scholarly journals Independent Representations of Verbs and Actions in Left Lateral Temporal Cortex

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 2096-2107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius V. Peelen ◽  
Domenica Romagno ◽  
Alfonso Caramazza
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Action Verbs ◽  
Action Representations

Verbs and nouns differ not only on formal linguistic grounds but also in what they typically refer to: Verbs typically refer to actions, whereas nouns typically refer to objects. Prior neuroimaging studies have revealed that regions in the left lateral temporal cortex (LTC), including the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG), respond selectively to action verbs relative to object nouns. Other studies have implicated the left pMTG in action knowledge, raising the possibility that verb selectivity in LTC may primarily reflect action-specific semantic features. Here, using functional neuroimaging, we test this hypothesis. Participants performed a simple memory task on visually presented verbs and nouns that described either events (e.g., “he eats” and “the conversation”) or states (e.g., “he exists” and “the value”). Verb-selective regions in the left pMTG and the left STS were defined in individual participants by an independent localizer contrast between action verbs and object nouns. Both regions showed equally strong selectivity for event and state verbs relative to semantically matched nouns. The left STS responded more to states than events, whereas there was no difference between states and events in the left pMTG. Finally, whole-brain group analysis revealed that action verbs, relative to state verbs, activated a cluster in pMTG that was located posterior to the verb-selective pMTG clusters. Together, these results indicate that verb selectivity in LTC is independent of action representations. We consider other differences between verbs and nouns that may underlie verb selectivity in LTC, including the verb property of predication.

scholarly journals Predication Drives Verb Cortical Signatures

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1829-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Hernández ◽  
Scott L. Fairhall ◽  
Alessandro Lenci ◽  
Marco Baroni ◽  
Alfonso Caramazza
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Specific Property ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Grammatical Class ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Lexical Feature ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Word Classes ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fundamental Units

Verbs and nouns are fundamental units of language, but their neural instantiation remains poorly understood. Neuropsychological research has shown that nouns and verbs can be damaged independently of each other, and neuroimaging research has found that several brain regions respond differentially to the two word classes. However, the semantic–lexical properties of verbs and nouns that drive these effects remain unknown. Here we show that the most likely candidate is predication: a core lexical feature involved in binding constituent arguments (boy, candies) into a unified syntactic–semantic structure expressing a proposition (the boy likes the candies). We used functional neuroimaging to test whether the intrinsic “predication-building” function of verbs is what drives the verb–noun distinction in the brain. We first identified verb-preferring regions with a localizer experiment including verbs and nouns. Then, we examined whether these regions are sensitive to transitivity—an index measuring its tendency to select for a direct object. Transitivity is a verb-specific property lying at the core of its predication function. Neural activity in the left posterior middle temporal and inferior frontal gyri correlates with transitivity, indicating sensitivity to predication. This represents the first evidence that grammatical class preference in the brain is driven by a word's function to build predication structures.

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.

Motion verb sentences activate left posterior middle temporal cortex despite static context

Neuroreport ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 649-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikkel Wallentin ◽  
Torben Ellegaard Lund ◽  
Svend ??stergaard ◽  
Leif ??stergaard ◽  
Andreas Roepstorff
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Motion Verb

Selective impairment of On-reading (Chinese-style pronunciation) in alexia with agraphia for kanji due to subcortical hemorrhage in the left posterior middle temporal gyrus

Neurocase ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-226
Author(s):  
Mizuho Yoshida ◽  
Toshihiro Hayashi ◽  
Kurumi Fujii ◽  
Hiroyuki Ishiura ◽  
Shoji Tsuji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Reading Chinese ◽  
Selective Impairment

The Importance of Spatiotemporal Information in Biological Motion Perception: White Noise Presented with a Step-like Motion Activates the Biological Motion Area

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-285
Author(s):  
Akiko Callan ◽  
Daniel Callan ◽  
Hiroshi Ando
Keyword(s):  
White Noise ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Biological Motion ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Spatiotemporal Information ◽  
Biological Motion Perception

Humans can easily recognize the motion of living creatures using only a handful of point-lights that describe the motion of the main joints (biological motion perception). This special ability to perceive the motion of animate objects signifies the importance of the spatiotemporal information in perceiving biological motion. The posterior STS (pSTS) and posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) region have been established by many functional neuroimaging studies as a locus for biological motion perception. Because listening to a walking human also activates the pSTS/pMTG region, the region has been proposed to be supramodal in nature. In this study, we investigated whether the spatiotemporal information from simple auditory stimuli is sufficient to activate this biological motion area. We compared spatially moving white noise, having a running-like tempo that was consistent with biological motion, with stationary white noise. The moving-minus-stationary contrast showed significant differences in activation of the pSTS/pMTG region. Our results suggest that the spatiotemporal information of the auditory stimuli is sufficient to activate the biological motion area.

scholarly journals Conceptual Representations of Action in the Lateral Temporal Cortex

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1855-1870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph W. Kable ◽  
Irene P. Kan ◽  
Ashley Wilson ◽  
Sharon L. Thompson-Schill ◽  
Anjan Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Information ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Human Motion ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Conceptual Information ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Conceptual Representations ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
Left Middle ◽  
Manipulable Object

