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Chang W, Zhao X, Wang L, Zhou X. Causal role of frontocentral beta oscillation in comprehending linguistic communicative functions. Neuroimage 2024; 300:120853. [PMID: 39270764 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2024] [Revised: 08/28/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Linguistic communication is often considered as an action serving the function of conveying the speaker's goal to the addressee. Although neuroimaging studies have suggested a role of the motor system in comprehending communicative functions, the underlying mechanism is yet to be specified. Here, by two EEG experiments and a tACS experiment, we demonstrate that the frontocentral beta oscillation, which represents action states, plays a crucial part in linguistic communication understanding. Participants read scripts involving two interlocutors and rated the interlocutors' attitudes. Each script included a critical sentence said by the speaker expressing a context-dependent function of either promise, request, or reply to the addressee's query. These functions were behaviorally discriminated, with higher addressee's will rating for the promise than for the reply and higher speaker's will rating for the request than for the reply. EEG multivariate analyses showed that different communicative functions were represented by different patterns of the frontocentral beta activity but not by patterns of alpha activity. Further tACS results showed that, relative to alpha tACS and sham stimulation, beta tACS improved the predictability of communicative functions of request or reply, as measured by the speaker's will rating. These results convergently suggest a causal role of the frontocentral beta activities in comprehending linguistic communications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenshuo Chang
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiaoxi Zhao
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Lihui Wang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 20030, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China; Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai 200125, China.
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China; Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence for Information Behavior (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China.
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Babarczy A, Dobó D, Nagy P, Mészáros A, Lukács Á. Variability of theory of mind versus pragmatic ability in typical and atypical development. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2024; 112:106466. [PMID: 39321742 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2024] [Accepted: 09/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/27/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Numerous studies have linked deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM) with language problems. We aimed to explore the similarities and differences between children's patterns of performance on a ToM task that requires minimal linguistic skill and a pragmatic inference task that relies on both ToM and language. We assessed variability in pragmatic inference skills and ToM across populations of children (8-14 years) displaying varying cognitive profiles. We further compared the sensitivity of ToM versus pragmatic ability to core language skills, memory and executive functioning (EF). METHOD ToM was tested using the Social Attribution Task (SAT-MC-II). Pragmatic ability was assessed in an implicature comprehension task. Receptive vocabulary, grammar comprehension, short-term and working memory (STM and WM) capacity and EF were measured using Hungarian adaptations of standard tasks and tests developed by the authors' lab. In addition to typically developing (TD) children (n = 33), we included children with neurodevelopmental disorders where ToM and/or language abilities are vulnerable: autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 26), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n = 25) and developmental language disorder (DLD, n = 18). RESULTS Results revealed a significant but only moderate positive correlation between pragmatic inference and ToM indicating that the two abilities are related but distinct. The ASD group showed impairments in both ToM and pragmatic inference ability but no significant deficit was observed in ADHD or DLD relative to TD children in either skill. However, while SAT-MC-II results were only affected by verbal WM and vocabulary measures, pragmatic performance was associated with STM, verbal WM, EF, grammatical skills and vocabulary. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that disentangling the contributions of different cognitive skills to ToM tasks may help clarify the role of ToM in language skills and identify distinct patterns of ToM and pragmatic skills in developmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Babarczy
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Dorottya Dobó
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary; MTA-BME Momentum Language Acquisition Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network(ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Nagy
- Bethesda Children's Hospital, Division of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Andrea Mészáros
- Bethesda Children's Hospital, Division of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ágnes Lukács
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary; MTA-BME Momentum Language Acquisition Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network(ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
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Zhang X, Wang Y, Yang X, Yang Y. The spontaneous activities of the multiple demand network are related to individual differences in indirect replies comprehension. Behav Brain Res 2024; 469:115021. [PMID: 38692358 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the brain networks engaged in the comprehension of indirect language, as well as the individual difference in this capacity. Specially, we aim to determine whether the difference is solely influenced by the difference in individuals' default network (DN)/language network or whether it also relies on the networks associated with processing of complex cognitive tasks, particularly the multiple demand network (MDN). Conversational indirectness scale (CIS) scores in the interpretation dimension were used as a behavioral indicator of the indirect comprehension tendency. Reading time difference between indirect replies and direct replies collected through a self-paced reading experiment was deemed as a behavioral indicator of comprehension speed of indirect replies comprehension. The