human brain evolved a lateralized language network with a supramodal hub in Broca's area which computes linguistic information independent of speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick C Trettenbrein
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Structure, Function, and Plasticity (IMPRS NeuroCom), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Giorgio Papitto
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Structure, Function, and Plasticity (IMPRS NeuroCom), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emiliano Zaccarella
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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40
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Liebig J, Friederici AD, Neef NE. Auditory brainstem measures and genotyping boost the prediction of literacy: A longitudinal study on early markers of dyslexia. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 46:100869. [PMID: 33091833 PMCID: PMC7576516 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Multi-domain profiles advance retrospective prediction of emergent literacy. DCDC2 and KIAA0319 risk variants influence emergent spelling skills. Combined DYX2 and auditory brainstem measures enhance predictive model fits. Additional benefit of preliterate phonological awareness on predictive power.
Literacy acquisition is impaired in children with developmental dyslexia resulting in lifelong struggle to read and spell. Proper diagnosis is usually late and commonly achieved after structured schooling started, which causes delayed interventions. Legascreen set out to develop a preclinical screening to identify children at risk of developmental dyslexia. To this end we examined 93 preliterate German children, half of them with a family history of dyslexia and half of them without a family history. We assessed standard demographic and behavioral precursors of literacy, acquired saliva samples for genotyping, and recorded speech-evoked brainstem responses to add an objective physiological measure. Reading and spelling was assessed after two years of structured literacy instruction. Multifactorial regression analyses considering demographic information, genotypes, and auditory brainstem encoding, predicted children’s literacy skills to varying degrees. These predictions were improved by adding the standard psychometrics with a slightly higher impact on spelling compared to reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that gene-brain-behavior profiling has the potential to determine the risk of developmental dyslexia. At the same time our results imply the need for a more sophisticated assessment to fully account for the disparate cognitive profiles and the multifactorial basis of developmental dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Liebig
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Nicole E Neef
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Georg-August-University, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
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41
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van der Kant A, Männel C, Paul M, Friederici AD, Höhle B, Wartenburger I. Linguistic and non-linguistic non-adjacent dependency learning in early development. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 45:100819. [PMID: 32828032 PMCID: PMC7451682 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-adjacent dependencies (NADs) are important building blocks for language and extracting them from the input is a fundamental part of language acquisition. Prior event-related potential (ERP) studies revealed changes in the neural signature of NAD learning between infancy and adulthood, suggesting a developmental shift in the learning route for NADs. The present study aimed to specify which brain regions are involved in this developmental shift and whether this shift extends to NAD learning in the non-linguistic domain. In two experiments, 2- and 3-year-old German-learning children were familiarized with either Italian sentences or tone sequences containing NADs and subsequently tested with NAD violations, while functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data were recorded. Results showed increased hemodynamic responses related to the detection of linguistic NAD violations in the left temporal, inferior frontal, and parietal regions in 2-year-old children, but not in 3-year-old children. A different developmental trajectory was found for non-linguistic NADs, where 3-year-old, but not 2-year-old children showed evidence for the detection of non-linguistic NAD violations. These results confirm a developmental shift in the NAD learning route and point to distinct mechanisms underlying NAD learning in the linguistic and the non-linguistic domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne van der Kant
- Cognitive Sciences, Department Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Claudia Männel
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Mariella Paul
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Barbara Höhle
- Cognitive Sciences, Department Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Isabell Wartenburger
- Cognitive Sciences, Department Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
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42
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Chien PJ, Friederici AD, Hartwigsen G, Sammler D. Intonation processing increases task-specific fronto-temporal connectivity in tonal language speakers. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:161-174. [PMID: 32996647 PMCID: PMC7721241 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Language comprehension depends on tight functional interactions between distributed brain regions. While these interactions are established for semantic and syntactic processes, the functional network of speech intonation – the linguistic variation of pitch – has been scarcely defined. Particularly little is known about intonation in tonal languages, in which pitch not only serves intonation but also expresses meaning via lexical tones. The present study used psychophysiological interaction analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging data to characterise the neural networks underlying intonation and tone processing in native Mandarin Chinese speakers. Participants categorised either intonation or tone of monosyllabic Mandarin words that gradually varied between statement and question and between Tone 2 and Tone 4. Intonation processing induced bilateral fronto‐temporal activity and increased functional connectivity between left inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral temporal regions, likely linking auditory perception and labelling of intonation categories in a phonological network. Tone processing induced bilateral temporal activity, associated with the auditory representation of tonal (phonemic) categories. Together, the present data demonstrate the breadth of the functional intonation network in a tonal language including higher‐level phonological processes in addition to auditory representations common to both intonation and tone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Ju Chien
- International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Otto Hahn Group 'Neural Bases of Intonation in Speech and Music', Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Lise Meitner Research Group 'Cognition and Plasticity', Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group 'Cognition and Plasticity', Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Daniela Sammler
- Otto Hahn Group 'Neural Bases of Intonation in Speech and Music', Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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43
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Balezeau F, Wilson B, Gallardo G, Dick F, Hopkins W, Anwander A, Friederici AD, Griffiths TD, Petkov CI. Primate auditory prototype in the evolution of the arcuate fasciculus. Nat Neurosci 2020; 23:611-614. [PMID: 32313267 PMCID: PMC7195223 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0623-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The human arcuate fasciculus pathway is crucial for language, interconnecting posterior temporal and inferior frontal areas. Whether a monkey homolog exists is controversial and the nature of human-specific specialization unclear. Using monkey, ape and human auditory functional fields and diffusion-weighted MRI, we identified homologous pathways originating from the auditory cortex. This discovery establishes a primate auditory prototype for the arcuate fasciculus, reveals an earlier phylogenetic origin and illuminates its remarkable transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Balezeau
- Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Benjamin Wilson
- Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
- Department of Psychology and Yerkes Primate Research Center, Emory University, GA, Atlanta, USA.