Retrieval of conceptual information from action pictures causes greater activation than from object pictures bilaterally in human motion areas (MT/MST) and nearby temporal regions. By contrast, retrieval of conceptual information from action words causes greater activation in left middle and superior temporal gyri, anterior and dorsal to the MT/MST. We performed two fMRI experiments to replicate and extend these findings regarding action words. In the first experiment, subjects performed conceptual judgments of action and object words under conditions that stressed visual semantic information. Under these conditions, action words again activated posterior temporal regions close to, but not identical with, the MT/MST. In the second experiment, we included conceptual judgments of manipulable object words in addition to judgments of action and animal words. Both action and manipulable object judgments caused greater activity than animal judgments in the posterior middle temporal gyrus. Both of these experiments support the hypothesis that middle temporal gyrus activation is related to accessing conceptual information about motion attributes, rather than alternative accounts on the basis of lexical or grammatical factors. Furthermore, these experiments provide additional support for the notion of a concrete to abstract gradient of motion representations with the lateral occipito-temporal cortex, extending anterior and dorsal from the MT/MST towards the peri-sylvian cortex.

scholarly journals Supramodal Sentence Processing in the Human Brain: Fmri Evidence for the Influence of Syntactic Complexity in More Than 200 Participants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Uddén ◽  
Annika Hultén ◽  
Jan-Mathijs Schoffelen ◽  
Nietzsche Lam ◽  
Karin Harbusch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Input Modality ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Brain Fmri

ABSTRACTThis study investigated two questions. One is to which degree sentence processing beyond single words is independent of the input modality (speech vs. reading). The second question is which parts of the network recruited by both modalities is sensitive to syntactic complexity. These questions were investigated by having more than 200 participants read or listen to well-formed sentences or series of unconnected words. A largely left-hemisphere fronto-temporoparietal network was found to be supramodal in nature, i.e. independent of input modality. In addition, the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LpMTG) were most clearly associated with left-branching complexity. The left anterior middle temporal gyrus (LaMTG) showed the greatest sensitivity to sentences that differed in right-branching complexity. Moreover, activity in LIFG and LpMTG increased from sentence onset to end, in parallel with an increase of the left-branching complexity. While LIFG, bilateral anterior and posterior MTG and left inferior parietal lobe (LIPL) all contribute to the supramodal unification processes, the results suggest that these regions differ in their respective contributions to syntactic complexity related processing. The consequences of these findings for neurobiological models of language processing are discussed.

scholarly journals Lexical selection with competing distractors: Evidence from left temporal lobe lesions

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitória Piai ◽  
Robert T. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Interference Effect ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Lexical Selection ◽  
Semantic Interference ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Unrelated Condition

AbstractAccording to the competition account of lexical selection in word production, conceptually driven word retrieval involves the activation of a set of candidate words in left temporal cortex, and competitive selection of the intended word from this set, regulated by frontal cortical mechanisms. However, the relative contribution of these brain regions to competitive lexical selection is uncertain. In the present study, five patients with left prefrontal cortex lesions (overlapping in ventral and dorsal lateral cortex), eight patients with left lateral temporal cortex lesions (overlapping in middle temporal gyrus), and 13 matched controls performed a picture-word interference task. Distractor words were semantically related or unrelated to the picture, or the name of the picture (congruent condition). Semantic interference (related vs unrelated), tapping into competitive lexical selection, was examined. An overall semantic interference effect was observed for the control and left-temporal groups separately. The left-frontal patients did not show a reliable semantic interference effect as a group. The left-temporal patients had increased semantic interference in the error rates relative to controls. Error distribution analyses indicated that these patients had more hesitant responses for the related than for the unrelated condition. We propose that left middle temporal lesions affect the lexical activation component, making lexical selection more susceptible to errors.

Functional Double Dissociation Between Two Inferior Temporal Cortical Areas: Perirhinal Cortex Versus Middle Temporal Gyrus

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Buckley ◽  
D. Gaffan ◽  
E. A. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Performance Test ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Color Discrimination ◽  
Perirhinal Cortex ◽  
Inferior Temporal Cortex ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Postoperative Performance ◽  
Double Dissociation ◽  
Cortical Areas

Buckley, M. J., D. Gaffan, and E. A. Murray. Functional double dissociation between two inferior temporal cortical areas: perirhinal cortex versus middle temporal gyrus. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 587–598, 1997. There is both anatomic and cytoarchitectural evidence for dorsal-ventral subdivisions of the inferior temporal cortex. Despite this, there has been only limited evidence of corresponding functional subdivisions and no evidence that two adjacent cortical areas within the inferior temporal cortex, namely area TE and the perirhinal cortex, have distinctly different roles in vision and memory. We assessed the color discrimination abilities of cynomolgus monkeys with either bilateral ablation of the perirhinal cortex or bilateral ablation of the middle temporal gyrus. The stimuli were isoluminant colored squares presented on a touch screen. In each trial the subject had to learn to discriminate and select the correct choice (green) from among a maximum of eight other foils, each varying in either hue or saturation. Relative to unoperated controls, monkeys with middle temporal gyrus lesions were severely impaired in the color discrimination task, whereas monkeys with perirhinal lesions were unimpaired on this task. We also assessed the visual recognition abilities, as measured by a basic delayed nonmatching-to-sample task with trial-unique objects presented in a Wisconsin General Test Apparatus, of rhesus monkeys with bilateral middle temporal gyrus lesions. We then tested the monkeys' postoperative performance on a delayed nonmatching-to-sample task with delays and extended list lengths. The results from this experiment were compared with those from two other groups of rhesus monkeys, an unoperated control group and a group with bilateral perirhinal cortex lesions, both of which had performed the identical tasks in a previous experiment. Relative to unoperated controls, monkeys with perirhinal cortex lesions were severely impaired both in relearning the basic delayed nonmatching-to-sample task and on the postoperative performance test. In contrast, monkeys with middle temporal gyrus lesions were only mildly affected in relearning the basic nonmatching task and were unimpaired on the postoperative performance test. Thus our data demonstrate a clear functional double dissociation between the perirhinal cortex and the middle temporal gyrus. This result gives strong support to the hypothesis that the perirhinal cortex and the adjacent area TE have distinctly different roles in visual learning and memory.

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