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Wu W, Hoffman P. Functional integration and segregation during semantic cognition: Evidence across age groups. Cortex 2024; 178:157-173. [PMID: 39013249 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.06.015] [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: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Semantic cognition is underpinned by ventral anterior temporal lobe (vATL) which encodes knowledge representations and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which controls activation of knowledge based on the needs of the current context. This core semantic network has been validated in substantial empirical findings in the past. However, it remains unclear how these core semantic areas dynamically communicate with each other, and with other neural networks, to achieve successful semantic processing. Here, we investigated this question by testing functional connectivity in the core semantic network during semantic tasks and whether these connections were affected by cognitive ageing. Compared to a non-semantic task, semantic tasks increased the connectivity between left and right IFGs, indicating a bilateral semantic control system. Strengthened connectivity was also found between left IFG and left vATL, and this effect was stronger in the young group. At a whole-brain scale, IFG and vATL increased their coupling with multiple-demand regions during semantic tasks, even though these areas were deactivated relative to non-semantic tasks. This suggests that the domain-general executive network contributes to semantic processing. In contrast, IFG and vATL decreased their interaction with default mode network (DMN) areas during semantic tasks, even though these areas were positively activated by the task. This suggests that DMN areas do not contribute to all semantic tasks: their activation may sometimes reflect automatic retrieval of task-irrelevant memories and associations. Taken together, our study characterizes a dynamic connectivity mechanism supporting semantic cognition within and beyond core semantic regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wu
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Music, Durham University, Durham, UK.
| | - Paul Hoffman
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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Kauf C, Kim HS, Lee EJ, Jhingan N, Selena She J, Taliaferro M, Gibson E, Fedorenko E. Linguistic inputs must be syntactically parsable to fully engage the language network. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.21.599332. [PMID: 38948870 PMCID: PMC11212959 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.21.599332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Human language comprehension is remarkably robust to ill-formed inputs (e.g., word transpositions). This robustness has led some to argue that syntactic parsing is largely an illusion, and that incremental comprehension is more heuristic, shallow, and semantics-based than is often assumed. However, the available data are also consistent with the possibility that humans always perform rule-like symbolic parsing and simply deploy error correction mechanisms to reconstruct ill-formed inputs when needed. We put these hypotheses to a new stringent test by examining brain responses to a) stimuli that should pose a challenge for syntactic reconstruction but allow for complex meanings to be built within local contexts through associative/shallow processing (sentences presented in a backward word order), and b) grammatically well-formed but semantically implausible sentences that should impede semantics-based heuristic processing. Using a novel behavioral syntactic reconstruction paradigm, we demonstrate that backward-presented sentences indeed impede the recovery of grammatical structure during incremental comprehension. Critically, these backward-presented stimuli elicit a relatively low response in the language areas, as measured with fMRI. In contrast, semantically implausible but grammatically well-formed sentences elicit a response in the language areas similar in magnitude to naturalistic (plausible) sentences. In other words, the ability to build syntactic structures during incremental language processing is both necessary and sufficient to fully engage the language network. Taken together, these results provide strongest to date support for a generalized reliance of human language comprehension on syntactic parsing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Kauf
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Hee So Kim
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Elizabeth J. Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Niharika Jhingan
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Jingyuan Selena She
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Maya Taliaferro
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10012 USA
| | - Edward Gibson
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Evelina Fedorenko
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- The Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
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Doval S, López-Sanz D, Bruña R, Cuesta P, Antón-Toro L, Taguas I, Torres-Simón L, Chino B, Maestú F. When Maturation is Not Linear: Brain Oscillatory Activity in the Process of Aging as Measured by Electrophysiology. Brain Topogr 2024:10.1007/s10548-024-01064-0. [PMID: 38900389 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-024-01064-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Changes in brain oscillatory activity are commonly used as biomarkers both in cognitive neuroscience and in neuropsychiatric conditions. However, little is known about how its profile changes across maturation. Here we use regression models to characterize magnetoencephalography power changes within classical frequency bands in a sample of 792 healthy participants, covering the range 13 to 80 years old. Our findings unveil complex, non-linear power trajectories that defy the traditional linear paradigm, with notable cortical region variations. Interestingly, slow wave activity increases correlate with improved cognitive performance throughout life and larger gray matter volume in the elderly. Conversely, fast wave activity diminishes in adulthood. Elevated low-frequency activity during aging, traditionally seen as compensatory, may also signify neural deterioration. This dual interpretation, highlighted by our study, reveals the intricate dynamics between brain oscillations, cognitive performance, and aging. It advances our understanding of neurodevelopment and aging by emphasizing the regional specificity and complexity of brain rhythm changes, with implications for cognitive and structural integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Doval
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain.
