scholarly journals The Neural Correlates of Semantic Control Revisited

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Network ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Control Network ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
List Type ◽  
Semantic Cognition

AbstractSemantic control, the ability to selectively access and manipulate meaningful information on the basis of context demands, is a critical component of semantic cognition. The precise neural correlates of semantic control are disputed, with particular debate surrounding parietal involvement, the spatial extent of the posterior temporal contribution and network lateralisation. Here semantic control is revisited, utilising improved analysis techniques and a decade of additional data to refine our understanding of the network. A meta-analysis of 876 peaks over 121 contrasts illuminated a left-focused network consisting of inferior frontal gyrus, posterior middle temporal gyrus, posterior inferior temporal gyrus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. This extended the temporal region implicated, and found no parietal involvement. Although left-lateralised overall, relative lateralisation varied across the implicated regions. Supporting analyses confirmed the multimodal nature of the semantic control network and situated it within the wider set of regions implicated in semantic cognition.Highlights➢A multimodal semantic control network was delineated with formal meta-analyses➢Semantic control recruits inferior and medial frontal and posterior temporal cortex➢A large extent of posterior temporal cortex was implicated and no parietal regions➢Semantic control is left-lateralised but regions show differential lateralisation➢The semantic control regions were situated in the context of the wider semantic network

scholarly journals The semantic control network mediates the relationship between symbolic numerical order processing and arithmetic performance in children

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrit Sommerauer ◽  
Karl-Heinz Grass ◽  
Roland H. Grabner ◽  
Stephan E. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Numerical Magnitude ◽  
Control Network ◽  
List Type ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Imaging Results ◽  
Numerical Order ◽  
Arithmetic Performance ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractBehavioral and neuroimaging studies have recently demonstrated that symbolic numerical order processing (i.e., deciding whether numbers are in an increasing/decreasing sequence or not) may engages different cognitive mechanisms and brain regions compared to symbolic numerical magnitude processing (e.g., deciding which of two numerals is larger). Because of this behavioral dissociation, growing interest has emerged to better understand the neurocognitive mechanisms of symbolic numerical order processing and their relationship to individual differences in arithmetic performance. In the present functional imaging work, we further investigated this link in a group of thirty children (7.2-10.25 years) from elementary school, who completed a symbolic numerical order verification (are the numbers going up? e.g., 1-2-3), a symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task (which is the larger number? e.g., 5-7), as well as an arithmetic fluency test outside the scanner. Behavioral results demonstrated the unique role of numerical order to predict children’s arithmetic skills and confirmed its mediating power to explain the association between numerical magnitude and arithmetic performance. Imaging results showed a significant association between numerical order and arithmetic in the intersection of the right inferior frontal gyrus and insula, as well as the posterior middle temporal gyrus. An age-dependent change in brain activity was found in the left intraparietal sulcus. These findings solidify the developmental importance of symbolic numerical order processing in children and provides new evidence that the semantic control network mediates the relationship with arithmetic performance.HighlightsReaction times of numerical order are a unique predictor of arithmetic (73)Numerical order mediates the relationship of numerical magnitude with arithmetic (83)Brain activation of numerical order processing changes with age in the left IPS (82)The semantic control network mediates the relationship with arithmetic (79)

scholarly journals Distinct Neural Correlates of Linguistic and Non-Linguistic Demand

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Ian A. Quillen ◽  
Melodie Yen ◽  
Stephen M. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Normal Individuals ◽  
Linguistic Demand ◽  
Neurologically Normal ◽  
The Right ◽  
Temporal Language

In this study, we investigated how the brain responds to task difficulty in linguistic and non-linguistic contexts. This is important for the interpretation of functional imaging studies of neuroplasticity in post-stroke aphasia, because of the inherent difficulty of matching or controlling task difficulty in studies with neurological populations. Twenty neurologically normal individuals were scanned with fMRI as they performed a linguistic task and a non-linguistic task, each of which had two levels of difficulty. Critically, the tasks were matched across domains (linguistic, non-linguistic) for accuracy and reaction time, such that the differences between the easy and difficult conditions were equivalent across domains. We found that non-linguistic demand modulated the same set of multiple demand (MD) regions that have been identified in many prior studies. In contrast, linguistic demand modulated MD regions to a much lesser extent, especially nodes belonging to the dorsal attention network. Linguistic demand modulated a subset of language regions, with the left inferior frontal gyrus most strongly modulated. The right hemisphere region homotopic to Broca’s area was also modulated by linguistic but not non-linguistic demand. When linguistic demand was mapped relative to non-linguistic demand, we also observed domain by difficulty interactions in temporal language regions as well as a widespread bilateral semantic network. In sum, linguistic and non-linguistic demand have strikingly different neural correlates. These findings can be used to better interpret studies of patients recovering from aphasia. Some reported activations in these studies may reflect task performance differences, while others can be more confidently attributed to neuroplasticity.

