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Lee YS, Rogers CS, Grossman M, Wingfield A, Peelle JE. Hemispheric dissociations in regions supporting auditory sentence comprehension in older adults. AGING BRAIN 2022; 2:100051. [PMID: 36908889 PMCID: PMC9997128 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2022.100051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated how the aging brain copes with acoustic and syntactic challenges during spoken language comprehension. Thirty-eight healthy adults aged 54 - 80 years (M = 66 years) participated in an fMRI experiment wherein listeners indicated the gender of an agent in short spoken sentences that varied in syntactic complexity (object-relative vs subject-relative center-embedded clause structures) and acoustic richness (high vs low spectral detail, but all intelligible). We found widespread activity throughout a bilateral frontotemporal network during successful sentence comprehension. Consistent with prior reports, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior superior temporal gyrus were more active in response to object-relative sentences than to subject-relative sentences. Moreover, several regions were significantly correlated with individual differences in task performance: Activity in right frontoparietal cortex and left cerebellum (Crus I & II) showed a negative correlation with overall comprehension. By contrast, left frontotemporal areas and right cerebellum (Lobule VII) showed a negative correlation with accuracy specifically for syntactically complex sentences. In addition, laterality analyses confirmed a lack of hemispheric lateralization in activity evoked by sentence stimuli in older adults. Importantly, we found different hemispheric roles, with a left-lateralized core language network supporting syntactic operations, and right-hemisphere regions coming into play to aid in general cognitive demands during spoken sentence processing. Together our findings support the view that high levels of language comprehension in older adults are maintained by a close interplay between a core left hemisphere language network and additional neural resources in the contralateral hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yune Sang Lee
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Chad S. Rogers
- Department of Psychology, Union College, Schenectady, NY, USA
| | - Murray Grossman
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Jonathan E. Peelle
- Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
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Shi J, Huang H, Jiang R, Mao X, Huang Q, Li A. The Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus Plays an Important Role in Unconscious Information Processing: Activation Likelihood Estimation Analysis Based on Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:781099. [PMID: 35401077 PMCID: PMC8987111 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.781099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Unconsciousness is a kind of brain activity that occurs below the level of consciousness, and the masked priming paradigm is a classic paradigm to study unconscious perceptual processing. With the deepening of unconscious perception research, different researchers mostly use different experimental materials and different masked priming paradigms in a single experiment but not for the comprehensive analysis of the unconscious information processing mechanism itself. Thus, the purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis through a cross-experimental paradigm, cross-experimental materials, and cross-experimental purposes. We used activation likelihood estimation to test functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, involving 361 subjects, 124 foci in eight studies representing direct comparison of unconscious processing with baseline, and 115 foci in 10 studies representing direct comparison of unconscious priming effects. In the comparison of unconscious processing and baseline, clusters formed in the left superior parietal gyrus, the right insular gyrus, and the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) triangular part after correcting for familywise error (FWE). In the comparison of priming effects, clusters formed in only the right IFG triangular part after correcting for FWE. Here, we found that ventral and dorsal pathways jointly regulate unconscious perceptual processes, but only the ventral pathway is involved in the regulation of unconscious priming effects. The IFG triangular part is involved in the regulation of unconscious perceptual processing and unconscious priming effects and may be an important brain area in unconscious information processing. These preliminary data provide conditions for further study of the neural correlation of unconscious information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jilong Shi
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Haojie Huang
- Department of Physical Education, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Ruichen Jiang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
- School of Teacher Education, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, China
| | - Xuechen Mao
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Qin Huang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Anmin Li
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
