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Nathaniel U, Eidelsztein S, Geskin KG, Yamasaki BL, Nir B, Dronjic V, Booth JR, Bitan T. Neural Mechanisms of Learning and Consolidation of Morphologically Derived Words in a Novel Language: Evidence From Hebrew Speakers. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2024; 5:864-900. [PMID: 39301207 PMCID: PMC11410356 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
We examined neural mechanisms associated with the learning of novel morphologically derived words in native Hebrew speakers within the Complementary Learning Systems (CLS) framework. Across four sessions, 28 participants were trained on an artificial language, which included two types of morphologically complex words: linear (root + suffix) with a salient structure, and non-linear (root interleaved with template), with a prominent derivational structure in participants' first language (L1). A third simple monomorphemic condition, which served as baseline, was also included. On the first and fourth sessions, training was followed by testing in an fMRI scanner. Our behavioural results showed decomposition of both types of complex words, with the linear structure more easily learned than the non-linear structure. Our fMRI results showed involvement of frontal areas, associated with decomposition, only for the non-linear condition, after just the first session. We also observed training-related increases in activation in temporal areas specifically for the non-linear condition, which was correlated with participants' L1 morphological awareness. These results demonstrate that morphological decomposition of derived words occurs in the very early stages of word learning, is influenced by L1 experience, and can facilitate word learning. However, in contrast to the CLS framework, we found no support for a shift from reliance on hippocampus to reliance on cortical areas in any of our conditions. Instead, our findings align more closely with recent theories showing a positive correlation between changes in hippocampus and cortical areas, suggesting that these representations co-exist and continue to interact with one another beyond initial learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Upasana Nathaniel
- Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Stav Eidelsztein
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorder, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Kate Girsh Geskin
- Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Bracha Nir
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorder, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Vedran Dronjic
- Department of English, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - James R Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Tali Bitan
- Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Speech Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Gao F, Hua L, Armada-da-Silva P, Zhang J, Li D, Chen Z, Wang C, Du M, Yuan Z. Shared and distinct neural correlates of first and second language morphological processing in bilingual brain. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2023; 8:33. [PMID: 37666860 PMCID: PMC10477180 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-023-00184-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
While morphology constitutes a crucial component of the human language system, the neural bases of morphological processing in the human brain remains to be elucidated. The current study aims at exploring the extent to which the second language (L2) morphological processing would resemble or differ from that of their first language (L1) in adult Chinese-English bilinguals. Bilingual participants were asked to complete a morphological priming lexical decision task drawing on derivational morphology, which is present for both Chinese and English, when their electrophysiological and optical responses were recorded concurrently. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) revealed a neural dissociation between morphological and semantic priming effects in the left fronto-temporal network, while L1 Chinese engaged enhanced activation in the left prefrontal cortex for morphological parsing relative to L2 English. In the early stage of lexical processing, cross-language morphological processing manifested a difference in degree, not in kind, as revealed by the early left anterior negativity (ELAN) effect. In addition, L1 and L2 shared both early and late structural parsing processes (P250 and 300 ~ 500 ms negativity, respectively). Therefore, the current results support a unified competition model for bilingual development, where bilinguals would primarily employ L1 neural resources for L2 morphological representation and processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Gao
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lin Hua
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Paulo Armada-da-Silva
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Juan Zhang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Defeng Li
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Zhiyi Chen
- The Affiliated Changsha Central Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Changsha, China
- Institute of Medical Imaging, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
- The Seven Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Changsha, China
| | - Chengwen Wang
- School of International Cultural Exchange, University of Finance and Economics, Central, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Du
- The Affiliated Changsha Central Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Changsha, China
- Institute of Medical Imaging, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Zhen Yuan
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
