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Tanida Y, Saito S. Predicting the Structure of a Lexical Environment from Properties of Verbal Working Memory. Cogn Sci 2022; 46:e13181. [PMID: 35986665 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We analyzed a Japanese lexical database to investigate the structure of the lexical environment based on the hypothesis that the lexical environment is optimized for the functioning of verbal working memory. Our prediction was that, as a consequence of the cultural transmission of language, low-imageable meanings tend to be represented by frequent phonological patterns in the current vocabulary rather than infrequent phonological patterns. This prediction was based on two findings of previous laboratory studies on verbal working memory. (1) The quality of phonological (phonemic and accent) representations in verbal working memory depends on phonological regularity knowledge; therefore, short-term phonological representations are less robust for words with infrequent phonological patterns. (2) Phonological representations are underpinned by contributions from semantic knowledge; therefore, phonological representations of highly imageable words are more robust than those for low-imageable words. Our database analyses show that nouns with less imageable meanings tend to be associated with more frequent phonological patterns in Japanese vocabulary. This lexical structure can maintain the quality of phonological representations in verbal working memory through contributions of semantic and phonological regularity knowledge. Larger semantic contributions compensate for the less robust phonological representations of infrequent phonological forms. The quality of phonological representations is preserved by phonological regularity knowledge when larger semantic contributions are not expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Tanida
- Graduate School of Sustainable System Sciences, Osaka Metropolitan University.,Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences
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2
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Thothathiri M. Rational and Flexible Adaptation of Sentence Production to Ongoing Language Experience. Front Psychol 2021; 12:647076. [PMID: 33841283 PMCID: PMC8027072 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether sentences are formulated primarily using lexically based or non-lexically based information has been much debated. In this perspective article, I review evidence for rational flexibility in the sentence production architecture. Sentences can be constructed flexibly via lexically dependent or independent routes, and rationally depending on the statistical properties of the input and the validity of lexical vs. abstract cues for predicting sentence structure. Different neural pathways appear to be recruited for individuals with different executive function abilities and for verbs with different statistical properties, suggesting that alternative routes are available for producing the same structure. Together, extant evidence indicates that the human brain adapts to ongoing language experience during adulthood, and that the nature of the adjustment may depend rationally on the statistical contingencies of the current context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malathi Thothathiri
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
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3
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Ingram RU, Halai AD, Pobric G, Sajjadi S, Patterson K, Lambon Ralph MA. Graded, multidimensional intra- and intergroup variations in primary progressive aphasia and post-stroke aphasia. Brain 2021; 143:3121-3135. [PMID: 32940648 PMCID: PMC7586084 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaa245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Language impairments caused by stroke (post-stroke aphasia, PSA) and neurodegeneration (primary progressive aphasia, PPA) have overlapping symptomatology, nomenclature and are classically divided into categorical subtypes. Surprisingly, PPA and PSA have rarely been directly compared in detail. Rather, previous studies have compared certain subtypes (e.g. semantic variants) or have focused on a specific cognitive/linguistic task (e.g. reading). This study assessed a large range of linguistic and cognitive tasks across the full spectra of PSA and PPA. We applied varimax-rotated principal component analysis to explore the underlying structure of the variance in the assessment scores. Similar phonological, semantic and fluency-related components were found for PSA and PPA. A combined principal component analysis across the two aetiologies revealed graded intra- and intergroup variations on all four extracted components. Classification analysis was used to test, formally, whether there were any categorical boundaries for any subtypes of PPA or PSA. Semantic dementia formed a true diagnostic category (i.e. within group homogeneity and distinct between-group differences), whereas there was considerable overlap and graded variations within and between other subtypes of PPA and PSA. These results suggest that (i) a multidimensional rather than categorical classification system may be a better conceptualization of aphasia from both causes; and (ii) despite the very different types of pathology, these broad classes of aphasia have considerable features in common.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth U Ingram
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Ajay D Halai
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gorana Pobric
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Seyed Sajjadi
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA
| | - Karalyn Patterson
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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4
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Saito S, Nakayama M, Tanida Y. Verbal Working Memory, Long-Term Knowledge, and Statistical Learning. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/0963721420920383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Evidence supporting the idea that serial-order verbal working memory is underpinned by long-term knowledge has accumulated over more than half a century. Recent studies using natural-language statistics, artificial statistical-learning techniques, and the Hebb repetition paradigm have revealed multiple types of long-term knowledge underlying serial-order verbal working memory performance. These include (a) element-to-element association knowledge, which slowly accumulates through extensive exposure to an exemplar; (b) position–element knowledge, which is acquired through several encounters with an exemplar; and (c) whole-sequence knowledge, which is captured by the Hebb repetition paradigm and acquired rapidly with a few repetitions. Arguably, the first two are a basis for fluent and efficient language usage, and the third is a basis for vocabulary learning. Thus, statistical-learning mechanisms (and possibly episodic-learning mechanisms) may form the foundation of language acquisition and language processing, which characterize linguistic long-term knowledge for verbal working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yuki Tanida
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University
