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Querella P, Attout L, Fias W, Majerus S. From long-term to short-term: Distinct neural networks underlying semantic knowledge and its recruitment in working memory. Neuropsychologia 2024; 202:108949. [PMID: 38971371 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108949] [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: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
Although numerous studies suggest that working memory (WM) and semantic long-term knowledge interact, the nature and underlying neural mechanisms of this intervention remain poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study investigated the extent to which neural markers of semantic knowledge in long-term memory (LTM) are activated during the WM maintenance stage in 32 young adults. First, the multivariate neural patterns associated with four semantic categories were determined via an implicit semantic activation task. Next, the participants maintained words - the names of the four semantic categories implicitly activated in the first task - in a verbal WM task. Multi-voxel pattern analyses showed reliable neural decoding of the four semantic categories in the implicit semantic activation and the verbal WM tasks. Critically, however, no between-task classification of semantic categories was observed. Searchlight analyses showed that for the WM task, semantic category information could be decoded in anterior temporal areas associated with abstract semantic category knowledge. In the implicit semantic activation task, semantic category information was decoded in superior temporal, occipital and frontal cortices associated with domain-specific semantic feature representations. These results indicate that item-level semantic activation during verbal WM involves shallow rather than deep semantic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Querella
- Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium.
| | - Lucie Attout
- Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium; National Fund for Scientific Research, Belgium, Department of Psychology, Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Place des Orateurs 1 (B33), 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Wim Fias
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Steve Majerus
- Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium; National Fund for Scientific Research, Belgium, Department of Psychology, Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Place des Orateurs 1 (B33), 4000, Liège, Belgium
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2
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Huang C, Li A, Pang Y, Yang J, Zhang J, Wu X, Mei L. How the intrinsic functional connectivity patterns of the semantic network support semantic processing. Brain Imaging Behav 2024; 18:539-554. [PMID: 38261218 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-024-00849-y] [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] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Semantic processing, a core of language comprehension, involves the activation of brain regions dispersed extensively across the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices that compose the semantic network. To comprehend the functional structure of this semantic network and how it prepares for semantic processing, we investigated its intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) and the relation between this pattern and semantic processing ability in a large sample from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) dataset. We first defined a well-studied brain network for semantic processing, and then we characterized the within-network connectivity (WNC) and the between-network connectivity (BNC) within this network using a voxel-based global brain connectivity (GBC) method based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results showed that 97.73% of the voxels in the semantic network displayed considerably greater WNC than BNC, demonstrating that the semantic network is a fairly encapsulated network. Moreover, multiple connector hubs in the semantic network were identified after applying the criterion of WNC > 1 SD above the mean WNC of the semantic network. More importantly, three of these connector hubs (i.e., the left anterior temporal lobe, angular gyrus, and orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus) were reliably associated with semantic processing ability. Our findings suggest that the three identified regions use WNC as the central mechanism for supporting semantic processing and that task-independent spontaneous connectivity in the semantic network is essential for semantic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengmei Huang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Aqian Li
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yingdan Pang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Jiayi Yang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Jingxian Zhang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Leilei Mei
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
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Magnabosco F, Hauk O. Decoding Semantics from Dynamic Brain Activation Patterns: From Trials to Task in EEG/MEG Source Space. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0277-23.2023. [PMID: 38320767 PMCID: PMC10913025 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0277-23.2023] [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: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The temporal dynamics within the semantic brain network and its dependence on stimulus and task parameters are still not well understood. Here, we addressed this by decoding task as well as stimulus information from source-estimated EEG/MEG human data. We presented the same visual word stimuli in a lexical decision (LD) and three semantic decision (SD) tasks. The meanings of the presented words varied across five semantic categories. Source space decoding was applied over time in five ROIs in the left hemisphere (anterior and posterior temporal lobe, inferior frontal gyrus, primary visual areas, and angular gyrus) and one in the right hemisphere (anterior temporal lobe). Task decoding produced sustained significant effects in all ROIs from 50 to 100 ms, both when categorizing tasks with different semantic demands (LD-SD) as well as for similar semantic tasks (SD-SD). In contrast, a semantic word category could only be decoded in lATL, rATL, PTC, and IFG, between 250 and 500 ms. Furthermore, we compared two approaches to source space decoding: conventional ROI-by-ROI decoding and combined-ROI decoding with back-projected activation patterns. The former produced more reliable results for word category decoding while the latter was more informative for task decoding. This indicates that task effects are distributed across the whole semantic network while stimulus effects are more focal. Our results demonstrate that the semantic network is widely distributed but that bilateral anterior temporal lobes together with control regions are particularly relevant for the processing of semantic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Magnabosco
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
| | - Olaf Hauk
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
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4
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Noguchi Y. Harmonic memory signals in the human cerebral cortex induced by semantic relatedness of words. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:6. [PMID: 38355685 PMCID: PMC10866900 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00221-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
When we memorize multiple words simultaneously, semantic relatedness among those words assists memory. For example, the information about "apple", "banana," and "orange" will be connected via a common concept of "fruits" and become easy to retain and recall. Neural mechanisms underlying this semantic integration in verbal working memory remain unclear. Here I used electroencephalography (EEG) and investigated neural signals when healthy human participants memorized five nouns semantically related (Sem trial) or not (NonSem trial). The regularity of oscillatory signals (8-30 Hz) during the retention period was found to be lower in NonSem than Sem trials, indicating that memorizing words unrelated to each other induced a non-harmonic (irregular) waveform in the temporal cortex. These results suggest that (i) semantic features of a word are retained as a set of neural oscillations at specific frequencies and (ii) memorizing words sharing a common semantic feature produces harmonic brain responses through a resonance or integration (sharing) of the oscillatory signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuki Noguchi
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan.
