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Wei Y, Wang J, Wang H, Paz-Alonso PM. Functional interactions underlying visuospatial orthographic processes in Chinese reading. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae359. [PMID: 39294003 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae359] [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: 05/26/2024] [Revised: 08/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/21/2024] [Indexed: 09/20/2024] Open
Abstract
As a logographic writing system, Chinese reading involves the processing of visuospatial orthographic (ORT) properties. However, this aspect has received relatively less attention in neuroimaging research, which has tended to emphasize phonological (PHO) and semantic (SEM) aspects in processing Chinese characters. Here, we compared the functional correlates supporting all these three processes in a functional MRI single-character reading study, in which 35 native Chinese adults were asked to make ORT, PHO, and SEM judgments in separate task-specific activation blocks. Our findings revealed increased involvement of the right hemisphere in processing Chinese visuospatial orthography, particularly evident in the right ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOTC). Additionally, time course analysis revealed that the left superior parietal gyrus (SPG) was initially involved in SEM processing but contributed to the visuospatial processing of words in a later time window. Finally, ORT processing demonstrated stronger recruitment of left vOTC-SPG-middle frontal gyrus (MFG) functional connectivity compared to SEM processing. This functional coupling correlated with reduced regional engagement of the left vOTC and MFG, highlighting that visuospatial ORT processes in reading Chinese rely on functional interactions among key regions rather than local regional processes. In conclusion, these findings underscore visuospatial ORT processes as a distinctive feature of reading logographic characters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjun Wei
- Key Laboratory of the Cognitive Science of Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Ministry of Education, Xueyuan Road 15, Beijing 10083, China
- Center for the Cognitive Science of Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Xueyuan Road 15, Beijing 10083, China
| | - Jianqin Wang
- Key Laboratory of the Cognitive Science of Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Ministry of Education, Xueyuan Road 15, Beijing 10083, China
- Center for the Cognitive Science of Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Xueyuan Road 15, Beijing 10083, China
| | - Huiping Wang
- Center for the Cognitive Science of Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Xueyuan Road 15, Beijing 10083, China
| | - Pedro M Paz-Alonso
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Mikeletegi Pasalekua 69, Donostia 20009, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbo 48013, Spain
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2
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Zhang J, Chen J, Ding G. Universality and language specificity of brain reading networks: A developmental perspective. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13379. [PMID: 36899475 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13379] [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: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
The development of reading networks across different languages and cultures provides an important window to address gene-culture interactions in brain functionality development. Previous meta-analyses have explored the neural correlates of reading in different languages with diverse orthographic transparencies. However, it remains unknown whether the neural topographic relationship of different languages varies when taking development into account. To address this issue, we conducted meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies with approaches of activation likelihood estimation and seed-based effect size mapping and focused on two highly contrasting languages, Chinese and English. The meta-analyses covered 61 studies of Chinese reading and 64 studies of English reading by native speakers. The brain reading networks of child and adult readers were further separately analyzed and compared to explore the developmental effects. The results revealed that the commonalities and differences in reading networks for Chinese and English were inconsistent between children and adults. In addition, the reading networks converged with development, and the effects of writing systems on brain function organizations were more salient in the initial stages of reading. An interesting finding was that the left inferior parietal lobule demonstrated increased effect sizes in adults compared with children in both Chinese and English reading, indicating a common developmental feature of reading mechanisms across the two languages. These findings provide new insights into the functional evolution and cultural modulation of brain reading networks. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Meta-analyses with approaches of activation likelihood estimation and seed-based effect size mapping were performed to evaluate the developmental characteristics of brain reading networks. The engagement of universal and language-specific reading networks was different between children and adults, and the reading networks converged with increased reading experience. Overall the middle/inferior occipital and inferior/middle frontal gyrus were specific to Chinese and the middle temporal, right inferior frontal gyrus were specific to English. The left inferior parietal lobule was engaged more in adults than children in Chinese and English reading, demonstrating a common developmental feature of reading mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Guosheng Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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3
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Yeatman JD, McCloy DR, Caffarra S, Clarke MD, Ender S, Gijbels L, Joo SJ, Kubota EC, Kuhl PK, Larson E, O'Brien G, Peterson ER, Takada ME, Taulu S. Reading instruction causes changes in category-selective visual cortex. Brain Res Bull 2024; 212:110958. [PMID: 38677559 PMCID: PMC11194742 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2024.110958] [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: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Education sculpts specialized neural circuits for skills like reading that are critical to success in modern society but were not anticipated by the selective pressures of evolution. Does the emergence of brain regions that selectively process novel visual stimuli like words occur at the expense of cortical representations of other stimuli like faces and objects? "Neuronal Recycling" predicts that learning to read should enhance the response to words in ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC) and decrease the response to other visual categories such as faces and objects. To test this hypothesis, and more broadly to understand the changes that are induced by the early stages of literacy instruction, we conducted a randomized controlled trial with pre-school children (five years of age). Children were randomly assigned to intervention programs focused on either reading skills or oral language skills and magnetoencephalography (MEG) data collected before and after the intervention was used to measure visual responses to images of text, faces, and objects. We found that being taught reading versus oral language skills induced different patterns of change in category-selective regions of visual cortex, but that there was not a clear tradeoff between the response to words versus other categories. Within a predefined region of VOTC corresponding to the visual word form area (VWFA) we found that the relative amplitude of responses to text, faces, and objects changed, but increases in the response to words were not linked to decreases in the response to faces or objects. How these changes play out over a longer timescale is still unknown but, based on these data, we can surmise that high-level visual cortex undergoes rapid changes as children enter school and begin establishing new skills like literacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D Yeatman
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Daniel R McCloy
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sendy Caffarra
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Maggie D Clarke
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Suzanne Ender
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Liesbeth Gijbels
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sung Jun Joo
- Department of Psychology, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Emily C Kubota
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Patricia K Kuhl
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Eric Larson
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Gabrielle O'Brien
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Erica R Peterson
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Megumi E Takada
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Samu Taulu
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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4
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Kim Y, Tjuka A. Cognitive Science From the Perspective of Linguistic Diversity. Cogn Sci 2024; 48:e13418. [PMID: 38407526 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13418] [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: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
This letter addresses two issues in language research that are important to cognitive science: the comparability of word meanings across languages and the neglect of an integrated approach to writing systems. The first issue challenges generativist claims by emphasizing the importance of comparability of data, drawing on typologists' findings about different languages. The second issue addresses the exclusion of diverse writing systems from linguistic investigation and argues for a more extensive study of their effects on language and cognition. We argue for a refocusing of cognitive science research on linguistic diversity in all modalities to develop the most robust understanding of language and its role in human cognition more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoolim Kim
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences Program, Wellesley College
| | - Annika Tjuka
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
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5
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Yang 杨炀 Y, Li 李君君 J, Zhao 赵恺 K, Tam F, Graham SJ, Xu 徐敏 M, Zhou 周可 K. Lateralized Functional Connectivity of the Sensorimotor Cortex and its Variations During Complex Visuomotor Tasks. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0723232023. [PMID: 38050101 PMCID: PMC10860583 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0723-23.2023] [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: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that the left hemisphere dominates motor function, often observed through homotopic activation measurements. Using a functional connectivity approach, this study investigated the lateralization of the sensorimotor cortex during handwriting and drawing, two complex visuomotor tasks with varying contextual demands. We found that both left- and right-lateralized connectivity in the primary motor cortex (M1), dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), somatosensory cortex, and visual regions were evident in adults (males and females), primarily in an interhemispheric integrative fashion. Critically, these lateralization tendencies remained highly invariant across task contexts, representing a task-invariant neural architecture for encoding fundamental motor programs consistently implemented in different task contexts. Additionally, the PMd exhibited a slight variation in lateralization degree between task contexts, reflecting the ability of the high-order motor system to adapt to varying task demands. However, connectivity-based lateralization of the sensorimotor cortex was not detected in 10-year-old children (males and females), suggesting that the maturation of connectivity-based lateralization requires prolonged development. In summary, this study demonstrates both task-invariant and task-sensitive connectivity lateralization in sensorimotor cortices that support the resilience and adaptability of skilled visuomotor performance. These findings align with the hierarchical organization of the motor system and underscore the significance of the functional connectivity-based approach in studying functional lateralization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang 杨炀
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junjun Li 李君君
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Kai Zhao 赵恺
