scholarly journals Speaking in the Brain: The Interaction between Words and Syntax in Sentence Production

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1466-1483
Author(s):  
Atsuko Takashima ◽  
Agnieszka Konopka ◽  
Antje Meyer ◽  
Peter Hagoort ◽  
Kirsten Weber
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Language Network

This neuroimaging study investigated the neural infrastructure of sentence-level language production. We compared brain activation patterns, as measured with BOLD-fMRI, during production of sentences that differed in verb argument structures (intransitives, transitives, ditransitives) and the lexical status of the verb (known verbs or pseudoverbs). The experiment consisted of 30 mini-blocks of six sentences each. Each mini-block started with an example for the type of sentence to be produced in that block. On each trial in the mini-blocks, participants were first given the (pseudo-)verb followed by three geometric shapes to serve as verb arguments in the sentences. Production of sentences with known verbs yielded greater activation compared to sentences with pseudoverbs in the core language network of the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, and a more posterior middle temporal region extending into the angular gyrus, analogous to effects observed in language comprehension. Increasing the number of verb arguments led to greater activation in an overlapping left posterior middle temporal gyrus/angular gyrus area, particularly for known verbs, as well as in the bilateral precuneus. Thus, producing sentences with more complex structures using existing verbs leads to increased activation in the language network, suggesting some reliance on memory retrieval of stored lexical–syntactic information during sentence production. This study thus provides evidence from sentence-level language production in line with functional models of the language network that have so far been mainly based on single-word production, comprehension, and language processing in aphasia.

scholarly journals Speaking in the brain: The interaction between words and syntax in producing sentences

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuko Takashima ◽  
Agnieszka Konopka ◽  
Antje Meyer ◽  
Peter Hagoort ◽  
Kirsten Weber
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Core Language ◽  
Language Network

AbstractThis neuroimaging study investigated the neural infrastructure of sentence-level language production. We compared brain activation patterns, as measured with BOLD-fMRI, during production of sentences which differed in verb argument structures (intransitives, transitives, ditransitives) and the lexical status of the verb (known verbs or pseudo-verbs). An example for the type of sentence to be produced started a mini-block of six sentences with the same structure. For each trial, participants were first given the (pseudo-)verb followed by three geometric shapes to serve as verb arguments in the sentences. Production of sentences with known verbs yielded greater activation compared to those with pseudo-verbs in the core language network of left inferior frontal gyrus, the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, and a more posterior middle temporal region extending into the angular gyrus (LpMTG/AG), analogous to effects observed in language comprehension. Increasing the number of verb arguments led to greater activation in an overlapping left pMTG/AG area, particularly for known verbs, as well as in the bilateral precuneus. Thus, producing sentences with more complex structures using existing verbs lead to increased activation in the language network, suggesting some reliance on memory retrieval of stored lexical-syntactic information during sentence production. This study thus provides evidence from sentence-level language production in line with functional models of the language network that have so far been mainly based on single word production, comprehension and processing in aphasia.

scholarly journals The Shape of Things to Come in Speech Production: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Visual Form Interference during Lexical Access

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 913-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna S. Gauvin ◽  
Katie L. McMahon ◽  
Marcus Meinzer ◽  
Greig I. de Zubicaray
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Distractor Word ◽  
Lexical Selection ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Visual Form

Studies of context effects in speech production have shown that semantic feature overlap produces interference in naming of categorically related objects. In neuroimaging studies, this semantic interference effect is consistently associated with involvement of left superior and middle temporal gyri. However, at least part of this effect has recently been shown to be attributable to visual form similarity, as categorically related objects typically share visual features. This fMRI study examined interference produced by visual form overlap in the absence of a category relation in a picture–word interference paradigm. Both visually similar and visually dissimilar distractors led to increased BOLD responses in the left inferior frontal gyrus compared with the congruent condition. Naming pictures in context with a distractor word denoting an object visually similar in form slowed RTs compared with unrelated words and was associated with reduced activity in the left posterior middle temporal gyrus. This area is reliably observed in lexical level processing during language production tasks. No significant differential activity was observed in areas typically engaged by early perceptual or conceptual feature level processing or in areas proposed to be engaged by postlexical language processes, suggesting that visual form interference does not arise from uncertainty or confusion during perceptual or conceptual identification or after lexical processing. We conclude that visual form interference has a lexical locus, consistent with the predictions of competitive lexical selection models.