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Adezati E, Liu X, Ding J, Thye M, Szaflarski JP, Mirman D. Phase synchronization during the processing of taxonomic and thematic relations. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2024; 249:105379. [PMID: 38241856 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105379] [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: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Semantic relations include "taxonomic" relations based on shared features and "thematic" relations based on co-occurrence in events. The "dual-hub" account proposes that the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is functionally specialized for taxonomic relations and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) for thematic relations. This study examined this claim by analyzing the intra- and inter-region phase synchronization of intracranial EEG data from electrodes in the ATL, IPL, and two subregions of the semantic control network: left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG). Ten participants with epilepsy completed a semantic relatedness judgment task during intracranial EEG recording and had electrodes in at least one hub and at least one semantic control region. Theta band phase synchronization was partially consistent with the dual-hub account: synchronization between the ATL and IFG/pMTG increased when processing taxonomic relations, and synchronization within the IPL and between IPL and pMTG increased when processing thematic relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Adezati
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Xianqing Liu
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Junhua Ding
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Melissa Thye
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jerzy P Szaflarski
- Department of Neurology and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Epilepsy Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Daniel Mirman
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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Magnabosco F, Hauk O. An eye on semantics: a study on the influence of concreteness and predictability on early fixation durations. LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 39:302-316. [PMID: 38533420 PMCID: PMC10962710 DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2023.2274558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
We used eye-tracking during natural reading to study how semantic control and representation mechanisms interact for the successful comprehension of sentences, by manipulating sentence context and single-word meaning. Specifically, we examined whether a word's semantic characteristic (concreteness) affects first fixation and gaze durations (FFDs and GDs) and whether it interacts with the predictability of a word. We used a linear mixed effects model including several possible psycholinguistic covariates. We found a small but reliable main effect of concreteness and replicated a predictability effect on FFDs, but we found no interaction between the two. The results parallel previous findings of additive effects of predictability (context) and frequency (lexical level) in fixation times. Our findings suggest that the semantics of a word and the context created by the preceding words additively influence early stages of word processing in natural sentence reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Magnabosco
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Olaf Hauk
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Kocsis Z, Jenison RL, Taylor PN, Calmus RM, McMurray B, Rhone AE, Sarrett ME, Deifelt Streese C, Kikuchi Y, Gander PE, Berger JI, Kovach CK, Choi I, Greenlee JD, Kawasaki H, Cope TE, Griffiths TD, Howard MA, Petkov CI. Immediate neural impact and incomplete compensation after semantic hub disconnection. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6264. [PMID: 37805497 PMCID: PMC10560235 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42088-7] [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: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The human brain extracts meaning using an extensive neural system for semantic knowledge. Whether broadly distributed systems depend on or can compensate after losing a highly interconnected hub is controversial. We report intracranial recordings from two patients during a speech prediction task, obtained minutes before and after neurosurgical treatment requiring disconnection of the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL), a candidate semantic knowledge hub. Informed by modern diaschisis and predictive coding frameworks, we tested hypotheses ranging from solely neural network disruption to complete compensation by the indirectly affected language-related and speech-processing sites. Immediately after ATL disconnection, we observed neurophysiological alterations in the recorded frontal and auditory sites, providing direct evidence for the importance of the ATL as a semantic hub. We also obtained evidence for rapid, albeit incomplete, attempts at neural network compensation, with neural impact largely in the forms stipulated by the predictive coding framework, in specificity, and the modern diaschisis framework, more generally. The overall results validate these frameworks and reveal an immediate impact and capability of the human brain to adjust after losing a brain hub.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsuzsanna Kocsis
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Rick L Jenison
- Departments of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Peter N Taylor
- CNNP Lab, Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex BioSystems Group, School of Computing, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
| | - Ryan M Calmus
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Bob McMurray
- Department of Psychological and Brain Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Ariane E Rhone
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | | | | | - Yukiko Kikuchi
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Phillip E Gander
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Joel I Berger
