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Ren L, Lv M, Wang X, Schwieter JW, Liu H. iTBS reveals the roles of domain-general cognitive control and language-specific brain regions during word formation rule learning. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae356. [PMID: 39233376 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae356] [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: 06/01/2024] [Revised: 08/10/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Repeated exposure to word forms and meanings improves lexical knowledge acquisition. However, the roles of domain-general and language-specific brain regions during this process remain unclear. To investigate this, we applied intermittent theta burst stimulation over the domain-general (group left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and domain-specific (Group L IFG) brain regions, with a control group receiving sham intermittent theta burst stimulation. Intermittent theta burst stimulation effects were subsequently assessed in functional magnetic resonance imaging using an artificial word learning task which consisted of 3 learning phases. A generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis explored the whole brain functional connectivity, while dynamic causal modeling estimated causal interactions in specific brain regions modulated by intermittent theta burst stimulation during repeated exposure. Compared to sham stimulation, active intermittent theta burst stimulation improved word learning performance and reduced activation of the left insula in learning phase 2. Active intermittent theta burst stimulation over the domain-general region increased whole-brain functional connectivity and modulated effective connectivity between brain regions during repeated exposure. This effect was not observed when active intermittent theta burst stimulation was applied to the language-specific region. These findings suggest that the domain-general region plays a crucial role in word formation rule learning, with intermittent theta burst stimulation enhancing whole-brain connectivity and facilitating efficient information exchange between key brain regions during new word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lanlan Ren
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Mengjie Lv
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Xiyuan Wang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
| | - John W Schwieter
- Language Acquisition, Cognition, and Multilingualism Laboratory/Bilingualism Matters, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5, Canada
- Department of Linguistics and Languages, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M2, Canada
| | - Huanhuan Liu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, 850 Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, China
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Elmer S, Besson M, Rodriguez-Fornells A, Giroud N. Foreign speech sound discrimination and associative word learning lead to a fast reconfiguration of resting-state networks. Neuroimage 2023; 271:120026. [PMID: 36921678 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120026] [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: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning new words in an unfamiliar language is a complex endeavor that requires the orchestration of multiple perceptual and cognitive functions. Although the neural mechanisms governing word learning are becoming better understood, little is known about the predictive value of resting-state (RS) metrics for foreign word discrimination and word learning attainment. In addition, it is still unknown which of the multistep processes involved in word learning have the potential to rapidly reconfigure RS networks. To address these research questions, we used electroencephalography (EEG), measured forty participants, and examined scalp-based power spectra, source-based spectral density maps and functional connectivity metrics before (RS1), in between (RS2) and after (RS3) a series of tasks which are known to facilitate the acquisition of new words in a foreign language, namely word discrimination, word-referent mapping and semantic generalization. Power spectra at the scalp level consistently revealed a reconfiguration of RS networks as a function of foreign word discrimination (RS1 vs. RS2) and word learning (RS1 vs. RS3) tasks in the delta, lower and upper alpha, and upper beta frequency ranges. Otherwise, functional reconfigurations at the source level were restricted to the theta (spectral density maps) and to the lower and upper alpha frequency bands (spectral density maps and functional connectivity). Notably, scalp RS changes related to the word discrimination tasks (difference between RS2 and RS1) correlated with word discrimination abilities (upper alpha band) and semantic generalization performance (theta and upper alpha bands), whereas functional changes related to the word learning tasks (difference between RS3 and RS1) correlated with word discrimination scores (lower alpha band). Taken together, these results highlight that foreign speech sound discrimination and word learning have the potential to rapidly reconfigure RS networks at multiple functional scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Elmer
- Department of Computational Linguistics, Computational Neuroscience of Speech & Hearing, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain; Competence center Language & Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Mireille Besson
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Université Publique de France, CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Antoni Rodriguez-Fornells
- Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain; University of Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nathalie Giroud
- Department of Computational Linguistics, Computational Neuroscience of Speech & Hearing, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Center for Neuroscience Zurich, University and ETH of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Competence center Language & Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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Language learning in aphasia: A narrative review and critical analysis of the literature with implications for language therapy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 141:104825. [PMID: 35963544 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
People with aphasia (PWA) present with language deficits including word retrieval difficulties after brain damage. Language learning is an essential life-long human capacity that may support treatment-induced language recovery after brain insult. This prospect has motivated a growing interest in the study of language learning in PWA during the last few decades. Here, we critically review the current literature on language learning ability in aphasia. The existing studies in this area indicate that (i) language learning can remain functional in some PWA, (ii) inter-individual variability in learning performance is large in PWA, (iii) language processing, short-term memory and lesion site are associated with learning ability, (iv) preliminary evidence suggests a relationship between learning ability and treatment outcomes in this population. Based on the reviewed evidence, we propose a potential account for the interplay between language and memory/learning systems to explain spared/impaired language learning and its relationship to language therapy in PWA. Finally, we indicate potential avenues for future research that may promote more cross-talk between cognitive neuroscience and aphasia rehabilitation.
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Angwin AJ, Armstrong SR, Fisher C, Escudero P. Acquisition of novel word meaning via cross situational word learning: An event-related potential study. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 229:105111. [PMID: 35367812 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Cross-situational statistical word learning (CSWL) refers to the process whereby participants learn new words by tracking ambiguous word-object co-occurrences across time. This study used event-related potentials to explore the acquisition of novel word meanings via CSWL in healthy adults. After learning to associate novel auditory words (e.g., 'ket') with familiar objects (e.g., sword), participants performed a semantic judgement task where the learned novel words were paired with a familiar word belonging to either the same (e.g., dagger) or a different (e.g., harp) semantic category. As a comparison, the task also included word pairs comprising two familiar words. The analyses revealed that the unrelated novel word pairs elicited a similar N400 to that of the unrelated familiar word pairs, but with a different hemispheric distribution (left hemisphere for novel words, right hemisphere for familiar words). These findings demonstrate rapid meaning acquisition via CSWL, which is reflected at a neurophysiological level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J Angwin
- University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Samuel R Armstrong
- University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Courtney Fisher
- University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Paola Escudero
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
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