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 Indirect White Matter Pathways Are Associated With Treated Naming Improvement in Aphasia

2021 ◽  
pp. 154596832199905
Author(s):  
Janina Wilmskoetter ◽  
Julius Fridriksson ◽  
Alexandra Basilakos ◽  
Lorelei Phillip Johnson ◽  
Barbara Marebwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Treatment Outcomes ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Pars Opercularis ◽  
Left Hemisphere Stroke ◽  
Linear Regressions

Background White matter disconnection of language-specific brain regions associates with worse aphasia recovery. Despite a loss of direct connections, many stroke survivors may maintain indirect connections between brain regions. Objective To determine (1) whether preserved direct connections between language-specific brain regions relate to better poststroke naming treatment outcomes compared to no direct connections and (2) whether for individuals with a loss of direct connections, preserved indirect connections are associated with better treatment outcomes compared to individuals with no connections. Methods We computed structural whole-brain connectomes from 69 individuals with chronic left-hemisphere stroke and aphasia who completed a 3-week-long language treatment that was supplemented by either anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (A-tDCS) or sham stimulation (S-tDCS). We determined differences in naming improvement between individuals with direct, indirect, and no connections using 1-way analyses of covariance and multivariable linear regressions. Results Independently of tDCS modality, direct or indirect connections between the inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis and angular gyrus were both associated with a greater increase in correct naming compared to no connections ( P = .027 and P = .039, respectively). Participants with direct connections between the inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis and middle temporal gyrus who received S-tDCS and participants with indirect connections who received A-tDCS significantly improved in naming accuracy. Conclusions Poststroke preservation of indirect white matter connections is associated with better treated naming improvement in aphasia even when direct connections are damaged. This mechanistic information can be used to stratify and predict treated naming recovery in individuals with aphasia.

scholarly journals The Interaction of Lexical Semantics and Cohort Competition in Spoken Word Recognition: An fMRI Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 3778-3790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Zhuang ◽  
Billi Randall ◽  
Emmanuel A. Stamatakis ◽  
William D. Marslen-Wilson ◽  
Lorraine K. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Spoken Word Recognition ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Cohort Competition ◽  
Semantic Properties

Spoken word recognition involves the activation of multiple word candidates on the basis of the initial speech input—the “cohort”—and selection among these competitors. Selection may be driven primarily by bottom–up acoustic–phonetic inputs or it may be modulated by other aspects of lexical representation, such as a word's meaning [Marslen-Wilson, W. D. Functional parallelism in spoken word-recognition. Cognition, 25, 71–102, 1987]. We examined these potential interactions in an fMRI study by presenting participants with words and pseudowords for lexical decision. In a factorial design, we manipulated (a) cohort competition (high/low competitive cohorts which vary the number of competing word candidates) and (b) the word's semantic properties (high/low imageability). A previous behavioral study [Tyler, L. K., Voice, J. K., & Moss, H. E. The interaction of meaning and sound in spoken word recognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 7, 320–326, 2000] showed that imageability facilitated word recognition but only for words in high competition cohorts. Here we found greater activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45, 47) and the right inferior frontal gyrus (BA 47) with increased cohort competition, an imageability effect in the left posterior middle temporal gyrus/angular gyrus (BA 39), and a significant interaction between imageability and cohort competition in the left posterior superior temporal gyrus/middle temporal gyrus (BA 21, 22). In words with high competition cohorts, high imageability words generated stronger activity than low imageability words, indicating a facilitatory role of imageability in a highly competitive cohort context. For words in low competition cohorts, there was no effect of imageability. These results support the behavioral data in showing that selection processes do not rely solely on bottom–up acoustic–phonetic cues but rather that the semantic properties of candidate words facilitate discrimination between competitors.

scholarly journals Stimulating the Brain's Language Network: Syntactic Ambiguity Resolution after TMS to the Inferior Frontal Gyrus and Middle Temporal Gyrus

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1664-1677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Acheson ◽  
Peter Hagoort
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Ambiguous Sentence ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Ambiguity Effect ◽  
Language Network

