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Liang X, Huang F, Liu D, Xu M. Brain representations of lexical ambiguity: Disentangling homonymy, polysemy, and their meanings. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2024; 253:105426. [PMID: 38815503 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
In human languages, it is a common phenomenon for a single word to have multiple meanings. This study used fMRI to investigate how the brain processed different types of lexical ambiguity, and how it differentiated the meanings of ambiguous words. We focused on homonyms and polysemy that differed in the relatedness among multiple meanings. Participants (N = 35) performed a prime-target semantic relatedness task, where a specific meaning of an ambiguous word was primed. Results showed that homonyms elicited greater activation in bilateral dorsal prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices than polysemous words, suggesting that these regions may be more engaged in cognitive control when the meanings of ambiguous words are unrelated. Multivariate pattern analysis further revealed that meanings of homonyms with different syntactic categories were represented differently in the frontal and temporal cortices. The findings highlighted the importance of semantic relations and grammatical factors in the brain's representation of lexical ambiguities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyuan Liang
- School of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Chinese Academy of Social Science, Beijing 100102, China
| | - Fuchun Huang
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Danqing Liu
- School of Humanities, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
| | - Min Xu
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
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2
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Simi N, Mackenzie IG, Leuthold H, Janczyk M, Dudschig C. Cognitive control mechanisms in language processing: are there both within- and across-task conflict adaptation effects? Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2023; 76:649-671. [PMID: 35748513 PMCID: PMC9936448 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221111789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive conflict is regarded as a crucial factor in triggering subsequent adjustments in cognitive control. Recent studies have suggested that the implementation of control following conflict detection might be domain-general in that conflict experienced in the language domain recruits control processes that deal with conflict experienced in non-linguistic domains. During language comprehension, humans often have to recover from conflicting interpretations as quickly and accurately as possible. In this study, we investigate how people adapt to conflict experienced during processing semantically ambiguous sentences. Experiments 1 to 3 investigated whether such semantic conflict produces the congruency sequence effect (CSE) within a subsequent manual Stroop task and whether Stroop conflict leads to adjustments in semantic processing. Experiments 4 to 6 investigated whether semantic conflict results in conflict adaptation in subsequent sentence processing. Although processing conflict was consistently experienced during sentence reading and in the Stroop task, we did not observe any within-task or cross-task adaptation effects. Specifically, there were no cross-task CSEs from the linguistic task to the Stroop task and vice versa (experiments 1-3)-speaking against the assumption of domain-general control mechanisms. Moreover, experiencing conflict within a semantically ambiguous sentence did not ease the processing of a subsequent ambiguous sentence (experiments 4-6). Implications of these findings will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoletta Simi
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany,Nicoletta Simi, Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
| | | | - Hartmut Leuthold
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Janczyk
- Department of Psychology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Carolin Dudschig
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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3
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MacGregor LJ, Gilbert RA, Balewski Z, Mitchell DJ, Erzinçlioğlu SW, Rodd JM, Duncan J, Fedorenko E, Davis MH. Causal Contributions of the Domain-General (Multiple Demand) and the Language-Selective Brain Networks to Perceptual and Semantic Challenges in Speech Comprehension. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2022; 3:665-698. [PMID: 36742011 PMCID: PMC9893226 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Listening to spoken language engages domain-general multiple demand (MD; frontoparietal) regions of the human brain, in addition to domain-selective (frontotemporal) language regions, particularly when comprehension is challenging. However, there is limited evidence that the MD network makes a functional contribution to core aspects of understanding language. In a behavioural study of volunteers (n = 19) with chronic brain lesions, but without aphasia, we assessed the causal role of these networks in perceiving, comprehending, and adapting to spoken sentences made more challenging by acoustic-degradation or lexico-semantic ambiguity. We measured perception of and adaptation to acoustically degraded (noise-vocoded) sentences with a word report task before and after training. Participants with greater damage to MD but not language regions required more vocoder channels to achieve 50% word report, indicating impaired perception. Perception