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Blauch NM, Plaut DC, Vin R, Behrmann M. Individual variation in the functional lateralization of human ventral temporal cortex: Local competition and long-range coupling. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.10.15.618268. [PMID: 39464049 PMCID: PMC11507683 DOI: 10.1101/2024.10.15.618268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/29/2024]
Abstract
The ventral temporal cortex (VTC) of the human cerebrum is critically engaged in computations related to high-level vision. One intriguing aspect of this region is its asymmetric organization and functional lateralization. Notably, in the VTC, neural responses to words are stronger in the left hemisphere, whereas neural responses to faces are stronger in the right hemisphere. Converging evidence has suggested that left-lateralized word responses emerge to couple efficiently with left-lateralized frontotemporal language regions, but evidence is more mixed regarding the sources of the right-lateralization for face perception. Here, we use individual differences as a tool to adjudicate between three theories of VTC organization arising from: 1) local competition between words and faces, 2) local competition between faces and other categories, 3) long-range coupling with VTC and frontotemporal areas subject to their own local competition. First, in an in-house functional MRI experiment, we demonstrated that individual differences in laterality are both substantial and reliable within a right-handed population of young adults. We found no (anti-)correlation in the laterality of word and face selectivity relative to object responses, and a positive correlation when using selectivity relative to a fixation baseline, challenging ideas of local competition between words and faces. We next examined broader local competition with faces using the large-scale Human Connectome Project (HCP) dataset. Face and tool laterality were significantly anti-correlated, while face and body laterality were positively correlated, consistent with the idea that generic local representational competition and cooperation may shape face lateralization. Last, we assessed the role of long-range coupling in the development of VTC laterality. Within our in-house experiment, substantial correlation was evident between VTC text laterality and several other nodes of a distributed text-processing circuit. In the HCP data, VTC face laterality was both negatively correlated with frontotemporal language laterality, and positively correlated with social perception laterality in the same areas, consistent with a long-range coupling effect between face and social processing representations, driven by local competition between language and social processing. We conclude that both local and long-range interactions shape the heterogeneous hemispheric specializations in high-level visual cortex.
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Bonandrini R, Gornetti E, Paulesu E. A meta-analytical account of the functional lateralization of the reading network. Cortex 2024; 177:363-384. [PMID: 38936265 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
The observation that the neural correlates of reading are left-lateralized is ubiquitous in the cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychological literature. Still, reading is served by a constellation of neural units, and the extent to which these units are consistently left-lateralized is unclear. In this regard, the functional lateralization of the fusiform gyrus is of particular interest, by virtue of its hypothesized role as a "visual word form area". A quantitative Activation Likelihood Estimation meta-analysis was conducted on activation foci from 35 experiments investigating silent reading, and both a whole-brain and a bayesian ROI-based approach were used to assess the lateralization of the data submitted to meta-analysis. Perirolandic areas showed the highest level of left-lateralization, the fusiform cortex and the parietal cortex exhibited only a moderate pattern of left-lateralization, while in the occipital, insular cortices and in the cerebellum the lateralization turned out to be the lowest observed. The relatively limited functional lateralization of the fusiform gyrus was further explored in a regression analysis on the lateralization profile of each study. The functional lateralization of the fusiform gyrus during reading was positively associated with the lateralization of the precentral and inferior occipital gyri and negatively associated with the lateralization of the triangular portion of the inferior frontal gyrus and of the temporal pole. Overall, the present data highlight how lateralization patterns differ within the reading network. Furthermore, the present data highlight how the functional lateralization of the fusiform gyrus during reading is related to the degree of functional lateralization of other language brain areas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Edoardo Gornetti
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; The International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Eraldo Paulesu
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; fMRI Unit, IRCCS Orthopedic Institute Galeazzi, Milan, Italy
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3