- Institute of Brain Trauma and Neurology, Pingjin Hospital, Characteristic Medical Center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force, Tianjin 300300, China
| | - Fred Tam
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Simon J Graham
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada
| | - Min Xu 徐敏
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Ke Zhou 周可
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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6
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Overmann KA. Notational systems are distinct cognitive systems with different material prehistories. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e250. [PMID: 37779284 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x2300078x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Notations are cognitive systems involving distinctive psychological functions, behaviors, and material forms. Seen through this lens, two main types - semasiography and visible language - are fundamentally differentiated by their material prehistories, emphasis on iconography, and the centrality of language's combinatorial faculty. These fundamental differences suggest that key qualities (iconicity, expressiveness, concision) are difficult to conjoin in a single system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karenleigh A Overmann
- Department of Anthropology, Center for Cognitive Archaeology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO, USA ; https://uccs.academia.edu/KarenleighOvermann
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7
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Liu YF, Rapp B, Bedny M. Reading Braille by Touch Recruits Posterior Parietal Cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:1593-1616. [PMID: 37584592 PMCID: PMC10877400 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Blind readers use a tactile reading system consisting of raised dot arrays: braille/⠃⠗⠇. How do human brains implement reading by touch? The current study looked for signatures of reading-specific orthographic processes in braille, separate from low-level somatosensory responses and semantic processes. Of specific interest were responses in posterior parietal cortices (PPCs), because of their role in high-level tactile perception. Congenitally blind, proficient braille readers read real words and pseudowords by touch while undergoing fMRI. We leveraged the system of contractions in English braille, where one braille cell can represent multiple English print letters (e.g., "ing" ⠬, "one" ⠐⠕), making it possible to separate physical and orthographic word length. All words in the study consisted of four braille cells, but their corresponding Roman letter spellings varied from four to seven letters (e.g., "con-c-er-t" ⠒⠉⠻⠞. contracted: four cells; uncontracted: seven letters). We found that the bilateral supramarginal gyrus in the PPC increased its activity as the uncontracted word length increased. By contrast, in the hand region of primary somatosensory cortex (S1), activity increased as a function of a low-level somatosensory feature: dot-number per word. The PPC also showed greater response to pseudowords than real words and distinguished between real and pseudowords in multivariate-pattern analysis. Parieto-occipital, early visual and ventral occipito-temporal, as well as prefrontal cortices also showed sensitivity to the real-versus-pseudoword distinction. We conclude that PPC is involved in orthographic processing for braille, that is, braille character and word recognition, possibly because of braille's tactile modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Fei Liu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Brenda Rapp
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Marina Bedny
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
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8
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Fabiani E, Velay JL, Younes C, Anton JL, Nazarian B, Sein J, Habib M, Danna J, Longcamp M. Writing letters in two graphic systems: Behavioral and neural correlates in Latin-Arabic biscripters. Neuropsychologia 2023; 185:108567. [PMID: 37084880 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108567] [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: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023]
Abstract
Biscriptuality is the ability to read and write using two scripts. Despite the increasing number of biscripters, this phenomenon remains poorly understood. Here, we focused on investigating graphomotor processing in French-Arabic biscripters. We chose the French and Arabic alphabets because they have comparable visuospatial complexity and linguistic features, but differ dramatically in their graphomotor characteristics. In a first experiment we describe the graphomotor features of the two alphabets and showed that while Arabic and Latin letters are produced with the same velocity and fluency, Arabic letters require more pen lifts, contain more right-to-left strokes and clockwise curves, and take longer to write than Latin letters. These results suggest that Arabic and Latin letters are produced via different motor patterns. In a second experiment we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to ask whether writing the two scripts relies upon partially distinct or fully overlapping neural networks, and whether the elements of the previously described handwriting network are recruited to the same extent by the two scripts. We found that both scripts engaged the so-called "writing network", but that within the network, Arabic letters recruited the left superior parietal lobule (SPL) and the left primary motor cortex (M1) more strongly than Latin letters. Both regions have previously been identified as holding scale-invariant representations of letter trajectories. Arabic and Latin letters also activated distinct regions that do not belong to the writing network. Complementary analyses indicate that the differences observed between scripts at the neural level could be driven by the specific graphomotor features of each script. Overall, our results indicate that particular features of the practiced scripts can lead to different motor organization at both the behavioral and brain levels in biscripters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elie Fabiani
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LNC, Marseille, France
| | | | - Céleste Younes
- Institut Psychomotricité, Université St Joseph de Beyrouth, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Jean-Luc Anton
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED (Institut des Neurosciences de la Timone - UMR 7289), Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Nazarian
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED (Institut des Neurosciences de la Timone - UMR 7289), Marseille, France
| | - Julien Sein
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED (Institut des Neurosciences de la Timone - UMR 7289), Marseille, France
| | - Michel Habib
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LNC, Marseille, France
| | - Jeremy Danna
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LNC, Marseille, France
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9
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Li H, Yuan B, Luo YJ, Liu J. Reading anxiety modulates the functional connectivity of the reading-related network during adult reading. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 242:105278. [PMID: 37209490 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Researchers have studied cognitive and linguistic skills in predicting reading abilities, but the impact of affective factors such as anxiety on reading at the neurobiological level is not well understood. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural correlates of reading anxiety in adult readers performing a semantic judgment task. The results showed that reading anxiety was significantly correlated with response time but not with accuracy. Neurobiologically, functional connectivity strength rather than activation level of semantic-related areas significantly predicted reading anxiety. Activation of regions (i.e., the right putamen and right precentral gyrus) external to the semantic-related areas positively correlated with reading anxiety levels. These findings suggest that reading anxiety influences adult reading by modulating functional connections of semantic-related areas and brain activation of semantic-unrelated areas. This study provides insights into the neural mechanisms underlying reading anxiety experienced by adult readers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hehui Li
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Binke Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, China; Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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10
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Tian M, Saccone EJ, Kim JS, Kanjlia S, Bedny M. Sensory modality and spoken language shape reading network in blind readers of Braille. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2426-2440. [PMID: 35671478 PMCID: PMC10016046 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The neural basis of reading is highly consistent across many languages and scripts. Are there alternative neural routes to reading? How does the sensory modality of symbols (tactile vs. visual) influence their neural representations? We examined these questions by comparing reading of visual print (sighted group, n = 19) and tactile Braille (congenitally blind group, n = 19). Blind and sighted readers were presented with written (words, consonant strings, non-letter shapes) and spoken stimuli (words, backward speech) that varied in word-likeness. Consistent with prior work, the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC) was active during Braille and visual reading. A posterior/anterior vOTC word-form gradient was observed only in sighted readers with more anterior regions preferring larger orthographic units (words). No such gradient was observed in blind readers. Consistent with connectivity predictions, in blind compared to sighted readers, posterior parietal cortices were recruited to a greater degree and contained word-preferring patches. Lateralization of Braille in blind readers was predicted by laterality of spoken language and reading hand. The effect of spoken language increased along a cortical hierarchy, whereas effect of reading hand waned. These results suggested that the neural basis of reading is influenced by symbol modality and spoken language and support connectivity-based views of cortical function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyu Tian
- Corresponding author: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States.
| | - Elizabeth J Saccone
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
| | - Judy S Kim
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, United States
| | - Shipra Kanjlia
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Marina Bedny
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
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11
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How Characters Are Learned Leaves Its Mark on the Neural Substrates of Chinese Reading. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0111-22.2022. [PMID: 36635247 PMCID: PMC9787807 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0111-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how the brain functions differently as one learns to read may shed light on the controversial nature of the reading ability of human being. Logographic writing system such as Chinese has been found to rely on specialized neural substrates beyond the reading network of alphabetic languages. The ability to read in Chinese has also been proposed to rely on writing skills. However, it was unclear whether the learning-related alteration of neural responses was language specific or resulted from the more reliance on writing practice during acquisition. This study investigated whether the emergence of typical logographic-specific regions relied on learning by writing. We taught proficient alphabetic language readers Chinese characters and used pre-test and post-test to identify changes in two critical stages of reading, namely, orthographic processing and orthographic-to-phonological mapping. Two typical left hemispheric areas for logographic reading showed increased responses to characters in the brains of proficient alphabetic readers after learning, regardless of whether the learning strategy involved writing practice. Moreover, learning strategy modulated the response magnitude or multivoxel patterns in the left superior parietal lobule, left middle frontal gyrus, and right fusiform gyrus, some of which were task dependent. The findings corroborated a limited role of writing in the emergence of logographic-specific reading network and suggested the heterogeneous nature of different brain regions in this network.