improved following training, reflecting adaptation to acoustic degradation, but adaptation was unrelated to lesion location or extent. Comprehension of spoken sentences with semantically ambiguous words was measured with a sentence coherence judgement task. Accuracy was high and unaffected by lesion location or extent. Adaptation to semantic ambiguity was measured in a subsequent word association task, which showed that availability of lower-frequency meanings of ambiguous words increased following their comprehension (word-meaning priming). Word-meaning priming was reduced for participants with greater damage to language but not MD regions. Language and MD networks make dissociable contributions to challenging speech comprehension: Using recent experience to update word meaning preferences depends on language-selective regions, whereas the domain-general MD network plays a causal role in reporting words from degraded speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy J. MacGregor
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rebecca A. Gilbert
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Zuzanna Balewski
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
| | - Daniel J. Mitchell
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Jennifer M. Rodd
- Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - John Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Evelina Fedorenko
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | - Matthew H. Davis
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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4
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Language Tasks and the Network Control Role of the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0382-20.2021. [PMID: 34244340 PMCID: PMC8431826 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0382-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent work has combined cognitive neuroscience and control theory to make predictions about cognitive control functions. Here, we test a link between whole-brain theories of semantics and the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) in controlled language performance using network control theory (NCT), a branch of systems engineering. Specifically, we examined whether two properties of node controllability, boundary and modal controllability, were linked to semantic selection and retrieval on sentence completion and verb generation tasks. We tested whether the controllability of the left IFG moderated language selection and retrieval costs and the effects of continuous θ burst stimulation (cTBS), an inhibitory form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on behavior in 41 human subjects (25 active, 16 sham). We predicted that boundary controllability, a measure of the theoretical ability of a node to integrate and segregate brain networks, would be linked to word selection in the contextually-rich sentence completion task. In contrast, we expected that modal controllability, a measure of the theoretical ability of a node to drive the brain into specifically hard-to-reach states, would be linked to retrieval on the low-context verb generation task. Boundary controllability was linked to selection and to the ability of TMS to reduce response latencies on the sentence completion task. In contrast, modal controllability was not linked to performance on the tasks or TMS effects. Overall, our results suggest a link between the network integrating role of the LIFG and selection and the overall semantic demands of sentence completion.
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El Bouzaïdi Tiali S, Spinelli E, Meunier F, Palluel-Germain R, Perrone-Bertolotti M. Influence of homophone processing during auditory language comprehension on executive control processes: A dual-task paradigm. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254237. [PMID: 34264980 PMCID: PMC8282032 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present preregistered study, we evaluated the possibility of a shared cognitive mechanism during verbal and non-verbal tasks and therefore the implication of domain-general cognitive control during language comprehension. We hypothesized that a behavioral cost will be observed during a dual-task including both verbal and non-verbal difficult processing. Specifically, to test this claim, we designed a dual-task paradigm involving: an auditory language comprehension task (sentence comprehension) and a non-verbal Flanker task (including congruent and incongruent trials). We manipulated sentence ambiguity and evaluated if the ambiguity effect modified behavioral performances in the non-verbal Flanker task. Under the assumption that ambiguous sentences induce a more difficult process than unambiguous sentences, we expected non-verbal flanker task performances to be impaired only when a simultaneous difficult language processing is performed. This would be specifically reflected by a performance cost during incongruent Flanker items only during ambiguous sentence presentation. Conversely, we observed a facilitatory effect for the incongruent Flanker items during ambiguous sentence suggesting better non-verbal inhibitory performances when an ambiguous sentence was simultaneously processed. Exploratory data analysis suggests that this effect is not only related to a more difficult language processing but also to the previous (n-1) Flanker item. Indeed, results showed that incongruent n-1 Flanker items led to a facilitation of the incongruent synchronized Flanker items only when ambiguous sentences were conjointly presented. This result, even if it needs to be corroborated in future studies, suggests that the recruitment of executive control mechanisms facilitates subsequent executive control implication during difficult language processing. The present study suggests a common executive control mechanism during difficult verbal and non-verbal tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elsa Spinelli
