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Reilly J, Shain C, Borghesani V, Kuhnke P, Vigliocco G, Peelle JE, Mahon BZ, Buxbaum LJ, Majid A, Brysbaert M, Borghi AM, De Deyne S, Dove G, Papeo L, Pexman PM, Poeppel D, Lupyan G, Boggio P, Hickok G, Gwilliams L, Fernandino L, Mirman D, Chrysikou EG, Sandberg CW, Crutch SJ, Pylkkänen L, Yee E, Jackson RL, Rodd JM, Bedny M, Connell L, Kiefer M, Kemmerer D, de Zubicaray G, Jefferies E, Lynott D, Siew CSQ, Desai RH, McRae K, Diaz MT, Bolognesi M, Fedorenko E, Kiran S, Montefinese M, Binder JR, Yap MJ, Hartwigsen G, Cantlon J, Bi Y, Hoffman P, Garcea FE, Vinson D. What we mean when we say semantic: Toward a multidisciplinary semantic glossary. Psychon Bull Rev 2024:10.3758/s13423-024-02556-7. [PMID: 39231896 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02556-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/06/2024]
Abstract
Tulving characterized semantic memory as a vast repository of meaning that underlies language and many other cognitive processes. This perspective on lexical and conceptual knowledge galvanized a new era of research undertaken by numerous fields, each with their own idiosyncratic methods and terminology. For example, "concept" has different meanings in philosophy, linguistics, and psychology. As such, many fundamental constructs used to delineate semantic theories remain underspecified and/or opaque. Weak construct specificity is among the leading causes of the replication crisis now facing psychology and related fields. Term ambiguity hinders cross-disciplinary communication, falsifiability, and incremental theory-building. Numerous cognitive subdisciplines (e.g., vision, affective neuroscience) have recently addressed these limitations via the development of consensus-based guidelines and definitions. The project to follow represents our effort to produce a multidisciplinary semantic glossary consisting of succinct definitions, background, principled dissenting views, ratings of agreement, and subjective confidence for 17 target constructs (e.g., abstractness, abstraction, concreteness, concept, embodied cognition, event semantics, lexical-semantic, modality, representation, semantic control, semantic feature, simulation, semantic distance, semantic dimension). We discuss potential benefits and pitfalls (e.g., implicit bias, prescriptiveness) of these efforts to specify a common nomenclature that other researchers might index in specifying their own theoretical perspectives (e.g., They said X, but I mean Y).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cory Shain
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Philipp Kuhnke
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Laurel J Buxbaum
- Thomas Jefferson University, Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Elkins Park, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Guy Dove
- University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Liuba Papeo
- Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University Claude-Bernard Lyon, Lyon, France
| | | | | | | | - Paulo Boggio
- Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Eiling Yee
- University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ken McRae
- Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Melvin J Yap
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Yanchao Bi
- University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Alonso MA, Díez E, Díez-Álamo AM, Fernandez A, Gómez-Ariza CJ. Transcranial direct current stimulation over the left posterior temporal lobe modulates semantic control: Evidence from episodic memory distortions. Brain Cogn 2024; 175:106130. [PMID: 38219414 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106130] [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: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Evidence accumulates to show that semantic cognition requires, in addition to semantic representations, control processes that regulate the accessibility and use of semantic knowledge in a task- and time-appropriate fashion. Semantic control has been recently proposed to rely on a distributed network that includes the posterior temporal cortex. Along these lines, recent meta-analyses of neuroimaging data and studies with patients suffering from semantic aphasia have suggested that the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) is critically involved whenever situational context must constrain semantic retrieval. In the present experiment, we used transcranial direct current stimulation over the left posterior temporal lobe in an attempt to interfere with semantic control while participants performed a DRM task, a procedure for inducing conceptually-based false recognition that is contingent on both activation and control processes. Paralleling findings with patients suffering from brain damage restricted to the temporoparietal cortex, anodal stimulation (relative to sham stimulation) resulted in increased false recognition but intact true recognition. These findings fit well with the idea that the left pMTG is a key component of a semantic control network, the alteration of which results in memory performance that is affected by the intrusion of contextually-inappropriate semantic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Alonso
- Institute on Neuroscience (IUNE), University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Institute on Community Integration (INICO), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Emiliano Díez
- Institute on Neuroscience (IUNE), University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Institute on Community Integration (INICO), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Antonio M Díez-Álamo
- Institute on Community Integration (INICO), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Angel Fernandez
- Institute on Neuroscience (IUNE), University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Institute on Community Integration (INICO), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
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3
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Gonzalez Alam TRJ, Cruz Arias J, Jefferies E, Smallwood J, Leemans A, Marino Davolos J. Ventral and dorsal aspects of the inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus support verbal semantic access and visually-guided behavioural control. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:207-221. [PMID: 38070006 PMCID: PMC10827863 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02729-5] [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: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