two behavioral indicators were combined with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). The behaviour-rfMRI analysis showed that ALFF value of right SPL and the functional connectivity (FC) between the right SPL and right IPL/SMA/ITG/Precuneus/bilateral IFG were positively correlated with the interpretation dimension of CIS scores. In addition, the ALFF value of right fusiform gyrus, the FC between the right fusiform gyrus and right precuneus, and the FCs between right SPL and right IPL/Precuneus/IFG were negatively correlated with indirect replies comprehension speed. Overlapping of these regions with large-scale brain network revealed that the right SPL was mainly located in the MDN, and the right fusiform gyrus was mainly located in the language network. Additionally, the areas showing functional connectivity with these regions were primarily located in the MDN, with a smaller subset located in the DN. Our findings suggest that the ability of individuals to actively and rapidly acquire indirect meaning relies not only on the support of the DN and the language network, but also requires collective support from the MDN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuping Zhang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yizhu Wang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xiaohong Yang
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Language Ability, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China.
| | - Yufang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, 100101; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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Su YE, Jiang Y. Challenges with computing scalar and ad-hoc implicatures in Mandarin-speaking 4-8-year-old autistic children. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2024; 110:106427. [PMID: 38729067 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106427] [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: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mixed findings have been reported about the computation of scalar or/and ad-hoc implicatures in primarily school-age autistic verbal children and adolescents: while some studies reported their struggles with both implicatures, others observed their strengths in computing scalar implicatures. This study extends the previous investigation by testing the derivation of scalar (including both number and quantifier) and ad-hoc implicatures of a younger group of Mandarin-speaking autistic 4-8-year-olds; moreover, we assess the biological, linguistic, and cognitive factors affecting children's implicature acquisition. METHODS The participants included 22 4-8-year-old autistic verbal children (mean age = 67.64 months) and 19 typically developing (TD) children who did not significantly differ in age, receptive vocabulary, and non-verbal IQ. Both groups completed a computer-based Truth Value Judgment task, assessing their knowledge of scalar (involving the number 'three' and the quantifier 'some') and ad-hoc implicatures. We also examined whether their implicature computation was linked to age, receptive vocabulary, non-verbal IQ, and Theory of Mind (ToM). RESULTS Compared with the TD controls, autistic children derived significantly fewer scalar and ad-hoc implicatures. Specifically, TD children successfully computed number and ad-hoc implicatures, contrasting to the bimodal distribution of their pragmatic vs. logical responses to quantifier implicatures. Though autistic children performed better with number implicatures slightly above the chance level, they had difficulties in computing quantifier and ad-hoc implicatures. Further, autistic children's knowledge of the number and ad-hoc implicatures was linked to their ToM skills. CONCLUSIONS These findings underscore the overall delayed implicature knowledge of young autistic children, and their low sensitivity to the implicatures is related to the core ToM deficits. Furthermore, our data confirm the coherent pattern of the earlier acquisition of number over quantifier implicatures and illuminate the distinct mechanisms underlying the computation of scalar vs. ad-hoc implicatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Esther Su
- Child Language Lab, School of Foreign Languages, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
| | - Yuhan Jiang
- Child Language Lab, School of Foreign Languages, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
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Meng Y, Jia S, Liu J, Zhang C, Wang H, Liu Y. The shorter a man is, the more he defends fairness: relative height disadvantage promoting third-party punishment-evidence from inter-brain synchronization. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae048. [PMID: 38342691 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Third-party punishment occurs in interpersonal interactions to sustain social norms, and is strongly influenced by the characteristics of the interacting individuals. During social interactions, height is the striking physical appearance features first observed, height disadvantage may critically influence men's behavior and mental health. Herein, we explored the influence of height disadvantage on third-party punishment through time-frequency analysis and electroencephalography hyperscanning. Two participants were randomly designated as the recipient and third party after height comparison and instructed to complete third-party punishment task. Compared with when the third party's height is higher than the recipient's height, when the third party's height is lower, the punishment rate and transfer amount were significantly higher. Only for highly unfair offers, the theta power was significantly greater when the third party's height was lower. The inter-brain synchronization between the recipient and the third party was significantly stronger when the third party's height was lower. Compared with the fair and medium unfair offers, the inter-brain synchronization was strongest for highly unfair offers. Our findings indicate that the height disadvantage-induced anger and reputation concern promote third-party punishment and inter-brain synchronization. This study enriches research perspective and expands the application of the theory of Napoleon complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Meng
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district, Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
| | - Shuyu Jia
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district, Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
| | - Jingyue Liu
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district, Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
| | - Chenyu Zhang