scholarly journals Meta-analysis of cortical thickness abnormalities in medication-free patients with major depressive disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Li ◽  
Youjin Zhao ◽  
Ziqi Chen ◽  
Jingyi Long ◽  
Jing Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Major Depressive

Abstract Alterations in cortical thickness have been identified in major depressive disorder (MDD), but findings have been variable and inconsistent. To date, no reliable tools have been available for the meta-analysis of surface-based morphometric (SBM) studies to effectively characterize what has been learned in previous studies, and drug treatments may have differentially impacted findings. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies that explored cortical thickness in medication-free patients with MDD, using a newly developed meta-analytic mask compatible with seed-based d mapping (SDM) meta-analytic software. We performed the meta-regression to explore the effects of demographics and clinical characteristics on variation in cortical thickness in MDD. Fifteen studies describing 529 patients and 586 healthy controls (HCs) were included. Medication-free patients with MDD, relative to HCs, showed a complex pattern of increased cortical thickness in some areas (posterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex) and decreased cortical thickness in others (gyrus rectus, orbital segment of the superior frontal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus). Most findings in the whole sample analysis were confirmed in a meta-analysis of studies recruiting medication-naive patients. Using the new mask specifically developed for SBM studies, this SDM meta-analysis provides evidence for regional cortical thickness alterations in MDD, mainly involving increased cortical thickness in the default mode network and decreased cortical thickness in the orbitofrontal and temporal cortex.

scholarly journals Human Chemosignals and Brain Activity: A Preliminary Meta-analysis of the Processing of Human Body Odors

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 855-864
Author(s):  
Elisa Dal Bò ◽  
Claudio Gentili ◽  
Cinzia Cecchetto
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Body Odor ◽  
The Right ◽  
Body Odors

Abstract Across phyla, chemosignals are a widely used form of social communication and increasing evidence suggests that chemosensory communication is present also in humans. Chemosignals can transfer, via body odors, socially relevant information, such as specific information about identity or emotional states. However, findings on neural correlates of processing of body odors are divergent. The aims of this meta-analysis were to assess the brain areas involved in the perception of body odors (both neutral and emotional) and the specific activation patterns for the perception of neutral body odor (NBO) and emotional body odor (EBO). We conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on 16 experiments (13 studies) examining brain activity during body odors processing. We found that the contrast EBO versus NBO resulted in significant convergence in the right middle frontal gyrus and the left cerebellum, whereas the pooled meta-analysis combining all the studies of human odors showed significant convergence in the right inferior frontal gyrus. No significant cluster was found for NBOs. However, our findings also highlight methodological heterogeneity across the existing literature. Further neuroimaging studies are needed to clarify and support the existing findings on neural correlates of processing of body odors.

scholarly journals Transient perturbation of the left temporal cortex evokes plasticity-related reconfiguration of the lexical network

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Klaus ◽  
Dennis J.L.G. Schutter ◽  
Vitória Piai
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Control Mechanisms

Language impairment is common after left-hemisphere damage. However, the involvement of perilesional and homologous contralateral regions in compensating for left-sided lesions remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine acute organizational changes in brain activity related to conceptual and lexical retrieval in unimpaired language production following transient disruption of the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG). In a randomized singleblind within-subject experiment, we recorded the electroencephalogram from sixteen healthy participants during a context-driven picture-naming task. Prior to the task, the left MTG was perturbed with real neuronavigated continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) or sham stimulation. During the task, participants read lead-in sentences that created a constraining (e.g. “The farmer milks the”) or non-constraining context (e.g. “The farmer buys the”). The last word was shown as a picture that participants had to name (e.g. “cow”). Replicating behavioral studies, participants were overall faster in naming pictures following a constraining relative to a non-constraining context, but this effect did not differ between real and sham cTBS. Real cTBS, however, increased overall error rates compared to sham cTBS. In line with previous studies, we observed a decrease in alpha-beta (8-24 Hz) oscillatory power for constraining relative to non-constraining contexts over left temporal-parietal cortex after participants received sham cTBS. However, following real cTBS, this decrease extended towards left prefrontal regions associated with both domain-general and domain-specific control mechanisms. Our findings provide evidence that immediately after the disruption of the left MTG, the lexical-semantic network is able to quickly reconfigure, also recruiting domain-general regions.