The Inferior Frontal Occipital Fasciculus (IFOF) is a major anterior-to-posterior white matter pathway in the ventral human brain that connects parietal, temporal and occipital regions to frontal cortex. It has been implicated in a range of functions, including language, semantics, inhibition and the control of action. The recent research shows that the IFOF can be sub-divided into a ventral and dorsal branch, but the functional relevance of this distinction, as well as any potential hemispheric differences, are poorly understood. Using DTI tractography, we investigated the involvement of dorsal and ventral subdivisions of the IFOF in the left and right hemisphere in a response inhibition task (Go/No-Go), where the decision to respond or to withhold a prepotent response was made on the basis of semantic or non-semantic aspects of visual inputs. The task also varied the presentation modality (whether concepts were presented as written words or images). The results showed that the integrity of both dorsal and ventral IFOF in the left hemisphere were associated with participants' inhibition performance when the signal to stop was meaningful and presented in the verbal modality. This effect was absent in the right hemisphere. The integrity of dorsal IFOF was also associated with participants' inhibition efficiency in difficult perceptually guided decisions. This pattern of results indicates that left dorsal IFOF is implicated in the domain-general control of visually-guided behaviour, while the left ventral branch might interface with the semantic system to support the control of action when the inhibitory signal is based on meaning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tirso R J Gonzalez Alam
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK.
- School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.
| | | | - Elizabeth Jefferies
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK
| | | | - Alexander Leemans
- Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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4
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Bieth T, Ovando‐Tellez M, Lopez‐Persem A, Garcin B, Hugueville L, Lehongre K, Levy R, George N, Volle E. Time course of EEG power during creative problem-solving with insight or remote thinking. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26547. [PMID: 38060194 PMCID: PMC10789201 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26547] [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: 07/02/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Problem-solving often requires creativity and is critical in everyday life. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative problem-solving remain poorly understood. Two mechanisms have been highlighted: the formation of new connections among problem elements and insight solving, characterized by sudden realization of a solution. In this study, we investigated EEG activity during a modified version of the remote associates test, a classical insight problem task that requires finding a word connecting three unrelated words. This allowed us to explore the brain correlates associated with the semantic remoteness of connections (by varying the remoteness of the solution word across trials) and with insight solving (identified as a Eurêka moment reported by the participants). Semantic remoteness was associated with power increase in the alpha band (8-12 Hz) in a left parieto-temporal cluster, the beta band (13-30 Hz) in a right fronto-temporal cluster in the early phase of the task, and the theta band (3-7 Hz) in a bilateral frontal cluster just prior to participants' responses. Insight solving was associated with power increase preceding participants' responses in the alpha and gamma (31-60 Hz) bands in a left temporal cluster and the theta band in a frontal cluster. Source reconstructions revealed the brain regions associated with these clusters. Overall, our findings shed new light on some of the mechanisms involved in creative problem-solving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Théophile Bieth
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, AP‐HP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, DMU NeuroscienceParisFrance
| | - Marcela Ovando‐Tellez
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
| | - Alizée Lopez‐Persem
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
| | - Béatrice Garcin
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
- Department of NeurologyAvicenne Hospital, AP‐HPBobignyFrance
| | - Laurent Hugueville
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
- Institut du Cerveau—ICM, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre MEG‐EEG, CENIRParisFrance
| | - Katia Lehongre
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
| | - Richard Levy
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, AP‐HP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, DMU NeuroscienceParisFrance
| | - Nathalie George
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
- Institut du Cerveau—ICM, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre MEG‐EEG, CENIRParisFrance
| | - Emmanuelle Volle
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau—Paris Brain Institute—ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié SalpêtrièreParisFrance
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Petríková D, Marko M, Rovný R, Riečanský I. Electrical stimulation of the cerebellum facilitates automatic but not controlled word retrieval. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:2137-2146. [PMID: 37783862 PMCID: PMC10587269 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02712-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
Recent research has indicated that the cerebellum is engaged in language functions, yet the role of the cerebellum in lexical-semantic memory is poorly understood. In a double-blind randomized controlled experiment, we therefore targeted the cerebellum by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to assess and compare the contribution of the cerebellar processing to automatic and controlled retrieval of words in healthy adults (n = 136). Anodal cerebellar tDCS facilitated retrieval of semantically related words in free-associative chains, which was not due to a non-specific acceleration of processing speed. The stimulation had no influence on controlled word retrieval that employed inhibition or switching. The effect of cathodal tDCS was opposite to the anodal stimulation, but statistically non-significant. Our data show that the cerebellum is engaged extracting associative information from the system of semantic representations, established and strengthened/automated by learning, and indicates a domain-general role of this structure in automation of behavior, cognition and language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Petríková
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 81371, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Martin Marko
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 81371, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Rastislav Rovný
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 81371, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Igor Riečanský
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 81371, Bratislava, Slovakia.