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district, Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
| | - He Wang
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district, Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
- School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district,Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
| | - Yingjie Liu
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district, Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
- School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, 21 Bohai avenue, Caofeidian district,Tangshan 063000, Hebei province, China
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Zhang G, Xu Y, Wang X, Li J, Shi W, Bi Y, Lin N. A social-semantic working-memory account for two canonical language areas. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:1980-1997. [PMID: 37735521 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01704-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Language and social cognition are traditionally studied as separate cognitive domains, yet accumulative studies reveal overlapping neural correlates at the left ventral temporoparietal junction (vTPJ) and the left lateral anterior temporal lobe (lATL), which have been attributed to sentence processing and social concept activation. We propose a common cognitive component underlying both effects: social-semantic working memory. We confirmed two key predictions of our hypothesis using functional MRI. First, the left vTPJ and lATL showed sensitivity to sentences only when the sentences conveyed social meaning; second, these regions showed persistent social-semantic-selective activity after the linguistic stimuli disappeared. We additionally found that both regions were sensitive to the socialness of non-linguistic stimuli and were more tightly connected with the social-semantic-processing areas than with the sentence-processing areas. The converging evidence indicates the social-semantic working-memory function of the left vTPJ and lATL and challenges the general-semantic and/or syntactic accounts for the neural activity of these regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyao Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yangwen Xu
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Xiuyi Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jixing Li
- Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Weiting Shi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yanchao Bi
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Zhang X, Xu M, Yang X, Yang Y. Individual Differences in Emotion Attenuation Brought by Indirect Replies Is Related to Resting-State Brain Activity. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1053. [PMID: 37508985 PMCID: PMC10377414 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13071053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
During daily conversations, people prefer indirect replies in face-threatening situations. Existent studies have indicated that recipients tend to perceive the information conveyed by indirect replies as negative and emotion regions are engaged in indirect replies processing in face-threatening situations. In this study, we examined whether indirect replies can reduce recipients' experience of negative emotion and what are the underlying cerebral structures that may give rise to individual differences in the effectiveness of such replies in attenuating negative emotion. Behavior ratings and resting-stating functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) techniques were combined to explore these questions. We created dialogues expressing refusal or negative opinion with direct/indirect replies. Participants were asked to rate their emotional valence and arousal when they received such replies. The rating scores were used to correlate with spontaneous brain activity. Results showed that indirect replies indeed attenuated recipients' negative emotion experience. Moreover, the left caudate, the right anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), and the connectivity of rACC and left medial prefrontal cortex (lmPFC) were found to be positively correlated to individual differences in such emotion attenuation. Our findings provide direct empirical evidence for the face-saving function of indirect replies and reveal that the intrinsic brain activities of emotion network and theory of mind (ToM) network are related to individual differences in such emotion attenuation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuping Zhang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Maoyao Xu
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xiaohong Yang
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China
| | - Yufang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Zhang X, Pan X, Yang X, Yang Y. Conventionality determines the time course of indirect replies comprehension: An ERP study. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 239:105253. [PMID: 37001318 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105253] [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: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Indirect language comprehension requires decoding both the literal meaning and the intended meaning of an utterance, in which pragmatic inference is involved. This study tests the role of conventionality in the time course of indirect reply processing by comparing conventional and non-conventional indirect replies with direct reply, respectively. We constructed discourses which consist of a context and a dialogue with one question (e.g., May I buy a necklace for you) and one reply (e.g., I really have too many). The reply utterance was segmented into three phrases and presented orderly for EEG recording, e.g., with the subject as the first phrase (e.g., I), the adverbial as the second phrase (e.g., really), and the predicate as the third phrase (e.g., have too many). Our results showed that for conventional indirect replies, the second phrase elicited a larger anterior negativity, and the third phrase elicited a larger anterior N400 compared with those in direct replies. By contrast, for the non-conventional indirect reply, only the third phrase elicited a larger late negativity than the direct replies. These findings suggest that conventionality determines the time course of the pragmatic inferences for the most relevant interpretation during indirect replies comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuping Zhang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xiaoxi Pan
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xiaohong Yang
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Language Ability, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China.