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Barouch B, Weiss Y, Katzir T, Bitan T. Neural Processing of Morphology During Reading in Children. Neuroscience 2022; 485:37-52. [PMID: 35026319 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The importance of morphological segmentation for reading has been shown in numerous behavioral studies in children and adults. However, little is known about developmental changes in the neural basis of morphological processing. In addition to effects of age and reading skill, morphological processing during reading may be affected by the morphological structure of the language and the transparency of its orthography. Hebrew provides a unique opportunity to study these factors, with its rich morphological structure, and two versions of script that differ in orthographic transparency. Two groups of children (2nd-3rd and 5th-6th graders) were scanned using fMRI while reading aloud Hebrew nouns. Half of the words were composed of roots and templates (bi-morphemic) and half were mono-morphemic. The words were presented at two levels of transparency: with or without diacritics. ROI analyses showed greater activation for mono over bi-morphemic words across groups in the anterior portions of bilateral middle and superior temporal gyri, especially for the transparent script. These results diverge from previous finding in adults, showing left frontal activation in the non-transparent script with the same stimuli. These results support the early sensitivity of young Hebrew readers to the rich morphological structure of their language but suggest a developmental change in the role of morphological processes during reading. While in adults morpho-phonological segmentation during reading may compensate for orthographic opacity, morphological processes in children may rely more on semantic aspects, and are enhanced by orthographic transparency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bechor Barouch
- Psychology Department and Institute for Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
| | - Yael Weiss
- Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington, 1715 NE Columbia Road, Portage Bay Building, Box 357988, Seattle, WA 98195-7988 USA
| | - Tami Katzir
- Department of Learning Disabilities, The E.J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel
| | - Tali Bitan
- Psychology Department and Institute for Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel; Department of Speech Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
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Lee HJ, Cheng SK, Lee CY, Kuo WJ. The neural basis of compound word processing revealed by varying semantic transparency and morphemic neighborhood size. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 221:104985. [PMID: 34280834 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.104985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the neural basis of compound word processing by using fMRI and Chinese two-character compounds for lexical decision. Semantic transparency and morphemic neighborhood size were manipulated to augment the processing profile for measurement. The behavioral results disclosed a semantic transparency effect and its interaction with the neighborhood size, which supported existence of a mechanism for compound processing. The fMRI results located a neural substrate in the left inferior prefrontal cortex (BA 45) which reacted in an interactive manner to the two variables. While its activities were lower when their neighborhood size was larger for processing transparent compounds, its activities became higher when their neighborhood size was larger for processing opaque compounds. When scaling to a larger scope, the function of this mechanism fitted well with the theoretical account of unification function of the left inferior frontal cortex for language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Ju Lee
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Shih-Kuen Cheng
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Ying Lee
- Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Jui Kuo
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan; Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan; Research Center for Brain, Mind, and Learning, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Brice H, Frost SJ, Bick AS, Molfese PJ, Rueckl JG, Pugh KR, Frost R. Tracking second language immersion across time: Evidence from a bi-directional longitudinal cross-linguistic fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 2021; 154:107796. [PMID: 33610615 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Parallel cohorts of Hebrew speakers learning English in the U.S., and American-English speakers learning Hebrew in Israel were tracked over the course of two years of immersion in their L2. We utilised a functional MRI semantic judgement task with print and speech tokens, as well as a battery of linguistic and cognitive behavioural measures prior to and after immersion, to track changes in both L1 and L2 processing. fMRI activation for print tokens produced a similar network of activation in both English and Hebrew, irrespective of L1 or L2 status. Significant convergence of print and speech processing was also observed in both languages across a network of left-hemisphere regions joint for both L1 and L2. Despite significant increases in behavioural measures of L2 proficiency, only a few signs of longitudinal change in L2 brain activation were found. In contrast, L1 showed widespread differences in processing across time, suggesting that the neurobiological footprint of reading is dynamic and plastic even in adults, with L2 immersion impacting L1 processing. Print/speech convergence showed little longitudinal change, suggesting that it is a stable marker of the differences in L1 and L2 processing across L2 proficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Atira Sara Bick
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Jay G Rueckl
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA; University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Kenneth R Pugh
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Ram Frost
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA; Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastian, Spain
