scholarly journals The left posterior inferior frontal gyrus is functionally relevant for grammatical processing guided by intonation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantijn L van der Burght ◽  
Ole Numssen ◽  
Benito Schlaak ◽  
Tomás Goucha ◽  
Gesa Hartwigsen
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Facilitation Effect ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Functional Relevance

Auditory language comprehension involves processing the content (semantics), grammar (syntax), and intonation (prosody) of a sentence. Sentence processing guided by prosody has been shown to involve the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Prosodic cues are known to interact closely with both syntax and semantics, yet, whether these two processing domains can be attributed to separate subregions within the left IFG is highly debated. We probed the causal role of the posterior IFG (pIFG) for syntactic processing and the anterior IFG (aIFG) for semantic processing in a task that required the interpretation of the sentence’s prosodic realisation. Healthy participants performed a sentence completion task with syntactic and semantic decisions, while receiving 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over either left aIFG, pIFG, or vertex (control). Although the behavioural analysis showed no significant interaction between rTMS site and decision, electrical field simulations revealed a task-specific facilitation effect: stronger pIFG stimulation led to faster syntactic processing without significantly modulating semantic decisions. In contrast, aIFG stimulation had an unspecific inhibitory effect. These results provide evidence for the functional relevance of left pIFG in grammatical processing guided by intonation. The unspecific inhibitory effect of aIFG rTMS highlights this subregion’s role in domain-general processes.

scholarly journals Dissociating semantic and phonological contributions of the left inferior frontal gyrus to language production

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Klaus ◽  
Gesa Hartwigsen
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Control Site ◽  
Generation Task ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Relevance ◽  
Naming Latencies

While the involvement of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in language production is undisputed, the role of specific subregions at different representational levels remains unclear. Some studies suggest a division of anterior and posterior regions for semantic and phonological processing, respectively. Crucially, evidence thus far only comes from correlative neuroimaging studies, but the functional relevance of the involvement of these subregions during a given task remains elusive. We applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over anterior and posterior IFG (aIFG/pIFG), and vertex as a control site, while participants performed a category member and a rhyme generation task. We found a functional-anatomical double dissociation between tasks and subregions. Naming latencies were significantly delayed in the semantic task when rTMS was applied to aIFG (relative to pIFG and vertex). In contrast, we observed a facilitation of naming latencies in the phonological task when rTMS was applied to pIFG (relative to aIFG and vertex). The results provide first causal evidence for the notion that anterior portions of the IFG are selectively recruited for semantic processing while posterior regions are functionally specific for phonological processing during word production. These findings shed light on the functional parcellation of the left IFG in language production.

scholarly journals Syntactic and Semantic Specialization and Integration in 5- to 6-Year-Old Children during Auditory Sentence Processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Wang ◽  
Mabel L. Rice ◽  
James R. Booth
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Semantic Task

Previous studies have found specialized syntactic and semantic processes in the adult brain during language comprehension. Young children have sophisticated semantic and syntactic aspects of language, yet many previous fMRI studies failed to detect this specialization, possibly due to experimental design and analytical methods. In this current study, 5- to 6-year-old children completed a syntactic task and a semantic task to dissociate these two processes. Multivoxel pattern analysis was used to examine the correlation of patterns within a task (between runs) or across tasks. We found that the left middle temporal gyrus showed more similar patterns within the semantic task compared with across tasks, whereas there was no difference in the correlation within the syntactic task compared with across tasks, suggesting its specialization in semantic processing. Moreover, the left superior temporal gyrus showed more similar patterns within both the semantic task and the syntactic task as compared with across tasks, suggesting its role in integration of semantic and syntactic information. In contrast to the temporal lobe, we did not find specialization or integration effects in either the opercular or triangular part of the inferior frontal gyrus. Overall, our study showed that 5- to 6-year-old children have already developed specialization and integration in the temporal lobe, but not in the frontal lobe, consistent with developmental neurocognitive models of language comprehension in typically developing young children.

scholarly journals Overt and covert prosody are reflected in neurophysiological responses previously attributed to grammatical processing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Glushko ◽  
David Poeppel ◽  
Karsten Steinhauer
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Spectral Power ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Power Peak ◽  
Interactive Relationship ◽  
Online Sentence Processing

AbstractRecent neurophysiological research suggests that slow cortical activity tracks hierarchical syntactic structure during online sentence processing (e.g., Ding, Melloni, Zhang, Tian, & Poeppel, 2016). Here we tested an alternative hypothesis: electrophysiological activity peaks at sentence constituent frequencies reflect cortical tracking of overt or covert (implicit) prosodic grouping. In three experiments, participants listened to series of sentences while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. First, prosodic cues in the sentence materials were neutralized. We found an EEG spectral power peak elicited at a frequency that only ‘tagged’ covert prosodic change, but not any major syntactic constituents. In the second experiment, participants listened to a series of sentences with overt prosodic grouping cues that either aligned or misaligned with the syntactic phrasing in the sentences (initial overt prosody trials). Immediately after each overt prosody trial, participants were presented with a second series of sentences (covert prosody trial) with all overt prosodic cues neutralized and asked to imagine the prosodic contour present in the previous, overt prosody trial. The EEG responses reflected an interactive relationship between syntactic processing and prosodic tracking at the frequencies of syntactic constituents (sentences and phrases): alignment of syntax and prosody boosted EEG responses, whereas their misalignment had an opposite effect. This was true for both overt and covert (imagined) prosody. We conclude that processing of both overt and covert prosody is reflected in the frequency tagged neural responses at sentence constituent frequencies, whereas identifying neural markers that are narrowly reflective of syntactic processing remains difficult and controversial.