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia.
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Kim S, Nam K. Asymmetry in hemispheric strategies for visual recognition of homonyms. Laterality 2023; 28:305-335. [PMID: 37559235 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2023.2244732] [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: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
The primary objective of this investigation was to explore the strategic asymmetry exhibited by the two hemispheres during semantic processing, specifically focusing on the visual recognition of homonyms. By utilizing balanced and unbalanced homonyms, we sought to ascertain whether foveal processing adheres to a specific hemisphere's strategy. In Experiment 1, we employed a visual half-field presentation paradigm to elucidate the unihemispheric strategy employed for homonym recognition. Notably, our results revealed a significant type effect, whereby responses were more accurate for unbalanced homonyms compared to balanced homonyms, particularly in the LVF/RH. This outcome suggests that the RH exhibits a stronger activation of the dominant meaning, primarily driven by frequency, while the LH concurrently activates all candidate meanings of homonyms with comparable intensity. Building upon these insights, Experiment 2 involved the presentation of both homonym types within the foveal vision, leading to the identification of a significant type effect and providing evidence for the robust utilization of the RH strategy during foveal homonym recognition. Collectively, these findings delineate an asymmetric strategy employed during semantic processing across the hemispheres, with the RH assuming a dominant role in the semantic processing of foveal words.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangyub Kim
- Wisdom Science Center, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kichun Nam
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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7
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Gao Z, Zheng L, Gouws A, Krieger-Redwood K, Wang X, Varga D, Smallwood J, Jefferies E. Context free and context-dependent conceptual representation in the brain. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:152-166. [PMID: 35196710 PMCID: PMC9758583 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
How concepts are coded in the brain is a core issue in cognitive neuroscience. Studies have focused on how individual concepts are processed, but the way in which conceptual representation changes to suit the context is unclear. We parametrically manipulated the association strength between words, presented in pairs one word at a time using a slow event-related fMRI design. We combined representational similarity analysis and computational linguistics to probe the neurocomputational content of these trials. Individual word meaning was maintained in supramarginal gyrus (associated with verbal short-term memory) when items were judged to be unrelated, but not when a linking context was retrieved. Context-dependent meaning was instead represented in left lateral prefrontal gyrus (associated with controlled retrieval), angular gyrus, and ventral temporal lobe (regions associated with integrative aspects of memory). Analyses of informational connectivity, examining the similarity of activation patterns across trials between sites, showed that control network regions had more similar multivariate responses across trials when association strength was weak, reflecting a common controlled retrieval state when the task required more unusual associations. These findings indicate that semantic control and representational sites amplify contextually relevant meanings in trials judged to be related.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyao Gao
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, NY YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Li Zheng
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, United States
| | - André Gouws
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, NY YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Katya Krieger-Redwood
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, NY YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Xiuyi Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, NY YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Dominika Varga
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Smallwood
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Jefferies
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, NY YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
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8
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Souter NE, Wang X, Thompson H, Krieger-Redwood K, Halai AD, Lambon Ralph MA, Thiebaut de Schotten M, Jefferies E. Mapping lesion, structural disconnection, and functional disconnection to symptoms in semantic aphasia. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:3043-3061. [PMID: 35786743 PMCID: PMC9653334 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02526-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Patients with semantic aphasia have impaired control of semantic retrieval, often accompanied by executive dysfunction following left hemisphere stroke. Many but not all of these patients have damage to the left inferior frontal gyrus, important for semantic and cognitive control. Yet semantic and cognitive control networks are highly distributed, including posterior as well as anterior components. Accordingly, semantic aphasia might not only reflect local damage but also white matter structural and functional disconnection. Here, we characterise the lesions and predicted patterns of structural and functional disconnection in individuals with semantic aphasia and relate these effects to semantic and executive impairment. Impaired semantic cognition was associated with infarction in distributed left-hemisphere regions, including in the left anterior inferior frontal and posterior temporal cortex. Lesions were associated with executive dysfunction within a set of adjacent but distinct left frontoparietal clusters. Performance on executive tasks was also associated with interhemispheric structural disconnection across the corpus callosum. In contrast, poor semantic cognition was associated with small left-lateralized structurally disconnected clusters, including in the left posterior temporal cortex. Little insight was gained from functional disconnection symptom mapping. These results demonstrate that while left-lateralized semantic and executive control regions are often damaged together in stroke aphasia, these deficits are associated with distinct patterns of structural disconnection, consistent with the bilateral nature of executive control and the left-lateralized yet distributed semantic control network.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiuyi Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hannah Thompson
