scholarly journals Similar neural networks respond to coherence during comprehension and production of discourse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matias Morales ◽  
Tanvi Patel ◽  
Andres Tamm ◽  
Martin Pickering ◽  
Paul Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
Situation Model ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Control Network ◽  
Semantic Activation ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Global Coherence ◽  
Speech Content

When comprehending discourse, listeners engage default mode regions associated with integrative semantic processing to construct a situation model of its content. We investigated how similar networks are engaged when we produce, as well as comprehend, discourse. During fMRI, participants spoke about a series of specific topics and listened to discourse on other topics. We tested how activation was predicted by natural fluctuations in the global coherence of the discourse, i.e., the degree to which utterances conformed to the expected topic. The neural correlates of coherence were similar across speaking and listening, particularly in default mode regions. This network showed greater activation when less coherent speech was heard or produced, reflecting updating of mental representations when discourse did not conform to the expected topic. In contrast, regions that exert control over semantic activation showed task-specific effects, correlating negatively with coherence during listening but not during production. Participants who showed greater activation in left inferior prefrontal cortex also produced more coherent discourse, suggesting a specific role for this region in goal-directed regulation of speech content. Results suggest strong alignment of discourse representations during speaking and listening. However, they indicate that the semantic control network plays different roles in comprehension and production.

The Impact of Visual Stereotypes on Judgments about Rape

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-140
Author(s):  
Robert Busching ◽  
Johannes Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Representations ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Facial Features ◽  
Reverse Correlation ◽  
Correlation Technique ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Legal Judgments ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Legally irrelevant information like facial features is used to form judgments about rape cases. Using a reverse-correlation technique, it is possible to visualize criminal stereotypes and test whether these representations influence judgments. In the first step, images of the stereotypical faces of a rapist, a thief, and a lifesaver were generated. These images showed a clear distinction between the lifesaver and the two criminal representations, but the criminal representations were rather similar. In the next step, the images were presented together with rape scenarios, and participants (N = 153) indicated the defendant’s level of liability. Participants with high rape myth acceptance scores attributed a lower level of liability to a defendant who resembled a stereotypical lifesaver. However, no specific effects of the image of the stereotypical rapist compared to the stereotypical thief were found. We discuss the findings with respect to the influence of visual stereotypes on legal judgments and the nature of these mental representations.

scholarly journals Action in cognition: The case of language

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence J. Taylor ◽  
Rolf A. Zwaan
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Fault Tolerant ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Unique Element ◽  
Conceptual Representation ◽  
Motor Processes ◽  
Motor Recruitment ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

AbstractEmpirical research has shown that the processing of words and sentences is accompanied by activation of the brain's motor system in language users. The degree of precision observed in this activation seems to be contingent upon (1) the meaning of a linguistic construction and (2) the depth with which readers process that construction. In addition, neurological evidence shows a correspondence between a disruption in the neural correlates of overt action and the disruption of semantic processing of language about action. These converging lines of evidence can be taken to support the hypotheses that motor processes (1) are recruited to understand language that focuses on actions and (2) contribute a unique element to conceptual representation. This article explores the role of this motor recruitment in language comprehension. It concludes that extant findings are consistent with the theorized existence of multimodal, embodied representations of the referents of words and the meaning carried by language. Further, an integrative conceptualization of “fault tolerant comprehension” is proposed.

scholarly journals Differential prefrontal–temporal neural correlates of semantic processing in children

2006 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrike K. Blumenfeld ◽  
James R. Booth ◽  
Douglas D. Burman
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Neural Correlates

scholarly journals Neural Plasticity of Mild Tinnitus: An fMRI Investigation Comparing Those Recently Diagnosed with Tinnitus to Those That Had Tinnitus for a Long Period of Time

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake R. Carpenter-Thompson ◽  
Sara A. Schmidt ◽  
Fatima T. Husain
Keyword(s):  
Default Mode Network ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Recent Onset ◽  
Posterior Cingulate ◽  
Long Period

Objectives. The aim of the study was to compare differences in neural correlates of tinnitus in adults with recent onset and others who had the disorder for longer than a year.Design. A total of 25 individuals with tinnitus were divided into groups based on the amount of time for which they had experienced tinnitus: <1 year (RTIN) or >1 year (LTIN). Subjects underwent an fMRI scan while listening to affective sounds from the International Affective Digital Sounds database. Resting state functional connectivity data were also collected.Results. The RTIN group recruited the posterior cingulate and insula to a greater extent than the LTIN group when processing affective sounds. In addition, we found that the LTIN group engaged more frontal regions when listening to the stimuli compared to the RTIN group. Lastly, we found increased correlations between the default mode network and the precuneus in RTIN patients compared to LTIN at rest.Conclusion. Our results suggest that the posterior cingulate and insula may be associated with an early emotional reaction to tinnitus in both task and resting states. Over time, tinnitus patients may recruit more frontal regions to better control their emotional response and exhibit altered connectivity in the default mode network.