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Chauhan VS, McCook KC, White AL. Reading Reshapes Stimulus Selectivity in the Visual Word Form Area. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0228-24.2024. [PMID: 38997142 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0228-24.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Reading depends on a brain region known as the "visual word form area" (VWFA) in the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex. This region's function is debated because its stimulus selectivity is not absolute, it is modulated by a variety of task demands, and it is inconsistently localized. We used fMRI to characterize the combination of sensory and cognitive factors that activate word-responsive regions that we precisely localized in 16 adult humans (4 male). We then presented three types of character strings: English words, pseudowords, and unfamiliar characters with matched visual features. Participants performed three different tasks while viewing those stimuli: detecting real words, detecting color in the characters, and detecting color in the fixation mark. There were three primary findings about the VWFA's response: (1) It preferred letter strings over unfamiliar characters even when the stimuli were ignored during the fixation task. (2) Compared with those baseline responses, engaging in the word reading task enhanced the response to words but suppressed the response to unfamiliar characters. (3) Attending to the stimuli to judge their color had little effect on the response magnitudes. Thus, the VWFA is uniquely modulated by a cognitive signal that is specific to voluntary linguistic processing and is not additive. Functional connectivity analyses revealed that communication between the VWFA and a left frontal language area increased when the participant engaged in the linguistic task. We conclude that the VWFA is inherently selective for familiar orthography, but it falls under control of the language network when the task demands it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassiki S Chauhan
- Department of Neuroscience & Behavior, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027
| | - Krystal C McCook
- Department of Neuroscience & Behavior, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027
| | - Alex L White
- Department of Neuroscience & Behavior, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027
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4
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Chauhan VS, McCook KC, White AL. Reading reshapes stimulus selectivity in the visual word form area. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.04.560764. [PMID: 38948708 PMCID: PMC11212929 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.04.560764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Reading depends on a brain region known as the "visual word form area" (VWFA) in left ventral occipito-temporal cortex. This region's function is debated because its stimulus selectivity is not absolute, it is modulated by a variety of task demands, and it is inconsistently localized. We used fMRI to characterize the combination of sensory and cognitive factors that activate word-responsive regions that we precisely localized in 16 adult humans (4 male). We then presented three types of character strings: English words, pseudowords, and unfamiliar characters with matched visual features. Participants performed three different tasks while viewing those stimuli: detecting real words, detecting color in the characters, and detecting color in the fixation mark. There were three primary findings about the VWFA's response: (1) It preferred letter strings over unfamiliar characters even when the stimuli were ignored during the fixation task; (2) Compared to those baseline responses, engaging in the word reading task enhanced the response to words but suppressed the response to unfamiliar characters. (3) Attending to the stimuli to judge their font color had little effect on the response magnitudes. Thus, the VWFA is uniquely modulated by a cognitive signal that is specific to voluntary linguistic processing and is not additive. Functional connectivity analyses revealed that communication between the VWFA and a left frontal language area increased when the participant engaged in the linguistic task. We conclude that the VWFA is inherently selective for familiar orthography, but it falls under control of the language network when the task demands it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassiki S. Chauhan
- Department of Neuroscience & Behavior Barnard College, Columbia University 76 Claremont Ave New York, NY 10027 USA
| | - Krystal C McCook
- Department of Neuroscience & Behavior Barnard College, Columbia University 76 Claremont Ave New York, NY 10027 USA
| | - Alex L. White
- Department of Neuroscience & Behavior Barnard College, Columbia University 76 Claremont Ave New York, NY 10027 USA
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5
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Tao Y, Schubert T, Wiley R, Stark C, Rapp B. Cortical and Subcortical Mechanisms of Orthographic Word-form Learning. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:1071-1098. [PMID: 38527084 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
We examined the initial stages of orthographic learning in real time as literate adults learned spellings for spoken pseudowords during fMRI scanning. Participants were required to learn and store orthographic word forms because the pseudoword spellings were not uniquely predictable from sound to letter mappings. With eight learning trials per word form, we observed changes in the brain's response as learning was taking place. Accuracy was evaluated during learning, immediately after scanning, and 1 week later. We found evidence of two distinct learning systems-hippocampal and neocortical-operating during orthographic learning, consistent with the predictions of dual systems theories of learning/memory such as the complementary learning systems framework [McClelland, J. L., McNaughton, B. L., & O'Reilly, R. C. Why there are complementary learning systems in the hippocampus and neocortex: Insights from the successes and failures of connectionist models of learning and memory. Psychological Review, 102, 419-457, 1995]. The bilateral hippocampus and the visual word form area (VWFA) showed significant BOLD response changes over learning, with the former exhibiting a rising pattern and the latter exhibiting a falling pattern. Moreover, greater BOLD signal increase in the hippocampus was associated with better postscan recall. In addition, we identified two distinct bilateral brain networks that mirrored the rising and falling patterns of the hippocampus and VWFA. Functional connectivity analysis revealed that regions within each network were internally synchronized. These novel findings highlight, for the first time, the relevance of multiple learning systems in orthographic learning and provide a paradigm that can be used to address critical gaps in our understanding of the neural bases of orthographic learning in general and orthographic word-form learning specifically.