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | | | - Ajay D Halai
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Michel Thiebaut de Schotten
- Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Laboratory, Sorbonne Universities, Paris, France
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives-UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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Thompson HE, Noonan KA, Halai AD, Hoffman P, Stampacchia S, Hallam G, Rice GE, De Dios Perez B, Lambon Ralph MA, Jefferies E. Damage to temporoparietal cortex is sufficient for impaired semantic control. Cortex 2022; 156:71-85. [PMID: 36183573 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Semantic control allows us to focus semantic activation on currently relevant aspects of knowledge, even in the face of competition or when the required information is weakly encoded. Diverse cortical regions, including left prefrontal and posterior temporal cortex, are implicated in semantic control, however; the relative contribution of these regions is unclear. For the first time, we compared semantic aphasia (SA) patients with damage restricted to temporoparietal cortex (TPC; N = 8) to patients with infarcts encompassing prefrontal cortex (PF+; N = 22), to determine if prefrontal lesions are necessary for semantic control deficits. These SA groups were also compared with semantic dementia (SD; N = 10), characterised by degraded semantic representations. We asked whether TPC cases with semantic impairment show controlled retrieval deficits equivalent to PF+ cases or conceptual degradation similar to patients with SD. Independent of lesion location, the SA subgroups showed similarities, whereas SD patients showed a qualitatively distinct semantic impairment. Relative to SD, both TPC and PF+ SA subgroups: (1) showed few correlations in performance across tasks with differing control demands, but a strong relationship between tasks of similar difficulty; (2) exhibited attenuated effects of lexical frequency and concept familiarity, (3) showed evidence of poor semantic regulation in their verbal output - performance on picture naming was substantially improved when provided with a phonological cue, and (4) showed effects of control demands, such as retrieval difficulty, which were equivalent in severity across TPC and PF+ groups. These findings show that semantic impairment in SA is underpinned by damage to a distributed semantic control network, instantiated across anterior and posterior cortical areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah E Thompson
- School of Psychology and Counselling, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
| | - Krist A Noonan
- School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, UK
| | - Ajay D Halai
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Paul Hoffman
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sara Stampacchia
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging and Innovative Molecular Tracers (NIMTlab), Geneva University Neurocenter and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, UK
| | - Glyn Hallam
- School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, UK
| | - Grace E Rice
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Blanca De Dios Perez
- Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK
| | | | - Elizabeth Jefferies
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, UK
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10
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Wan B, Bayrak Ş, Xu T, Schaare HL, Bethlehem RAI, Bernhardt BC, Valk SL. Heritability and cross-species comparisons of human cortical functional organization asymmetry. eLife 2022; 11:e77215. [PMID: 35904242 PMCID: PMC9381036 DOI: 10.7554/elife.77215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The human cerebral cortex is symmetrically organized along large-scale axes but also presents inter-hemispheric differences in structure and function. The quantified contralateral homologous difference, that is asymmetry, is a key feature of the human brain left-right axis supporting functional processes, such as language. Here, we assessed whether the asymmetry of cortical functional organization is heritable and phylogenetically conserved between humans and macaques. Our findings indicate asymmetric organization along an axis describing a functional trajectory from perceptual/action to abstract cognition. Whereas language network showed leftward asymmetric organization, frontoparietal network showed rightward asymmetric organization in humans. These asymmetries were heritable in humans and showed a similar spatial distribution with macaques, in the case of intra-hemispheric asymmetry of functional hierarchy. This suggests (phylo)genetic conservation. However, both language and frontoparietal networks showed a qualitatively larger asymmetry in humans relative to macaques. Overall, our findings suggest a genetic basis for asymmetry in intrinsic functional organization, linked to higher order cognitive functions uniquely developed in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Wan
- Otto Hahn Group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity (IMPRS NeuroCom)LeipzigGermany
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig and Faculty of Medicine, University of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behavior), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
| | - Şeyma Bayrak
- Otto Hahn Group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig and Faculty of Medicine, University of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behavior), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
| | - Ting Xu
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind InstituteNew YorkUnited States
| | - H Lina Schaare
- Otto Hahn Group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behavior), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
