Language, Perception and Action. How Words are Grounded in the Brain

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Jeannerod
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Procedural Knowledge ◽  
Pathological Condition ◽  
Distributed Processing ◽  
Motor Impairment ◽  
Specific Class ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
The Brain

Language processing is grounded in brain function. Words of different semantic categories are processed in different cortical areas. Several examples of this distributed processing are given: colour words are processed in visual areas, whereas action words are processed in motor areas. The processing of action words in described in more details. A pathological condition, Parkinson’s disease, is used as an illustration of a motor impairment that selectively affects the comprehension of action words. This comprehension impairment is attributed to a difficulty in accessing the procedural knowledge carried by this specific class of words.

scholarly journals Phase synchronization varies systematically with linguistic structure composition

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1791) ◽  
pp. 20190305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan R. Brennan ◽  
Andrea E. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Phase Synchronization ◽  
Natural Extension ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Linguistic Structure ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Phase Alignment ◽  
The Time Domain ◽  
Linguistic Structures ◽  
The Brain

Computation in neuronal assemblies is putatively reflected in the excitatory and inhibitory cycles of activation distributed throughout the brain. In speech and language processing, coordination of these cycles resulting in phase synchronization has been argued to reflect the integration of information on different timescales (e.g. segmenting acoustics signals to phonemic and syllabic representations; (Giraud and Poeppel 2012 Nat. Neurosci. 15 , 511 ( doi:10.1038/nn.3063 )). A natural extension of this claim is that phase synchronization functions similarly to support the inference of more abstract higher-level linguistic structures (Martin 2016 Front. Psychol. 7 , 120; Martin and Doumas 2017 PLoS Biol . 15 , e2000663 ( doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2000663 ); Martin and Doumas. 2019 Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 29 , 77–83 ( doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.04.008 )). Hale et al . (Hale et al . 2018 Finding syntax in human encephalography with beam search. arXiv 1806.04127 ( http://arxiv.org/abs/1806.04127 )) showed that syntactically driven parsing decisions predict electroencephalography (EEG) responses in the time domain; here we ask whether phase synchronization in the form of either inter-trial phrase coherence or cross-frequency coupling (CFC) between high-frequency (i.e. gamma) bursts and lower-frequency carrier signals (i.e. delta, theta), changes as the linguistic structures of compositional meaning ( viz ., bracket completions, as denoted by the onset of words that complete phrases) accrue. We use a naturalistic story-listening EEG dataset from Hale et al . to assess the relationship between linguistic structure and phase alignment. We observe increased phase synchronization as a function of phrase counts in the delta, theta, and gamma bands, especially for function words. A more complex pattern emerged for CFC as phrase count changed, possibly related to the lack of a one-to-one mapping between ‘size’ of linguistic structure and frequency band—an assumption that is tacit in recent frameworks. These results emphasize the important role that phase synchronization, desynchronization, and thus, inhibition, play in the construction of compositional meaning by distributed neural networks in the brain. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Towards mechanistic models of meaning composition’.

scholarly journals Brain and Language: an overview of neuroimaging studies of bilingual language processing

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Augusto Buchweitz
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Procedural Knowledge ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

Six articles combining the study of bilinguals and neuroimaging techniques are discussed. The objective is to seek for contributions from neuroimaging studies for the understanding of what goes on in the bilingual brain that processes two languages, and of what goes on, comparatively, in terms of brain activation of each language. Studies show that highly proficient bilinguals activate the same areas in the brain for both the first and second languages. This indicates that the second language becomes part of the speaker's procedural knowledge.

Magnetoencephalography and the Cortical Dynamics of Language Processing

2019 ◽  
pp. 114-153
Author(s):  
Riitta Salmelin ◽  
Jan Kujala ◽  
Mia Liljeström
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Powerful Method ◽  
Cortical Dynamics ◽  
Brain Correlates ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Selection Of

When seeking to uncover the brain correlates of language processing, timing and location are of the essence. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) offers them both, with the highest sensitivity to cortical activity. MEG has shown its worth in revealing cortical dynamics of reading, speech perception, and speech production in adults and children, in unimpaired language processing as well as developmental and acquired language disorders. The MEG signals, once recorded, provide an extensive selection of measures for examination of neural processing. Like all other neuroimaging tools, MEG has its own strengths and limitations of which the user should be aware in order to make the best possible use of this powerful method and to generate meaningful and reliable scientific data. This chapter reviews MEG methodology and how MEG has been used to study the cortical dynamics of language.

