scholarly journals Dissociating Linguistic and Task-related Activity in the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Wright ◽  
Billi Randall ◽  
William D. Marslen-Wilson ◽  
Lorraine K. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Overt Response ◽  
Language Function ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
The Core ◽  
Considerable Controversy ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
And Task

The left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) has long been claimed to play a key role in language function. However, there is considerable controversy as to whether regions within LIFG have specific linguistic or domain-general functions. Using fMRI, we contrasted linguistic and task-related effects by presenting simple and morphologically complex words while subjects performed a lexical decision (LD) task or passively listened (PL) without making an overt response. LIFG Brodmann's area 47 showed greater activation in LD than PL, whereas LIFG Brodmann's area 44 showed greater activation to complex compared with simple words in both tasks. These results dissociate task-driven and obligatory language processing in LIFG and suggest that PL is the paradigm of choice for probing the core aspects of the neural language system.

Neuronal Substrates for Language Processing and Word Priming

2011 ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Chunlin Li ◽  
Xiujun Li ◽  
Jinglong Wu ◽  
Hiroshi Kusahara
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
English Word ◽  
Overt Response ◽  
Word Condition ◽  
Word Priming ◽  
Japanese Word ◽  
Word Stem Completion

The authors of this chapter studied behavioral performance and brain activities associated with word priming using a Japanese Word Stem Completion (WSC) task. They compared the results of this task with the results of a Korean character cognitive task. Their results showed facilitatory effects on subject performance. The percentage of correct answers in the non-priming (P/N) word condition was 94%, whereas the priming (P/Y) condition yielded 100% correct answers. The average reaction time during the P/N word condition was 1501 ms, whereas it was 978 ms and 3106 ms for the P/N non-word and word P/Y word conditions, respectively. In the fMRI experiment, the same tasks were performed using a block-design experimental paradigm without any overt response from the MRI scanner. As seen in the fMRI results, the bilateral middle and inferior frontal gyrus were active with a right hemispheric prevalence. In addition, the superior and inferior parietal gyrus and the supplementary motor area were activated. The prefrontal-parietal network observed in this study is consistent with the areas that were activated during an English word stem task. These results suggest that the facilitatory effects observed in the WSC test were successful for implicit memory retrieval.

scholarly journals The functional overlap of executive control and language processing in bilinguals

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILY L. CODERRE ◽  
JASON F. SMITH ◽  
WALTER J.B. VAN HEUVEN ◽  
BARRY HORWITZ
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Linguistic Control ◽  
Multiple Languages

The need to control multiple languages is thought to require domain-general executive control in bilinguals such that the executive control and language systems become interdependent. However, there has been no systematic investigation into how and where executive control and language processes overlap in the bilingual brain. If the concurrent recruitment of executive control during bilingual language processing is domain-general and extends to non-linguistic control, we hypothesize that regions commonly involved in language processing, linguistic control, and non-linguistic control may be selectively altered in bilinguals compared to monolinguals. A conjunction of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from a flanker task with linguistic and non-linguistic distractors and a semantic categorization task showed functional overlap in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) in bilinguals, whereas no overlap occurred in monolinguals. This research therefore identifies a neural locus of functional overlap of language and executive control in the bilingual brain.

scholarly journals Context Predicts Word Order Processing in Broca's Region

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 2762-2777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Burholt Kristensen ◽  
Elisabeth Engberg-Pedersen ◽  
Mikkel Wallentin
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
Broca’S Region ◽  
Linguistic Structures

The function of the left inferior frontal gyrus (L-IFG) is highly disputed. A number of language processing studies have linked the region to the processing of syntactical structure. Still, there is little agreement when it comes to defining why linguistic structures differ in their effects on the L-IFG. In a number of languages, the processing of object-initial sentences affects the L-IFG more than the processing of subject-initial ones, but frequency and distribution differences may act as confounding variables. Syntactically complex structures (like the object-initial construction in Danish) are often less frequent and only viable in certain contexts. With this confound in mind, the L-IFG activation may be sensitive to other variables than a syntax manipulation on its own. The present fMRI study investigates the effect of a pragmatically appropriate context on the processing of subject-initial and object-initial clauses with the IFG as our ROI. We find that Danish object-initial clauses yield a higher BOLD response in L-IFG, but we also find an interaction between appropriateness of context and word order. This interaction overlaps with traditional syntax areas in the IFG. For object-initial clauses, the effect of an appropriate context is bigger than for subject-initial clauses. This result is supported by an acceptability study that shows that, given appropriate contexts, object-initial clauses are considered more appropriate than subject-initial clauses. The increased L-IFG activation for processing object-initial clauses without a supportive context may be interpreted as reflecting either reinterpretation or the recipients' failure to correctly predict word order from contextual cues.