| | - Guillermo Gallardo
- Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fred Dick
- Birkbeck-UCL Centre for NeuroImaging, Birkbeck University of London, London, UK
| | - William Hopkins
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX, Bastrop, USA
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Timothy D Griffiths
- Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, IA, Iowa City, USA
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44
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Schaadt G, Paul M, Muralikrishnan R, Männel C, Friederici AD. Seven-year-olds recall non-adjacent dependencies after overnight retention. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2020; 171:107225. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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45
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Enge A, Friederici AD, Skeide MA. A meta-analysis of fMRI studies of language comprehension in children. Neuroimage 2020; 215:116858. [PMID: 32304886 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural representation of language comprehension has been examined in several meta-analyses of fMRI studies with human adults. To complement this work from a developmental perspective, we conducted a meta-analysis of fMRI studies of auditory language comprehension in human children. Our analysis included 27 independent experiments involving n = 625 children (49% girls) with a mean age of 8.9 years. Activation likelihood estimation and seed-based effect size mapping revealed activation peaks in the pars triangularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral superior and middle temporal gyri. In contrast to this distribution of activation in children, previous work in adults found activation peaks in the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus and more left-lateralized temporal activation peaks. Accordingly, brain responses during language comprehension may shift from bilateral temporal and left pars triangularis peaks in childhood to left temporal and pars opercularis peaks in adulthood. This shift could be related to the gradually increasing sensitivity of the developing brain to syntactic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Enge
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489, Berlin, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael A Skeide
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
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46
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Cafiero R, Brauer J, Anwander A, Friederici AD. The Concurrence of Cortical Surface Area Expansion and White Matter Myelination in Human Brain Development. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:827-837. [PMID: 30462166 PMCID: PMC6319170 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The human brain undergoes dramatic structural changes during childhood that co-occur with behavioral development. These age-related changes are documented for the brain’s gray matter and white matter. However, their interrelation is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated age-related effects in cortical thickness (CT) and in cortical surface area (SA) as parts of the gray matter volume as well as age effects in T1 relaxation times in the white matter. Data from N = 170 children between the ages of 3 and 7 years contributed to the sample. We found a high spatial overlap of age-related correlations between SA and T1 relaxation times of the corresponding white matter connections, but no such relation between SA and CT. These results indicate that during childhood the developmental expansion of the cortical surface goes hand-in-hand with age-related increase of white matter fiber connections terminating in the cortical surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Cafiero
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jens Brauer
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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47
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Friedrich M, Mölle M, Friederici AD, Born J. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation in infants protects new episodic memories from existing semantic memories. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1298. [PMID: 32157080 PMCID: PMC7064567 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14850-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Any experienced event may be encoded and retained in detail as part of our episodic memory, and may also refer and contribute to our generalized knowledge stored in semantic memory. The beginnings of this declarative memory formation are only poorly understood. Even less is known about the interrelation between episodic and semantic memory during the earliest developmental stages. Here, we show that the formation of episodic memories in 14- to 17-month-old infants depends on sleep, subsequent to exposure to novel events. Infant brain responses reveal that, after sleep-dependent consolidation, the newly stored events are not processed semantically, although appropriate lexical-semantic memories are present and accessible by similar events that were not experienced before the nap. We propose that temporarily disabled semantic processing protects precise episodic memories from interference with generalized semantic memories. Selectively restricted semantic access could also trigger semantic refinement, and thus, might even improve semantic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Friedrich
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, D-12489, Berlin, Germany. .,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Matthias Mölle
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Marie-Curie-Straße, D-23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jan Born
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology and Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 25, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany
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48