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Yablonski M, Ben-Shachar M. Sensitivity to word structure in adult Hebrew readers is associated with microstructure of the ventral reading pathways. Cortex 2020; 128:234-253. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Bitan T, Weiss Y, Katzir T, Truzman T. Morphological decomposition compensates for imperfections in phonological decoding. Neural evidence from typical and dyslexic readers of an opaque orthography. Cortex 2020; 130:172-191. [PMID: 32659520 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The current study examined the widely held, but un-tested, assumption that morphological decomposition can compensate for missing phonological information in reading opaque orthographies. In addition, we tested whether morphological decomposition can compensate for the phonological decoding deficits in readers with dyslexia. Hebrew provides a unique opportunity to test these questions as it has a rich Semitic morphology, and two versions of script: a transparent orthography (with diacritic marks, 'pointed') and an opaque orthography (without diacritic marks, 'un-pointed'). In two experiments, one behavioral and one fMRI, skilled and dyslexic readers read aloud Hebrew nouns: half bi-morphemic (root + pattern) and half mono-morphemic (non-decomposable). Each word was presented both in the transparent orthography (pointed), and in the opaque orthography (un-pointed). While skilled readers were faster, and showed no effects of diacritics or morphology, dyslexic readers read pointed words more slowly than un-pointed words and bi-morphemic words faster than mono-morphemic words. The imaging results showed: 1) In both groups a morphological effect was found in un-pointed words, in left inferior and middle frontal gyri, associated with morpho-phonological decomposition. 2) Only readers with dyslexia showed a morphological effect in pointed words in the left occipito-temporal cortex, associated with orthographic processing. 3) Dyslexic readers also showed a positive association between morphological awareness and activation in the left occipito-temporal cortex during reading of all words, and activation in inferior frontal cortex during reading of un-pointed bi-morphemic words. Altogether, these findings suggest that in both typical and dyslexic readers morphological decomposition can compensate for the missing phonological information in an opaque orthography. The results also show that readers with dyslexia can rely on morphological decomposition to compensate for their deficits in phonological decoding. Finally, these results highlight the way in which unique language specific properties shape the neural mechanisms underlying typical and atypical reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tali Bitan
- Department of Psychology and IIPDM, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; Department of Speech Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
| | - Yael Weiss
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Tami Katzir
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tammar Truzman
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and IIPDM, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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8
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Zou L, Packard JL, Xia Z, Liu Y, Shu H. Morphological and Whole-Word Semantic Processing Are Distinct: Event Related Potentials Evidence From Spoken Word Recognition in Chinese. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:133. [PMID: 31057382 PMCID: PMC6478770 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Behavioral and imaging studies in alphabetic languages have shown that morphological processing is a discrete and independent element of lexical access. However, there is no explicit marker of morphological structure in Chinese complex words, such that the extent to which morpheme meaning is related to word meaning is unknown. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used in the present study to investigate the dissociation of morphemic and whole-word meaning in an auditory-auditory primed lexical decision task. All the prime and target words are compounds consisting of two Chinese morphemes. The relationship between morpheme and whole-word meaning was manipulated while controlling the phonology and orthography of the first syllable in each prime-target pair. A clear dissociation was found between morphemic and whole-word meaning on N400 amplitude and topography. Specifically, sharing a morpheme produced a larger N400 in the anterior-central electrode sites, while sharing whole-word meaning produced a smaller N400 in central-posterior electrode sites. In addition, the morphological N400 effect was negatively correlated with the participants' reading ability, with better readers needing less orthographic information to distinguish different morphemes in compound words. These findings indicate that morphological and whole-word meaning are dissociated in spoken Chinese compound word recognition and that even in the spoken language modality, good readers are better able to access the meaning of individual morphemes in Chinese compound word processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Zou
- School of Psychology and Education, Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang, China
| | - Jerome L. Packard
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Zhichao Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Youyi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Hua Shu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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9
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Kastner I, Pylkkänen L, Marantz A. The Form of Morphemes: MEG Evidence From Masked Priming of Two Hebrew Templates. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2163. [PMID: 30483184 PMCID: PMC6240614 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of lexical access have benefited from comparisons between languages like English, which shows concatenative morphology, and Semitic languages showing non-concatenative morphology of roots and patterns. Morphological decomposition in Semitic has previously been probed using masked priming, originally developed to investigate concatenative morphology. However, studies conducted on Semitic languages have often targeted Semitic-specific questions, such as whether the root and the verbal template prime lexical access. The overall consequence of these studies for our understanding of lexical access remains unclear. In two experiments on Hebrew using MEG, we demonstrate that a verbal form which is orthographically and phonologically indistinguishable from non-verbal forms is primed by other verbs in the same template but not by similar nouns and adjectives. These results suggest that masked priming taps into more than just visual forms but reflects morphological content, even if this content is abstract, showing no distinct orthographic or phonological marking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itamar Kastner