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Fedorenko E, Ivanova AA, Regev TI. The language network as a natural kind within the broader landscape of the human brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 2024; 25:289-312. [PMID: 38609551 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00802-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Language behaviour is complex, but neuroscientific evidence disentangles it into distinct components supported by dedicated brain areas or networks. In this Review, we describe the 'core' language network, which includes left-hemisphere frontal and temporal areas, and show that it is strongly interconnected, independent of input and output modalities, causally important for language and language-selective. We discuss evidence that this language network plausibly stores language knowledge and supports core linguistic computations related to accessing words and constructions from memory and combining them to interpret (decode) or generate (encode) linguistic messages. We emphasize that the language network works closely with, but is distinct from, both lower-level - perceptual and motor - mechanisms and higher-level systems of knowledge and reasoning. The perceptual and motor mechanisms process linguistic signals, but, in contrast to the language network, are sensitive only to these signals' surface properties, not their meanings; the systems of knowledge and reasoning (such as the system that supports social reasoning) are sometimes engaged during language use but are not language-selective. This Review lays a foundation both for in-depth investigations of these different components of the language processing pipeline and for probing inter-component interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelina Fedorenko
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- The Program in Speech and Hearing in Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Anna A Ivanova
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tamar I Regev
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Bonte M, Brem S. Unraveling individual differences in learning potential: A dynamic framework for the case of reading development. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 66:101362. [PMID: 38447471 PMCID: PMC10925938 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101362] [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: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Children show an enormous capacity to learn during development, but with large individual differences in the time course and trajectory of learning and the achieved skill level. Recent progress in developmental sciences has shown the contribution of a multitude of factors including genetic variation, brain plasticity, socio-cultural context and learning experiences to individual development. These factors interact in a complex manner, producing children's idiosyncratic and heterogeneous learning paths. Despite an increasing recognition of these intricate dynamics, current research on the development of culturally acquired skills such as reading still has a typical focus on snapshots of children's performance at discrete points in time. Here we argue that this 'static' approach is often insufficient and limits advancements in the prediction and mechanistic understanding of individual differences in learning capacity. We present a dynamic framework which highlights the importance of capturing short-term trajectories during learning across multiple stages and processes as a proxy for long-term development on the example of reading. This framework will help explain relevant variability in children's learning paths and outcomes and fosters new perspectives and approaches to study how children develop and learn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milene Bonte
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
| | - Silvia Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; URPP Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning (AdaBD), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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8
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Liu YF, Wilson C, Bedny M. Contribution of the language network to the comprehension of Python programming code. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2024; 251:105392. [PMID: 38387220 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Does the perisylvian language network contribute to comprehension of programming languages, like Python? Univariate neuroimaging studies find high responses to code in fronto-parietal executive areas but not in fronto-temporal language areas, suggesting the language network does little. We used multivariate-pattern-analysis to test whether the language network encodes Python functions. Python programmers read functions while undergoing fMRI. A linear SVM decoded for-loops from if-conditionals based on activity in lateral temporal (LT) language cortex. In searchlight analysis, decoding accuracy was higher in LT language cortex than anywhere else. Follow up analysis showed that decoding was not driven by presence of different words across functions, "for" vs "if," but by compositional program properties. Finally, univariate responses to code peaked earlier in LT language-cortex than in the fronto-parietal network. We propose that the language system forms initial "surface meaning" representations of programs, which input to the reasoning network for processing of algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Fei Liu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins Universtiy, 232 Ames Hall, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
| | - Colin Wilson
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, 237 Krieger Hall, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Marina Bedny
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins Universtiy, 232 Ames Hall, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
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9