| | | | - Boris C Bernhardt
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montréal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill UniversityMontréalCanada
| | - Sofie L Valk
- Otto Hahn Group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behavior), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
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11
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Shi J, Huang H, Jiang R, Mao X, Huang Q, Li A. The Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus Plays an Important Role in Unconscious Information Processing: Activation Likelihood Estimation Analysis Based on Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:781099. [PMID: 35401077 PMCID: PMC8987111 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.781099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Unconsciousness is a kind of brain activity that occurs below the level of consciousness, and the masked priming paradigm is a classic paradigm to study unconscious perceptual processing. With the deepening of unconscious perception research, different researchers mostly use different experimental materials and different masked priming paradigms in a single experiment but not for the comprehensive analysis of the unconscious information processing mechanism itself. Thus, the purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis through a cross-experimental paradigm, cross-experimental materials, and cross-experimental purposes. We used activation likelihood estimation to test functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, involving 361 subjects, 124 foci in eight studies representing direct comparison of unconscious processing with baseline, and 115 foci in 10 studies representing direct comparison of unconscious priming effects. In the comparison of unconscious processing and baseline, clusters formed in the left superior parietal gyrus, the right insular gyrus, and the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) triangular part after correcting for familywise error (FWE). In the comparison of priming effects, clusters formed in only the right IFG triangular part after correcting for FWE. Here, we found that ventral and dorsal pathways jointly regulate unconscious perceptual processes, but only the ventral pathway is involved in the regulation of unconscious priming effects. The IFG triangular part is involved in the regulation of unconscious perceptual processing and unconscious priming effects and may be an important brain area in unconscious information processing. These preliminary data provide conditions for further study of the neural correlation of unconscious information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jilong Shi
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Haojie Huang
- Department of Physical Education, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Ruichen Jiang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
- School of Teacher Education, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, China
| | - Xuechen Mao
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Qin Huang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Anmin Li
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
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12
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Shao X, Mckeown B, Karapanagiotidis T, Vos de Wael R, Margulies DS, Bernhardt B, Smallwood J, Krieger-Redwood K, Jefferies E. Individual differences in gradients of intrinsic connectivity within the semantic network relate to distinct aspects of semantic cognition. Cortex 2022; 150:48-60. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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13
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Pang J, Guo H, Tang X, Fu Y, Yang Z, Li Y, An N, Luo J, Yao Z, Hu B. Uncovering the global task-modulated brain network in chunk decomposition with Chinese characters. Neuroimage 2021; 247:118826. [PMID: 34923135 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Chunk decomposition, which requires the mental representation transformation in accordance with behavioral goals, is of vital importance to problem solving and creative thinking. Previous studies have identified that the frontal, parietal, and occipital cortex in the cognitive control network selectively activated in response to chunk tightness, however, functional localization strategy may overlook the interaction brain regions. Based on the notion of a global brain network, we proposed that multiple specialized regions have to be interconnected to maintain goal representation during the course of chunk decomposition. Therefore, the present study applied a beta-series correlation method to investigate interregional functional connectivity in the event-related design of chunk decomposition tasks using Chinese characters, which would highlight critical nodes irrespective to chunk tightness. The results reveal a network of functional hubs with highly within or between module connections, including the orbitofrontal cortex, superior/inferior parietal lobule, hippocampus, and thalamus. We speculate that the thalamus integrates information across modular as an integrative hub while the orbitofrontal cortex tracks the mental states of chunk decomposition on a moment-to-moment basis. The superior and inferior parietal lobule collaborate to manipulate the mental representation of chunk decomposition and the hippocampus associates the relationship between elements in the question and solution phase. Furthermore, the tightness of chunks is not only associated with different processors in visual systems but also leads to increased intermodular connections in right superior frontal gyrus and left precentral gyrus. To summary up, the present study first reveals the task-modulated brain network of chunk decomposition in addition to the tightness-related nodes in the frontal and occipital cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaoyan Pang
- School of Government, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China
| | - Hanning Guo
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, No. 222 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
| | - Xiaochen Tang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu Fu
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, No. 222 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
| | - Zhengwu Yang