Using Complement Coercion to Understand the Neural Basis of Semantic Composition: Evidence from an fMRI Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 3254-3266 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Matthew Husband ◽  
Lisa A. Kelly ◽  
David C. Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
World Knowledge ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Language Faculty ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Semantic Composition ◽  
The Core ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Core Language

Previous research regarding the neural basis of semantic composition has relied heavily on violation paradigms, which often compare implausible sentences that violate world knowledge to plausible sentences that do not violate world knowledge. This comparison is problematic as it may involve extralinguistic operations such as contextual repair and processes that ultimately lead to the rejection of an anomalous sentence, and these processes may not be part of the core language system. Also, it is unclear if violations of world knowledge actually affect the linguistic operations for semantic composition. Here, we compared two types of sentences that were grammatical, plausible, and acceptable and differed only in the number of semantic operations required for comprehension without the confound of implausible sentences. Specifically, we compared complement coercion sentences (the novelist began the book), which require an extra compositional operation to arrive at their meaning, to control sentences (the novelist wrote the book), which do not have this extra compositional operation, and found that the neural response to complement coercion sentences activated Brodmann's area 45 in the left inferior frontal gyrus more than control sentences. Furthermore, the processing of complement coercion recruited different brain regions than more traditional semantic and syntactic violations (the novelist astonished/write the book, respectively), suggesting that coercion processes are a part of the core of the language faculty but do not recruit the wider network of brain regions underlying semantic and syntactic violations.

scholarly journals Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus Sensitivity to Phonetic Competition in Receptive Language Processing: A Comparison of Clear and Conversational Speech

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Xie ◽  
Emily Myers
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Speech Signal ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Sentence Level

The speech signal is rife with variations in phonetic ambiguity. For instance, when talkers speak in a conversational register, they demonstrate less articulatory precision, leading to greater potential for confusability at the phonetic level compared with a clear speech register. Current psycholinguistic models assume that ambiguous speech sounds activate more than one phonological category and that competition at prelexical levels cascades to lexical levels of processing. Imaging studies have shown that the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) is modulated by phonetic competition between simultaneously activated categories, with increases in activation for more ambiguous tokens. Yet, these studies have often used artificially manipulated speech and/or metalinguistic tasks, which arguably may recruit neural regions that are not critical for natural speech recognition. Indeed, a prominent model of speech processing, the dual-stream model, posits that the LIFG is not involved in prelexical processing in receptive language processing. In the current study, we exploited natural variation in phonetic competition in the speech signal to investigate the neural systems sensitive to phonetic competition as listeners engage in a receptive language task. Participants heard nonsense sentences spoken in either a clear or conversational register as neural activity was monitored using fMRI. Conversational sentences contained greater phonetic competition, as estimated by measures of vowel confusability, and these sentences also elicited greater activation in a region in the LIFG. Sentence-level phonetic competition metrics uniquely correlated with LIFG activity as well. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that the LIFG responds to competition at multiple levels of language processing and that recruitment of this region does not require an explicit phonological judgment.

