scholarly journals Mapping Verb Retrieval With nTMS: The Role of Transitivity

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Effrosyni Ntemou ◽  
Ann-Katrin Ohlerth ◽  
Sebastian Ille ◽  
Sandro M. Krieg ◽  
Roelien Bastiaanse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Surgical Removal ◽  
Language Mapping ◽  
Structure Information ◽  
Action Naming ◽  
Semantic Errors ◽  
Intransitive Verbs

Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (nTMS) is used to understand the cortical organization of language in preparation for the surgical removal of a brain tumor. Action naming with finite verbs can be employed for that purpose, providing additional information to object naming. However, little research has focused on the properties of the verbs that are used in action naming tasks, such as their status as transitive (taking an object; e.g., to read) or intransitive (not taking an object; e.g., to wink). Previous neuroimaging data show higher activation for transitive compared to intransitive verbs in posterior perisylvian regions bilaterally. In the present study, we employed nTMS and production of finite verbs to investigate the cortical underpinnings of transitivity. Twenty neurologically healthy native speakers of German participated in the study. They underwent language mapping in both hemispheres with nTMS. The action naming task with finite verbs consisted of transitive (e.g., The man reads the book) and intransitive verbs (e.g., The woman winks) and was controlled for relevant psycholinguistic variables. Errors were classified in four different error categories (i.e., non-linguistic errors, grammatical errors, lexico-semantic errors and, errors at the sound level) and were analyzed quantitatively. We found more nTMS-positive points in the left hemisphere, particularly in the left parietal lobe for the production of transitive compared to intransitive verbs. These positive points most commonly corresponded to lexico-semantic errors. Our findings are in line with previous aphasia and neuroimaging studies, suggesting that a more widespread network is used for the production of verbs with a larger number of arguments (i.e., transitives). The higher number of lexico-semantic errors with transitive compared to intransitive verbs in the left parietal lobe supports previous claims for the role of left posterior areas in the retrieval of argument structure information.

Niuean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Massam
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Noun Incorporation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Theta Role ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

This book presents a detailed descriptive and theoretical examination of predicate-argument structure in Niuean, a Polynesian language within the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family, spoken mainly on the Pacific island of Niue and in New Zealand. Niuean has VSO word order and an ergative case-marking system, both of which raise questions for a subject-predicate view of sentence structure. Working within a broadly Minimalist framework, this volume develops an analysis in which syntactic arguments are not merged locally to their thematic sources, but instead are merged high, above an inverted extended predicate which serves syntactically as the Niuean verb, later undergoing movement into the left periphery of the clause. The thematically lowest argument merges as an absolutive inner subject, with higher arguments merging as applicatives. The proposal relates Niuean word order and ergativity to its isolating morphology, by equating the absence of inflection with the absence of IP in Niuean, which impacts many aspects of its grammar. As well as developing a novel analysis of clause and argument structure, word order, ergative case, and theta role assignment, the volume argues for an expanded understanding of subjecthood. Throughout the volume, many other topics are also treated, such as noun incorporation, word formation, the parallel internal structure of predicates and arguments, null arguments, displacement typology, the role of determiners, and the structure of the left periphery.

scholarly journals Frequency Sensitivity of Neural Responses to English Verb Argument Structure Violations

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jona Sassenhagen ◽  
Ryan Blything ◽  
Elena V. M. Lieven ◽  
Ben Ambridge
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Verb Argument Structure ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Intransitive Verbs

How are verb-argument structure preferences acquired? Children typically receive very little negative evidence, raising the question of how they come to understand the restrictions on grammatical constructions. Statistical learning theories propose stochastic patterns in the input contain sufficient clues. For example, if a verb is very common, but never observed in transitive constructions, this would indicate that transitive usage of that verb is illegal. Ambridge et al. (2008) have shown that in offline grammaticality judgements of intransitive verbs used in transitive constructions, low-frequency verbs elicit higher acceptability ratings than high-frequency verbs, as predicted if relative frequency is a cue during statistical learning. Here, we investigate if the same pattern also emerges in on-line processing of English sentences. EEG was recorded while healthy adults listened to sentences featuring transitive uses of semantically matched verb pairs of differing frequencies. We replicate the finding of higher acceptabilities of transitive uses of low- vs. high-frequency intransitive verbs. Event-Related Potentials indicate a similar result: early electrophysiological signals distinguish between misuse of high- vs low-frequency verbs. This indicates online processing shows a similar sensitivity to frequency as off-line judgements, consistent with a parser that reflects an original acquisition of grammatical constructions via statistical cues. However, the nature of the observed neural responses was not of the expected, or an easily interpretable, form, motivating further work into neural correlates of online processing of syntactic constructions.