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Ekerdt CEM, Kühn C, Anwander A, Brauer J, Friederici AD. Word learning reveals white matter plasticity in preschool children. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:607-619. [PMID: 32072249 PMCID: PMC7046568 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02024-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Word learning plays a central role in language development and is a key predictor for later academic success. The underlying neural basis of successful word learning in children is still unknown. Here, we took advantage of the opportunity afforded by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural plasticity in the white matter of typically developing preschool children as they learn words. We demonstrate that after 3 weeks of word learning, children showed significantly larger increases of fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left precentral white matter compared to two control groups. Average training accuracy was correlated with FA change in the white matter underlying the left dorsal postcentral gyrus, with children who learned more slowly showing larger FA increases in this region. Moreover, we found that the status of white matter in the left middle temporal gyrus, assumed to support semantic processes, is predictive for early stages of word learning. Our findings provide the first evidence for white matter plasticity following word learning in preschool children. The present results on learning novel words in children point to a key involvement of the left fronto-parietal fiber connection, known to be implicated in top-down attention as well as working memory. While working memory and attention have been discussed to participate in word learning in children, our training study provides evidence that the neural structure supporting these cognitive processes plays a direct role in word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara E M Ekerdt
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Clara Kühn
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alfred Anwander
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jens Brauer
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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49
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Chien PJ, Friederici AD, Hartwigsen G, Sammler D. Neural correlates of intonation and lexical tone in tonal and non-tonal language speakers. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:1842-1858. [PMID: 31957928 PMCID: PMC7268089 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Intonation, the modulation of pitch in speech, is a crucial aspect of language that is processed in right‐hemispheric regions, beyond the classical left‐hemispheric language system. Whether or not this notion generalises across languages remains, however, unclear. Particularly, tonal languages are an interesting test case because of the dual linguistic function of pitch that conveys lexical meaning in form of tone, in addition to intonation. To date, only few studies have explored how intonation is processed in tonal languages, how this compares to tone and between tonal and non‐tonal language speakers. The present fMRI study addressed these questions by testing Mandarin and German speakers with Mandarin material. Both groups categorised mono‐syllabic Mandarin words in terms of intonation, tone, and voice gender. Systematic comparisons of brain activity of the two groups between the three tasks showed large cross‐linguistic commonalities in the neural processing of intonation in left fronto‐parietal, right frontal, and bilateral cingulo‐opercular regions. These areas are associated with general phonological, specific prosodic, and controlled categorical decision‐making processes, respectively. Tone processing overlapped with intonation processing in left fronto‐parietal areas, in both groups, but evoked additional activity in bilateral temporo‐parietal semantic regions and subcortical areas in Mandarin speakers only. Together, these findings confirm cross‐linguistic commonalities in the neural implementation of intonation processing but dissociations for semantic processing of tone only in tonal language speakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Ju Chien
- International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Otto Hahn Group "Neural Bases of Intonation in Speech and Music", Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Lise Meitner Research Group "Cognition and Plasticity", Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group "Cognition and Plasticity", Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Daniela Sammler
- Otto Hahn Group "Neural Bases of Intonation in Speech and Music", Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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50
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Abstract
Although human and non-human animals share a number of perceptual and cognitive abilities, they differ in their ability to process hierarchically structured sequences. This becomes most evident in the human capacity to process natural language characterized by structural hierarchies. This capacity is neuroanatomically grounded in the posterior part of left Broca's area (Brodmann area (BA) 44), located in the inferior frontal gyrus, and its dorsal white matter fibre connection to the temporal cortex. Within this neural network, BA 44 itself subserves hierarchy building and the strength of its connection to the temporal cortex correlates with the processing of syntactically complex sentences. Whether these brain structures are also relevant for other human cognitive abilities is a current debate. Here, this question will be evaluated with respect to those human cognitive abilities that are assumed to require hierarchy building, such as music, mathematics and Theory of Mind. Rather than supporting a domain-general view, the data indicate domain-selective neural networks as the neurobiological basis for processing hierarchy in different cognitive domains. Recent cross-species white matter comparisons suggest that particular connections within the networks may make the crucial difference in the brain structure of human and non-human primates, thereby enabling cognitive functions specific to humans. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela D. Friederici
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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