1
|
Matchin W, Almeida D, Hickok G, Sprouse J. Cortical networks responsive to phrase structure and subject island violations. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.05.592579. [PMID: 38746262 PMCID: PMC11092748 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.05.592579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
In principle, functional neuroimaging provides uniquely informative data in addressing linguistic questions, because it can indicate distinct processes that are not apparent from behavioral data alone. This could involve adjudicating the source of unacceptability via the different patterns of elicited brain responses to different ungrammatical sentence types. However, it is difficult to interpret brain activations to syntactic violations. Such responses could reflect processes that have nothing intrinsically related to linguistic representations, such as domain-general executive function abilities. In order to facilitate the potential use of functional neuroimaging methods to identify the source of different syntactic violations, we conducted an fMRI experiment to identify the brain activation maps associated with two distinct syntactic violation types: phrase structure (created by inverting the order of two adjacent words within a sentence) and subject islands (created by extracting a wh-phrase out of an embedded subject). The comparison of these violations to control sentences surprisingly showed no indication of a generalized violation response, with almost completely divergent activation patterns. Phrase structure violations seemingly activated regions previously implicated in verbal working memory and structural complexity in sentence processing, whereas the subject islands appeared to activate regions previously implicated in conceptual-semantic processing, broadly defined. We review our findings in the context of previous research on syntactic and semantic violations using event-related potentials. We suggest that functional neuroimaging is a potentially fruitful technique in unpacking the distinct sets of cognitive processes elicited by theoretically-relevant syntactic violations, when interpreted with care and paired with appropriate control conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- William Matchin
- Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina
| | | | - Gregory Hickok
- Dept. of Cognitive Sciences and Dept. of Language Science, University of California, Irvine
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
van der Burght CL, Numssen O, Schlaak B, Goucha T, Hartwigsen G. Differential contributions of inferior frontal gyrus subregions to sentence processing guided by intonation. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:585-598. [PMID: 36189774 PMCID: PMC9842926 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Auditory sentence comprehension involves processing content (semantics), grammar (syntax), and intonation (prosody). The left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is involved in sentence comprehension guided by these different cues, with neuroimaging studies preferentially locating syntactic and semantic processing in separate IFG subregions. However, this regional specialisation has not been confirmed with a neurostimulation method. Consequently, the causal role of such a specialisation remains unclear. This study probed the role of the posterior IFG (pIFG) for syntactic processing and the anterior IFG (aIFG) for semantic processing with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in a task that required the interpretation of the sentence's prosodic realisation. Healthy participants performed a sentence completion task with syntactic and semantic decisions, while receiving 10 Hz rTMS over either left aIFG, pIFG, or vertex (control). Initial behavioural analyses showed an inhibitory effect on accuracy without task-specificity. However, electric field simulations revealed differential effects for both subregions. In the aIFG, stronger stimulation led to slower semantic processing, with no effect of pIFG stimulation. In contrast, we found a facilitatory effect on syntactic processing in both aIFG and pIFG, where higher stimulation strength was related to faster responses. Our results provide first evidence for the functional relevance of left aIFG in semantic processing guided by intonation. The stimulation effect on syntactic responses emphasises the importance of the IFG for syntax processing, without supporting the hypothesis of a pIFG-specific involvement. Together, the results support the notion of functionally specialised IFG subregions for diverse but fundamental cues for language processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Constantijn L. van der Burght
- Department of NeuropsychologyMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany,Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and PlasticityMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany,Psychology of Language DepartmentMax Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsNijmegen
| | - Ole Numssen
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and PlasticityMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
| | - Benito Schlaak
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and PlasticityMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
| | - Tomás Goucha
