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Vin R, Blauch NM, Plaut DC, Behrmann M. Visual word processing engages a hierarchical, distributed, and bilateral cortical network. iScience 2024; 27:108809. [PMID: 38303718 PMCID: PMC10831251 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108809] [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: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Although the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) in left temporal cortex is considered the pre-eminent region in visual word processing, other regions are also implicated. We examined the entire text-selective circuit, using functional MRI. Ten regions of interest (ROIs) per hemisphere were defined, which, based on clustering, grouped into early vision, high-level vision, and language clusters. We analyzed the responses of the ROIs and clusters to words, inverted words, and consonant strings using univariate, multivariate, and functional connectivity measures. Bilateral modulation by stimulus condition was evident, with a stronger effect in left hemisphere regions. Last, using graph theory, we observed that the VWFA was equivalently connected with early visual and language clusters in both hemispheres, reflecting its role as a mediator in the circuit. Although the individual ROIs and clusters bilaterally were flexibly altered by the nature of the input, stability held at the level of global circuit connectivity, reflecting the complex hierarchical distributed system serving visual text perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raina Vin
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Nicholas M. Blauch
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Program in Neural Computation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - David C. Plaut
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Marlene Behrmann
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA
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