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LPNC UMR 5105, Grenoble, France
| | | | | | - Marcela Perrone-Bertolotti
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LPNC UMR 5105, Grenoble, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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Kumar AA, Steyvers M, Balota DA. A Critical Review of Network-Based and Distributional Approaches to Semantic Memory Structure and Processes. Top Cogn Sci 2021; 14:54-77. [PMID: 34092042 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Some of the earliest work on understanding how concepts are organized in memory used a network-based approach, where words or concepts are represented as nodes, and relationships between words are represented by links between nodes. Over the past two decades, advances in network science and graph theoretical methods have led to the development of computational semantic networks. This review provides a modern perspective on how computational semantic networks have proven to be useful tools to investigate the structure of semantic memory as well as search and retrieval processes within semantic memory, to ultimately model performance in a wide variety of cognitive tasks. Regarding representation, the review focuses on the distinctions and similarities between network-based (based on behavioral norms) approaches and more recent distributional (based on natural language corpora) semantic models, and the potential overlap between the two approaches. Capturing the type of relation between concepts appears to be particularly important in this modeling endeavor. Regarding processes, the review focuses on random walk models and the degree to which retrieval processes demand attention in pursuit of given task goals, which dovetails with the type of relation retrieved during tasks. Ultimately, this review provides a critical assessment of how the network perspective can be reconciled with distributional and machine-learning-based perspectives to meaning representation, and describes how cognitive network science provides a useful conceptual toolkit to probe both the structure and retrieval processes within semantic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark Steyvers
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine
| | - David A Balota
- Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
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Semantic Knowledge of Famous People and Places Is Represented in Hippocampus and Distinct Cortical Networks. J Neurosci 2021; 41:2762-2779. [PMID: 33547163 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2034-19.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies have found that anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is critical for detailed knowledge of object categories, suggesting that it has an important role in semantic memory. However, in addition to information about entities, such as people and objects, semantic memory also encompasses information about places. We tested predictions stemming from the PMAT model, which proposes there are distinct systems that support different kinds of semantic knowledge: an anterior temporal (AT) network, which represents information about entities; and a posterior medial (PM) network, which represents information about places. We used representational similarity analysis to test for activation of semantic features when human participants viewed pictures of famous people and places, while controlling for visual similarity. We used machine learning techniques to quantify the semantic similarity of items based on encyclopedic knowledge in the Wikipedia page for each item and found that these similarity models accurately predict human similarity judgments. We found that regions within the AT network, including ATL and inferior frontal gyrus, represented detailed semantic knowledge of people. In contrast, semantic knowledge of places was represented within PM network areas, including precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, angular gyrus, and parahippocampal cortex. Finally, we found that hippocampus, which has been proposed to serve as an interface between the AT and PM networks, represented fine-grained semantic similarity for both individual people and places. Our results provide evidence that semantic knowledge of people and places is represented separately in AT and PM areas, whereas hippocampus represents semantic knowledge of both categories.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans acquire detailed semantic knowledge about people (e.g., their occupation and personality) and places (e.g., their cultural or historical significance). While research has demonstrated that brain regions preferentially respond to pictures of people and places, less is known about whether these regions preferentially represent semantic knowledge about specific people and places. We used machine learning techniques to develop a model of semantic similarity based on information available from Wikipedia, validating the model against similarity ratings from human participants. Using our computational model, we found that semantic knowledge about people and places is represented in distinct anterior temporal and posterior medial brain networks, respectively. We further found that hippocampus, an important memory center, represented semantic knowledge for both types of stimuli.