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Yablonski M, Karipidis II, Kubota E, Yeatman JD. The transition from vision to language: Distinct patterns of functional connectivity for subregions of the visual word form area. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26655. [PMID: 38488471 PMCID: PMC10941549 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Reading entails transforming visual symbols to sound and meaning. This process depends on specialized circuitry in the visual cortex, the visual word form area (VWFA). Recent findings suggest that this text-selective cortex comprises at least two distinct subregions: the more posterior VWFA-1 is sensitive to visual features, while the more anterior VWFA-2 processes higher level language information. Here, we explore whether these two subregions also exhibit different patterns of functional connectivity. To this end, we capitalize on two complementary datasets: Using the Natural Scenes Dataset (NSD), we identify text-selective responses in high-quality 7T adult data (N = 8), and investigate functional connectivity patterns of VWFA-1 and VWFA-2 at the individual level. We then turn to the Healthy Brain Network (HBN) database to assess whether these patterns replicate in a large developmental sample (N = 224; age 6-20 years), and whether they relate to reading development. In both datasets, we find that VWFA-1 is primarily correlated with bilateral visual regions. In contrast, VWFA-2 is more strongly correlated with language regions in the frontal and lateral parietal lobes, particularly the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus. Critically, these patterns do not generalize to adjacent face-selective regions, suggesting a specific relationship between VWFA-2 and the frontal language network. No correlations were observed between functional connectivity and reading ability. Together, our findings support the distinction between subregions of the VWFA, and suggest that functional connectivity patterns in the ventral temporal cortex are consistent over a wide range of reading skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Yablonski
- Division of Developmental‐Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of PediatricsStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Stanford University Graduate School of EducationStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Iliana I. Karipidis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesStanford School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and PsychotherapyUniversity Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of ZurichZürichSwitzerland
- Neuroscience Center ZurichUniversity of Zurich and ETHZurichSwitzerland
| | - Emily Kubota
- Psychology DepartmentStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jason D. Yeatman
- Division of Developmental‐Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of PediatricsStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Stanford University Graduate School of EducationStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Psychology DepartmentStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
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10
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Yeo DJ, Pollack C, Conrad BN, Price GR. Functional and representational differences between bilateral inferior temporal numeral areas. Cortex 2024; 171:113-135. [PMID: 37992508 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
The processing of numerals as visual objects is supported by an "Inferior Temporal Numeral Area" (ITNA) in the bilateral inferior temporal gyri (ITG). Extant findings suggest some degree of hemispheric asymmetry in how the bilateral ITNAs process numerals. Pollack and Price (2019) reported such a hemispheric asymmetry by which a region in the left ITG was sensitive to digits during a visual search for a digit among letters, and a homologous region in the right ITG that showed greater digit sensitivity in individuals with higher calculation skills. However, the ITG regions were localized with separate analyses without directly contrasting their digit sensitivities and relation to calculation skills. So, the extent of and reasons for these functional asymmetries remain unclear. Here we probe whether the functional and representational properties of the ITNAs are asymmetric by applying both univariate and multivariate region-of-interest analyses to Pollack and Price's (2019) data. Contrary to the implications of the original findings, digit sensitivity did not differ between ITNAs, and digit sensitivity in both left and right ITNAs was associated with calculation skills. Representational similarity analyses revealed that the overall representational geometries of digits in the ITNAs were also correlated, albeit weakly, but the representational contents of the ITNAs were largely inconclusive. Nonetheless, we found a right lateralization in engagement in alphanumeric categorization, and that the right ITNA showed greater discriminability between digits and letters. Greater right lateralization of digit sensitivity and digit discriminability in the left ITNA were also related to higher calculation skills. Our findings thus suggest that the ITNAs may not be functionally identical and should be directly contrasted in future work. Our study also highlights the importance of within-individual comparisons for understanding hemispheric asymmetries, and analyses of individual differences and multivariate features to uncover effects that would otherwise be obscured by averages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren J Yeo
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Courtney Pollack
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Benjamin N Conrad
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Gavin R Price
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
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11