- Department of English and American Studies, Faculty of Language, Literature and Humanities, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Linguistics, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Itamar Kastner,
| | - Liina Pylkkänen
- Department of Linguistics, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- NYUAD Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Alec Marantz
- Department of Linguistics, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- NYUAD Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Leminen A, Smolka E, Duñabeitia JA, Pliatsikas C. Morphological processing in the brain: The good (inflection), the bad (derivation) and the ugly (compounding). Cortex 2018; 116:4-44. [PMID: 30268324 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Revised: 07/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
There is considerable behavioral evidence that morphologically complex words such as 'tax-able' and 'kiss-es' are processed and represented combinatorially. In other words, they are decomposed into their constituents 'tax' and '-able' during comprehension (reading or listening), and producing them might also involve on-the-spot combination of these constituents (especially for inflections). However, despite increasing amount of neurocognitive research, the neural mechanisms underlying these processes are still not fully understood. The purpose of this critical review is to offer a comprehensive overview on the state-of-the-art of the research on the neural mechanisms of morphological processing. In order to take into account all types of complex words, we include findings on inflected, derived, and compound words presented both visually and aurally. More specifically, we cover a wide range of electro- and magnetoencephalography (EEG and MEG, respectively) as well as structural/functional magnetic resonance imaging (s/fMRI) studies that focus on morphological processing. We present the findings with respect to the temporal course and localization of morphologically complex word processing. We summarize the observed findings, their interpretations with respect to current psycholinguistic models, and discuss methodological approaches as well as their possible limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Leminen
- Cognitive Science, Department of Digital Humanities, Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki, Finland; Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Eva Smolka
- Department of Linguistics, University of Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jon A Duñabeitia
- Facultad de Lenguas y Educación, Universidad Nebrija, Madrid, Spain; Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Donostia, Spain
| | - Christos Pliatsikas
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
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Schuster S, Scharinger M, Brooks C, Lahiri A, Hartwigsen G. The neural correlates of morphological complexity processing: Detecting structure in pseudowords. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:2317-2328. [PMID: 29498763 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Morphological complexity is a highly debated issue in visual word recognition. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that speakers are sensitive to degrees of morphological complexity. Two-step derived complex words (bridging through bridgeN > bridgeV > bridging) led to more enhanced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus than their 1-step derived counterparts (running through runV > running). However, it remains unclear whether sensitivity to degrees of morphological complexity extends to pseudowords. If this were the case, it would indicate that abstract knowledge of morphological structure is independent of lexicality. We addressed this question by investigating the processing of two sets of pseudowords in German. Both sets contained morphologically viable two-step derived pseudowords differing in the number of derivational steps required to access an existing lexical representation and therefore the degree of structural analysis expected during processing. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, we found lexicality effects to be distinct from processing signatures relating to structural analysis in pseudowords. Semantically-driven processes such as lexical search showed a more frontal distribution while combinatorial processes related to structural analysis engaged more parietal parts of the network. Specifically, more complex pseudowords showed increased activation in parietal regions (right superior parietal lobe and left precuneus) relative to pseudowords that required less structural analysis to arrive at an existing lexical representation. As the two sets were matched on cohort size and surface form, these results highlight the role of internal levels of morphological structure even in forms that do not possess a lexical representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swetlana Schuster
- Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Mathias Scharinger
- Phonetics Research Group, Department of German Linguistics & Marburg Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - MCMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Colin Brooks
- Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Aditi Lahiri
- Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Research Group Modulation of Language Networks, Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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12