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12
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Zhang J, Kang L, Li J, Li Y, Bi H, Yang Y. Brain Correlates of Chinese Handwriting and Their Relation to Reading Development in Children: An fMRI Study. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12121724. [PMID: 36552183 PMCID: PMC9775262 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12121724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Handwriting plays an important role in written communication, reading, and academic success. However, little is known about the neural correlates of handwriting in children. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a copying task, we investigated regional brain activation and functional lateralization associated with Chinese handwriting in children (N = 36, 9-11 years old), as well as their relations to reading skills. We found significant activation of the bilateral frontal motor cortices, somatosensory cortex, intraparietal sulcus (IPS), fusiform gyrus (FuG), and cerebellum during handwriting, suggesting that an adult-like brain activation pattern emerges by middle childhood. Moreover, children showed left-lateralized and bilateral activation of motor regions and right-lateralized activation of the FuG and cerebellum during handwriting, suggesting that functional lateralization of handwriting is not fully established by this age. Finally, the activation of Exner's area and the lateralization of the IPS and cerebellum during handwriting were correlated with reading skills, possibly representing a neural link between handwriting and reading in children. Collectively, this study reveals the brain correlates of handwriting and their relation to reading development in Chinese children, offering new insight into the development of handwriting and reading skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Zhang
- College of Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Liying Kang
- College of Preschool Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
- Correspondence: (L.K.); (Y.Y.); Tel.: +86-010-68906533 (L.K.); +86-010-64842728 (Y.Y.)
| | - Junjun Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yizhen Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hongyan Bi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Correspondence: (L.K.); (Y.Y.); Tel.: +86-010-68906533 (L.K.); +86-010-64842728 (Y.Y.)
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13
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Wang S, Planton S, Chanoine V, Sein J, Anton JL, Nazarian B, Dubarry AS, Pallier C, Pattamadilok C. Graph theoretical analysis reveals the functional role of the left ventral occipito-temporal cortex in speech processing. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20028. [PMID: 36414688 PMCID: PMC9681757 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24056-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The left ventral occipito-temporal cortex (left-vOT) plays a key role in reading. Interestingly, the area also responds to speech input, suggesting that it may have other functions beyond written word recognition. Here, we adopt graph theoretical analysis to investigate the left-vOT's functional role in the whole-brain network while participants process spoken sentences in different contexts. Overall, different connectivity measures indicate that the left-vOT acts as an interface enabling the communication between distributed brain regions and sub-networks. During simple speech perception, the left-vOT is systematically part of the visual network and contributes to the communication between neighboring areas, remote areas, and sub-networks, by acting as a local bridge, a global bridge, and a connector, respectively. However, when speech comprehension is explicitly required, the specific functional role of the area and the sub-network to which the left-vOT belongs change and vary with the quality of speech signal and task difficulty. These connectivity patterns provide insightful information on the contribution of the left-vOT in various contexts of language processing beyond its role in reading. They advance our general understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the flexibility of the language network that adjusts itself according to the processing context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Wang
- grid.462776.60000 0001 2206 2382Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France ,grid.5399.60000 0001 2176 4817Aix Marseille Univ, Institute of Language, Communication and the Brain, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Samuel Planton
- grid.462776.60000 0001 2206 2382Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France ,grid.7429.80000000121866389Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Valérie Chanoine
- grid.462776.60000 0001 2206 2382Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France ,grid.5399.60000 0001 2176 4817Aix Marseille Univ, Institute of Language, Communication and the Brain, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Julien Sein
- grid.462486.a0000 0004 4650 2882Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR 7289 Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Luc Anton
- grid.462486.a0000 0004 4650 2882Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR 7289 Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Nazarian
- grid.462486.a0000 0004 4650 2882Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre IRM-INT@CERIMED, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR 7289 Marseille, France
| | - Anne-Sophie Dubarry
- grid.462776.60000 0001 2206 2382Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France ,grid.4444.00000 0001 2112 9282 Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LNC, Marseille, France
| | - Christophe Pallier
- grid.7429.80000000121866389Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Chotiga Pattamadilok
- grid.462776.60000 0001 2206 2382Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France
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14
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Liu CY, Tao R, Qin L, Matthews S, Siok WT. Functional connectivity during orthographic, phonological, and semantic processing of Chinese characters identifies distinct visuospatial and phonosemantic networks. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:5066-5080. [PMID: 36097409 PMCID: PMC9582368 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
While neuroimaging studies have identified brain regions associated with single word reading, its three constituents, namely, orthography, phonology, and meaning, and the functional connectivity of their networks remain underexplored. This study examined the neurocognitive underpinnings of these neural activations and functional connectivity of the identified brain regions using a within-subject design. Thirty-one native Mandarin speakers performed orthographic, phonological, and semantic judgment tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results indicated that the three processes shared a core network consisting of a large region in the left prefrontal cortex, fusiform gyrus, and medial superior frontal gyrus but not the superior temporal gyrus. Orthographic processing more strongly recruited the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left superior parietal lobule and bilateral fusiform gyri; semantic processing more strongly recruited the left inferior frontal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus, whereas phonological processing more strongly activated the dorsal part of the precentral gyrus. Functional connectivity analysis identified a posterior visuospatial network and a frontal phonosemantic network interfaced by the left middle frontal gyrus. We conclude that reading Chinese recruits cognitive resources that correspond to basic task demands with unique features best explained in connection with the individual reading subprocesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Yin Liu
- Department of LinguisticsThe University of Hong KongHong Kong SARChina
| | - Ran Tao
- Department of LinguisticsThe University of Hong KongHong Kong SARChina
- Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, Department of Chinese and Bilingual StudiesThe Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong SARChina
| | - Lang Qin
- Department of LinguisticsThe University of Hong KongHong Kong SARChina
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary StudiesPeking UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Stephen Matthews
- Department of LinguisticsThe University of Hong KongHong Kong SARChina
| | - Wai Ting Siok
- Department of LinguisticsThe University of Hong KongHong Kong SARChina
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15
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Yang Y, Li J, Zhang J, Zhou K, Kao HSR, Bi H, Xu M. Personality traits modulate the neural responses to handwriting processing. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2022; 1516:222-233. [PMID: 35899373 PMCID: PMC9796404 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Handwriting is a vital skill for everyday human activities. It has a wealth of information about writers' characteristics and can hint toward underlying neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, autism, dyslexia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many previous studies have reported a link between personality and individual differences in handwriting, but the evidence for the relationship tends to be anecdotal in nature. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined whether the association between personality traits and handwriting was instantiated at the neural level. Results showed that the personality trait of conscientiousness modulated brain activation in the left premotor cortex and right inferior/middle frontal gyrus, which may reflect the impact of personality on orthography-to-grapheme transformation and executive control involved in handwriting. Such correlations were not observed in symbol-drawing or word-reading tasks, suggesting the specificity of the link between conscientiousness and handwriting in these regions. Moreover, using a connectome-based predictive modeling approach, we found that individuals' conscientiousness scores could be predicted based on handwriting-related functional brain networks, suggesting that the influence of personality on handwriting may occur within a broader network. Our findings provide neural evidence for the link between personality and handwriting processing, extending our understanding of the nature of individual differences in handwriting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning DifficultiesInstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina,Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Junjun Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning DifficultiesInstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina,Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Jun Zhang
- College of EducationCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Ke Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of PsychologyBeijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Henry S. R. Kao
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Hong KongHong KongChina
| | - Hong‐Yan Bi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning DifficultiesInstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina,Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Min Xu
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of PsychologyShenzhen UniversityShenzhenChina
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16
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Jia F, Liu CY, Tan LH, Siok WT. Lifespan developmental changes in neural substrates and functional connectivity for visual semantic processing. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:4714-4728. [PMID: 36130092 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human learning and cognitive functions change with age and experience, with late-developed complex cognitive functions, particularly those served by the prefrontal cortex, showing more age-dependent variance. Reading as a complex process of constructing meaning from print uses the left prefrontal cortex and may show a similar aging pattern. In this study, we delineated the lifespan developmental changes in the neural substrates and functional connectivity for visual semantic processing from childhood (age 6) to late adulthood (age 74). Different from previous studies that reported aging as a form of activation or neuronal changes, we examined additionally how the functional connectivity networks changed with age. A cohort of 122 Chinese participants performed semantic and font-size judgment tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Although a common left-lateralized neural system including the left mid-inferior prefrontal cortex was recruited across all participants, the effect of age, or reading experience, is evident as 2 contrastive developmental patterns: a declining trend in activation strength and extent and an increasing trend in functional connections of the network. This study suggests that visual semantic processing is not prone to cognitive decline, and that continuous reading until old age helps strengthen the functional connections of reading-related brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanlu Jia
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, Shandong, China.,Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518107, China
| | - Chun Yin Liu
- Department of Linguistics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Li Hai Tan
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518107, China.,Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration and Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, Shenzhen 518020, China.,Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation Institute, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao 266071, Shandong, China
| | - Wai Ting Siok
- Department of Linguistics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
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17
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Pegado F. Written Language Acquisition Is Both Shaped by and Has an Impact on Brain Functioning and Cognition. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:819956. [PMID: 35754773 PMCID: PMC9226919 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.819956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Spoken language is a distinctive trace of our species and it is naturally acquired during infancy. Written language, in contrast, is artificial, and the correspondences between arbitrary visual symbols and the spoken language for reading and writing should be explicitly learned with external help. In this paper, I present several examples of how written language acquisition is both shaped by and has an impact on brain function and cognition. They show in one hand how our phylogenetic legacy influences education and on the other hand how ontogenetic needs for education can rapidly subdue deeply rooted neurocognitive mechanisms. The understanding of this bidirectional influences provides a more dynamic view of how plasticity interfaces phylogeny and ontogeny in human learning, with implications for both neurosciences and education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Pegado
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, LPC, Marseille, France
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18
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Distinct spatiotemporal patterns of syntactic and semantic processing in human inferior frontal gyrus. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:1104-1111. [PMID: 35618778 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01334-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Human languages are based on syntax, a set of rules which allow an infinite number of meaningful sentences to be constructed from a finite set of words. A theory associated with Chomsky and others holds that syntax is a mind-internal, universal structure independent of semantics. This theory, however, has been challenged by studies of the Chinese language showing that syntax is processed under the semantic umbrella, and is secondary and not independent. Here, using intracranial high-density electrocorticography, we find distinct spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus that are specifically associated with syntactic and semantic processing of Chinese sentences. These results suggest that syntactic processing may occur before semantic processing. Our findings are consistent with the view that the human brain implements syntactic structures in a manner that is independent of semantics.