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Schwering SC, MacDonald MC. Verbal Working Memory as Emergent from Language Comprehension and Production. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:68. [PMID: 32226368 PMCID: PMC7081770 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
This article reviews current models of verbal working memory and considers the role of language comprehension and long-term memory in the ability to maintain and order verbal information for short periods of time. While all models of verbal working memory posit some interaction with long-term memory, few have considered the character of these long-term representations or how they might affect performance on verbal working memory tasks. Similarly, few models have considered how comprehension processes and production processes might affect performance in verbal working memory tasks. Modern theories of comprehension emphasize that people learn a vast web of correlated information about the language and the world and must activate that information from long-term memory to cope with the demands of language input. To date, there has been little consideration in theories of verbal working memory for how this rich input from comprehension would affect the nature of temporary memory. There has also been relatively little attention to the degree to which language production processes naturally manage serial order of verbal information. The authors argue for an emergent model of verbal working memory supported by a rich, distributed long-term memory for language. On this view, comprehension processes provide encoding in verbal working memory tasks, and production processes maintenance, serial ordering, and recall. Moreover, the computational capacity to maintain and order information varies with language experience. Implications for theories of working memory, comprehension, and production are considered.
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Weekes BSH. Aphasia in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (ADOD): Evidence From Chinese. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 2020; 35:1533317520949708. [PMID: 33040568 PMCID: PMC10624002 DOI: 10.1177/1533317520949708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Speech and language impairments (aphasia) are typical of patients with Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias (ADOD) and in some pathologies are diagnostic e.g. Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). One question concerns the reliability and validity of symptomatology across typologically different languages. A review of aphasia in ADOD across languages suggests a similar pattern of word comprehension, naming and word finding difficulties but also evidence of language specific features in symptomatology e.g. processing of tone in Chinese languages. Given differences in linguistic impairments across languages, it is recommended that screening for aphasia in community and epidemiological studies use a Short ScreeningTest (SST) that can be delivered across dialects and languages in indigenous languages and also multilingual populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan Stuart Hackett Weekes
- University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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7
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Madden EB, Conway T, Henry ML, Spencer KA, Yorkston KM, Kendall DL. The Relationship Between Non-Orthographic Language Abilities and Reading Performance in Chronic Aphasia: An Exploration of the Primary Systems Hypothesis. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2018; 61:3038-3054. [PMID: 30515520 PMCID: PMC6440304 DOI: 10.1044/2018_jslhr-l-18-0058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study investigated the relationship between non-orthographic language abilities and reading in order to examine assumptions of the primary systems hypothesis and further our understanding of language processing poststroke. METHOD Performance on non-orthographic semantic, phonologic, and syntactic tasks, as well as oral reading and reading comprehension tasks, was assessed in 43 individuals with aphasia. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these measures. In addition, analyses of variance examined differences within and between reading groups (within normal limits, phonological, deep, or global alexia). RESULTS Results showed that non-orthographic language abilities were significantly related to reading abilities. Semantics was most predictive of regular and irregular word reading, whereas phonology was most predictive of pseudohomophone and nonword reading. Written word and paragraph comprehension were primarily supported by semantics, whereas written sentence comprehension was related to semantic, phonologic, and syntactic performance. Finally, severity of alexia was found to reflect severity of semantic and phonologic impairment. CONCLUSIONS Findings support the primary systems view of language by showing that non-orthographic language abilities and reading abilities are closely linked. This preliminary work requires replication and extension; however, current results highlight the importance of routine, integrated assessment and treatment of spoken and written language in aphasia. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7403963.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Maya L. Henry
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas at Austin
| | - Kristie A. Spencer
- Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
| | | | - Diane L. Kendall
- Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
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Berisha V, Gilton D, Baxter LC, Corman SR, Blais C, Brewer G, Ruston S, Hunter Ball B, Wingert KM, Peter B, Rogalsky C. Structural neural predictors of Farsi-English bilingualism. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2018; 180-182:42-49. [PMID: 29723828 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Revised: 03/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The neurobiology of bilingualism is hotly debated. The present study examines whether normalized cortical measurements can be used to reliably classify monolinguals versus bilinguals in a structural MRI dataset of Farsi-English bilinguals and English monolinguals. A decision tree classifier classified bilinguals with an average correct classification rate of 85%, and monolinguals with a rate of 71.4%. The most relevant regions for classification were the right supramarginal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus. Larger studies with carefully matched monolingual and bilingual samples are needed to confirm that features of these regions can reliably categorize monolingual and bilingual brains. Nonetheless, the present findings suggest that a single structural MRI scan, analyzed with measures readily available using default procedures in a free open-access software (Freesurfer), can be used to reliably predict an individual's language experience using a decision tree classifier, and that Farsi-English bilingualism implicates regions identified in previous group-level studies of bilingualism in other languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Visar Berisha
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Davis Gilton
- School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Leslie C Baxter
- Barrow Neurological Institute and St. Joseph's Medical Center and Hospital, Phoenix, AZ 85013, USA
| | - Steven R Corman
- The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Chris Blais