scholarly journals Decision-related feedback in visual cortex lacks spatial selectivity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina R. Quinn ◽  
Lenka Seillier ◽  
Daniel A. Butts ◽  
Hendrikje Nienborg
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Spatial Selectivity ◽  
Population Responses ◽  
Stimulus Choice ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Computational Work ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
The Brain

AbstractFeedback in the brain is thought to convey contextual information that underlies our flexibility to perform different tasks. Empirical and computational work on the visual system suggests this is achieved by targeting task-relevant neuronal subpopulations. We combine two tasks, each resulting in selective modulation by feedback, to test whether the feedback reflected the combination of both selectivities. We used visual feature-discrimination specified at one of two possible locations and uncoupled the decision formation from motor plans to report it, while recording in macaque mid-level visual areas. Here we show that although the behavior is spatially selective, using only task-relevant information, modulation by decision-related feedback is spatially unselective. Population responses reveal similar stimulus-choice alignments irrespective of stimulus relevance. The results suggest a common mechanism across tasks, independent of the spatial selectivity these tasks demand. This may reflect biological constraints and facilitate generalization across tasks. Our findings also support a previously hypothesized link between feature-based attention and decision-related activity.

scholarly journals What is special about L3 processing?

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEES DE BOT ◽  
CAROL JAENSCH
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Third Language ◽  
The Core ◽  
Dynamic Perspective ◽  
Core Issue ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time

While research on third language (L3) and multilingualism has recently shown remarkable growth, the fundamental question of what makes trilingualism special compared to bilingualism, and indeed monolingualism, continues to be evaded. In this contribution we consider whether there is such a thing as a true monolingual, and if there is a difference between dialects, styles, registers and languages. While linguistic and psycholinguistic studies suggest differences in the processing of a third, compared to the first or second language, neurolinguistic research has shown that generally the same areas of the brain are activated during language use in proficient multilinguals. It is concluded that while from traditional linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives there are grounds to differentiate monolingual, bilingual and multilingual processing, a more dynamic perspective on language processing in which development over time is the core issue, leads to a questioning of the notion of languages as separate entities in the brain.

scholarly journals Adaptive brain activity changes during tongue movement with palatal coverage from fMRI data

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuka Inamochi ◽  
Kenji Fueki ◽  
Nobuo Usui ◽  
Masato Taira ◽  
Noriyuki Wakabayashi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Information ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Motor Impairment ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Tongue Movement ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Oral Environment ◽  
Motor Dexterity ◽  
The Brain

AbstractSuccessful adaptation to wearing dentures with palatal coverage may be associated with cortical activity changes related to tongue motor control. The purpose was to investigate the brain activity changes during tongue movement in response to a new oral environment. Twenty-eight fully dentate subjects (mean age: 28.6-years-old) who had no experience with removable dentures wore experimental palatal plates for 7 days. We measured tongue motor dexterity, difficulty with tongue movement, and brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging during tongue movement at pre-insertion (Day 0), as well as immediately (Day 1), 3 days (Day 3), and 7 days (Day 7) post-insertion. Difficulty with tongue movement was significantly higher on Day 1 than on Days 0, 3, and 7. In the subtraction analysis of brain activity across each day, activations in the angular gyrus and right precuneus on Day 1 were significantly higher than on Day 7. Tongue motor impairment induced activation of the angular gyrus, which was associated with monitoring of the tongue’s spatial information, as well as the activation of the precuneus, which was associated with constructing the tongue motor imagery. As the tongue regained the smoothness in its motor functions, the activation of the angular gyrus and precuneus decreased.