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19
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Li H, Yuan Q, Luo YJ, Tao W. A new perspective for understanding the contributions of the cerebellum to reading: The cerebro-cerebellar mapping hypothesis. Neuropsychologia 2022; 170:108231. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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20
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From Hand to Eye: a Meta-Analysis of the Benefit from Handwriting Training in Visual Graph Recognition. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10648-021-09651-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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21
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Fernandes T, Araújo S. From Hand to Eye With the Devil In-Between: Which Cognitive Mechanisms Underpin the Benefit From Handwriting Training When Learning Visual Graphs? Front Psychol 2021; 12:736507. [PMID: 34777123 PMCID: PMC8578702 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.736507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive science has recently shown a renewed interest on the benefit from training in handwriting (HW) when learning visual graphs, given that this learning experience improves more subsequent visual graph recognition than other forms of training. However, the underlying cognitive mechanism of this HW benefit has been elusive. Building on the 50 years of research on this topic, the present work outlines a theoretical approach to study this mechanism, specifying testable hypotheses that will allow distinguishing between confronting perspectives, i.e., symbolic accounts that hold that perceptual learning and visual analysis underpin the benefit from HW training vs. embodied sensorimotor accounts that argue for motoric representations as inner part of orthographic representations acquired via HW training. From the evidence critically revisited, we concluded that symbolic accounts are parsimonious and could better explain the benefit from HW training when learning visual graphs. The future challenge will be to put at test the detailed predictions presented here, so that the devil has no longer room in this equation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tânia Fernandes
- Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Susana Araújo
- Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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22
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Jafari Z, Perani D, Kolb BE, Mohajerani MH. Bilingual experience and intrinsic functional connectivity in adults, aging, and Alzheimer's disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2021; 1505:8-22. [PMID: 34309857 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The past decade marked the beginning of the use of resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) imaging in bilingualism studies. This paper intends to review the latest evidence of changes in RSFC in language and cognitive control networks in bilinguals during adulthood, aging, and early Alzheimer's disease, which can add to our understanding of brain functional reshaping in the context of second language (L2) acquisition. Because of high variability in bilingual experience, recent studies mostly focus on the role of the main aspects of bilingual experience (age of acquisition (AoA), language proficiency, and language usage) on intrinsic functional connectivity (FC). Existing evidence accounts for stronger FC in simultaneous rather than sequential bilinguals in language and control networks, and the modulation of the AoA impact by language proficiency and usage. Studies on older bilingual adults show stronger FC in language and frontoparietal networks and preserved FC in posterior brain regions, which can protect the brain against cognitive decline and neurodegenerative processes. Altered RSFC in language and control networks subsequent to L2 training programs also is associated with improved global cognition in older adults. This review ends with a brief discussion of potential confounding factors in bilingualism research and conclusions and suggestions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Jafari
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Daniela Perani
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Nuclear Medicine Unit, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Bryan E Kolb
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Majid H Mohajerani
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
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23
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Yang Y, Zuo Z, Tam F, Graham SJ, Li J, Ji Y, Meng Z, Gu C, Bi HY, Ou J, Xu M. The brain basis of handwriting deficits in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13161. [PMID: 34288292 PMCID: PMC9286553 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Abundant behavioral studies have demonstrated high comorbidity of reading and handwriting difficulties in developmental dyslexia (DD), a neurological condition characterized by unexpectedly low reading ability despite adequate nonverbal intelligence and typical schooling. The neural correlates of handwriting deficits remain largely unknown; however, as well as the extent that handwriting deficits share common neural bases with reading deficits in DD. The present work used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activity during handwriting and reading tasks in Chinese dyslexic children (n = 18) and age-matched controls (n = 23). Compared to controls, dyslexic children exhibited reduced activation during handwriting tasks in brain regions supporting sensory-motor processing (including supplementary motor area and postcentral gyrus) and visual-orthography processing (including bilateral precuneus and right cuneus). Among these regions, the left supplementary motor area and the right precuneus also showed a trend of reduced activation during reading tasks in dyslexics. Moreover, increased activation was found in the left inferior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex in dyslexics, which may reflect more efforts of executive control to compensate for the impairments of motor and visual-orthographic processing. Finally, dyslexic children exhibited aberrant functional connectivity among brain areas for cognitive control and sensory-motor processes during handwriting tasks. Together, these findings suggest that handwriting deficits in DD are associated with functional abnormalities of multiple brain regions implicated in motor execution, visual-orthographic processing, and cognitive control, providing important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhentao Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fred Tam
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada
| | - Simon J Graham
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Junjun Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuzhu Ji
- Department of Psychology, College of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zelong Meng
- Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Chanyuan Gu
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Faculty of Humanities, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hong-Yan Bi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Ou
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Min Xu
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China
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24
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Abstract
Previous research indicates that writing practice may be more beneficial than nonmotor practice for letter learning. Here, we report a training study comparing typing, visual, and writing learning conditions in adults (N = 42). We investigated the behavioral consequences of learning modality on literacy learning and evaluated the nature of the learned letter representations. Specifically, the study addressed three questions. First, are the benefits of handwriting practice due to motor learning per se or to other incidental factors? Second, do the benefits generalize to untrained tasks? And third, does handwriting practice lead to learning and strengthening only of motor representations or of other types of representations as well? Our results clearly show that handwriting compared with nonmotor practice produces faster learning and greater generalization to untrained tasks than previously reported. Furthermore, only handwriting practice leads to learning of both motor and amodal symbolic letter representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W Wiley
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina Greensboro.,Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Brenda Rapp
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University.,Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
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25
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Bonzano L, Bisio A, Pedullà L, Brichetto G, Bove M. Right Inferior Parietal Lobule Activity Is Associated With Handwriting Spontaneous Tempo. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:656856. [PMID: 34177447 PMCID: PMC8219918 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.656856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Handwriting is a complex activity including motor planning and visuomotor integration and referring to some brain areas identified as "writing centers." Although temporal features of handwriting are as important as spatial ones, to our knowledge, there is no evidence of the description of specific brain areas associated with handwriting tempo. People with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) show handwriting impairments that are mainly referred to as the temporal features of the task. The aim of this work was to assess differences in the brain activation pattern elicited by handwriting between PwMS and healthy controls (HC), with the final goal of identifying possible areas specific for handwriting tempo. Subjects were asked to write a sentence at their spontaneous speed. PwMS differed only in temporal handwriting features from HC and showed reduced activation with a subset of the clusters observed in HC. Spearman's correlation analysis was performed between handwriting temporal parameters and the activity in the brain areas resulting from the contrast analysis, HC > PwMS. We found that the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) negatively correlated with the duration of the sentence, indicating that the higher the right IPL activity, the faster the handwriting performance. We propose that the right IPL might be considered a "writing tempo center."