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Gene Brewer
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Scott Ruston
- The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - B Hunter Ball
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Kimberly M Wingert
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Beate Peter
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63101, USA
| | - Corianne Rogalsky
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
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Alyahya RSW, Halai AD, Conroy P, Lambon Ralph MA. Noun and verb processing in aphasia: Behavioural profiles and neural correlates. Neuroimage Clin 2018; 18:215-230. [PMID: 29868446 PMCID: PMC5984597 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The behavioural and neural processes underpinning different word classes, particularly nouns and verbs, have been a long-standing area of interest in psycholinguistic, neuropsychology and aphasiology research. This topic has theoretical implications concerning the organisation of the language system, as well as clinical consequences related to the management of patients with language deficits. Research findings, however, have diverged widely, which might, in part, reflect methodological differences, particularly related to controlling the psycholinguistic variations between nouns and verbs. The first aim of this study, therefore, was to develop a set of neuropsychological tests that assessed single-word production and comprehension with a matched set of nouns and verbs. Secondly, the behavioural profiles and neural correlates of noun and verb processing were explored, based on these novel tests, in a relatively large cohort of 48 patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia. A data-driven approach, principal component analysis (PCA), was also used to determine how noun and verb production and comprehension were related to the patients' underlying fundamental language domains. The results revealed no performance differences between noun and verb production and comprehension once matched on multiple psycholinguistic features including, most critically, imageability. Interestingly, the noun-verb differences found in previous studies were replicated in this study once un-matched materials were used. Lesion-symptom mapping revealed overlapping neural correlates of noun and verb processing along left temporal and parietal regions. These findings support the view that the neural representation of noun and verb processing at single-word level are jointly-supported by distributed cortical regions. The PCA generated five fundamental language and cognitive components of aphasia: phonological production, phonological recognition, semantics, fluency, and executive function. Consistent with the behavioural analyses and lesion-symptom mapping results, both noun and verb processing loaded on common underlying language domains: phonological production and semantics. The neural correlates of these five principal components aligned with existing models of language and the regions implicated by other techniques such as functional neuroimaging and neuro-stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reem S W Alyahya
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom; King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Ajay D Halai
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Conroy
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew A Lambon Ralph
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
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10
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Thothathiri M, Rattinger M. Ventral and dorsal streams for choosing word order during sentence production. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:15456-61. [PMID: 26621706 PMCID: PMC4687588 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1514711112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Proficient language use requires speakers to vary word order and choose between different ways of expressing the same meaning. Prior statistical associations between individual verbs and different word orders are known to influence speakers' choices, but the underlying neural mechanisms are unknown. Here we show that distinct neural pathways are used for verbs with different statistical associations. We manipulated statistical experience by training participants in a language containing novel verbs and two alternative word orders (agent-before-patient, AP; patient-before-agent, PA). Some verbs appeared exclusively in AP, others exclusively in PA, and yet others in both orders. Subsequently, we used sparse sampling neuroimaging to examine the neural substrates as participants generated new sentences in the scanner. Behaviorally, participants showed an overall preference for AP order, but also increased PA order for verbs experienced in that order, reflecting statistical learning. Functional activation and connectivity analyses revealed distinct networks underlying the increased PA production. Verbs experienced in both orders during training preferentially recruited a ventral stream, indicating the use of conceptual processing for mapping meaning to word order. In contrast, verbs experienced solely in PA order recruited dorsal pathways, indicating the use of selective attention and sensorimotor integration for choosing words in the right order. These results show that the brain tracks the structural associations of individual verbs and that the same structural output may be achieved via ventral or dorsal streams, depending on the type of regularities in the input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malathi Thothathiri
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052
| | - Michelle Rattinger
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052
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11
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Nakayama M, Saito S. [Investigating phonological planning processes in speech production through a speech-error induction technique]. SHINRIGAKU KENKYU : THE JAPANESE JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2015; 86:249-257. [PMID: 26402956 DOI: 10.4992/jjpsy.86.14029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated principles of phonological planning, a common serial ordering mechanism for speech production and phonological short-term memory. Nakayama and Saito (2014) have investigated the principles by using a speech-error induction technique, in which participants were exposed to an auditory distracIor word immediately before an utterance of a target word. They demonstrated within-word adjacent mora exchanges and serial position effects on error rates. These findings support, respectively, the temporal distance and the edge principles at a within-word level. As this previous study induced errors using word distractors created by exchanging adjacent morae in the target words, it is possible that the speech errors are expressions of lexical intrusions reflecting interactive activation of phonological and lexical/semantic representations. To eliminate this possibility, the present study used nonword distractors that had no lexical or semantic representations. This approach successfully replicated the error patterns identified in the abovementioned study, further confirming that the temporal distance and edge principles are organizing precepts in phonological planning.