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Hoffman P, Tamm A. Barking up the right tree: Univariate and multivariate fMRI analyses of homonym comprehension. Neuroimage 2020; 219:117050. [PMID: 32534964 PMCID: PMC7443701 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Homonyms are a critical test case for investigating how the brain resolves ambiguity in language and, more generally, how context influences semantic processing. Previous neuroimaging studies have associated processing of homonyms with greater engagement of regions involved in executive control of semantic processing. However, the precise role of these areas and the involvement of semantic representational regions in homonym comprehension remain elusive. We addressed this by combining univariate and multivariate fMRI analyses of homonym processing. We tested whether multi-voxel activation patterns could discriminate between presentations of the same homonym in different contexts (e.g., bark following tree vs. bark following dog). The ventral anterior temporal lobe, implicated in semantic representation but not previously in homonym comprehension, showed this meaning-specific coding, despite not showing increased mean activation for homonyms. Within inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a key site for semantic control, there was a dissociation between pars orbitalis, which also showed meaning-specific coding, and pars triangularis, which discriminated more generally between semantically related and unrelated word pairs. IFG effects were goal-dependent, only occurring when the task required semantic decisions, in line with a top-down control function. Finally, posterior middle temporal cortex showed a hybrid pattern of responses, supporting the idea that it acts as an interface between semantic representations and the control system. The study provides new evidence for context-dependent coding in the semantic system and clarifies the role of control regions in processing ambiguity. It also highlights the importance of combining univariate and multivariate neuroimaging data to fully elucidate the role of a brain region in semantic cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Hoffman
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Andres Tamm
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
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MacGregor LJ, Rodd JM, Gilbert RA, Hauk O, Sohoglu E, Davis MH. The Neural Time Course of Semantic Ambiguity Resolution in Speech Comprehension. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:403-425. [PMID: 31682564 PMCID: PMC7116495 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Semantically ambiguous words challenge speech comprehension, particularly when listeners must select a less frequent (subordinate) meaning at disambiguation. Using combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) and EEG, we measured neural responses associated with distinct cognitive operations during semantic ambiguity resolution in spoken sentences: (i) initial activation and selection of meanings in response to an ambiguous word and (ii) sentence reinterpretation in response to subsequent disambiguation to a subordinate meaning. Ambiguous words elicited an increased neural response approximately 400-800 msec after their acoustic offset compared with unambiguous control words in left frontotemporal MEG sensors, corresponding to sources in bilateral frontotemporal brain regions. This response may reflect increased demands on processes by which multiple alternative meanings are activated and maintained until later selection. Disambiguating words heard after an ambiguous word were associated with marginally increased neural activity over bilateral temporal MEG sensors and a central cluster of EEG electrodes, which localized to similar bilateral frontal and left temporal regions. This later neural response may reflect effortful semantic integration or elicitation of prediction errors that guide reinterpretation of previously selected word meanings. Across participants, the amplitude of the ambiguity response showed a marginal positive correlation with comprehension scores, suggesting that sentence comprehension benefits from additional processing around the time of an ambiguous word. Better comprehenders may have increased availability of subordinate meanings, perhaps due to higher quality lexical representations and reflected in a positive correlation between vocabulary size and comprehension success.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer M. Rodd
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London
| | | | - Olaf Hauk
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Ediz Sohoglu
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
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10
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Marton K, Scheuer J. The relationship between proceduralization and cognitive control. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2020; 83:105941. [PMID: 31587809 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2019.105941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In this paper we discuss the relationship between the proceduralization process and cognitive control. Our discussion is based on theoretical models and clinical practices, with a focus on child language impairment. We argue that the same skill may require more or less cognitive control depending on the differences in contextual conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Marton
- The Graduate School & University Center of the City University of New York, United States; Brooklyn College, City University of New York, United States; Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Jessica Scheuer
- The Graduate School & University Center of the City University of New York, United States
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11