Are all the triangles blue? – ERP evidence for the incremental processing of German quantifier restriction

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETRA AUGURZKY ◽  
OLIVER BOTT ◽  
WOLFGANG STERNEFELD ◽  
ROLF ULRICH
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Context Information ◽  
Late Positivity ◽  
Incremental Processing ◽  
Compositional Semantic ◽  
Quantifier Restriction

abstractThe present ERP study investigates the neural correlates of pictorial context effects on compositional-semantic processing. We examined whether the incremental processing of questions involving quantifier restriction is modulated by the reliability of pictorial information. Contexts either allowed for an unambiguous meaning evaluation at an early sentential position or were ambiguous with respect to whether a further restrictive cue could trigger later meaning revisions. Attention was either guided towards (Experiment 1) or away from (Experiment 2) the picture–question mapping. In both experiments, negative answers elicited a broadly distributed negativity opposed to affirmative answers as soon as an unambiguous truth evaluation was possible. In the presence of ambiguous context information, the truth evaluation initially remained underspecified, as an early commitment would have resulted in the risk of a semantic reanalysis. The negativity was followed by a late positivity in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2, suggesting that attention towards the mismatch affected semantic processing, but only at a later time window. The current results are consistent with the notion that an incremental meaning evaluation is dependent on the reliability of contextual information.

scholarly journals The neural correlates of the body-object interaction effect in semantic processing

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian S. Hargreaves ◽  
Gemma A. Leonard ◽  
Penny M. Pexman ◽  
Daniel J. Pittman ◽  
Paul D. Siakaluk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
The Body ◽  
Object Interaction

Mental representations of action: The neural correlates of the verbal and motor components

2010 ◽  
Vol 1328 ◽  
pp. 89-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrice Péran ◽  
Jean-François Démonet ◽  
Andrea Cherubini ◽  
Dominique Carbebat ◽  
Carlo Caltagirone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Representations ◽  
Neural Correlates

scholarly journals Faulty Suppression of Irrelevant Material in Patients with Thought Disorder Linked to Attenuated Frontotemporal Activation

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Arcuri ◽  
M. R. Broome ◽  
V. Giampietro ◽  
E. Amaro ◽  
T. T. J. Kircher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Thought Disorder ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Formal Thought Disorder ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Semantic Decision ◽  
Semantic Decision Task ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients

Formal thought disorder is a feature schizophrenia that manifests as disorganized, incoherent speech, and is associated with a poor clinical outcome. The neurocognitive basis of this symptom is unclear but it is thought to involve an impairment in semantic processing classically described as a loosening of meaningful associations. Using a paradigm derived from the n400 event-related, potential, we examined the extent to which regional activation during semantic processing is altered in schizophrenic patients with formal thought disorder. Ten healthy control and 18 schizophrenic participants (9 with and 9 without formal thought disorder) performed a semantic decision sentence task during an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment. We employed analysis of variance to estimate the main effects of semantic congruency and groups on activation and specific effects of formal thought disorder were addressed using post-hoc comparisons. We found that the frontotemporal network, normally engaged by a semantic decision task, was underactivated in schizophrenia, particularly in patients with FTD. This network is implicated in the inhibition of automatically primed stimuli and impairment of its function interferes with language processing and contributes to the production of incoherent speech.

scholarly journals Frequency Specific Effects of ApoE ε4 Allele on Resting-State Networks in Nondemented Elders

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Liang ◽  
Zhenzhen Li ◽  
Jing Wei ◽  
Chunlin Li ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Default Mode Network ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Network Time ◽  
Time Courses

We applied resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4 allele effects on functional connectivity of the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN). Considering the frequency specific effects of functional connectivity, we decomposed the brain network time courses into two bands: 0.01–0.027 Hz and 0.027–0.08 Hz. All scans were acquired by the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroscience Initiative (ADNI). Thirty-two nondemented subjects were divided into two groups based on the presence (n=16) or absence (n=16) of the ApoE ε4 allele. We explored the frequency specific effects of ApoE ε4 allele on the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN) functional connectivity. Compared to ε4 noncarriers, the DMN functional connectivity of ε4 carriers was significantly decreased while the SN functional connectivity of ε4 carriers was significantly increased. Many functional connectivities showed significant differences at the lower frequency band of 0.01–0.027 Hz or the higher frequency band of 0.027–0.08 Hz instead of the typical range of 0.01–0.08 Hz. The results indicated a frequency dependent effect of resting-state signals when investigating RSNs functional connectivity.

scholarly journals Effects of Task Demands on Neural Correlates of Acoustic and Semantic Processing in Challenging Listening Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 3697-3706
Author(s):  
Dhatri S. Devaraju ◽  
Amy Kemp ◽  
David A. Eddins ◽  
Rahul Shrivastav ◽  
Bharath Chandrasekaran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Temporal Envelope ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Listening Strategies ◽  
Semantic Processes

Purpose Listeners shift their listening strategies between lower level acoustic information and higher level semantic information to prioritize maximum speech intelligibility in challenging listening conditions. Although increasing task demands via acoustic degradation modulates lexical-semantic processing, the neural mechanisms underlying different listening strategies are unclear. The current study examined the extent to which encoding of lower level acoustic cues is modulated by task demand and associations with lexical-semantic processes. Method Electroencephalography was acquired while participants listened to sentences in the presence of four-talker babble that contained either higher or lower probability final words. Task difficulty was modulated by time available to process responses. Cortical tracking of speech—neural correlates of acoustic temporal envelope processing—were estimated using temporal response functions. Results Task difficulty did not affect cortical tracking of temporal envelope of speech under challenging listening conditions. Neural indices of lexical-semantic processing (N400 amplitudes) were larger with increased task difficulty. No correlations were observed between the cortical tracking of temporal envelope of speech and lexical-semantic processes, even after controlling for the effect of individualized signal-to-noise ratios. Conclusions Cortical tracking of the temporal envelope of speech and semantic processing are differentially influenced by task difficulty. While increased task demands modulated higher level semantic processing, cortical tracking of the temporal envelope of speech may be influenced by task difficulty primarily when the demand is manipulated in terms of acoustic properties of the stimulus, consistent with an emerging perspective in speech perception.

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