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Sanwald S, Montag C, Kiefer M. Depressive Emotionality Moderates the Influence of the BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism on Executive Functions and on Unconscious Semantic Priming. J Mol Neurosci 2020; 70:699-712. [PMID: 32002751 PMCID: PMC7152588 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-020-01479-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Automatic semantic processing can be assessed using semantic priming paradigms. Individual differences in semantic priming have been associated with differences in executive functions. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met (substitution of valine (Val) to methionine (Met) at codon 66) polymorphism has been shown to be associated with executive functions as well as depression. Depression-associated variables such as depressed mood also moderated the relationship between BDNF Val66Met and executive functions in previous work. In this study, we therefore aimed at investigating whether BDNF Val66Met genotype modulates masked and unmasked semantic priming as well as executive functions and whether sadness is a moderator of these associations. We collected data of N = 155 participants measuring reaction times (RTs) as well as error rates (ERs) in masked and unmasked semantic priming paradigms using a lexical decision task. We assessed the primary emotion of SADNESS using the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (ANPS) and working memory using digit span forward and backward tasks. Met+ carriers showed reduced RT priming and increased ER priming in the masked priming paradigm. Even though there was no direct association between BDNF Val66Met and executive functions, SADNESS significantly moderated the association between BDNF Val66Met and executive functions as well as masked RT priming. We suggest that Met+ individuals with low depressive tendencies have not only superior EF, but also a faster and more superficial processing style, compared with Val/Val homozygotes. However, in Met+ individuals, cognitive functioning exhibits a greater vulnerability to depressed emotionality compared with Val/Val homozygotes. Our study thus demonstrates how emotional and molecular genetic factors exert an interacting influence on higher-level cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Sanwald
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
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Harpaintner M, Sim EJ, Trumpp NM, Ulrich M, Kiefer M. The grounding of abstract concepts in the motor and visual system: An fMRI study. Cortex 2020; 124:1-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Klepp A, van Dijk H, Niccolai V, Schnitzler A, Biermann-Ruben K. Action verb processing specifically modulates motor behaviour and sensorimotor neuronal oscillations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15985. [PMID: 31690784 PMCID: PMC6831701 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52426-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding action-related language recruits the brain’s motor system and can interact with motor behaviour. The current study shows MEG oscillatory patterns during verb-motor priming. Hand and foot verbs were followed by hand or foot responses, with faster reaction times for congruent conditions. In ROIs placed in the hand/arm and foot/leg portions of the sensorimotor cortex, this behavioural priming effect was accompanied by modulations in MEG oscillatory patterns preceding the responses. Power suppression in the alpha/beta frequency bands was reduced in congruent conditions in the body-part-specific ROIs. These results imply that the verb-motor priming effect may be a direct consequence of motor cortex contributions to action word processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Klepp
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | | | - Valentina Niccolai
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katja Biermann-Ruben
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Motes MA, Spence JS, Yeatman K, Jones PM, Lutrell M, O'Hair R, Shakal S, DeLaRosa BL, To W, Vanneste S, Kraut MA, Hart J. High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Improve Verbal Retrieval Deficits in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma 2019; 37:170-177. [PMID: 31354040 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2018.6331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic verbal retrieval deficits have been noted in traumatic brain injury (TBI), but no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved interventions are available. The present study investigated whether 10 sessions of 20 min of 1 mA anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) targeting pre-supplementary motor area/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (preSMA/dACC) compared with sham HD-tDCS would improve verbal retrieval deficits in TBI patients. Improvements in verbal retrieval processes were observed up to 8 weeks post-treatment. Thus, potential dysfunction to verbal retrieval circuitry in TBI appears amenable to remediation through electromodulation with HD tDCS to the preSMA/dACC. Although further studies clarifying mechanisms by which tDCS brought about these improvements will likely inform refinements in the application of this therapeutic technique, the findings suggest the efficacy of using HD-tDCS to target other systems vulnerable to TBI to improve functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Motes
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Jeffrey S Spence
- Center for Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Kylee Yeatman
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | | | - Morgan Lutrell
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Rachel O'Hair
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Scott Shakal
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Bambi L DeLaRosa
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Wing To
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Sven Vanneste
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Michael A Kraut
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - John Hart
- Callier Center-Dallas, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas.,Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics and Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