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Skau S, Bunketorp-Käll L, Kuhn HG, Johansson B. Mental Fatigue and Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) - Based Assessment of Cognitive Performance After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:145. [PMID: 31139065 PMCID: PMC6527600 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathological mental fatigue after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI-MF) is characterized by pronounced mental fatigue after cognitive activity. The neurological origin is unknown, and we aimed in the present study to investigate how prolonged mental activity affects cognitive performance and its neural correlates in individuals with TBI-MF. We recruited individuals with TBI-MF (n = 20) at least 5 months after injury, and age-matched healthy controls (n = 20). We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess hemodynamic changes in the frontal cortex. The self-assessed mental energy level was measured with a visual analog scale (VAS) before and after the experimental procedure. A battery of six neuropsychological tests including Stroop–Simon, Symbol Search, Digit Span, Parallel Serial Mental Operation (PaSMO), Sustained Attention and Working Memory test, and Digit Symbol Coding (DSC) were used. The sequence was repeated once after an 8 min sustained-attention test. The test procedure lasted 2½ h. The experimental procedure resulted in a decrease in mental energy in the TBI-MF group, compared to controls (interaction, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.331). The TBI-MF group performed at a similar level on both DSC tests, whereas the controls improved their performance in the second session (interaction, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.268). During the Stroop–Simon test, the fNIRS event-related response showed no time effect. However, the TBI-MF group exhibited lower oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations in the frontal polar area (FPA), ventrolateral motor cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) from the beginning of the test session. A Stroop and Group interaction was found in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex showing that the TBI-MF group did have the same oxy-Hb concentration for both congruent and incongruent trials, whereas the controls had more oxy-Hb in the incongruent trial compared to the congruent trial (interaction, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.227). In sum these results indicate that individuals with TBI-MF have a reduced ability to recruit the frontal cortex, which is correlated with self-reported mental fatigue. This may result both in deterioration of cognitive function and the experience of a mental fatigue after extended mental activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Skau
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lina Bunketorp-Käll
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Centre for Advanced Reconstruction of Extremities, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Hans Georg Kuhn
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Neurology, Center for Stroke Research, Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Birgitta Johansson
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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12
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Balancing Prediction and Sensory Input in Speech Comprehension: The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Word Recognition in Context. J Neurosci 2018; 39:519-527. [PMID: 30459221 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3573-17.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Revised: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Spoken word recognition in context is remarkably fast and accurate, with recognition times of ∼200 ms, typically well before the end of the word. The neurocomputational mechanisms underlying these contextual effects are still poorly understood. This study combines source-localized electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic (EMEG) measures of real-time brain activity with multivariate representational similarity analysis to determine directly the timing and computational content of the processes evoked as spoken words are heard in context, and to evaluate the respective roles of bottom-up and predictive processing mechanisms in the integration of sensory and contextual constraints. Male and female human participants heard simple (modifier-noun) English phrases that varied in the degree of semantic constraint that the modifier (W1) exerted on the noun (W2), as in pairs, such as "yellow banana." We used gating tasks to generate estimates of the probabilistic predictions generated by these constraints as well as measures of their interaction with the bottom-up perceptual input for W2. Representation similarity analysis models of these measures were tested against electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic brain data across a bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal language network. Consistent with probabilistic predictive processing accounts, we found early activation of semantic constraints in frontal cortex (LBA45) as W1 was heard. The effects of these constraints (at 100 ms after W2 onset in left middle temporal gyrus and at 140 ms in left Heschl's gyrus) were only detectable, however, after the initial phonemes of W2 had been heard. Within an overall predictive processing framework, bottom-up sensory inputs are still required to achieve early and robust spoken word recognition in context.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human listeners recognize spoken words in natural speech contexts with remarkable speed and accuracy, often identifying a word well before all of it has been heard. In this study, we investigate the brain systems that support this important capacity, using neuroimaging techniques that can track real-time brain activity during speech comprehension. This makes it possible to locate the brain areas that generate predictions about upcoming words and to show how these expectations are integrated with the evidence provided by the speech being heard. We use the timing and localization of these effects to provide the most specific account to date of how the brain achieves an optimal balance between prediction and sensory input in the interpretation of spoken language.