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12
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Bajada CJ, Lambon Ralph MA, Cloutman LL. Transport for language south of the Sylvian fissure: The routes and history of the main tracts and stations in the ventral language network. Cortex 2015; 69:141-51. [PMID: 26070011 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2015] [Revised: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 05/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
It is now ten years since a 'ventral language pathway' was demonstrated in vivo in the human brain. In the intervening decade, this result has been replicated and expanded to include multiple possible pathways and functions. Despite this considerable level of research interest, age-old debates regarding the origin, course, termination and, indeed, the very existence of the tracts identified still remain. The current review examines four major tracts associated with the ventral 'semantic' language network, with the aim of elucidating and clarifying their structural and functional roles. Historical and modern conceptualisations of the tracts' neuroanatomical origins and terminations will be discussed, and key discrepancies and debates examined. It is argued that much of the controversy regarding the language pathways has resulted from inconsistencies in terminology, and the lack of a white matter 'lingua franca'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claude J Bajada
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU), School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK
| | - Matthew A Lambon Ralph
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU), School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK.
| | - Lauren L Cloutman
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit (NARU), School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK.
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13
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Cross-language differences in the brain network subserving intelligible speech. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:2972-7. [PMID: 25713366 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1416000112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
How is language processed in the brain by native speakers of different languages? Is there one brain system for all languages or are different languages subserved by different brain systems? The first view emphasizes commonality, whereas the second emphasizes specificity. We investigated the cortical dynamics involved in processing two very diverse languages: a tonal language (Chinese) and a nontonal language (English). We used functional MRI and dynamic causal modeling analysis to compute and compare brain network models exhaustively with all possible connections among nodes of language regions in temporal and frontal cortex and found that the information flow from the posterior to anterior portions of the temporal cortex was commonly shared by Chinese and English speakers during speech comprehension, whereas the inferior frontal gyrus received neural signals from the left posterior portion of the temporal cortex in English speakers and from the bilateral anterior portion of the temporal cortex in Chinese speakers. Our results revealed that, although speech processing is largely carried out in the common left hemisphere classical language areas (Broca's and Wernicke's areas) and anterior temporal cortex, speech comprehension across different language groups depends on how these brain regions interact with each other. Moreover, the right anterior temporal cortex, which is crucial for tone processing, is equally important as its left homolog, the left anterior temporal cortex, in modulating the cortical dynamics in tone language comprehension. The current study pinpoints the importance of the bilateral anterior temporal cortex in language comprehension that is downplayed or even ignored by popular contemporary models of speech comprehension.