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Meng F, Li A, You Y, Xie C. Motor expertise modulates unconscious rather than conscious executive control. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6387. [PMID: 30740277 PMCID: PMC6368002 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Executive control, the ability to regulate the execution of a goal-directed task, is an important element in an athlete’s skill set. Although previous studies have shown that executive control in athletes is better than that in non-athletes, those studies were mainly confined to conscious executive control. Many recent studies have suggested that executive control can be triggered by the presentation of visual stimuli without participant’s conscious awareness. However, few studies have examined unconscious executive control in sports. Thus, the present study investigated whether, similar to conscious executive control, unconscious executive control in table tennis athletes is superior to that in non-athletes. Methods In total, 42 age-matched undergraduate students were recruited for this study; 22 nonathletic students lacking practical athletic experience comprised one group, and 20 table tennis athletes with many years of training in this sport comprised a second group. Each participant first completed an unconscious response priming task, the unconscious processing of visual-spatial information, and then completed a conscious version of this same response priming task. Results Table tennis athletes showed a significant response priming effect, whereas non-athletes did not, when participants were unable to consciously perceive the visual-spatial priming stimuli. In addition, the number of years the table tennis athletes had trained in this sport (a measure of their motor expertise) was positively correlated with the strength of the unconscious response priming effect. However, both table tennis athletes and non-athletes showed a response priming effect when the primes were unmasked and the participants were able to consciously perceive the visual-spatial priming stimuli. Conclusion Our results suggest that motor expertise modulates unconscious, rather than conscious, executive control and that motor expertise is positively correlated with unconscious executive control in table tennis athletes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanying Meng
- Department of Sport Psychology, School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Anmin Li
- Department of Sport Psychology, School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Yihong You
- Department of Sport Psychology, School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Chun Xie
- Department of Sport Psychology, School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
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Wang X, Bernhardt BC, Karapanagiotidis T, De Caso I, Gonzalez Alam TRDJ, Cotter Z, Smallwood J, Jefferies E. The structural basis of semantic control: Evidence from individual differences in cortical thickness. Neuroimage 2018; 181:480-489. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.07.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
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Yi A, Chen Z, Chang Y, Zhou S, Wu L, Liu Y, Zhang G. Repetition Priming Effects in Proficient Mandarin-Cantonese and Cantonese-Mandarin Bidialectals: An Event-Related Potential Study. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2017; 46:1367-1383. [PMID: 28555347 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-017-9495-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The present study adopted a repetition priming paradigm to investigate the bidialectal (bilingual) representation of speakers with different native dialects by event-related potential (ERP) technique. Proficient Mandarin-Cantonese and Cantonese-Mandarin bidialectals participated in the study. They were required to judge whether a word was a biological word or not, when the words (target word) were represented under four types of repetition priming conditions: Mandarin (prime)-Mandarin (target), Mandarin (prime)-Cantonese (target), Cantonese (prime)-Cantonese (target) and Cantonese (prime)-Mandarin (target). Results of reaction time and accuracy primarily indicated larger repetition priming effects in Mandarin-Mandarin and Cantonese-Cantonese (within-language) conditions than that in Mandarin-Cantonese and Cantonese-Mandarin (between-language) conditions. But more importantly, P200 and N400 mean amplitudes revealed distinct repetition priming effects between two types of participants. Specifically, both P200 and N400 indicated that the repetition priming effect in Mandarin-Mandarin condition was larger than that in Cantonese-Cantonese condition for Mandarin-Cantonese participants, whereas it was opposite for Cantonese-Mandarin participants. In addition, P200 also suggested opposite patterns of repetition priming effects in between-language priming conditions for two groups of participants. The repetition priming effect in Mandarin-Cantonese condition was larger than that in Cantonese-Mandarin condition for Mandarin-Cantonese participants, while for Cantonese-Mandarin participants, it was opposite (Mandarin-Cantonese < Cantonese-Mandarin). The results implied a clear asymmetric representation of two dialects for proficient bidialectals. They were further discussed in light of native dialect and language use frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiwen Yi
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, 601 Huangpu Road West, Guangzhou, 510630, China
- Guangdong Women and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou, 511400, China
| | - Zhuoming Chen
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, 601 Huangpu Road West, Guangzhou, 510630, China.