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13
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Evidence of semantic processing impairments in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson's disease. Curr Opin Neurol 2018; 30:617-622. [PMID: 28914737 DOI: 10.1097/wco.0000000000000498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Category-specific impairments caused by brain damage can provide important insights into how semantic concepts are organized in the brain. Recent research has demonstrated that disease to sensory and motor cortices can impair perceptual feature knowledge important to the representation of semantic concepts. This evidence supports the grounded cognition theory of semantics, the view that lexical knowledge is partially grounded in perceptual experience and that sensory and motor regions support semantic representations. Less well understood, however, is how heteromodal semantic hubs work to integrate and process semantic information. RECENT FINDINGS Although the majority of semantic research to date has focused on how sensory cortical areas are important for the representation of semantic features, new research explores how semantic memory is affected by neurodegeneration in regions important for semantic processing. Here, we review studies that demonstrate impairments to abstract noun knowledge in behavioural variant frontotemporal degeneration (bvFTD) and to action verb knowledge in Parkinson's disease, and discuss how these deficits relate to disease of the semantic selection network. SUMMARY Findings demonstrate that semantic selection processes are supported by the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and basal ganglia, and that disease to these regions in bvFTD and Parkinson's disease can lead to categorical impairments for abstract nouns and action verbs, respectively.
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14
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Alemi R, Batouli SAH, Behzad E, Ebrahimpoor M, Oghabian MA. Not single brain areas but a network is involved in language: Applications in presurgical planning. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2018; 165:116-128. [PMID: 29334640 DOI: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2018.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Revised: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Language is an important human function, and is a determinant of the quality of life. In conditions such as brain lesions, disruption of the language function may occur, and lesion resection is a solution for that. Presurgical planning to determine the language-related brain areas would enhance the chances of language preservation after the operation; however, availability of a normative language template is essential. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this study, using data from 60 young individuals who were meticulously checked for mental and physical health, and using fMRI and robust imaging and data analysis methods, functional brain maps for the language production, perception and semantic were produced. RESULTS The obtained templates showed that the language function should be considered as the product of the collaboration of a network of brain regions, instead of considering only few brain areas to be involved in that. CONCLUSION This study has important clinical applications, and extends our knowledge on the neuroanatomy of the language function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Razieh Alemi
- Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Canada
| | - Seyed Amir Hossein Batouli
- Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Neuroimaging and Analysis Group, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ebrahim Behzad
- Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mitra Ebrahimpoor
- Neuroimaging and Analysis Group, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali Oghabian
- Neuroimaging and Analysis Group, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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15
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Jost LB, Radman N, Buetler KA, Annoni JM. Behavioral and electrophysiological signatures of word translation processes. Neuropsychologia 2018; 109:245-254. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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16
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Voss MW, Clark R, Freedberg M, Weng T, Hazeltine E. Striking a chord with healthy aging: memory system cooperation is related to preserved configural response learning in older adults. Neurobiol Aging 2017; 63:44-53. [PMID: 29223679 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2017] [Revised: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Evidence from tasks that primarily tap either hippocampal- or striatal-based memory systems suggests that although these systems often compete for control of behavior, aging is associated with greater cooperation between them. This may stem from altered prefrontal cortex function. Here, we use a configural response task designed to engage both memory systems to test how age affects their interaction with cortical regions including the prefrontal cortex. We found that although older and younger adults learned just as well, older adults showed greater initial activation in cortical networks associated with visuospatial-action mapping and resolving conflict for competing memory representations. Older adults also showed greater functional coupling of the striatum with the left inferior frontal gyrus, in parallel with similar hippocampal coupling to ventral visual regions as young adults. Overall, our results support the proposal that aging is associated with more cooperative memory systems, but we did not find that greater cooperation is associated with less interaction between the prefrontal cortex and core memory system structures during learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle W Voss
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; Aging Mind and Brain Initiative (AMBI), The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
| | - Rachel Clark
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Michael Freedberg
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Timothy Weng
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Eliot Hazeltine
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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