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Bonzano
- Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ambra Bisio
- Section of Human Physiology, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ludovico Pedullà
- Scientific Research Area, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Genoa, Italy
| | - Giampaolo Brichetto
- Scientific Research Area, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Genoa, Italy.,Rehabilitation Center, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society, Genoa, Italy
| | - Marco Bove
- Section of Human Physiology, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.,Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Genoa, Italy
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26
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Zhang Z, Yuan Q, Liu Z, Zhang M, Wu J, Lu C, Ding G, Guo T. The cortical organization of writing sequence: evidence from observing Chinese characters in motion. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1627-1639. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02276-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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27
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Mizuochi-Endo T, Itou K, Makuuchi M, Kato B, Ikeda K, Nakamura K. Graphomotor memory in Exner's area enhances word learning in the blind. Commun Biol 2021; 4:443. [PMID: 33824412 PMCID: PMC8024258 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01971-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Handwriting is thought to impede vocabulary learning in sighted adults because the motor execution of writing interferes with efficient audiovisual processing during encoding. However, the motor memory of writing may facilitate adult word learning when visual sensory inputs are severely restricted. Using functional MRI, we show that late-blind participants, but not sighted participants, learned novel words by recruiting the left dorsal premotor cortex known as Exner’s writing area and its functional coupling with the left hippocampus. During later recall, the phonological and semantic contents of these words are represented in the activation patterns of the left hippocampus as well as in those of left frontotemporal language areas. These findings suggest that motor codes of handwriting help blind participants maintain word-form representations during learning and retrieval. We propose that such reliance on the motor system reflects a broad architecture of the cerebral language network which encompasses the limb motor system as a hardwired component. Mizuochi-Endo et al. conduct a fMRI study, which reveals that in blind participants, unlike sighted participants, learning new words is associated with increased activity in Exner’s area—a part of the brain known to play a crucial role in handwriting motor memory. This demonstrates the importance of writing motor memory in vocabulary learning in the blind.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kazuyuki Itou
- National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Michiru Makuuchi
- National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Baku Kato
- National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Kazuhisa Ikeda
- National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Kimihiro Nakamura
- National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan.
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28
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Selective Inhibition of Mirror Invariance for Letters Consolidated by Sleep Doubles Reading Fluency. Curr Biol 2021; 31:742-752.e8. [PMID: 33338430 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Mirror invariance is a visual mechanism that enables a prompt recognition of mirror images. This visual capacity emerges early in human development, is useful to recognize objects, faces, and places from both left and right perspectives, and is also present in primates, pigeons, and cephalopods. Notwithstanding, the same visual mechanism has been suspected to be the source of a specific difficulty for a relatively recent human invention-reading-by creating confusion between mirror letters (e.g., b-d in the Latin alphabet). Using an ecologically valid school-based design, we show here that mirror invariance represents indeed a major leash for reading fluency acquisition in first graders. Our causal approach, which specifically targeted mirror invariance inhibition for letters, in a synergic combination with post-training sleep to increase learning consolidation, revealed unprecedented improvement in reading fluency, which became two-times faster. This gain was obtained with as little as 7.5 h of multisensory-motor training to distinguish mirror letters, such as "b" versus "d." The magnitude, automaticity, and duration of this mirror discrimination learning were greatly enhanced by sleep, which keeps the gains perfectly intact even after 4 months. The results were consistently replicated in three randomized controlled trials. They not only reveal an extreme case of cognitive plasticity in humans (i.e., the inhibition in just 3 weeks of a ∼25-million-year-old visual mechanism), that allows adaptation to a cultural activity (reading), but at the same time also show a simple and cost-effective way to unleash the reading fluency potential of millions of children worldwide.
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Li H, Liang Y, Yue Q, Zhang L, Ying K, Mei L. The contributions of the left fusiform subregions to successful encoding of novel words. Brain Cogn 2021; 148:105690. [PMID: 33494036 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The left fusiform cortex has been identified as a crucial structure in visual word learning and memory. Nevertheless, the specific roles of the fusiform subregions in word memory and their consistency across different writings have not been elaborated. To address these questions, the present study performed two experiments, in which study-test paradigm was used. Participants' brain activity was measured with fMRI while memorizing novel logographic words in Experiment 1 and novel alphabetic words in Experiment 2. A post-scan recognition memory test was then administered to acquire the memory performance. Results showed that, neural responses in the left anterior and middle fusiform subregions during encoding were positively correlated with recognition memory of novel words. Moreover, the positive brain-behavior correlations in the left anterior and middle fusiform cortex were evident for both logographic and alphabetic writings. The present findings clarify the relationship between the left fusiform subregions and novel word memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiling Li
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China
| | - Yumin Liang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingxin Yue
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China
| | - Kangli Ying
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China
| | - Leilei Mei
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, China.
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30
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Lin Z, Tam F, Churchill NW, Schweizer TA, Graham SJ. Tablet Technology for Writing and Drawing during Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Review. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21020401. [PMID: 33430023 PMCID: PMC7826671 DOI: 10.3390/s21020401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful modality to study brain activity. To approximate naturalistic writing and drawing behaviours inside the scanner, many fMRI-compatible tablet technologies have been developed. The digitizing feature of the tablets also allows examination of behavioural kinematics with greater detail than using paper. With enhanced ecological validity, tablet devices have advanced the fields of neuropsychological tests, neurosurgery, and neurolinguistics. Specifically, tablet devices have been used to adopt many traditional paper-based writing and drawing neuropsychological tests for fMRI. In functional neurosurgery, tablet technologies have enabled intra-operative brain mapping during awake craniotomy in brain tumour patients, as well as quantitative tremor assessment for treatment outcome monitoring. Tablet devices also play an important role in identifying the neural correlates of writing in the healthy and diseased brain. The fMRI-compatible tablets provide an excellent platform to support naturalistic motor responses and examine detailed behavioural kinematics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongmin Lin
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada;
| | - Fred Tam
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada;
| | - Nathan W. Churchill
- Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1T8, Canada; (N.W.C.); (T.A.S.)
| | - Tom A. Schweizer
- Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1T8, Canada; (N.W.C.); (T.A.S.)
- Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada
| | - Simon J. Graham
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada;
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada;
- Correspondence:
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31
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Abstract
Machine learning has been heavily researched and widely used in many disciplines. However, achieving high accuracy requires a large amount of data that is sometimes difficult, expensive, or impractical to obtain. Integrating human knowledge into machine learning can significantly reduce data requirement, increase reliability and robustness of machine learning, and build explainable machine learning systems. This allows leveraging the vast amount of human knowledge and capability of machine learning to achieve functions and performance not available before and will facilitate the interaction between human beings and machine learning systems, making machine learning decisions understandable to humans. This paper gives an overview of the knowledge and its representations that can be integrated into machine learning and the methodology. We cover the fundamentals, current status, and recent progress of the methods, with a focus on popular and new topics. The perspectives on future directions are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changyu Deng
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Xunbi Ji
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Colton Rainey
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jianyu Zhang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Wei Lu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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32
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Yin Y, Zhang Q. Chinese characters are read using not only visual but also writing motor information. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13696. [PMID: 33140864 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
It has been suggested that mature reading systems consist of both a visual analysis decoding system and a motor gesture decoding system that facilitates reading by processing writing motor information. However, there is still uncertainty about the mechanisms and effectiveness of the latter system when reading Chinese characters. This study therefore aimed to provide empirical neural evidence for this phenomenon using a writing video as prompt in a delayed sequential same/different judgment task. We investigated whether and how the orthographic processing of target characters was modulated by the writing direction of the prompt (forward vs. backward) and the character repetition (repeat vs. nonrepeat) between the prompt and target characters. The results indicated that (a) the N170 component was more negative under the forward condition than under the backward condition; and (b) both writing direction and character repetition modulated the centro-parietal N200 component. These writing-direction effects were specific to Chinese characters--they did not apply to Korean characters, which are visually similar to Chinese characters but unfamiliar to the participants. These results suggest that the experience of learning Chinese might establish a motor gesture decoding system for reading, which begins to perform general orthographic representation at an early stage and works together with the visual analysis decoding system to achieve deep orthographic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulong Yin
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Qingfang Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
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33
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Feng X, Altarelli I, Monzalvo K, Ding G, Ramus F, Shu H, Dehaene S, Meng X, Dehaene-Lambertz G. A universal reading network and its modulation by writing system and reading ability in French and Chinese children. eLife 2020; 9:54591. [PMID: 33118931 PMCID: PMC7669264 DOI: 10.7554/elife.54591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Are the brain mechanisms of reading acquisition similar across writing systems? And do similar brain anomalies underlie reading difficulties in alphabetic and ideographic reading systems? In a cross-cultural paradigm, we measured the fMRI responses to words, faces, and houses in 96 Chinese and French 10-year-old children, half of whom were struggling with reading. We observed a reading circuit which was strikingly similar across languages and consisting of the left fusiform gyrus, superior temporal gyrus/sulcus, precentral and middle frontal gyri. Activations in some of these areas were modulated either by language or by reading ability, but without interaction between those factors. In various regions previously associated with dyslexia, reading difficulty affected activation similarly in Chinese and French readers, including the middle frontal gyrus, a region previously described as specifically altered in Chinese. Our analyses reveal a large degree of cross-cultural invariance in the neural correlates of reading acquisition and reading impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxia Feng
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, NeuroSpin Center, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Irene Altarelli
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, NeuroSpin Center, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.,Université de Paris, LaPsyDÉ, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Karla Monzalvo
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, NeuroSpin Center, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Guosheng Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Franck Ramus
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, CNRS, EHESS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Hua Shu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, NeuroSpin Center, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.,Collège de France, Université PSL Paris Sciences Lettres, Paris, France
| | - Xiangzhi Meng
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.,PekingU-PolyU Center for Child Development and Learning, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, NeuroSpin Center, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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34
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Iwabuchi T, Makuuchi M. When a sentence loses semantics: Selective involvement of a left anterior temporal subregion in semantic processing. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:929-942. [PMID: 33103315 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15022] [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: 01/03/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Although the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) has been associated with semantic processing, the role of this region in syntactic structure building of sentences remains a subject of debate. Functional neuroimaging studies contrasting well-formed sentences with word lists lacking syntactic structure have produced mixed results. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined whether the left ATL is selectively involved in semantic processing or also plays a role in syntactic structure building by manipulating syntactic complexity and meaningfulness in a novel way. To deprive semantic/pragmatic information from a sentence, we replaced all content words with pronounceable meaningless placeholders. We conducted an experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial design with factors of SEMANTICS (natural sentences [NAT]; sentences with placeholders [SPH]) and SYNTAX (the basic Japanese Subject-Object-Verb [SOV] word order; a changed Object-Subject-Verb [OSV] word order). A main effect of SEMANTICS (NAT > SPH) was found in the left ATL, as well as in the ventral occipitotemporal regions. The opposite contrast (SPH > NAT) revealed activation in the dorsal regions encompassing Brodmann area 44, the premotor area, and the parietal cortex in the left hemisphere. We found no main effect of SYNTAX (OSV > SOV) in a subregion of the left ATL that was more responsive to natural sentences than meaningless sentences. These results indicate selective involvement of a subregion of the left ATL in semantic/pragmatic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiki Iwabuchi
- Section of Neuropsychology, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Michiru Makuuchi
- Section of Neuropsychology, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
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35
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Siok WT, Jia F, Liu CY, Perfetti CA, Tan LH. A Lifespan fMRI Study of Neurodevelopment Associated with Reading Chinese. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:4140-4157. [PMID: 32108219 PMCID: PMC7264688 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Revised: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map the neural systems involved in reading Chinese in 125 participants 6-74 years old to examine two theoretical issues: how brain structure and function are related in the context of the lifetime neural development of human cognition and whether the neural network for reading is universal or different across languages. Our findings showed that a common network of left frontal and occipital regions typically involved in reading Chinese was recruited across all participants. Crucially, activation in left mid-inferior frontal regions, fusiform and striate-extrastriate sites, premotor cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral insula, and supplementary motor area all showed linearly decreasing changes with age. These findings differ from previous findings on alphabetic reading development and suggest that early readers at age 6-7 are already using the same cortical network to process printed words as adults, though the connections among these regions are modulated by reading proficiency, and cortical regions for reading are tuned by experience toward reduced and more focused activation. This fMRI study has demonstrated, for the first time, the neurodevelopment of reading across the lifespan and suggests that learning experience, instead of pre-existing brain structures, determines reading acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wai Ting Siok
- Department of Linguistics, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Fanlu Jia
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Chun Yin Liu
- Department of Linguistics, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Charles A Perfetti
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Li Hai Tan
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
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36
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The N200 enhancement effect in reading Chinese is modulated by actual writing. Neuropsychologia 2020; 142:107462. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2019] [Revised: 03/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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37
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Yang Y, Tam F, Graham SJ, Sun G, Li J, Gu C, Tao R, Wang N, Bi HY, Zuo Z. Men and women differ in the neural basis of handwriting. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:2642-2655. [PMID: 32090433 PMCID: PMC7294055 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate about whether, and to what extent, males differ from females in their language skills. In the case of handwriting, a composite language skill involving language and motor processes, behavioral observations consistently show robust sex differences but the mechanisms underlying the effect are unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a copying task, the present study examined the neural basis of sex differences in handwriting in 53 healthy adults (ages 19–28, 27 males). Compared to females, males showed increased activation in the left posterior middle frontal gyrus (Exner's area), a region thought to support the conversion between orthographic and graphomotor codes. Functional connectivity between Exner's area and the right cerebellum was greater in males than in females. Furthermore, sex differences in brain activity related to handwriting were independent of language material. This study identifies a novel neural signature of sex differences in a hallmark of human behavior, and highlights the importance of considering sex as a factor in scientific research and clinical applications involving handwriting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fred Tam
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada
| | - Simon J Graham
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Guochen Sun
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Junjun Li
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chanyuan Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ran Tao
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Nizhuan Wang
- Artificial Intelligence and Neuro-informatics Engineering (ARINE) Laboratory, School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, China
| | - Hong-Yan Bi
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhentao Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The Innovation Center of Excellence on Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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38