| | - Yanqun Chang
- Guangdong Women and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou, 511400, China
| | - Shu Zhou
- Nanfang Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Limei Wu
- College of Chinese Language and Culture, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Yaozhong Liu
- School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Guoxiong Zhang
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, 601 Huangpu Road West, Guangzhou, 510630, China
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Pulvermüller F. Neural reuse of action perception circuits for language, concepts and communication. Prog Neurobiol 2017; 160:1-44. [PMID: 28734837 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2017.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Neurocognitive and neurolinguistics theories make explicit statements relating specialized cognitive and linguistic processes to specific brain loci. These linking hypotheses are in need of neurobiological justification and explanation. Recent mathematical models of human language mechanisms constrained by fundamental neuroscience principles and established knowledge about comparative neuroanatomy offer explanations for where, when and how language is processed in the human brain. In these models, network structure and connectivity along with action- and perception-induced correlation of neuronal activity co-determine neurocognitive mechanisms. Language learning leads to the formation of action perception circuits (APCs) with specific distributions across cortical areas. Cognitive and linguistic processes such as speech production, comprehension, verbal working memory and prediction are modelled by activity dynamics in these APCs, and combinatorial and communicative-interactive knowledge is organized in the dynamics within, and connections between APCs. The network models and, in particular, the concept of distributionally-specific circuits, can account for some previously not well understood facts about the cortical 'hubs' for semantic processing and the motor system's role in language understanding and speech sound recognition. A review of experimental data evaluates predictions of the APC model and alternative theories, also providing detailed discussion of some seemingly contradictory findings. Throughout, recent disputes about the role of mirror neurons and grounded cognition in language and communication are assessed critically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy & Humanities, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany; Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Berlin 10117 Berlin, Germany.
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Carota F, Kriegeskorte N, Nili H, Pulvermüller F. Representational Similarity Mapping of Distributional Semantics in Left Inferior Frontal, Middle Temporal, and Motor Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2017; 27:294-309. [PMID: 28077514 PMCID: PMC6044349 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Language comprehension engages a distributed network of frontotemporal, parietal, and sensorimotor regions, but it is still unclear how meaning of words and their semantic relationships are represented and processed within these regions and to which degrees lexico-semantic representations differ between regions and semantic types. We used fMRI and representational similarity analysis to relate word-elicited multivoxel patterns to semantic similarity between action and object words. In left inferior frontal (BA 44-45-47), left posterior middle temporal and left precentral cortex, the similarity of brain response patterns reflected semantic similarity among action-related verbs, as well as across lexical classes-between action verbs and tool-related nouns and, to a degree, between action verbs and food nouns, but not between action verbs and animal nouns. Instead, posterior inferior temporal cortex exhibited a reverse response pattern, which reflected the semantic similarity among object-related nouns, but not action-related words. These results show that semantic similarity is encoded by a range of cortical areas, including multimodal association (e.g., anterior inferior frontal, posterior middle temporal) and modality-preferential (premotor) cortex and that the representational geometries in these regions are partly dependent on semantic type, with semantic similarity among action-related words crossing lexical-semantic category boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Carota
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB,UK
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Brain Language Laboratory, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin, 19145 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Hamed Nili
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Tinbergen Building, 9 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Brain Language Laboratory, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin, 19145 Berlin, Germany
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Hertrich I, Dietrich S, Ackermann H. The role of the supplementary motor area for speech and language processing. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 68:602-610. [PMID: 27343998 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Revised: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Apart from its function in speech motor control, the supplementary motor area (SMA) has largely been neglected in models of speech and language processing in the brain. The aim of this review paper is to summarize more recent work, suggesting that the SMA has various superordinate control functions during speech communication and language reception, which is particularly relevant in case of increased task demands. The SMA is subdivided into a posterior region serving predominantly motor-related functions (SMA proper) whereas the anterior part (pre-SMA) is involved in higher-order cognitive control mechanisms. In analogy to motor triggering functions of the SMA proper, the pre-SMA seems to manage procedural aspects of cognitive processing. These latter functions, among others, comprise attentional switching, ambiguity resolution, context integration, and coordination between procedural and declarative memory structures. Regarding language processing, this refers, for example, to the use of inner speech mechanisms during language encoding, but also to lexical disambiguation, syntax and prosody integration, and context-tracking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingo Hertrich
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Susanne Dietrich