Bilingual sentence processing

2007 ◽  
pp. 370-384
Author(s):  
Arturo E. Hernández ◽  
Eva M. Fernández ◽  
Noemí Aznar-besé
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Processing Effects

Bilinguals live in two linguistic worlds. Given the different demands of each language, one might think that each system functions independently. However, bilinguals do not behave like two monolingual speaker/listeners housed in a single brain. Instead, the evidence to date suggests that the characteristics of bilingual language processing may appear to be “in between” the individual's two codes. Studies in bilingual sentence processing have focused on phenomena related to how semantic or syntactic representations are built. This article reviews data consistent with the view of interdependence between the two languages of the bilingual, using evidence from the literature on bilingual sentence processing. Studies of both semantic processing and syntactic processing show that bilinguals almost always use a unitary mechanism which accesses two separately represented grammars. The study of bilingual sentence processing can also offer insights into our understanding of human language processing in general, because bilinguals offer opportunities to examine sentence processing effects in within-participant designs, impossible to carry out with monolinguals. In addition to the above, this article explores parsing, the age of language acquisition, and language proficiency.

scholarly journals What Role Does the Anterior Temporal Lobe Play in Sentence-level Processing? Neural Correlates of Syntactic Processing in Semantic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 970-985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Wilson ◽  
Andrew T. DeMarco ◽  
Maya L. Henry ◽  
Benno Gesierich ◽  
Miranda Babiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Primary Progressive Aphasia ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Functional Reorganization ◽  
Structure Building ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Left Posterior

Neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies have implicated the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) in sentence-level processing, with syntactic structure-building and/or combinatorial semantic processing suggested as possible roles. A potential challenge to the view that the ATL is involved in syntactic aspects of sentence processing comes from the clinical syndrome of semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (semantic PPA; also known as semantic dementia). In semantic PPA, bilateral neurodegeneration of the ATLs is associated with profound lexical semantic deficits, yet syntax is strikingly spared. The goal of this study was to investigate the neural correlates of syntactic processing in semantic PPA to determine which regions normally involved in syntactic processing are damaged in semantic PPA and whether spared syntactic processing depends on preserved functionality of intact regions, preserved functionality of atrophic regions, or compensatory functional reorganization. We scanned 20 individuals with semantic PPA and 24 age-matched controls using structural MRI and fMRI. Participants performed a sentence comprehension task that emphasized syntactic processing and minimized lexical semantic demands. We found that, in controls, left inferior frontal and left posterior temporal regions were modulated by syntactic processing, whereas anterior temporal regions were not significantly modulated. In the semantic PPA group, atrophy was most severe in the ATLs but extended to the posterior temporal regions involved in syntactic processing. Functional activity for syntactic processing was broadly similar in patients and controls; in particular, whole-brain analyses revealed no significant differences between patients and controls in the regions modulated by syntactic processing. The atrophic left ATL did show abnormal functionality in semantic PPA patients; however, this took the unexpected form of a failure to deactivate. Taken together, our findings indicate that spared syntactic processing in semantic PPA depends on preserved functionality of structurally intact left frontal regions and moderately atrophic left posterior temporal regions, but no functional reorganization was apparent as a consequence of anterior temporal atrophy and dysfunction. These results suggest that the role of the ATL in sentence processing is less likely to relate to syntactic structure-building and more likely to relate to higher-level processes such as combinatorial semantic processing.

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.

Neural Correlates of Syntactic Processing in Two-Year-Olds

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 1667-1678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regine Oberecker ◽  
Manuela Friedrich ◽  
Angela D. Friederici
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Late Positivity ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
First Pass ◽  
Anterior Negativity

Event-related brain potential (ERP) studies of sentence processing in adults have shown that phrase-structure violations are associated with two ERP components: an early left anterior negativity (ELAN) and a late, centro-parietal positivity (P600). Although the ELAN reflects highly automatic first-pass sentence parsing, the P600 has been interpreted to reflect later, more controlled processes. The present ERP study investigates the processing of phrase-structure violations in children below three years of age. Both children (mean age of 2.8 years) and adults passively listened to short active sentences that were either correct or syntactically incorrect. Adults displayed an ELAN that was followed by a P600 to the syntactic violation. Children also demonstrated a biphasic ERP pattern consisting of an early left hemispheric negativity and a late positivity. Both components, however, started later and persisted longer than those observed in adults. The left lateralization of the children's negativity suggests that this component can be interpreted as a child-specific precursor to the ELAN observed in adults. The appearance of the early negativity indicates that the neural mechanisms of syntactic parsing are present, in principle, during early language development.

scholarly journals Syntax-Sensitive Regions of the Posterior Inferior Frontal Gyrus and the Posterior Temporal Lobe Are Differentially Recruited by Production and Perception

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William Matchin ◽  
Emily Wood
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Regions Of Interest ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Lesion Symptom Mapping

Abstract Matchin and Hickok (2020) proposed that the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus (PIFG) and the left posterior temporal lobe (PTL) both play a role in syntactic processing, broadly construed, attributing distinct functions to these regions with respect to production and perception. Consistent with this hypothesis, functional dissociations between these regions have been demonstrated with respect to lesion–symptom mapping in aphasia. However, neuroimaging studies of syntactic comprehension typically show similar activations in these regions. In order to identify whether these regions show distinct activation patterns with respect to syntactic perception and production, we performed an fMRI study contrasting the subvocal articulation and perception of structured jabberwocky phrases (syntactic), sequences of real words (lexical), and sequences of pseudowords (phonological). We defined two sets of language-selective regions of interest (ROIs) in individual subjects for the PIFG and the PTL using the contrasts [syntactic > lexical] and [syntactic > phonological]. We found robust significant interactions of comprehension and production between these 2 regions at the syntactic level, for both sets of language-selective ROIs. This suggests a core difference in the function of these regions with respect to production and perception, consistent with the lesion literature.

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