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Zou L, Packard JL, Xia Z, Liu Y, Shu H. Neural Correlates of Morphological Processing: Evidence from Chinese. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 9:714. [PMID: 26834609 PMCID: PMC4717318 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Morphological decomposition is an important part of complex word processing. In Chinese, this requires a comprehensive consideration of phonological, orthographic and morphemic information. The left inferior frontal gyrus (L-IFG) has been implicated in this process in alphabetic languages. However, it is unclear whether the neural mechanisms underlying morphological processing in alphabetic languages would be the same in Chinese, a logographic language. To investigate the neural basis of morphological processing in Chinese compound words, an fMRI experiment was conducted using an explicit auditory morphological judgment task. Results showed the L-IFG to be a core area in Chinese morphological processing, consistent with research in alphabetic languages. Additionally, a broad network consisting of the L-MTG, the bilateral STG and the L-FG that taps phonological, orthographic, and semantic information was found to be involved. These results provide evidence that the L-IFG plays an important role in morphological processing even in languages that are typologically different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Zou
- School of Psychology and Education, Zaozhuang UniversityZaozhuang, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Jerome L Packard
- Cognitive Science Group, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Zhichao Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Youyi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Hua Shu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
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13
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Arredondo MM, Ip KI, Shih Ju Hsu L, Tardif T, Kovelman I. Brain bases of morphological processing in young children. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:2890-900. [PMID: 25930011 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2014] [Revised: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 04/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
How does the developing brain support the transition from spoken language to print? Two spoken language abilities form the initial base of child literacy across languages: knowledge of language sounds (phonology) and knowledge of the smallest units that carry meaning (morphology). While phonology has received much attention from the field, the brain mechanisms that support morphological competence for learning to read remain largely unknown. In the present study, young English-speaking children completed an auditory morphological awareness task behaviorally (n = 69, ages 6-12) and in fMRI (n = 16). The data revealed two findings: First, children with better morphological abilities showed greater activation in left temporoparietal regions previously thought to be important for supporting phonological reading skills, suggesting that this region supports multiple language abilities for successful reading acquisition. Second, children showed activation in left frontal regions previously found active in young Chinese readers, suggesting morphological processes for reading acquisition might be similar across languages. These findings offer new insights for developing a comprehensive model of how spoken language abilities support children's reading acquisition across languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria M Arredondo
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ka I Ip
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Lucy Shih Ju Hsu
- Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Twila Tardif
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ioulia Kovelman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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14
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Yu X, Bi Y, Han Z, Law SP. An FMRI study of grammatical morpheme processing associated with nouns and verbs in Chinese. PLoS One 2013; 8:e74952. [PMID: 24146745 PMCID: PMC3795710 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2013] [Accepted: 08/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined whether the degree of complexity of a grammatical component in a language would impact on its representation in the brain through identifying the neural correlates of grammatical morpheme processing associated with nouns and verbs in Chinese. In particular, the processing of Chinese nominal classifiers and verbal aspect markers were investigated in a sentence completion task and a grammaticality judgment task to look for converging evidence. The Chinese language constitutes a special case because it has no inflectional morphology per se and a larger classifier than aspect marker inventory, contrary to the pattern of greater verbal than nominal paradigmatic complexity in most European languages. The functional imaging results showed BA47 and left supplementary motor area and superior medial frontal gyrus more strongly activated for classifier processing, and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus more responsive to aspect marker processing. We attributed the activation in the left prefrontal cortex to greater processing complexity during classifier selection, analogous to the accounts put forth for European languages, and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus to more demanding verb semantic processing. The overall findings significantly contribute to cross-linguistic observations of neural substrates underlying processing of grammatical morphemes from an analytic and a classifier language, and thereby deepen our understanding of neurobiology of human language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Yu
- Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Yanchao Bi
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zaizhu Han
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Sam-Po Law
- Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
- * E-mail:
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15