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hermann Ackermann
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Germany
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13
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Weber K, Lau EF, Stillerman B, Kuperberg GR. The Yin and the Yang of Prediction: An fMRI Study of Semantic Predictive Processing. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0148637. [PMID: 27010386 PMCID: PMC4806910 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Probabilistic prediction plays a crucial role in language comprehension. When predictions are fulfilled, the resulting facilitation allows for fast, efficient processing of ambiguous, rapidly-unfolding input; when predictions are not fulfilled, the resulting error signal allows us to adapt to broader statistical changes in this input. We used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to examine the neuroanatomical networks engaged in semantic predictive processing and adaptation. We used a relatedness proportion semantic priming paradigm, in which we manipulated the probability of predictions while holding local semantic context constant. Under conditions of higher (versus lower) predictive validity, we replicate previous observations of reduced activity to semantically predictable words in the left anterior superior/middle temporal cortex, reflecting facilitated processing of targets that are consistent with prior semantic predictions. In addition, under conditions of higher (versus lower) predictive validity we observed significant differences in the effects of semantic relatedness within the left inferior frontal gyrus and the posterior portion of the left superior/middle temporal gyrus. We suggest that together these two regions mediated the suppression of unfulfilled semantic predictions and lexico-semantic processing of unrelated targets that were inconsistent with these predictions. Moreover, under conditions of higher (versus lower) predictive validity, a functional connectivity analysis showed that the left inferior frontal and left posterior superior/middle temporal gyrus were more tightly interconnected with one another, as well as with the left anterior cingulate cortex. The left anterior cingulate cortex was, in turn, more tightly connected to superior lateral frontal cortices and subcortical regions-a network that mediates rapid learning and adaptation and that may have played a role in switching to a more predictive mode of processing in response to the statistical structure of the wider environmental context. Together, these findings highlight close links between the networks mediating semantic prediction, executive function and learning, giving new insights into how our brains are able to flexibly adapt to our environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten Weber
- Department of Psychiatry and the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychology and Center for Cognitive Science, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen F. Lau
- Department of Psychiatry and the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychology and Center for Cognitive Science, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America
- University of Maryland, Department of Linguistics, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Benjamin Stillerman
- Department of Psychiatry and the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychology and Center for Cognitive Science, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Gina R. Kuperberg
- Department of Psychiatry and the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychology and Center for Cognitive Science, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America
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14
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Grisoni L, Dreyer FR, Pulvermüller F. Somatotopic Semantic Priming and Prediction in the Motor System. Cereb Cortex 2016; 26:2353-66. [PMID: 26908635 PMCID: PMC4830302 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The recognition of action-related sounds and words activates motor regions, reflecting the semantic grounding of these symbols in action information; in addition, motor cortex exerts causal influences on sound perception and language comprehension. However, proponents of classic symbolic theories still dispute the role of modality-preferential systems such as the motor cortex in the semantic processing of meaningful stimuli. To clarify whether the motor system carries semantic processes, we investigated neurophysiological indexes of semantic relationships between action-related sounds and words. Event-related potentials revealed that action-related words produced significantly larger stimulus-evoked (Mismatch Negativity-like) and predictive brain responses (Readiness Potentials) when presented in body-part-incongruent sound contexts (e.g., “kiss” in footstep sound context; “kick” in whistle context) than in body-part-congruent contexts, a pattern reminiscent of neurophysiological correlates of semantic priming. Cortical generators of the semantic relatedness effect were localized in areas traditionally associated with semantic memory, including left inferior frontal cortex and temporal pole, and, crucially, in motor areas, where body-part congruency of action sound–word relationships was indexed by a somatotopic pattern of activation. As our results show neurophysiological manifestations of action-semantic priming in the motor cortex, they prove semantic processing in the motor system and thus in a modality-preferential system of the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Grisoni
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universtät Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix R Dreyer
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universtät Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universtät Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
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Heider N, Spruyt A, De Houwer J. On the automaticity of relational stimulus processing. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2016; 81:99-118. [PMID: 26838165 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-015-0735-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