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Nakamura K, Inomata T, Uno A. Left Amygdala Regulates the Cerebral Reading Network During Fast Emotion Word Processing. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1. [PMID: 32038435 PMCID: PMC6989437 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotion words constitute a special class of verbal stimuli which can quickly activate the limbic system outside the left-hemisphere language network. Such fast response to emotion words may arise independently of the left occipitotemporal area involved in visual word-form analysis and rely on a distinct amygdala-dependent emotion circuit involved in fearful face processing. Using a hemifield priming paradigm with fMRI, we explored how the left and right amygdala systems interact with the reading network during emotion word processing. On each trial, participants viewed a centrally presented target which was preceded by a masked prime flashed either to the left or right visual field. Primes and targets, each denoting negative or positive nouns, could be either affectively congruent or incongruent with each other. We observed that affective congruency produced parallel changes in neural priming between the left frontal and parietotemporal regions and the bilateral amygdala. However, we also found that the left, but not right, amygdala exhibited significant change in functional connectivity with the neural components of reading as a function of affective congruency. Collectively, these results suggest that emotion words activate the bilateral amygdala during early stages of emotion word processing, whereas only the left amygdala exerts a long-distance regulatory influence over the reading network via its strong within-hemisphere connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimihiro Nakamura
- Section of Systems Neuroscience, National Rehabilitation Center Research Institute, Tokorozawa, Japan.,Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Tomoe Inomata
- Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Akira Uno
- Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
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39
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Longcamp M, Hupé JM, Ruiz M, Vayssière N, Sato M. Shared premotor activity in spoken and written communication. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2019; 199:104694. [PMID: 31586790 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/15/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to uncover a possible common neural organizing principle in spoken and written communication, through the coupling of perceptual and motor representations. In order to identify possible shared neural substrates for processing the basic units of spoken and written language, a sparse sampling fMRI acquisition protocol was performed on the same subjects in two experimental sessions with similar sets of letters being read and written and of phonemes being heard and orally produced. We found evidence of common premotor regions activated in spoken and written language, both in perception and in production. The location of those brain regions was confined to the left lateral and medial frontal cortices, at locations corresponding to the premotor cortex, inferior frontal cortex and supplementary motor area. Interestingly, the speaking and writing tasks also appeared to be controlled by largely overlapping networks, possibly indicating some domain general cognitive processing. Finally, the spatial distribution of individual activation peaks further showed more dorsal and more left-lateralized premotor activations in written than in spoken language.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jean-Michel Hupé
- CNRS, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CerCo, Toulouse, France
| | - Mathieu Ruiz
- CNRS, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CerCo, Toulouse, France
| | - Nathalie Vayssière
- CNRS, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CerCo, Toulouse, France; Toulouse Mind and Brain Institute, France
| | - Marc Sato
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Univ, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France
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40
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Zhang Q, Wang H, Luo C, Zhang J, Jin Z, Li L. The neural basis of semantic cognition in Mandarin Chinese: A combined fMRI and TMS study. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:5412-5423. [PMID: 31507031 PMCID: PMC6864898 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2019] [Revised: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
While converging sources of evidence point to the possibility of a large‐scale distributed network for semantic cognition, a consensus regarding the underlying subregions and their specific function in this network has not been reached. In the current study, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) methodology to investigate the neural basis of semantic cognition in Mandarin Chinese. In the fMRI experiment, strong activations were observed in left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) for semantic judgment task. Moreover, functional connectivity was found from seed region left IFG to left MTG. Meanwhile, negative correlation between performance and extracted parameter estimates from left IFG to left MTG was detected in semantic task. Subsequent TMS stimulation over left IFG resulted in performance deficits in semantic judgment task, in contrast to other three sites: left MTG, right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and a control site. We concluded that the neural basis of semantic processing for Mandarin Chinese closely resembled that for alphabetic languages such as English, supporting a language‐universal view on semantic cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,School of Foreign Languages, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Cimei Luo
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Junjun Zhang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhenlan Jin
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Ling Li
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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Rączy K, Urbańczyk A, Korczyk M, Szewczyk JM, Sumera E, Szwed M. Orthographic Priming in Braille Reading as Evidence for Task-specific Reorganization in the Ventral Visual Cortex of the Congenitally Blind. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 31:1065-1078. [PMID: 30938589 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The task-specific principle asserts that, following deafness or blindness, the deprived cortex is reorganized in a manner such that the task of a given area is preserved even though its input modality has been switched. Accordingly, tactile reading engages the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT) in the blind in a similar way to regular reading in the sighted. Others, however, show that the vOT of the blind processes spoken sentence structure, which suggests that the task-specific principle might not apply to vOT. The strongest evidence for the vOT's engagement in sighted reading comes from orthographic repetition-suppression studies. Here, congenitally blind adults were tested in an fMRI repetition-suppression paradigm. Results reveal a double dissociation, with tactile orthographic priming in the vOT and auditory priming in general language areas. Reconciling our finding with other evidence, we propose that the vOT in the blind serves multiple functions, one of which, orthographic processing, overlaps with its function in the sighted.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ewa Sumera
- Institute for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children, Krakow, Poland
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Vinci-Booher S, Cheng H, James KH. An Analysis of the Brain Systems Involved with Producing Letters by Hand. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 31:138-154. [PMID: 30240307 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Complex visual-motor behaviors dominate human-environment interactions. Letter production, writing individual letters by hand, is an example of a complex visual-motor behavior composed of numerous behavioral components, including the required motor movements and the percepts that those motor movements create. By manipulating and isolating components of letter production, we provide experimental evidence that this complex visual-motor behavior is supported by a widespread neural system that is composed of smaller subsystems related to different sensorimotor components. Adult participants hand-printed letters with and without "ink" on an MR-safe digital writing tablet, perceived static and dynamic representations of their own handwritten letters, and perceived typeface letters during fMRI scanning. Our results can be summarized by three main findings: (1) Frontoparietal systems were associated with the motor component of letter production, whereas temporo-parietal systems were more associated with the visual component. (2) The more anterior regions of the left intraparietal sulcus were more associated with the motor component, whereas the more posterior regions were more associated with the visual component, with an area of visual-motor overlap in the posterior intraparietal sulcus. (3) The left posterior intraparietal sulcus and right fusiform gyrus responded similarly to both visual and motor components, and both regions also responded more during the perception of one's own handwritten letters compared with perceiving typed letters. These findings suggest that the neural systems recruited during complex visual-motor behaviors are composed of a set of interrelated sensorimotor subsystems that support the full behavior in different ways and, furthermore, that some of these subsystems can be rerecruited during passive perception in the absence of the full visual-motor behavior.
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Abstract
Organisms evolving toward greater complexity were selected across aeons to use energy and resources efficiently. Efficiency depended on prediction at every stage: first a clock to predict the planet's statistical regularities; then a brain to predict bodily needs and compute commands that dynamically adjust the flows of energy and nutrients. Predictive regulation (allostasis) frugally matches resources to needs and thus forms a core principle of our design. Humans, reaching a pinnacle of cognitive complexity, eventually produced a device (the steam engine) that converted thermal energy to work and were suddenly awash in resources. Today boundless consumption in many nations challenges all our regulatory mechanisms, causing obesity, diabetes, drug addiction and their sequelae. So far we have sought technical solutions, such as drugs, to treat complex circuits for metabolism, appetites and mood. Here I argue for a different approach which starts by asking: why does our regulatory system, which evolution tuned for small satisfactions, now constantly demand 'more'?
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Sterling
- Department of NeurosciencePerelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaUnited States
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Baldo JV, Kacinik N, Ludy C, Paulraj S, Moncrief A, Piai V, Curran B, Turken A, Herron T, Dronkers NF. Voxel-based lesion analysis of brain regions underlying reading and writing. Neuropsychologia 2018; 115:51-59. [PMID: 29572061 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/17/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
The neural basis of reading and writing has been a source of inquiry as well as controversy in the neuroscience literature. Reading has been associated with both left posterior ventral temporal zones (termed the "visual word form area") as well as more dorsal zones, primarily in left parietal cortex. Writing has also been associated with left parietal cortex, as well as left sensorimotor cortex and prefrontal regions. Typically, the neural basis of reading and writing are examined in separate studies and/or rely on single case studies exhibiting specific deficits. Functional neuroimaging studies of reading and writing typically identify a large number of activated regions but do not necessarily identify the core, critical hubs. Last, due to constraints on the functional imaging environment, many previous studies have been limited to measuring the brain activity associated with single-word reading and writing, rather than sentence-level processing. In the current study, the brain correlates of reading and writing at both the single- and sentence-level were studied in a large sample of 111 individuals with a history of chronic stroke using voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM). VLSM provides a whole-brain, voxel-by-voxel statistical analysis of the role of distinct regions in a particular behavior by comparing performance of individuals with and without a lesion at every voxel. Rather than comparing individual cases or small groups with particular behavioral dissociations in reading and writing, VLSM allowed us to analyze data from a large, well-characterized sample of stroke patients exhibiting a wide range of reading and writing impairments. The VLSM analyses revealed that reading was associated with a critical left inferior temporo-occipital focus, while writing was primarily associated with the left supramarginal gyrus. Separate VLSM analyses of single-word versus sentence-level reading showed that sentence-level reading was uniquely associated with anterior to mid-portions of the middle and superior temporal gyri. Both single-word and sentence-level writing overlapped to a great extent in the left supramarginal gyrus, but sentence-level writing was associated with additional underlying white matter pathways such as the internal capsule. These findings suggest that critical aspects of reading and writing processes diverge, with reading relying critically on the ventral visual recognition stream and writing relying on a dorsal visuo-spatial-motor stream.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana V Baldo
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA.