When Hearing Does Not Mean Understanding: On the Neural Processing of Syntactically Complex Sentences by Listeners With Hearing Loss

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Margreet Vogelzang ◽  
Christiane M. Thiel ◽  
Stephanie Rosemann ◽  
Jochem W. Rieger ◽  
Esther Ruigendijk
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Sentence Complexity ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
And Task

Purpose Adults with mild-to-moderate age-related hearing loss typically exhibit issues with speech understanding, but their processing of syntactically complex sentences is not well understood. We test the hypothesis that listeners with hearing loss' difficulties with comprehension and processing of syntactically complex sentences are due to the processing of degraded input interfering with the successful processing of complex sentences. Method We performed a neuroimaging study with a sentence comprehension task, varying sentence complexity (through subject–object order and verb–arguments order) and cognitive demands (presence or absence of a secondary task) within subjects. Groups of older subjects with hearing loss ( n = 20) and age-matched normal-hearing controls ( n = 20) were tested. Results The comprehension data show effects of syntactic complexity and hearing ability, with normal-hearing controls outperforming listeners with hearing loss, seemingly more so on syntactically complex sentences. The secondary task did not influence off-line comprehension. The imaging data show effects of group, sentence complexity, and task, with listeners with hearing loss showing decreased activation in typical speech processing areas, such as the inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. No interactions between group, sentence complexity, and task were found in the neuroimaging data. Conclusions The results suggest that listeners with hearing loss process speech differently from their normal-hearing peers, possibly due to the increased demands of processing degraded auditory input. Increased cognitive demands by means of a secondary visual shape processing task influence neural sentence processing, but no evidence was found that it does so in a different way for listeners with hearing loss and normal-hearing listeners.

scholarly journals Temporal hierarchy of intrinsic neural timescales converges with spatial core-periphery organization

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrshad Golesorkhi ◽  
Javier Gomez-Pilar ◽  
Shankar Tumati ◽  
Maia Fraser ◽  
Georg Northoff
Keyword(s):  
Time Window ◽  
Human Cortex ◽  
The Core ◽  
Novel Variant ◽  
Open Issue ◽  
Task Differences ◽  
Spatial Hierarchy ◽  
Fundamental Insight ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
And Task

AbstractThe human cortex exhibits intrinsic neural timescales that shape a temporal hierarchy. Whether this temporal hierarchy follows the spatial hierarchy of its topography, namely the core-periphery organization, remains an open issue. Using magnetoencephalography data, we investigate intrinsic neural timescales during rest and task states; we measure the autocorrelation window in short (ACW-50) and, introducing a novel variant, long (ACW-0) windows. We demonstrate longer ACW-50 and ACW-0 in networks located at the core compared to those at the periphery with rest and task states showing a high ACW correlation. Calculating rest-task differences, i.e., subtracting the shared core-periphery organization, reveals task-specific ACW changes in distinct networks. Finally, employing kernel density estimation, machine learning, and simulation, we demonstrate that ACW-0 exhibits better prediction in classifying a region’s time window as core or periphery. Overall, our findings provide fundamental insight into how the human cortex’s temporal hierarchy converges with its spatial core-periphery hierarchy.

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 Syntactic Complexity and Frequency in the Neurocognitive Language System

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 1605-1620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Hsuan Yang ◽  
William D. Marslen-Wilson ◽  
Mirjana Bozic
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Frequent Items

Prominent neurobiological models of language follow the widely accepted assumption that language comprehension requires two principal mechanisms: a lexicon storing the sound-to-meaning mapping of words, primarily involving bilateral temporal regions, and a combinatorial processor for syntactically structured items, such as phrases and sentences, localized in a left-lateralized network linking left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and posterior temporal areas. However, recent research showing that the processing of simple phrasal sequences may engage only bilateral temporal areas, together with the claims of distributional approaches to grammar, raise the question of whether frequent phrases are stored alongside individual words in temporal areas. In this fMRI study, we varied the frequency of words and of short and long phrases in English. If frequent phrases are indeed stored, then only less frequent items should generate selective left frontotemporal activation, because memory traces for such items would be weaker or not available in temporal cortex. Complementary univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that, overall, simple words (verbs) and long phrases engaged LIFG and temporal areas, whereas short phrases engaged bilateral temporal areas, suggesting that syntactic complexity is a key factor for LIFG activation. Although we found a robust frequency effect for words in temporal areas, no frequency effects were found for the two phrasal conditions. These findings support the conclusion that long and short phrases are analyzed, respectively, in the left frontal network and in a bilateral temporal network but are not retrieved from memory in the same way as simple words during spoken language comprehension.

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