While it is widely accepted that the semantic analysis of a stimulus can take place in an automatic fashion, it is typically assumed that non-automatic processes are required to process the relation of one stimulus relative to other stimuli. Nevertheless, there is evidence to support the idea that such relational stimulus processing can also take place under automaticity conditions. We examined this hypothesis further in four sequential priming experiments in which participants were asked to categorize target objects as larger or smaller than a reference object (i.e., a football or a car). Crucially, some primes were objects that were larger than the small reference object but smaller than the large reference object (e.g., a bike). Results showed that the impact of these primes upon target responding was dependent on the size of the reference object. When the size of the reference object was small, these primes facilitated responses towards large targets relative to small targets. Vice versa, when the size of the reference object was large, the same set of primes facilitated responses towards small targets relative to large targets. This result was obtained when the size of the reference object was manipulated block-wise (Experiments 1 and 3), trial-wise (Experiments 2 and 4), and even when the primes were presented near subjective recognition thresholds (Experiment 4). Taken together, our findings provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that complex relational stimulus processing can take place under automaticity conditions. A possible underlying mechanism is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niclas Heider
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Adriaan Spruyt
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jan De Houwer
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
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Feng G, Chen Q, Zhu Z, Wang S. Separate Brain Circuits Support Integrative and Semantic Priming in the Human Language System. Cereb Cortex 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Semantic priming is a crucial phenomenon to study the organization of semantic memory. A novel type of priming effect, integrative priming, has been identified behaviorally, whereby a prime word facilitates recognition of a target word when the 2 concepts can be combined to form a unitary representation. We used both functional and anatomical imaging approaches to investigate the neural substrates supporting such integrative priming, and compare them with those in semantic priming. Similar behavioral priming effects for both semantic (Bread–Cake) and integrative conditions (Cherry–Cake) were observed when compared with an unrelated condition. However, a clearly dissociated brain response was observed between these 2 types of priming. The semantic-priming effect was localized to the posterior superior temporal and middle temporal gyrus. In contrast, the integrative-priming effect localized to the left anterior inferior frontal gyrus and left anterior temporal cortices. Furthermore, fiber tractography showed that the integrative-priming regions were connected via uncinate fasciculus fiber bundle forming an integrative circuit, whereas the semantic-priming regions connected to the posterior frontal cortex via separated pathways. The results point to dissociable neural pathways underlying the 2 distinct types of priming, illuminating the neural circuitry organization of semantic representation and integration.
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Ulrich M, Kiefer M, Bongartz W, Grön G, Hoenig K. Suggestion-Induced Modulation of Semantic Priming during Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0123686. [PMID: 25923740 PMCID: PMC4414585 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2014] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a primed visual lexical decision task, we investigated the neural and functional mechanisms underlying modulations of semantic word processing through hypnotic suggestions aimed at altering lexical processing of primes. The priming task was to discriminate between target words and pseudowords presented 200 ms after the prime word which was semantically related or unrelated to the target. In a counterbalanced study design, each participant performed the task once at normal wakefulness and once after the administration of hypnotic suggestions to perceive the prime as a meaningless symbol of a foreign language. Neural correlates of priming were defined as significantly lower activations upon semantically related compared to unrelated trials. We found significant suggestive treatment-induced reductions in neural priming, albeit irrespective of the degree of suggestibility. Neural priming was attenuated upon suggestive treatment compared with normal wakefulness in brain regions supporting automatic (fusiform gyrus) and controlled semantic processing (superior and middle temporal gyri, pre- and postcentral gyri, and supplementary motor area). Hence, suggestions reduced semantic word processing by conjointly dampening both automatic and strategic semantic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Ulrich
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Walter Bongartz
- Klingenberg Institute for Clinical Hypnosis, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Georg Grön
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Klaus Hoenig
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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Ulrich M, Kiefer M. The Neural Signature of Subliminal Visuomotor Priming: Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity Profiles. Cereb Cortex 2015; 26:2471-82. [PMID: 25858968 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Unconscious visuomotor priming defined as the advantage in reaction time (RT) or accuracy for target shapes mapped to the same (congruent condition) when compared with a different (incongruent condition) motor response as a preceding subliminally presented prime shape has been shown to modulate activity within a visuomotor network comprised of parietal and frontal motor areas in previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. The present fMRI study investigated whether, in addition to changes in brain activity, unconscious visuomotor priming results in a modulation of functional connectivity profiles. Activity associated with congruent compared with incongruent trials was lower in the bilateral inferior and medial superior frontal gyri, in the inferior parietal lobules, and in the right caudate nucleus and adjacent portions of the thalamus. Functional connectivity increased under congruent relative to incongruent conditions between ventral visual stream areas (e.g., calcarine, fusiform, and lingual gyri), the precentral gyrus, the supplementary motor area, posterior parietal areas, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the caudate nucleus. Our findings suggest that an increase in coupling between visuomotor regions, reflecting higher efficiency of processing, is an important neural mechanism underlying unconscious visuomotor priming, in addition to changes in the magnitude of activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Ulrich