- Department of NeuropsychologyMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and PlasticityMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang Y, Frassinelli D, Tuomainen J, Skipper JI, Vigliocco G. More than words: word predictability, prosody, gesture and mouth movements in natural language comprehension. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210500. [PMID: 34284631 PMCID: PMC8292779 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [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: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The ecology of human language is face-to-face interaction, comprising cues such as prosody, co-speech gestures and mouth movements. Yet, the multimodal context is usually stripped away in experiments as dominant paradigms focus on linguistic processing only. In two studies we presented video-clips of an actress producing naturalistic passages to participants while recording their electroencephalogram. We quantified multimodal cues (prosody, gestures, mouth movements) and measured their effect on a well-established electroencephalographic marker of processing load in comprehension (N400). We found that brain responses to words were affected by informativeness of co-occurring multimodal cues, indicating that comprehension relies on linguistic and non-linguistic cues. Moreover, they were affected by interactions between the multimodal cues, indicating that the impact of each cue dynamically changes based on the informativeness of other cues. Thus, results show that multimodal cues are integral to comprehension, hence, our theories must move beyond the limited focus on speech and linguistic processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ye Zhang
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Diego Frassinelli
- Department of Linguistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jyrki Tuomainen
- Experimental Psychology, Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Hagoort P. The neurobiology of language beyond single-word processing. Science 2019; 366:55-58. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aax0289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
In this Review, I propose a multiple-network view for the neurobiological basis of distinctly human language skills. A much more complex picture of interacting brain areas emerges than in the classical neurobiological model of language. This is because using language is more than single-word processing, and much goes on beyond the information given in the acoustic or orthographic tokens that enter primary sensory cortices. This requires the involvement of multiple networks with functionally nonoverlapping contributions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Hagoort
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Walenski M, Europa E, Caplan D, Thompson CK. Neural networks for sentence comprehension and production: An ALE-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:2275-2304. [PMID: 30689268 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Comprehending and producing sentences is a complex endeavor requiring the coordinated activity of multiple brain regions. We examined three issues related to the brain networks underlying sentence comprehension and production in healthy individuals: First, which regions are recruited for sentence comprehension and sentence production? Second, are there differences for auditory sentence comprehension vs. visual sentence comprehension? Third, which regions are specifically recruited for the comprehension of syntactically complex sentences? Results from activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analyses (from 45 studies) implicated a sentence comprehension network occupying bilateral frontal and temporal lobe regions. Regions implicated in production (from 15 studies) overlapped with the set of regions associated with sentence comprehension in the left hemisphere, but did not include inferior frontal cortex, and did not extend to the right hemisphere. Modality differences between auditory and visual sentence comprehension were found principally in the temporal lobes. Results from the analysis of complex syntax (from 37 studies) showed engagement of left inferior frontal and posterior temporal regions, as well as the right insula. The involvement of the right hemisphere in the comprehension of these structures has potentially important implications for language treatment and recovery in individuals with agrammatic aphasia following left hemisphere brain damage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Walenski
- Center for the Neurobiology of Language Recovery, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Communication, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Eduardo Europa
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco
| | - David Caplan
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Cynthia K Thompson
- Center for the Neurobiology of Language Recovery, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Communication, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.,Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Dimitrova DV, Stowe LA, Hoeks JCJ. When correction turns positive: processing corrective prosody in Dutch. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0126299. [PMID: 25973607 PMCID: PMC4431819 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2014] [Accepted: 03/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Current research on spoken language does not provide a consistent picture as to whether prosody, the melody and rhythm of speech, conveys a specific meaning. Perception studies show that English listeners assign meaning to prosodic patterns, and, for instance, associate some accents with contrast, whereas Dutch listeners behave more controversially. In two ERP studies we tested how Dutch listeners process words carrying two types of accents, which either provided new information (new information accents) or corrected information (corrective accents), both in single sentences (experiment 1) and after corrective and new information questions (experiment 2). In both experiments corrective accents elicited a sustained positivity as compared to new information accents, which started earlier in context than in single sentences. The positivity was not modulated by the nature of the preceding question, suggesting that the underlying neural mechanism likely reflects the construction of an interpretation to the accented word, either by identifying an alternative in context or by inferring it when no context is present. Our experimental results provide strong evidence for inferential processes related to prosodic contours in Dutch.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Diana V. Dimitrova
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Laurie A. Stowe
- Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - John C. J. Hoeks
- Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|