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, No. 222 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Yongchao Li
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, No. 222 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Na An
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, No. 222 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Jing Luo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhijun Yao
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, No. 222 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
| | - Bin Hu
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, No. 222 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Joint Research Center for Cognitive Neurosensor Technology of Lanzhou University and Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Ministry of Education, Open Source Software and Real-Time System Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
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14
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Zhang M, Nathaniel U, Savill N, Smallwood J, Jefferies E. Intrinsic connectivity of left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex predicts individual differences in controlled semantic retrieval. Neuroimage 2021; 246:118760. [PMID: 34875381 PMCID: PMC8784820 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Control processes allow us to constrain the retrieval of semantic information from long-term memory so that it is appropriate for the task or context. Control demands are influenced by the strength of the target information itself and by the circumstances in which it is retrieved, with more control needed when relatively weak aspects of knowledge are required and after the sustained retrieval of related concepts. To investigate the neurocognitive basis of individual differences in these aspects of semantic control, we used resting-state fMRI to characterise the intrinsic connectivity of left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), implicated in controlled retrieval, and examined associations on a paced serial semantic task, in which participants were asked to detect category members amongst distractors. This task manipulated both the strength of target associations and the requirement to sustain retrieval within a narrow semantic category over time. We found that individuals with stronger connectivity between VLPFC and medial prefrontal cortex within the default mode network (DMN) showed better retrieval of strong associations (which are thought to be recalled more automatically). Stronger connectivity between the same VLPFC seed and another DMN region in medial parietal cortex was associated with larger declines in retrieval over the course of the category. In contrast, participants with stronger connectivity between VLPFC and cognitive control regions within the ventral attention network (VAN) had better controlled retrieval of weak associations and were better able to sustain their comprehension throughout the category. These effects overlapped in left insular cortex within the VAN, indicating that a common pattern of connectivity is associated with different aspects of controlled semantic retrieval induced by both the structure of long-term knowledge and the sustained retrieval of related information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meichao Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5DD, York, UK.
| | - Upasana Nathaniel
- Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Nicola Savill
- School of Education, Language & Psychology, York St John University, YO31 7EX, York, UK
| | - Jonathan Smallwood
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Jefferies
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5DD, York, UK.
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15
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Souter NE, Lindquist KA, Jefferies E. Impaired emotion perception and categorization in semantic aphasia. Neuropsychologia 2021; 162:108052. [PMID: 34624259 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
According to a constructionist model of emotion, conceptual knowledge plays a foundational role in emotion perception; reduced availability of relevant conceptual knowledge should therefore impair emotion perception. Conceptual deficits can follow both degradation of semantic knowledge (e.g., semantic 'storage' deficits in semantic dementia) and deregulation of retrieval (e.g., semantic 'access' deficits in semantic aphasia). While emotion recognition deficits are known to accompany degraded conceptual knowledge, less is known about the impact of semantic access deficits. Here, we examined emotion perception and categorization tasks in patients with semantic aphasia, who have difficulty accessing semantic information in a flexible and controlled fashion following left hemisphere stroke. In Study 1, participants were asked to sort faces according to the emotion they portrayed - with numbers, written labels and picture examples each provided as category anchors across tasks. Semantic aphasia patients made more errors and showed a larger benefit from word anchors that reduced the need to internally constrain categorization than comparison participants. They successfully sorted portrayals that differed in valence (positive vs. negative) but had difficulty categorizing different negative emotions. They were unimpaired on a control task that involved sorting faces by identity. In Study 2, participants matched facial emotion portrayals to written labels following vocal emotion prosody cues, miscues, or no cues. Patients presented with overall poorer performance and benefited from cue trials relative to within-valence miscue trials. This same effect was seen in comparison participants, who also showed deleterious effects of within-valence miscue relative to no cue trials. Overall, we found that patients with deregulated semantic retrieval have deficits in emotional perception but that word anchors and cue conditions can facilitate emotion perception by increasing access to relevant emotion concepts and reducing reliance on semantic control. Semantic control may be of particular importance in emotion perception when it is necessary to interpret ambiguous inputs, or when there is interference between conceptually similar emotional states. These findings extend constructionist accounts of emotion to encompass difficulties in controlled semantic retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kristen A Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3270, USA.