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TANIDA Y, UENO T, LAMBON RALPH MA, SAITO S. THE INFLUENCE OF ACCENT PATTERN TYPICALITY ON IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED NONWORD REPETITION. PSYCHOLOGIA 2015. [DOI: 10.2117/psysoc.2015.145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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15
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Butler RA, Lambon Ralph MA, Woollams AM. Capturing multidimensionality in stroke aphasia: mapping principal behavioural components to neural structures. Brain 2014; 137:3248-66. [PMID: 25348632 PMCID: PMC4240295 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awu286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2014] [Revised: 07/30/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Stroke aphasia is a multidimensional disorder in which patient profiles reflect variation along multiple behavioural continua. We present a novel approach to separating the principal aspects of chronic aphasic performance and isolating their neural bases. Principal components analysis was used to extract core factors underlying performance of 31 participants with chronic stroke aphasia on a large, detailed battery of behavioural assessments. The rotated principle components analysis revealed three key factors, which we labelled as phonology, semantic and executive/cognition on the basis of the common elements in the tests that loaded most strongly on each component. The phonology factor explained the most variance, followed by the semantic factor and then the executive-cognition factor. The use of principle components analysis rendered participants' scores on these three factors orthogonal and therefore ideal for use as simultaneous continuous predictors in a voxel-based correlational methodology analysis of high resolution structural scans. Phonological processing ability was uniquely related to left posterior perisylvian regions including Heschl's gyrus, posterior middle and superior temporal gyri and superior temporal sulcus, as well as the white matter underlying the posterior superior temporal gyrus. The semantic factor was uniquely related to left anterior middle temporal gyrus and the underlying temporal stem. The executive-cognition factor was not correlated selectively with the structural integrity of any particular region, as might be expected in light of the widely-distributed and multi-functional nature of the regions that support executive functions. The identified phonological and semantic areas align well with those highlighted by other methodologies such as functional neuroimaging and neurostimulation. The use of principle components analysis allowed us to characterize the neural bases of participants' behavioural performance more robustly and selectively than the use of raw assessment scores or diagnostic classifications because principle components analysis extracts statistically unique, orthogonal behavioural components of interest. As such, in addition to improving our understanding of lesion-symptom mapping in stroke aphasia, the same approach could be used to clarify brain-behaviour relationships in other neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A Butler
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences, Zochonis Building, University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Matthew A Lambon Ralph
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences, Zochonis Building, University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Anna M Woollams
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences, Zochonis Building, University of Manchester, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
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16
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Goss S, Tamaoka K. Predicting lexical accent perception in native Japanese speakers: An investigation of acoustic pitch sensitivity and working memory. JAPANESE PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/jpr.12076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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17
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The roles of long-term phonotactic and lexical prosodic knowledge in phonological short-term memory. Mem Cognit 2014; 43:500-19. [DOI: 10.3758/s13421-014-0482-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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18
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Roelofs A. A dorsal-pathway account of aphasic language production: the WEAVER++/ARC model. Cortex 2014; 59:33-48. [PMID: 25128898 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2013] [Revised: 03/31/2014] [Accepted: 07/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
It has long been assumed that a dorsal pathway running from temporal to inferior frontal cortex underpinned by the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) underlies both repetition and spoken language production. However, according to a recent proposal, a ventral pathway underpinned by extreme capsule (EmC) and uncinate fasciculus (UF) fiber tracts is primarily responsible for language production, whereas the AF primarily underlies repetition. Here, a computational implementation of the dorsal-pathway account of language production is presented, called WEAVER++/ARC (for WEAVER++ Arcuate Repetition and Conversation), which synthesizes behavioral psycholinguistic, functional neuroimaging, and tractographic evidence. The results of computer simulations revealed that the model accounts for the typical patterns of impaired and spared language performance associated with classic acute-onset and progressive aphasias. Moreover, the model accounts for recent evidence that damage to the AF but not the EmC/UF pathway predicts impaired production performance. It is concluded that the results demonstrate the viability of a dorsal-pathway account of language production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ardi Roelofs
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Bishop DVM, Nation K, Patterson K. When words fail us: insights into language processing from developmental and acquired disorders. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 369:20120403. [PMID: 24324244 PMCID: PMC3866430 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Acquired disorders of language represent loss of previously acquired skills, usually with relatively specific impairments. In children with developmental disorders of language, we may also see selective impairment in some skills; but in this case, the acquisition of language or literacy is affected from the outset. Because systems for processing spoken and written language change as they develop, we should beware of drawing too close a parallel between developmental and acquired disorders. Nevertheless, comparisons between the two may yield new insights. A key feature of connectionist models simulating acquired disorders is the interaction of components of language processing with each other and with other cognitive domains. This kind of model might help make sense of patterns of comorbidity in developmental disorders. Meanwhile, the study of developmental disorders emphasizes learning and change in underlying representations, allowing us to study how heterogeneity in cognitive profile may relate not just to neurobiology but also to experience. Children with persistent language difficulties pose challenges both to our efforts at intervention and to theories of learning of written and spoken language. Future attention to learning in individuals with developmental and acquired disorders could be of both theoretical and applied value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothy V. M. Bishop
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, 9 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK
| | - Kate Nation
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, 9 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK
| | - Karalyn Patterson
- Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Herchel Smith Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 2PY, UK
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