| | - Yufang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China.
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Tomasello R. Linguistic signs in action: The neuropragmatics of speech acts. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 236:105203. [PMID: 36470125 PMCID: PMC9856589 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
What makes human communication exceptional is the ability to grasp speaker's intentions beyond what is said verbally. How the brain processes communicative functions is one of the central concerns of the neurobiology of language and pragmatics. Linguistic-pragmatic theories define these functions as speech acts, and various pragmatic traits characterise them at the levels of propositional content, action sequence structure, related commitments and social aspects. Here I discuss recent neurocognitive studies, which have shown that the use of identical linguistic signs in conveying different communicative functions elicits distinct and ultra-rapid neural responses. Interestingly, cortical areas show differential involvement underlying various pragmatic features related to theory-of-mind, emotion and action for specific speech acts expressed with the same utterances. Drawing on a neurocognitive model, I posit that understanding speech acts involves the expectation of typical partner follow-up actions and that this predictive knowledge is immediately reflected in mind and brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Tomasello
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity. Image Space Material', Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany.
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Chang W, Wang L, Yang R, Wang X, Gao Z, Zhou X. Representing linguistic communicative functions in the premotor cortex. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5671-5689. [PMID: 36437790 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Linguistic communication is often regarded as an action that serves a function to convey the speaker's goal to the addressee. Here, with an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study and a lesion study, we demonstrated that communicative functions are represented in the human premotor cortex. Participants read scripts involving 2 interlocutors. Each script contained a critical sentence said by the speaker with a communicative function of either making a Promise, a Request, or a Reply to the addressee's query. With various preceding contexts, the critical sentences were supposed to induce neural activities associated with communicative functions rather than specific actions literally described by these sentences. The fMRI results showed that the premotor cortex contained more information, as revealed by multivariate analyses, on communicative functions and relevant interlocutors' attitudes than the perisylvian language regions. The lesion study results showed that, relative to healthy controls, the understanding of communicative functions was impaired in patients with lesions in the premotor cortex, whereas no reliable difference was observed between the healthy controls and patients with lesions in other brain regions. These findings convergently suggest the crucial role of the premotor cortex in representing the functions of linguistic communications, supporting that linguistic communication can be seen as an action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenshuo Chang
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University , 1550 Wenxiang Road, Shanghai 201620 , China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871 , China
| | - Lihui Wang
- Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030 , China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine , 600 Wan Ping Nan Road, Shanghai 200030 , China
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology , 555 Qiangye Road Shanghai 200125 , China
| | - Ruolin Yang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871 , China
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University , 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing 100070 , China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871 , China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871 , China
| | - Xingchao Wang
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University Department of Neurosurgery, , 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing 100070 , China
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases , 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing 100070 , China
| | - Zhixian Gao
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University Department of Neurosurgery, , 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing 100070 , China
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases , 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing 100070 , China
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University , 1550 Wenxiang Road, Shanghai 201620 , China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871 , China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871 , China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University , 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062 , China