scholarly journals The neural bases of program comprehension: a coordinate-based fMRI meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiharu Ikutani ◽  
Takeshi D. Itoh ◽  
Takatomi Kubo
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Posterior Part ◽  
Program Comprehension ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Neural Bases ◽  
Kernel Density Analysis

AbstractThe understanding of brain activity during program comprehension have advanced thanks to noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, individual neuroimaging studies of program comprehension often provided inconsistent results and made it difficult to identify the neural bases. To identify the essential brain regions, this study performed a small meta-analysis on recent fMRI studies of program comprehension using multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA). Our analysis identified a set of brain regions consistently activated in various program comprehension tasks. These regions consisted of three clusters, each of which centered at the left inferior frontal gyrus pars triangularis (IFG Tri), posterior part of middle temporal gyrus (pMTG), and right middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Additionally, subsequent analyses revealed relationships among the activation patterns in the previous studies and multiple cognitive functions. These findings suggest that program comprehension mainly recycles the language-related networks and partially employs other domain-general resources in the human brain.

scholarly journals The neurocognitive basis of knowledge about object identity and events: dissociations reflect opposing effects of semantic coherence and control

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1791) ◽  
pp. 20190300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Jefferies ◽  
Hannah Thompson ◽  
Piers Cornelissen ◽  
Jonathan Smallwood
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Control Network ◽  
Object Identity ◽  
Automatic Retrieval ◽  
Semantic Coherence ◽  
Opposing Effects ◽  
And Control

Semantic memory encompasses knowledge of specific objects and their diverse associations, but the mechanisms that allow us to retrieve aspects of knowledge required for a given task are poorly understood. The dual hub theory suggests that separate semantic stores represent knowledge of (i) taxonomic categories (in the anterior temporal lobes, ATL) and (ii) thematic associations (in angular gyrus, AG or posterior middle temporal gyrus, pMTG). Alternatively, the controlled semantic cognition (CSC) framework suggests that semantic processing emerges from the flexible interaction of heteromodal semantic representations in ATL with a semantic control network, which includes pMTG as well as prefrontal regions. According to this view, ATL supports patterns of coherent auto-associative retrieval, while semantic control sites respond when ongoing conceptual activation needs to be altered to suit the task or context. These theories make different predictions about the nature of functional dissociations within the semantic network. We review evidence for these claims across multiple methods. First, we show ATL is sensitive to the strength of thematic associations as well as taxonomic relations. Next, we document functional dissociations between AG and pMTG: rather than these regions acting as comparable thematic hubs, AG is allied to the default mode network and supports more ‘automatic’ retrieval, while pMTG responds when control demands are high. However, the semantic control network, including pMTG, also shows a greater response to events/actions and verbs, supporting the claims of both theories. We propose that tasks tapping event semantics often require greater shaping of conceptual retrieval than comparison tasks, because these elements of our knowledge are inherently flexible, with relevant features depending on the context. In this way, the CSC account might be able to account for findings that suggest both a process and a content distinction within the semantic network. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Towards mechanistic models of meaning composition’.

scholarly journals Going beyond Inferior Prefrontal Involvement in Semantic Control: Evidence for the Additional Contribution of Dorsal Angular Gyrus and Posterior Middle Temporal Cortex

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1824-1850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krist A. Noonan ◽  
Elizabeth Jefferies ◽  
Maya Visser ◽  
Matthew A. Lambon Ralph
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Additional Contribution ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Semantic Cognition ◽  
Semantic Impairment