scholarly journals A brief history of studying the role of intestinal factor in aging and/or induction of systemic inflammation: Achievements, challenges, and prospects

2019 ◽  
pp. 4-17
Author(s):  
И.А. Аниховская ◽  
В.А. Белоглазов ◽  
А.И. Гордиенко ◽  
Ю.Д. Иванов ◽  
А.В. Кубышкин ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
World Ocean ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Surgical Removal ◽  
Russian Scientist ◽  
Blue Green Algae ◽  
General Pathology ◽  
Systemic Endotoxemia

Изучение кишечного фактора в скорости старения, индукции воспаления и прогрессировании заболеваний неразрывно (прямо или косвенно) связано с великим русским учёным И.И. Мечниковым. Его интуиция инициировала изучение особенностей состава микробиоты долгожителей и операций по удалению толстой кишки (как рудимента и источника токсичных продуктов гниения), результаты которых не имели научного и практического успеха и завершились чуть менее 100 лет тому назад, ознаменовав собой завершение первого этапа исследований. Параллельно с первым стартовал второй этап. Он заключался в изучении биологических свойств и структуры эндотоксина - липополисахарида (ЛПС), число молекул которого на планете очень велико, поскольку ЛПС термостабилен, а главным его источником являются сине-зелёные водоросли, заселившие Мировой океан около 2 миллиардов лет тому назад. Третий этап изучения кишечного фактора в общей патологии стартовал в России треть века назад на стыке первых двух параллельно развивающихся направлений с постулирования системной эндотоксинемии, как облигатного биологического явления и открытия клеточного рецептора TLR4, лигандом которого является ЛПС. В дальнейшем TLR4-подобные рецепторы были обнаружены даже у растений, что позволяет квалифицировать ЛПС не только как экзогормон адаптации, но и как облигатный фактор эволюции. Последняя подразумевает самообновление популяции, для реализации которой облигатные факторы жизнеобеспечения должны обладать и противоположным действием, среди которых стресс и ЛПС. Способность средств снижения содержания ЛПС в крови повышать качество лечебно-профилактического процесса позволяет оптимистично оценивать возможность замедления процессов старения. Первоочередными задачами для достижения поставленной цели являются: определение диапазона физиологических показателей системной эндотоксинемии во всех возрастных группах и создание нового поколения доступных для широкого использования средств селективной элиминации избытка ЛПС из крови (гемодиализ) и кишечника (энтеросорбция), которые могут быть созданы на основе аптамеров. Studying the role of intestinal factor in the rate of aging, induction of inflammation, and progression of diseases is inextricably (directly or indirectly) associated with the great Russian scientist I.I. Mechnikov. His intuition initiated studying the long-livers’ microbiota and the surgical removal of the colon (as a rudiment and source of toxic rotting products), which did not bring any scientific or practical success. These studies were over a little less than 100 years ago marking the end of the first stage of research. The second stage started in parallel with the first one and consisted in studying biological properties and structure of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS). LPS molecules are as numerous on the earth as in the air since LPS is thermally stable and generated by blue-green algae that have inhabited the World Ocean two billion years ago. The third stage of studying the intestinal factor in general pathology started in Russia one third of a century ago at the junction of the two above-mentioned, paralleling endeavors - postulating systemic endotoxemia as an obligate biological phenomenon and discovery of the LPS receptor (TLR4) of innate immunity. TLR4 is carried by humans, animals, fish, sponges, and even plants, which suggests that LPS is not only an adaptive exohormone but also an obligate factor of evolution. This implies population self-renewal, which requires that the obligate life-support factors must also possess an opposite effect, including stress and intestinal LPS. The ability of LPS suppressors to enhance the therapeutic and prophylactic process makes promising a possibility of slowing aging. The primary tasks for achieving this goal are determining the range of systemic endotoxemia physiological indexes in all age groups and creating a readily accessible new generation of methods for selective elimination of LPS from blood (hemodialysis) and intestine (enterosorption) that could be developed on the basis of aptamers.