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Xu X, Yu H, Gao X, Shen B, Feng W, Zhou X. Understanding an implicated causality: The brain network for processing concessive relations. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 234:105177. [PMID: 36084367 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Concessive relations, often indicated by conjunction words such as although, are semantically and pragmatically more complex than causal relations (expressed using because), as they involve more semantic features such as implicated meaning and negation. However, it remains unclear how linguistic-level complexity is manifested through different brain activities and functional connectivities. This fMRI study investigated how the neural underpinnings of concessive relations differ from those of causal relations. Pragmatically congruent and incongruent words were embedded in causal as well as concessive sentences. The whole-brain analysis revealed that relative to because-congruent sentences, although-congruent sentences evoked increased activations in a left network including IFG, bilateral MFG, mPFC, pMTG, and TPJ. DCM analysis showed that while the functional connectivity from IFG to MFG was commonly involved in processing concessive and causal relations, functional connectivities from pMTG to IFG and from pMTG to TPJ were involved in processing causal and concessive relations, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodong Xu
- School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China
| | - Hongbo Yu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660, USA
| | - Xiaoxue Gao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Bo Shen
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Wangshu Feng
- Artificial Intelligence and Human Languages Lab, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing 100089, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China; Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China.
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Paunov AM, Blank IA, Jouravlev O, Mineroff Z, Gallée J, Fedorenko E. Differential Tracking of Linguistic vs. Mental State Content in Naturalistic Stimuli by Language and Theory of Mind (ToM) Brain Networks. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2022; 3:413-440. [PMID: 37216061 PMCID: PMC10158571 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Language and social cognition, especially the ability to reason about mental states, known as theory of mind (ToM), are deeply related in development and everyday use. However, whether these cognitive faculties rely on distinct, overlapping, or the same mechanisms remains debated. Some evidence suggests that, by adulthood, language and ToM draw on largely distinct-though plausibly interacting-cortical networks. However, the broad topography of these networks is similar, and some have emphasized the importance of social content / communicative intent in the linguistic signal for eliciting responses in the language areas. Here, we combine the power of individual-subject functional localization with the naturalistic-cognition inter-subject correlation approach to illuminate the language-ToM relationship. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we recorded neural activity as participants (n = 43) listened to stories and dialogues with mental state content (+linguistic, +ToM), viewed silent animations and live action films with mental state content but no language (-linguistic, +ToM), or listened to an expository text (+linguistic, -ToM). The ToM network robustly tracked stimuli rich in mental state information regardless of whether mental states were conveyed linguistically or non-linguistically, while tracking a +linguistic / -ToM stimulus only weakly. In contrast, the language network tracked linguistic stimuli more strongly than (a) non-linguistic stimuli, and than (b) the ToM network, and showed reliable tracking even for the linguistic condition devoid of mental state content. These findings suggest that in spite of their indisputably close links, language and ToM dissociate robustly in their neural substrates-and thus plausibly cognitive mechanisms-including during the processing of rich naturalistic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander M. Paunov
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, USA
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Idan A. Blank
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, USA
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Olessia Jouravlev
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Institute for Cognitive Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Zachary Mineroff
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jeanne Gallée
- Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Evelina Fedorenko
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
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Rasgado-Toledo J, Lizcano-Cortés F, Olalde-Mathieu VE, Licea-Haquet G, Zamora-Ursulo MA, Giordano M, Reyes-Aguilar A. A Dataset to Study Pragmatic Language and Its Underlying Cognitive Processes. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:666210. [PMID: 34220472 PMCID: PMC8248681 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.666210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jalil Rasgado-Toledo
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla, Mexico
| | - Fernando Lizcano-Cortés
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla, Mexico
| | - Víctor Enrique Olalde-Mathieu
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla, Mexico
| | - Giovanna Licea-Haquet
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla, Mexico
| | - Miguel Angel Zamora-Ursulo
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla, Mexico
| | - Magda Giordano
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla, Mexico
| | - Azalea Reyes-Aguilar
- Department of Psychobiology and Neuroscience, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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