Semantic cognition requires a combination of semantic representations and executive control processes to direct activation in a task- and time-appropriate fashion [Jefferies, E., & Lambon Ralph, M. A. Semantic impairment in stroke aphasia versus semantic dementia: A case-series comparison. Brain, 129, 2132–2147, 2006]. We undertook a formal meta-analysis to investigate which regions within the large-scale semantic network are specifically associated with the executive component of semantic cognition. Previous studies have described in detail the role of left ventral pFC in semantic regulation. We examined 53 studies that contrasted semantic tasks with high > low executive requirements to determine whether cortical regions beyond the left pFC show the same response profile to executive semantic demands. Our findings revealed that right pFC, posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) and dorsal angular gyrus (bordering intraparietal sulcus) were also consistently recruited by executively demanding semantic tasks, demonstrating patterns of activation that were highly similar to the left ventral pFC. These regions overlap with the lesions in aphasic patients who exhibit multimodal semantic impairment because of impaired regulatory control (semantic aphasia)—providing important convergence between functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies of semantic cognition. Activation in dorsal angular gyrus and left ventral pFC was consistent across all types of executive semantic manipulation, regardless of whether the task was receptive or expressive, whereas pMTG activation was only observed for manipulation of control demands within receptive tasks. Second, we contrasted executively demanding tasks tapping semantics and phonology. Our findings revealed substantial overlap between the two sets of contrasts within left ventral pFC, suggesting this region underpins domain-general control mechanisms. In contrast, we observed relative specialization for semantic control within pMTG as well as the most ventral aspects of left pFC (BA 47), consistent with our proposal of a distributed network underpinning semantic control.

scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Encoding Within- and Across-domain Inter-item Associations

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2533-2543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heekyeong Park ◽  
Michael D. Rugg
Keyword(s):  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Memory Effects ◽  
Pair Type ◽  
General Role ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Cortical Regions

The neural correlates of the encoding of associations between pairs of words, pairs of pictures, and word–picture pairs were compared. The aims were to determine, first, whether the neural correlates of associative encoding vary according to study material and, second, whether encoding of across- versus within-material item pairs is associated with dissociable patterns of hippocampal and perirhinal activity, as predicted by the “domain dichotomy” hypothesis of medial temporal lobe function. While undergoing fMRI scanning, subjects (n = 24) were presented with the three classes of study pairs, judging which of the denoted objects fit into the other. Outside of the scanner, subjects then undertook an associative recognition task, discriminating between intact study pairs, rearranged pairs comprising items that had been presented on different study trials, and unstudied item pairs. The neural correlates of successful associative encoding—subsequent associative memory effects—were operationalized as the difference in activity between study pairs correctly judged intact versus pairs incorrectly judged rearranged on the subsequent memory test. Pair type–independent subsequent memory effects were evident in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the hippocampus. Picture–picture pairs elicited material-selective effects in regions of fusiform cortex that were also activated to a greater extent on picture trials than on word trials, whereas word–word pairs elicited material-selective subsequent memory effects in left lateral temporal cortex. Contrary to the domain-dichotomy hypothesis, neither hippocampal nor perirhinal subsequent memory effects differed depending on whether they were elicited by within- versus across-material study pairs. It is proposed that the left IFG plays a domain-general role in associative encoding, that associative encoding can also be facilitated by enhanced processing in material-selective cortical regions, and that the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex contribute equally to the formation of inter-item associations, regardless of whether the items belong to the same or to different processing domains.

Altered neural activities during response inhibition in adults with addiction: a voxel-wise meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Zeguo Qiu ◽  
Junjing Wang
Keyword(s):  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Substance Dependence ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Behavioral Addiction ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Precentral Gyrus ◽  
Meta Analyses

Abstract Background Previous literature has extensively investigated the brain activity during response inhibition in adults with addiction. Inconsistent results including both hyper- and hypo-activities in the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and the ventral attention network (VAN) have been found in adults with addictions, compared with healthy controls (HCs). Methods Voxel-wise meta-analyses of abnormal task-evoked regional activity were conducted for adults with substance dependence (SD) and behavioral addiction during response inhibition tasks to solve previous inconsistencies. Twenty-three functional magnetic resonance imaging studies including 479 substance users, 38 individuals with behavioral addiction and 494 HCs were identified. Results Compared with HCs, all addictions showed hypo-activities in regions within FPN (inferior frontal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus) and VAN (inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, temporal pole and insula), and hyper-activities in the cerebellum during response inhibition. SD subgroup showed almost the same activity patterns, with an additional hypoactivation of the precentral gyrus, compared with HCs. Stronger activation of the cerebellum was associated with longer addiction duration for adults with SD. We could not conduct meta-analytic investigations into the behavioral addiction subgroup due to the small number of datasets. Conclusion This meta-analysis revealed altered activation of FPN, VAN and the cerebellum in adults with addiction during response inhibition tasks using non-addiction-related stimuli. Although FPN and VAN showed lower activity, the cerebellum exhibited stronger activity. These results may help to understand the neural pathology of response inhibition in addiction.

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