Two Cases of Atheroma of the Blood Vessels at the Base of the Brain, with Remarks upon the Symptoms, Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Pathological Condition in that Affection

1870 ◽  
Vol 16 (73) ◽  
pp. 52-58
Author(s):  
J. T. Sabben
Keyword(s):  
Blood Vessels ◽  
Pathological Condition ◽  
Cerebral Arteries ◽  
General Paralysis ◽  
Brain Substance ◽  
The Brain

In publishing the following cases, recently under my charge, of mental derangement dependent upon atheromatous deposit in the coats of the larger cerebral arteries, without any apparent disease of the brain substance, I desire, if possible, to define the symptoms of that condition during life, so as to enable them to be distinguished from those of general paralysis, with which I believe them often to be confused.

scholarly journals Neuroplasticity in visual impairments

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Ramiler Silva ◽  
Tiago Farias ◽  
Fernando Cascio ◽  
Levi Dos Santos ◽  
Vinícius Peixoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Cortical Reorganization ◽  
Pubmed Database ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Visual Acuity Loss ◽  
The Brain

The visual acuity loss enables the brain to access new pathways in the quest to overcome the visual limitation and this is wellknown as neuroplasticity which have mechanisms to cortical reorganization. In this review, we related the evidences about the neuroplasticity as well as cortical anatomical differences and functional repercussions in visual impairments. We performed a systematic review of PUBMED database, without date or status publication restrictions. The findings demonstrate that the visual impairment produce a compensatory sensorial effect, in which non-visual areas are related to both cross (visual congenital) and multimodal (late blind) neuroplasticity.

Domain-Specific Knowledge Systems in the Brain: The Animate-Inanimate Distinction

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Caramazza ◽  
Jennifer R. Shelton
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Framework ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Domain Specific Knowledge ◽  
Cognitive Neuropsychological ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Selective Impairment

We claim that the animate and inanimate conceptual categories represent evolutionarily adapted domain-specific knowledge systems that are subserved by distinct neural mechanisms, thereby allowing for their selective impairment in conditions of brain damage. On this view, (some of) the category-specific deficits that have recently been reported in the cognitive neuropsychological literature—for example, the selective damage or sparing of knowledge about animals—are truly categorical effects. Here, we articulate and defend this thesis against the dominant, reductionist theory of category-specific deficits, which holds that the categorical nature of the deficits is the result of selective damage to noncategorically organized visual or functional semantic subsystems. On the latter view, the sensory/functional dimension provides the fundamental organizing principle of the semantic system. Since, according to the latter theory, sensory and functional properties are differentially important in determining the meaning of the members of different semantic categories, selective damage to the visual or the functional semantic subsystem will result in a category-like deficit. A review of the literature and the results of a new case of category-specific deficit will show that the domain-specific knowledge framework provides a better account of category-specific deficits than the sensory/functional dichotomy theory.

scholarly journals Baicalein, Baicalin, and Wogonin: Protective Effects against Ischemia-Induced Neurodegeneration in the Brain and Retina

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Li Pan ◽  
Kin-Sang Cho ◽  
Irvin Yi ◽  
Chi-Ho To ◽  
Dong Feng Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Window ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Vascular Dysfunction ◽  
Pathological Condition ◽  
Vascular Occlusion ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi ◽  
Retinal Vascular Occlusion ◽  
Low Cytotoxicity ◽  
The Brain

Ischemia is a common pathological condition present in many neurodegenerative diseases, including ischemic stroke, retinal vascular occlusion, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, threatening the sight and lives of millions of people globally. Ischemia can trigger excessive oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular dysfunction, leading to the disruption of tissue homeostasis and, ultimately, cell death. Current therapies are very limited and have a narrow time window for effective treatment. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop more effective therapeutic options for ischemia-induced neural injuries. With emerging reports on the pharmacological properties of natural flavonoids, these compounds present potent antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic agents for the treatment of ischemic insults. Three major active flavonoids, baicalein, baicalin, and wogonin, have been extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (S. baicalensis); all of which are reported to have low cytotoxicity. They have been demonstrated to exert promising pharmacological capabilities in preventing cell and tissue damage. This review focuses on the therapeutic potentials of these flavonoids against ischemia-induced neurotoxicity and damage in the brain and retina. The bioactivity and bioavailability of baicalein, baicalin, and wogonin are also discussed. It is with hope that the therapeutic potential of these flavonoids can be utilized and developed as natural treatments for ischemia-induced injuries of the central nervous system (CNS).

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