The posterior middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) are two critical nodes of the brain's language network. Previous neuroimaging evidence has supported a dissociation in language comprehension in which parts of the MTG are involved in the retrieval of lexical syntactic information and the IFG in unification operations that maintain, select, and integrate multiple sources of information over time. In the present investigation, we tested for causal evidence of this dissociation by modulating activity in IFG and MTG using an offline TMS procedure: continuous theta-burst stimulation. Lexical–syntactic retrieval was manipulated by using sentences with and without a temporarily word-class (noun/verb) ambiguity (e.g., run). In one group of participants, TMS was applied to the IFG and MTG, and in a control group, no TMS was applied. Eye movements were recorded and quantified at two critical sentence regions: a temporarily ambiguous region and a disambiguating region. Results show that stimulation of the IFG led to a modulation of the ambiguity effect (ambiguous–unambiguous) at the disambiguating sentence region in three measures: first fixation durations, total reading times, and regressive eye movements into the region. Both IFG and MTG stimulation modulated the ambiguity effect for total reading times in the temporarily ambiguous sentence region relative to the control group. The current results demonstrate that an offline repetitive TMS protocol can have influences at a different point in time during online processing and provide causal evidence for IFG involvement in unification operations during sentence comprehension.

The Neural Correlates of Linguistic Distinctions: Unaccusative and Unergative Verbs

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 2306-2315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Einat Shetreet ◽  
Naama Friedmann ◽  
Uri Hadar
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Subject Position ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Unaccusative Verbs ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Conjunction Analysis

Unaccusative verbs like fall are special in that their sole argument is syntactically generated at the object position of the verb rather than at the subject position. Unaccusative verbs are derived by a lexical operation that reduces the agent from transitive verbs. Their insertion into a sentence often involves a syntactic movement from the object to the subject position. To explore the neurological reality of the distinction between different verb types and to identify the cortical activations associated with the lexical and syntactic operations, we compared unaccusative verbs with verbs that do not undergo such operations—unergatives (verbs with one argument, an agent) and transitives (verbs with two arguments). The observed pattern of activation revealed that the brain distinguishes between unaccusative and unergative verbs, lending neurological support for the linguistic distinction. A conjunction analysis between the comparisons between unaccusatives and the other verb types revealed activations in the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus. These, together with previous neuroimaging results, suggest that the inferior frontal gyrus may be involved with the execution of the syntactic operation, whereas the middle temporal gyrus may be responsible for the lexical operation that derives unaccusative verbs.

scholarly journals Neural Basis of Depression Related to a Dominant Right Hemisphere: A Resting-State fMRI Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi Li ◽  
Hongpei Xu ◽  
Shengfu Lu
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Middle Occipital Gyrus ◽  
The Right ◽  
Depressive Patients ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Left Middle

Background. In the past, studies on the lateralization of the left and right hemispheres of the brain suggested that depression is dominated by the right hemisphere of the brain, but the neural basis of this theory remains unclear. Method. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed in 22 depressive patients and 15 healthy controls. The differences in the mean values of the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of two groups were compared, and the low-frequency amplitudes of these differential brain regions were compared. Results. The results show that compared with healthy subjects, depressive patients had increased ReHo values in the right superior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, triangular part of the right inferior frontal gyrus, orbital part of the right inferior frontal gyrus, right superior occipital gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, bilateral anterior cingulate, and paracingulate gyri; reduced ReHo values were seen in the right fusiform gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, left lingual gyrus, and left inferior parietal except in the supramarginal and angular gyri. Conclusions. The results show that regional homogeneity mainly occurs in the right brain, and the overall performance of the brain is such that right hemisphere synchronization is enhanced while left hemisphere synchronization is weakened. ReHo abnormalities in the resting state can predict abnormalities in individual neurological activities that reflect changes in the structure and function of the brain; abnormalities shown with this indicator are the neuronal basis for the phenomenon that the right hemisphere of the brain has a dominant effect on depression.

Spatiotemporal Human Brain Activities on Recalling Names of Body Parts

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Yamanoi ◽  
◽  
Yoshinori Tanaka ◽  
Mika Otsuki ◽  
Shin-ichi Ohnishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Dipole Source ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Current Dipole ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
The Right

The authors measure electroencephalograms (EEGs) from a subject looking at line drawings of body parts and recalling their names silently. The equivalent current dipole source localization (ECDL) method is applied to the event related potentials (ERPs): summed EEGs. As the dominant language area of the subject is considered to be in the right hemisphere in the previous research study, ECDs are localized to the right middle temporal gyrus: the angular gyrus. Then ECDs are localized to the right fusiform gyrus, the right middle temporal pole (TEP), and the right inferior temporal white matter (TWM). ECDs are located in the ventral pathway. The areas are related to the integrated process of visual recognition of pictures and the recalling of words. Some of these areas are also related to image recognition and word generation.

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