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Stoppelman N, Harpaz T, Ben-Shachar M. Do not throw out the baby with the bath water: choosing an effective baseline for a functional localizer of speech processing. Brain Behav 2013; 3:211-22. [PMID: 23785653 PMCID: PMC3683281 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2012] [Revised: 12/23/2012] [Accepted: 01/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech processing engages multiple cortical regions in the temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes. Isolating speech-sensitive cortex in individual participants is of major clinical and scientific importance. This task is complicated by the fact that responses to sensory and linguistic aspects of speech are tightly packed within the posterior superior temporal cortex. In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), various baseline conditions are typically used in order to isolate speech-specific from basic auditory responses. Using a short, continuous sampling paradigm, we show that reversed ("backward") speech, a commonly used auditory baseline for speech processing, removes much of the speech responses in frontal and temporal language regions of adult individuals. On the other hand, signal correlated noise (SCN) serves as an effective baseline for removing primary auditory responses while maintaining strong signals in the same language regions. We show that the response to reversed speech in left inferior frontal gyrus decays significantly faster than the response to speech, thus suggesting that this response reflects bottom-up activation of speech analysis followed up by top-down attenuation once the signal is classified as nonspeech. The results overall favor SCN as an auditory baseline for speech processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadav Stoppelman
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel
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16
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Deutsch A, Meir A. The role of the root morpheme in mediating word production in Hebrew. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/01690965.2010.496238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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17
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Koester D, Schiller NO. The functional neuroanatomy of morphology in language production. Neuroimage 2011; 55:732-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2010] [Revised: 11/04/2010] [Accepted: 11/12/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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18
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Bick AS, Frost R, Goelman G. Imaging implicit morphological processing: evidence from Hebrew. J Cogn Neurosci 2011; 22:1955-69. [PMID: 19803693 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2009.21357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Is morphology a discrete and independent element of lexical structure or does it simply reflect a fine-tuning of the system to the statistical correlation that exists among orthographic and semantic properties of words? Hebrew provides a unique opportunity to examine morphological processing in the brain because of its rich morphological system. In an fMRI masked priming experiment, we investigated the neural networks involved in implicit morphological processing in Hebrew. In the lMFG and lIFG, activation was found to be significantly reduced when the primes were morphologically related to the targets. This effect was not influenced by the semantic transparency of the morphological prime, and was not found in the semantic or orthographic condition. Additional morphologically related decrease in activation was found in the lIPL, where activation was significantly modulated by semantic transparency. Our findings regarding implicit morphological processing suggest that morphology is an automatic and distinct aspect of visually processing words. These results also coincide with the behavioral data previously obtained demonstrating the central role of morphological processing in reading Hebrew.
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19
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Alvarez CJ, Urrutia M, Domínguez A, Sánchez-Casas R. Processing inflectional and derivational morphology: electrophysiological evidence from Spanish. Neurosci Lett 2010; 490:6-10. [PMID: 21167910 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2010] [Revised: 11/25/2010] [Accepted: 12/08/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this paper is to study possible differences between the processing of inflectional vs. derivational morphology in Spanish word recognition using electrophysiological measures. A lexical decision task to target words preceded by morphological-related (or unrelated) primes was used. The orthographic and phonological overlap and the grammatical class for the two experimental conditions were exactly the same. Examples of the related conditions were, for inflection, NIÑO-NIÑA ("girl"-"boy"), and for derivation, RAMO-RAMA ("bunch"-"branch"). These conditions were compared with unrelated pairs without orthographic, phonological or semantic relationships. An attenuation of the N-400 component was found for both related conditions from 300 ms until 450 ms (until 500 ms for inflections only). In addition, different locations were suggested by the source analysis. These findings are consistent with accounts that argue for differences between the processing of inflections and derivations.
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20
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Bick AS, Goelman G, Frost R. Hebrew brain vs. English brain: language modulates the way it is processed. J Cogn Neurosci 2010; 23:2280-90. [PMID: 20961169 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2010.21583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Is language processing universal? How do the specific properties of each language influence the way it is processed? In this study, we compare the neural correlates of morphological processing in Hebrew--a Semitic language with a rich and systematic morphology, to those revealed in English--an Indo-European language with a linear morphology. Using fMRI, we show that while in the bilingual brain both languages involve a common neural circuitry in processing morphological structure, this activation is significantly modulated by the different aspects of language. Whereas in Hebrew, morphological processing is independent of semantics, in English, morphological activation is clearly modulated by semantic overlap. These findings suggest that the processes involved in reading words are not universal, and therefore impose important constraints on current models of visual word recognition.
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