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16
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Gonzalez Alam TRDJ, Mckeown BLA, Gao Z, Bernhardt B, Vos de Wael R, Margulies DS, Smallwood J, Jefferies E. A tale of two gradients: differences between the left and right hemispheres predict semantic cognition. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:631-654. [PMID: 34510282 PMCID: PMC8844158 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02374-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Decomposition of whole-brain functional connectivity patterns reveals a principal gradient that captures the separation of sensorimotor cortex from heteromodal regions in the default mode network (DMN). Functional homotopy is strongest in sensorimotor areas, and weakest in heteromodal cortices, suggesting there may be differences between the left and right hemispheres (LH/RH) in the principal gradient, especially towards its apex. This study characterised hemispheric differences in the position of large-scale cortical networks along the principal gradient, and their functional significance. We collected resting-state fMRI and semantic, working memory and non-verbal reasoning performance in 175 + healthy volunteers. We then extracted the principal gradient of connectivity for each participant, tested which networks showed significant hemispheric differences on the gradient, and regressed participants’ behavioural efficiency in tasks outside the scanner against interhemispheric gradient differences for each network. LH showed a higher overall principal gradient value, consistent with its role in heteromodal semantic cognition. One frontotemporal control subnetwork was linked to individual differences in semantic cognition: when it was nearer heteromodal DMN on the principal gradient in LH, participants showed more efficient semantic retrieval—and this network also showed a strong hemispheric difference in response to semantic demands but not working memory load in a separate study. In contrast, when a dorsal attention subnetwork was closer to the heteromodal end of the principal gradient in RH, participants showed better visual reasoning. Lateralization of function may reflect differences in connectivity between control and heteromodal regions in LH, and attention and visual regions in RH.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Zhiyao Gao
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Boris Bernhardt
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Reinder Vos de Wael
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Daniel S Margulies
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Université de Paris, INCC UMR 8002, Paris, France
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17
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Gao Z, Zheng L, Chiou R, Gouws A, Krieger-Redwood K, Wang X, Varga D, Ralph MAL, Smallwood J, Jefferies E. Distinct and common neural coding of semantic and non-semantic control demands. Neuroimage 2021; 236:118230. [PMID: 34089873 PMCID: PMC8271095 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The flexible retrieval of knowledge is critical in everyday situations involving problem solving, reasoning and social interaction. Current theories emphasise the importance of a left-lateralised semantic control network (SCN) in supporting flexible semantic behaviour, while a bilateral multiple-demand network (MDN) is implicated in executive functions across domains. No study, however, has examined whether semantic and non-semantic demands are reflected in a common neural code within regions specifically implicated in semantic control. Using functional MRI and univariate parametric modulation analysis as well as multivariate pattern analysis, we found that semantic and non-semantic demands gave rise to both similar and distinct neural responses across control-related networks. Though activity patterns in SCN and MDN could decode the difficulty of both semantic and verbal working memory decisions, there was no shared common neural coding of cognitive demands in SCN regions. In contrast, regions in MDN showed common patterns across manipulations of semantic and working memory control demands, with successful cross-classification of difficulty across tasks. Therefore, SCN and MDN can be dissociated according to the information they maintain about cognitive demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyao Gao
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Li Zheng
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - Rocco Chiou
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
| | - André Gouws
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Katya Krieger-Redwood
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Xiuyi Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Dominika Varga
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew A Lambon Ralph
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Smallwood
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Jefferies
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
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18
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Jackson RL. The neural correlates of semantic control revisited. Neuroimage 2021; 224:117444. [PMID: 33059049 PMCID: PMC7779562 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic control, the ability to selectively access and manipulate meaningful information on the basis of context demands, is a critical component of semantic cognition. The precise neural correlates of semantic control are disputed, with particular debate surrounding parietal involvement, the spatial extent of the posterior temporal contribution and network lateralisation. Here semantic control is revisited, utilising improved analysis techniques and a decade of additional data to refine our understanding of the network. A meta-analysis of 925 peaks over 126 contrasts illuminated a left-focused network consisting of inferior frontal gyrus, posterior middle temporal gyrus, posterior inferior temporal gyrus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. This extended the temporal region implicated, and found no parietal involvement. Although left-lateralised overall, relative lateralisation varied across the implicated regions. Supporting analyses confirmed the multimodal nature of the semantic control network and situated it within the wider set of regions implicated in semantic cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca L Jackson
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom.