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | | | - Inyong Choi
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | | | - Hiroto Kawasaki
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Thomas E Cope
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Timothy D Griffiths
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Matthew A Howard
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Christopher I Petkov
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
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Seghier ML. Multiple functions of the angular gyrus at high temporal resolution. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:7-46. [PMID: 35674917 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02512-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Here, the functions of the angular gyrus (AG) are evaluated in the light of current evidence from transcranial magnetic/electric stimulation (TMS/TES) and EEG/MEG studies. 65 TMS/TES and 52 EEG/MEG studies were examined in this review. TMS/TES literature points to a causal role in semantic processing, word and number processing, attention and visual search, self-guided movement, memory, and self-processing. EEG/MEG studies reported AG effects at latencies varying between 32 and 800 ms in a wide range of domains, with a high probability to detect an effect at 300-350 ms post-stimulus onset. A three-phase unifying model revolving around the process of sensemaking is then suggested: (1) early AG involvement in defining the current context, within the first 200 ms, with a bias toward the right hemisphere; (2) attention re-orientation and retrieval of relevant information within 200-500 ms; and (3) cross-modal integration at late latencies with a bias toward the left hemisphere. This sensemaking process can favour accuracy (e.g. for word and number processing) or plausibility (e.g. for comprehension and social cognition). Such functions of the AG depend on the status of other connected regions. The much-debated semantic role is also discussed as follows: (1) there is a strong TMS/TES evidence for a causal semantic role, (2) current EEG/MEG evidence is however weak, but (3) the existing arguments against a semantic role for the AG are not strong. Some outstanding questions for future research are proposed. This review recognizes that cracking the role(s) of the AG in cognition is possible only when its exact contributions within the default mode network are teased apart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed L Seghier
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE. .,Healthcare Engineering Innovation Center (HEIC), Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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Shahdloo M, Çelik E, Urgen BA, Gallant JL, Çukur T. Task-Dependent Warping of Semantic Representations during Search for Visual Action Categories. J Neurosci 2022; 42:6782-6799. [PMID: 35863889 PMCID: PMC9436022 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1372-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Object and action perception in cluttered dynamic natural scenes relies on efficient allocation of limited brain resources to prioritize the attended targets over distractors. It has been suggested that during visual search for objects, distributed semantic representation of hundreds of object categories is warped to expand the representation of targets. Yet, little is known about whether and where in the brain visual search for action categories modulates semantic representations. To address this fundamental question, we studied brain activity recorded from five subjects (one female) via functional magnetic resonance imaging while they viewed natural movies and searched for either communication or locomotion actions. We find that attention directed to action categories elicits tuning shifts that warp semantic representations broadly across neocortex and that these shifts interact with intrinsic selectivity of cortical voxels for target actions. These results suggest that attention serves to facilitate task performance during social interactions by dynamically shifting semantic selectivity toward target actions and that tuning shifts are a general feature of conceptual representations in the brain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to swiftly perceive the actions and intentions of others is a crucial skill for humans that relies on efficient allocation of limited brain resources to prioritize the attended targets over distractors. However, little is known about the nature of high-level semantic representations during natural visual search for action categories. Here, we provide the first evidence showing that attention significantly warps semantic representations by inducing tuning shifts in single cortical voxels, broadly spread across occipitotemporal, parietal, prefrontal, and cingulate cortices. This dynamic attentional mechanism can facilitate action perception by efficiently allocating neural resources to accentuate the representation of task-relevant action categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mo Shahdloo
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
- National Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
- Departments of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and
| | - Emin Çelik
- National Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
- Neuroscience Program, Aysel Sabuncu Brain Research Centre, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
| | - Burcu A Urgen
- National Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
- Psychology, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
- Neuroscience Program, Aysel Sabuncu Brain Research Centre, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
| | - Jack L Gallant
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720
| | - Tolga Çukur
- National Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
- Departments of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and
- Neuroscience Program, Aysel Sabuncu Brain Research Centre, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720
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