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, 89075 Ulm, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, 89075 Ulm, Germany
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Psychophysical "blinding" methods reveal a functional hierarchy of unconscious visual processing. Conscious Cogn 2015; 35:234-50. [PMID: 25704454 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2014] [Revised: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Numerous non-invasive experimental "blinding" methods exist for suppressing the phenomenal awareness of visual stimuli. Not all of these suppressive methods occur at, and thus index, the same level of unconscious visual processing. This suggests that a functional hierarchy of unconscious visual processing can in principle be established. The empirical results of extant studies that have used a number of different methods and additional reasonable theoretical considerations suggest the following tentative hierarchy. At the highest levels in this hierarchy is unconscious processing indexed by object-substitution masking. The functional levels indexed by crowding, the attentional blink (and other attentional blinding methods), backward pattern masking, metacontrast masking, continuous flash suppression, sandwich masking, and single-flash interocular suppression, fall at progressively lower levels, while unconscious processing at the lowest levels is indexed by eye-based binocular-rivalry suppression. Although unconscious processing levels indexed by additional blinding methods is yet to be determined, a tentative placement at lower levels in the hierarchy is also given for unconscious processing indexed by Troxler fading and adaptation-induced blindness, and at higher levels in the hierarchy indexed by attentional blinding effects in addition to the level indexed by the attentional blink. The full mapping of levels in the functional hierarchy onto cortical activation sites and levels is yet to be determined. The existence of such a hierarchy bears importantly on the search for, and the distinctions between, neural correlates of conscious and unconscious vision.
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De Grauwe S, Lemhöfer K, Willems RM, Schriefers H. L2 speakers decompose morphologically complex verbs: fMRI evidence from priming of transparent derived verbs. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:802. [PMID: 25346678 PMCID: PMC4193264 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) long-lag priming study, we investigated the processing of Dutch semantically transparent, derived prefix verbs. In such words, the meaning of the word as a whole can be deduced from the meanings of its parts, e.g., wegleggen "put aside." Many behavioral and some fMRI studies suggest that native (L1) speakers decompose transparent derived words. The brain region usually implicated in morphological decomposition is the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG). In non-native (L2) speakers, the processing of transparent derived words has hardly been investigated, especially in fMRI studies, and results are contradictory: some studies find more reliance on holistic (i.e., non-decompositional) processing by L2 speakers; some find no difference between L1 and L2 speakers. In this study, we wanted to find out whether Dutch transparent derived prefix verbs are decomposed or processed holistically by German L2 speakers of Dutch. Half of the derived verbs (e.g., omvallen "fall down") were preceded by their stem (e.g., vallen "fall") with a lag of 4-6 words ("primed"); the other half (e.g., inslapen "fall asleep") were not ("unprimed"). L1 and L2 speakers of Dutch made lexical decisions on these visually presented verbs. Both region of interest analyses and whole-brain analyses showed that there was a significant repetition suppression effect for primed compared to unprimed derived verbs in the LIFG. This was true both for the analyses over L2 speakers only and for the analyses over the two language groups together. The latter did not reveal any interaction with language group (L1 vs. L2) in the LIFG. Thus, L2 speakers show a clear priming effect in the LIFG, an area that has been associated with morphological decomposition. Our findings are consistent with the idea that L2 speakers engage in decomposition of transparent derived verbs rather than processing them holistically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie De Grauwe
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Kristin Lemhöfer
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Roel M Willems
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Herbert Schriefers
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Ulrich M, Adams SC, Kiefer M. Flexible establishment of functional brain networks supports attentional modulation of unconscious cognition. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:5500-16. [PMID: 24954512 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2014] [Revised: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
In classical theories of attention, unconscious automatic processes are thought to be independent of higher-level attentional influences. Here, we propose that unconscious processing depends on attentional enhancement of task-congruent processing pathways implemented by a dynamic modulation of the functional communication between brain regions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we tested our model with a subliminally primed lexical decision task preceded by an induction task preparing either a semantic or a perceptual task set. Subliminal semantic priming was significantly greater after semantic compared to perceptual induction in ventral occipito-temporal (vOT) and inferior frontal cortex, brain areas known to be involved in semantic processing. The functional connectivity pattern of vOT varied depending on the induction task and successfully predicted the magnitude of behavioral and neural priming. Together, these findings support the proposal that dynamic establishment of functional networks by task sets is an important mechanism in the attentional control of unconscious processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Ulrich
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, 89075, Ulm, Germany
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