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19
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Intrinsic connectivity of anterior temporal lobe relates to individual differences in semantic retrieval for landmarks. Cortex 2020; 134:76-91. [PMID: 33259970 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary neuroscientific accounts suggest that ventral anterior temporal lobe (ATL) acts as a bilateral heteromodal semantic hub, which is particularly critical for the specific-level knowledge needed to recognise unique entities, such as familiar landmarks and faces. There may also be graded functional differences between left and right ATL, relating to effects of modality (linguistic versus non-linguistic) and category (e.g., knowledge of people and places). Individual differences in intrinsic connectivity from left and right ATL might be associated with variation in semantic categorisation performance across these categories and modalities. We recorded resting-state fMRI in 74 individuals and, in a separate session, examined semantic categorisation. People with greater connectivity between left and right ATL were more efficient at categorising landmarks (e.g., Eiffel Tower), especially when these were presented visually. In addition, participants who showed stronger connectivity from right than left ATL to medial occipital cortex showed more efficient semantic categorisation of landmarks regardless of modality of presentation. These results can be interpreted in terms of graded differences in the patterns of connectivity across left and right ATL, which give rise to a bilateral yet partially segregated semantic 'hub'. More specifically, right ATL connectivity supports the efficient semantic categorisation of landmarks.
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20
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Controlled semantic summation correlates with intrinsic connectivity between default mode and control networks. Cortex 2020; 129:356-375. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.04.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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21
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Marino Dávolos J, Arias JC, Jefferies E. Linking individual differences in semantic cognition to white matter microstructure. Neuropsychologia 2020; 141:107438. [PMID: 32171737 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Semantic cognition is thought to involve the interaction of heteromodal conceptual representations with control processes that (i) focus retrieval on currently-relevant information, and (ii) suppress dominant yet irrelevant features and associations. Research suggests that semantic control demands are higher when retrieving a link between weakly-associated word pairs, since there is a mismatch between the pattern of semantic retrieval required by the task and the dominant associations of individual words. In addition, given that heteromodal concepts are thought to reflect the integration of vision, audition, valence and other features, the control demands of semantic tasks should be higher when there is less consistency between these features. In the present study, 62 volunteers completed a semantic decision task, where association strength and semantic-affective congruence were manipulated. We used diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging to obtain fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of white matter tracts hypothesized to be part of the semantic network. The behavioural data revealed an interaction between semantic-affective congruence and strength of association, suggesting these manipulations both contribute to semantic control demands. Next we considered how individual differences in these markers of semantic control relate to the microstructure of canonical white matter tracts, complementing previous studies that have largely focused on measures of intrinsic functional connectivity. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance showed opposing interactions between semantic control markers and FA of two tracts: left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF). Participants with higher FA in left ILF showed more efficient retrieval of weak associations, and more accurate performance for weak associations when meaning and valence were incongruent, consistent with the hypothesis that this left hemisphere tract supports semantic control. In contrast, participants with higher FA in right IFOF were more accurate for trials in which meaning and valence were congruent, and consequently when semantic control demands were minimised. These findings are consistent with recent studies showing that semantic control processes are strongly left-lateralised. In contrast, long-range connections from vision to semantic regions in the right hemisphere might support relatively automatic patterns of semantic retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julián Marino Dávolos
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, YO10 5DD, York, UK.
| | - Juan Cruz Arias
- Instituto de Investigación Oulton, Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
| | - Elizabeth Jefferies
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, YO10 5DD, York, UK.
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22
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Principles of temporal association cortex organisation as revealed by connectivity gradients. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:1245-1260. [PMID: 32157450 PMCID: PMC7270054 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02047-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
To establish the link between structure and function of any large area of the neocortex, it is helpful to identify its principles of organisation. One way to establish such principles is to investigate how differences in whole-brain connectivity are structured across the area. Here, we use Laplacian eigenmaps on diffusion MRI tractography data to investigate the organisational principles of the human temporal association cortex. We identify three overlapping gradients of connectivity that are, for the most part, consistent across hemispheres. The first gradient reveals an inferior–superior organisation of predominantly longitudinal tracts and separates visual and auditory unimodal and multimodal cortices. The second gradient radiates outward from the posterior middle temporal cortex with the arcuate fascicle as a distinguishing feature; the third gradient is concentrated in the anterior temporal lobe and emanates towards its posterior end. We describe the functional relevance of each of these gradients through the meta-analysis of data from the neuroimaging literature. Together, these results unravel the overlapping dimensions of structural organization of the human temporal cortex and provide a framework underlying its functional multiplicity.
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