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28223, Spain.
| | - David López-Sanz
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28223, Spain
| | - Ricardo Bruña
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain
- Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28040, Spain
| | - Pablo Cuesta
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain
- Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28040, Spain
| | - Luis Antón-Toro
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain
- Department of Psychology, University Camilo José Cela (UCJC), Madrid, 28692, Spain
| | - Ignacio Taguas
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28223, Spain
| | - Lucía Torres-Simón
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28223, Spain
| | - Brenda Chino
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain
- Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Vicaya, 48940, Spain
| | - Fernando Maestú
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28015, Spain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28223, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, 28040, Spain
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Wu W, Hoffman P. Verbal semantic expertise is associated with reduced functional connectivity between left and right anterior temporal lobes. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae256. [PMID: 38897815 PMCID: PMC11186671 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae256] [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: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The left and right anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) encode semantic representations. They show graded hemispheric specialization in function, with the left ATL contributing preferentially to verbal semantic processing. We investigated the cognitive correlates of this organization, using resting-state functional connectivity as a measure of functional segregation between ATLs. We analyzed two independent resting-state fMRI datasets (n = 86 and n = 642) in which participants' verbal semantic expertise was measured using vocabulary tests. In both datasets, people with more advanced verbal semantic knowledge showed weaker functional connectivity between left and right ventral ATLs. This effect was highly specific. It was not observed for within-hemisphere connections between semantic regions (ventral ATL and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), though it was found for left-right IFG connectivity in one dataset). Effects were not found for tasks probing semantic control, nonsemantic cognition, or face recognition. Our results suggest that hemispheric specialization in the ATLs is not an innate property but rather emerges as people develop highly detailed verbal semantic representations. We speculate that this effect is a consequence of the left ATL's greater connectivity with left-lateralized written word recognition regions, which causes it to preferentially represent meaning for advanced vocabulary acquired primarily through reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wu
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
- Department of Music, Durham University, Palace Green, Durham DH1 3RL, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Hoffman
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
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Guichet C, Banjac S, Achard S, Mermillod M, Baciu M. Modeling the neurocognitive dynamics of language across the lifespan. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26650. [PMID: 38553863 PMCID: PMC10980845 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Healthy aging is associated with a heterogeneous decline across cognitive functions, typically observed between language comprehension and language production (LP). Examining resting-state fMRI and neuropsychological data from 628 healthy adults (age 18-88) from the CamCAN cohort, we performed state-of-the-art graph theoretical analysis to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying this variability. At the cognitive level, our findings suggest that LP is not an isolated function but is modulated throughout the lifespan by the extent of inter-cognitive synergy between semantic and domain-general processes. At the cerebral level, we show that default mode network (DMN) suppression coupled with fronto-parietal network (FPN) integration is the way for the brain to compensate for the effects of dedifferentiation at a minimal cost, efficiently mitigating the age-related decline in LP. Relatedly, reduced DMN suppression in midlife could compromise the ability to manage the cost of FPN integration. This may prompt older adults to adopt a more cost-efficient compensatory strategy that maintains global homeostasis at the expense of LP performances. Taken together, we propose that midlife represents a critical neurocognitive juncture that signifies the onset of LP decline, as older adults gradually lose control over semantic representations. We summarize our findings in a novel synergistic, economical, nonlinear, emergent, cognitive aging model, integrating connectomic and cognitive dimensions within a complex system perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sonja Banjac
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS LPNC UMR 5105GrenobleFrance
| | - Sophie Achard
- LJK, UMR CNRS 5224, Université Grenoble AlpesGrenobleFrance
| | | | - Monica Baciu
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS LPNC UMR 5105GrenobleFrance
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Zhang Y, Wu W, Mirman D, Hoffman P. Representation of event and object concepts in ventral anterior temporal lobe and angular gyrus. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad519. [PMID: 38185997 PMCID: PMC10839851 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad519] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Semantic knowledge includes understanding of objects and their features and also understanding of the characteristics of events. The hub-and-spoke theory holds that these conceptual representations rely on multiple information sources that are integrated in a central hub in the ventral anterior temporal lobes. The dual-hub theory expands this framework with the claim that the ventral anterior temporal lobe hub is specialized for object representation, while a second hub in angular gyrus is specialized for event representation. To test these ideas, we used representational similarity analysis, univariate and psychophysiological interaction analyses of fMRI data collected while participants processed object and event concepts (e.g. "an apple," "a wedding") presented as images and written words. Representational similarity analysis showed that angular gyrus encoded event concept similarity more than object similarity, although the left angular gyrus also encoded object similarity. Bilateral ventral anterior temporal lobes encoded both object and event concept structure, and left ventral anterior temporal lobe exhibited stronger coding for events. Psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed greater connectivity between left ventral anterior temporal lobe and right pMTG, and between right angular gyrus and bilateral ITG and middle occipital gyrus, for event concepts compared to object concepts. These findings support the specialization of angular gyrus for event semantics, though with some involvement in object coding, but do not support ventral anterior temporal lobe specialization for object concepts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueyang Zhang
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
| | - Wei Wu
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Mirman
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Hoffman
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
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