The role of the left frontal lobe in action naming: rTMS evidence

Neurology ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 720-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. F. Cappa ◽  
M. Sandrini ◽  
P. M. Rossini ◽  
K. Sosta ◽  
C. Miniussi
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Left Frontal Lobe ◽  
Action Naming

Abstract 15228: Role of Sympathetic Innervation in the Pathogenesis of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin JIANG ◽  
Yugang Liu ◽  
Guillermo A Ameer
Keyword(s):  
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm ◽  
Aortic Aneurysm ◽  
Sympathetic Innervation ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Elastic Fibers ◽  
Surgical Removal ◽  
Infrarenal Aorta ◽  
Abdominal Aortic ◽  
Nerve Bundles

Introduction: The objective of this study is to understand the role of neurological factors, specifically those from the perivascular sympathetic nervous system (SNS), on the initiation and development of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA). Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the formation of AAA is associated with the loss of perivascular SNS-induced vasoconstriction specific to the aneurysm region. Methods: We developed a rat Abdominal Aortic Denervation (AAD) model, where the infrarenal aorta of Spauge Dawley rats was denervated with surgical removal of nerve fibers and chemical denervation with 10% phenol ( Figure. A ). A sham control group was included where the infrarenal aorta was treated with PBS. The arteries were harvested at 1 month after the surgeries for histological assessment. Results: The denervated aortas exhibited significant thinning of the aortic wall including the media and the adventitia, compared to the sham controls ( Figure. B ). Moreover, degradation of elastin, demonstrated by the fragmentation of elastic fibers and the decreased number of lamellar units, was also observed in the dennervated aortas in comparison to the sham controls. While the control aortas were well innervated with perivascular nerve bundles adjacent to the adventitia, no nerves were found surrounding the denervated aortas, suggesting successful denervation. Conclusions: We generated an AAD model that could be used for mechanistic understanding and therapeutic development of AAA. The preliminary data suggest a direct link between the lack of aortic sympathetic innervation and AAA formation. Long-term studies are currently underway to further characterize changes in the aortic walls after sympathetic denervation. Figure. (A) Illustration of the denervated region on the rat infrarenal aorta. ( B ) Histological staining of control and denervated rat abdominal aortas at 1 month after surgery. Yellow stars: para-aortic nerve bundles. Scale bar = 200 μm.

On the Event Structural Properties of the English Get-Passive

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-74
Author(s):  
Alison Biggs ◽  
David Embick
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Structural Properties ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Event Structure ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Event Structures ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Responsible Party

An important ongoing discussion in theories of argument structure concerns the explanatory division of labor between thematic properties and event structure. In this context, the English get-passive provides an interesting test case. Much previous work has analyzed get-passives as differing thematically from be-passives. Yet many get-passive properties remain poorly understood. We present an analysis of the get-passive centered on the proposal that it contains additional event structure (realized as get) relative to its be counterpart. We employ by-adjuncts to identify the event structures in passive types, and demonstrate that the behavior of this and other diagnostics support the conclusion that get- and be-passives differ systematically in ways that accord with our analysis. Further discussion considers the prominent proposal from previous studies that get-passives differ thematically from be-passives in (sometimes) assigning an Agent role to their surface subjects. We show that there is no evidence for such an analysis. Instead, intuitions about the interpretation of the get-passive surface subject arise from how an event’s Responsible Party is identified: contrasts between get and be on this dimension are a consequence of event structural differences between the two. The overall result is a unified analysis of the get-passive, one that has implications for the role of event structure in understanding the syntax and interpretation of arguments.

scholarly journals The role of performance limitations in the acquisition of verb-argument structure: an alternative account

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNA L. THEAKSTON ◽  
ELENA V. M. LIEVEN ◽  
JULIAN M. PINE ◽  
CAROLINE F. ROWLAND
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Alternative Account ◽  
Verb Argument Structure ◽  
Performance Limitations

scholarly journals Epilepsy and insular Grade II gliomas: an interdisciplinary point of view from a retrospective monocentric series of 46 cases

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. E8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luc Taillandier ◽  
Hugues Duffau
Keyword(s):  
Seizure Frequency ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Favorable Effect ◽  
Surgical Removal ◽  
Extensive Experience ◽  
Who Grade ◽  
Grade Ii ◽  
Sequential Treatments ◽  
Few Data

OBJECTThere are few data in the literature concerning a multimodal approach to insular WHO Grade II gliomas (GIIGs) and the control of epilepsy after treatment. In this paper, the authors describe a monocentric series of 46 cases in which patients underwent various sequential treatments for insular GIIGs. On the basis of global results with regard to epilepsy, the respective interests in the various treatments are discussed.METHODSAvailable data on 46 patients harboring insular GIIGs were extracted from a local database of 288 GIIGs. The various therapeutic sequences were analyzed in parallel with the course of seizure frequency.RESULTSDespite the usual difficulties with seizure quantification in retrospective studies, the authors showed that 1) the negative course of seizure frequency was mostly connected to tumor progression, 2) surgery almost always had a favorable effect on epilepsy, and 3) chemotherapy had a mostly favorable effect with acceptable tolerance. The authors were unable to draw conclusions about the role of radiotherapy given the too few cases.CONCLUSIONSThis extensive experience with insular GIIGs tends to confirm interest in their surgical removal and supports interest in chemotherapy from an epileptological point of view.

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