| | | | - Carl Ludy
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA
| | - Selvi Paulraj
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA; Palo Alto University, USA
| | - Amber Moncrief
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA
| | - Vitória Piai
- Radboud University, Donders Centre for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, The Netherlands; Radboudumc, Department of Medical Psychology, The Netherlands
| | - Brian Curran
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA
| | - And Turken
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA
| | - Tim Herron
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA
| | - Nina F Dronkers
- VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Rd. (126R), Martinez, CA 94553, USA; University of California, Davis, USA
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de Heering A, Collignon O, Kolinsky R. Blind readers break mirror invariance as sighted do. Cortex 2018; 101:154-162. [PMID: 29475079 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Mirror invariance refers to a predisposition of humans, including infants and animals, which urge them to consider mirrored images as corresponding to the same object. Yet in order to learn to read a written system that incorporates mirrored letters (e.g., <b> vs. <d> in the Latin alphabet), humans learn to break this perceptual bias. Here we examined the role visual experience and input modality play in the emergence of this bias. To this end, we tested congenital blind (CB) participants in two same-different tactile comparison tasks including pairs of mirrored and non-mirrored Braille letters as well as embossed unfamiliar geometric shapes and Latin letters, and compared their results to those of age-matched sighted participants involved in similar but visually-presented tasks. Sighted participants showed a classical pattern of results for their material of expertise, Latin letters. CB's results signed for their expertise with the Braille script compared to the other two materials that they processed according to an internal frame of reference. They also evidenced that they automatically break mirror invariance for different materials explored through the tactile modality, including Braille letters. Altogether, these results demonstrate that learning to read Braille through the tactile modality allows breaking mirror invariance in a comparable way to what is observed in sighted individuals for the mirrored letters of the Latin alphabet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adélaïde de Heering
- Unité de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives (UNESCOG), Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences (CRCN), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
| | - Olivier Collignon
- Institute of Psychology (IPSY) and Institute of Neuroscience (IONS), Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Belgium; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Italy; Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS (FRS-FNRS), Belgium
| | - Régine Kolinsky
- Unité de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives (UNESCOG), Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences (CRCN), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium; Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS (FRS-FNRS), Belgium
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Ip KI, Hsu LSJ, Arredondo MM, Tardif T, Kovelman I. Brain bases of morphological processing in Chinese-English bilingual children. Dev Sci 2017; 20:10.1111/desc.12449. [PMID: 27523024 PMCID: PMC5309206 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Can bilingual exposure impact children's neural circuitry for learning to read? To answer this question, we investigated the brain bases of morphological awareness, one of the key spoken language abilities for learning to read in English and Chinese. Bilingual Chinese-English and monolingual English children (N = 22, ages 7-12) completed morphological tasks that best characterize each of their languages: compound morphology in Chinese (e.g. basket + ball = basketball) and derivational morphology in English (e.g. re + do = redo). In contrast to monolinguals, bilinguals showed greater activation in the left middle temporal region, suggesting that bilingual exposure to Chinese impacts the functionality of brain regions supporting semantic abilities. Similar to monolinguals, bilinguals showed greater activation in the left inferior frontal region [BA 45] in English than Chinese, suggesting that young bilinguals form language-specific neural representations. The findings offer new insights to inform bilingual and cross-linguistic models of language and literacy acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka I Ip
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor MI, 48109
| | - Lucy Shih-Ju Hsu
- Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Centennial Campus, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
| | - Maria M. Arredondo
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor MI, 48109
| | - Twila Tardif
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor MI, 48109
- Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, 300 North Ingalls, Ann Arbor MI, 48109
| | - Ioulia Kovelman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor MI, 48109
- Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, 300 North Ingalls, Ann Arbor MI, 48109
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Li Y, Zhang L, Xia Z, Yang J, Shu H, Li P. The Relationship between Intrinsic Couplings of the Visual Word Form Area with Spoken Language Network and Reading Ability in Children and Adults. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:327. [PMID: 28690507 PMCID: PMC5481365 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading plays a key role in education and communication in modern society. Learning to read establishes the connections between the visual word form area (VWFA) and language areas responsible for speech processing. Using resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and Granger Causality Analysis (GCA) methods, the current developmental study aimed to identify the difference in the relationship between the connections of VWFA-language areas and reading performance in both adults and children. The results showed that: (1) the spontaneous connectivity between VWFA and the spoken language areas, i.e., the left inferior frontal gyrus/supramarginal gyrus (LIFG/LSMG), was stronger in adults compared with children; (2) the spontaneous functional patterns of connectivity between VWFA and language network were negatively correlated with reading ability in adults but not in children; (3) the causal influence from LIFG to VWFA was negatively correlated with reading ability only in adults but not in children; (4) the RSFCs between left posterior middle frontal gyrus (LpMFG) and VWFA/LIFG were positively correlated with reading ability in both adults and children; and (5) the causal influence from LIFG to LSMG was positively correlated with reading ability in both groups. These findings provide insights into the relationship between VWFA and the language network for reading, and the role of the unique features of Chinese in the neural circuits of reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Li
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China.,Department of Cognitive Science and ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Linjun Zhang
- Faculty of Linguistic Sciences and KIT-BLCU MEG Laboratory for Brain Science, Beijing Language and Culture UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Zhichao Xia
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Cognitive Science and ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Hua Shu
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Ping Li
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA, United States
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Zhang Y, Song H, Liu X, Tang D, Chen YE, Zhang X. Language Learning Enhanced by Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and the Underlying Behavioral and Neural Mechanisms. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:95. [PMID: 28303097 PMCID: PMC5332359 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) have increased in popularity among children, juveniles, and adults since MMORPGs' appearance in this digital age. MMORPGs can be applied to enhancing language learning, which is drawing researchers' attention from different fields and many studies have validated MMORPGs' positive effect on language learning. However, there are few studies on the underlying behavioral or neural mechanism of such effect. This paper reviews the educational application of the MMORPGs based on relevant macroscopic and microscopic studies, showing that gamers' overall language proficiency or some specific language skills can be enhanced by real-time online interaction with peers and game narratives or instructions embedded in the MMORPGs. Mechanisms underlying the educational assistant role of MMORPGs in second language learning are discussed from both behavioral and neural perspectives. We suggest that attentional bias makes gamers/learners allocate more cognitive resources toward task-related stimuli in a controlled or an automatic way. Moreover, with a moderating role played by activation of reward circuit, playing the MMORPGs may strengthen or increase functional connectivity from seed regions such as left anterior insular/frontal operculum (AI/FO) and visual word form area to other language-related brain areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjun Zhang
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
- School of Foreign Languages, Anhui Jianzhu UniversityHefei, China
| | - Hongwen Song
- School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
| | - Xiaoming Liu
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
- School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
| | - Dinghong Tang
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
| | - Yue-e Chen
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
- School of Public Affairs, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
| | - Xiaochu Zhang
- School of Foreign Languages, Anhui Jianzhu UniversityHefei, China
- School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
- Center of Medical Physics and Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of SciencesHefei, China
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49
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Lagarrigue A, Longcamp M, Anton JL, Nazarian B, Prévot L, Velay JL, Cao F, Frenck-Mestre C. Activation of writing-specific brain regions when reading Chinese as a second language. Effects of training modality and transfer to novel characters. Neuropsychologia 2017; 97:83-97. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2016] [Revised: 11/29/2016] [Accepted: 01/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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50
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Zhang Y, Fan L, Caspers S, Heim S, Song M, Liu C, Mo Y, Eickhoff SB, Amunts K, Jiang T. Cross-cultural consistency and diversity in intrinsic functional organization of Broca's Region. Neuroimage 2017; 150:177-190. [PMID: 28215624 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.02.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Revised: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
As a core language area, Broca's region was consistently activated in a variety of language studies even across different language systems. Moreover, a high degree of structural and functional heterogeneity in Broca's region has been reported in many studies. This raised the issue of how the intrinsic organization of Broca's region effects by different language experiences in light of its subdivisions. To address this question, we used multi-center resting-state fMRI data to explore the cross-cultural consistency and diversity of Broca's region in terms of its subdivisions, connectivity patterns and modularity organization in Chinese and German speakers. A consistent topological organization of the 13 subdivisions within the extended Broca's region was revealed on the basis of a new in-vivo parcellation map, which corresponded well to the previously reported receptorarchitectonic map. Based on this parcellation map, consistent functional connectivity patterns and modularity organization of these subdivisions were found. Some cultural difference in the functional connectivity patterns was also found, for instance stronger connectivity in Chinese subjects between area 6v2 and the motor hand area, as well as higher correlations between area 45p and middle frontal gyrus. Our study suggests that a generally invariant organization of Broca's region, together with certain regulations of different language experiences on functional connectivity, might exists to support language processing in human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zhang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Lingzhong Fan
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Svenja Caspers
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany; C. and O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; JARA-BRAIN, Juelich-Aachen Research Alliance, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Stefan Heim
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany; JARA-BRAIN, Juelich-Aachen Research Alliance, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Ming Song
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Cirong Liu
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Yin Mo
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650032, China
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany; Institute for Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katrin Amunts
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany; C. and O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; JARA-BRAIN, Juelich-Aachen Research Alliance, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence technology, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia; Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 625014, China.
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