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Yablonski M, Karipidis II, Kubota E, Yeatman JD. The transition from vision to language: distinct patterns of functional connectivity for sub-regions of the visual word form area. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.18.537397. [PMID: 37131630 PMCID: PMC10153222 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.18.537397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Reading entails transforming visual symbols to sound and meaning. This process depends on specialized circuitry in the visual cortex, the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA). Recent findings suggest that this word-selective cortex comprises at least two distinct subregions: the more posterior VWFA-1 is sensitive to visual features, while the more anterior VWFA-2 processes higher level language information. Here, we explore whether these two subregions exhibit different patterns of functional connectivity, and whether these patterns have relevance for reading development. We address these questions using two complementary datasets: Using the Natural Scenes Datasets (NSD; Allen et al, 2022) we identify word-selective responses in high-quality 7T individual adult data (N=8; 6 females), and investigate functional connectivity patterns of VWFA-1 and VWFA-2 at the individual level. We then turn to the Healthy Brain Network (HBN; Alexander et al., 2017) database to assess whether these patterns a) replicate in a large developmental sample (N=224; 98 females, age 5-21y), and b) are related to reading development. In both datasets, we find that VWFA-1 is more strongly correlated with bilateral visual regions including ventral occipitotemporal cortex and posterior parietal cortex. In contrast, VWFA-2 is more strongly correlated with language regions in the frontal and lateral parietal lobes, particularly bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Critically, these patterns do not generalize to adjacent face-selective regions, suggesting a unique relationship between VWFA-2 and the frontal language network. While connectivity patterns increased with age, no correlations were observed between functional connectivity and reading ability. Together, our findings support the distinction between subregions of the VWFA, and portray the functional connectivity patterns of the reading circuitry as an intrinsic stable property of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Yablonski
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine
- Stanford University Graduate School of Education
| | - Iliana I Karipidis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford School of Medicine
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich
| | | | - Jason D Yeatman
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine
- Stanford University Graduate School of Education
- Psychology Department, Stanford University
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12
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Zhan M, Pallier C, Agrawal A, Dehaene S, Cohen L. Does the visual word form area split in bilingual readers? A millimeter-scale 7-T fMRI study. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf6140. [PMID: 37018408 PMCID: PMC10075963 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf6140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
In expert readers, a brain region known as the visual word form area (VWFA) is highly sensitive to written words, exhibiting a posterior-to-anterior gradient of increasing sensitivity to orthographic stimuli whose statistics match those of real words. Using high-resolution 7-tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we ask whether, in bilingual readers, distinct cortical patches specialize for different languages. In 21 English-French bilinguals, unsmoothed 1.2-millimeters fMRI revealed that the VWFA is actually composed of several small cortical patches highly selective for reading, with a posterior-to-anterior word-similarity gradient, but with near-complete overlap between the two languages. In 10 English-Chinese bilinguals, however, while most word-specific patches exhibited similar reading specificity and word-similarity gradients for reading in Chinese and English, additional patches responded specifically to Chinese writing and, unexpectedly, to faces. Our results show that the acquisition of multiple writing systems can indeed tune the visual cortex differently in bilinguals, sometimes leading to the emergence of cortical patches specialized for a single language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minye Zhan
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Christophe Pallier
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Aakash Agrawal
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
- Collège de France, Université Paris-Sciences-Lettres (PSL), 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Laurent Cohen
- Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Fédération de Neurologie, Paris, France
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Fafrowicz M, Ceglarek A, Olszewska J, Sobczak A, Bohaterewicz B, Ostrogorska M, Reuter-Lorenz P, Lewandowska K, Sikora-Wachowicz B, Oginska H, Hubalewska-Mazgaj M, Marek T. Dynamics of working memory process revealed by independent component analysis in an fMRI study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2900. [PMID: 36808174 PMCID: PMC9938907 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29869-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Human memory is prone to errors in many everyday activities but also when cultivating hobbies such as traveling and/or learning a new language. For instance, while visiting foreign countries, people erroneously recall foreign language words that are meaningless to them. Our research simulated such errors in a modified Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm for short-term memory with phonologically related stimuli aimed at uncovering behavioral and neuronal indices of false memory formation with regard to time-of-day, a variable known to influence memory. Fifty-eight participants were tested in a magnetic resonance (MR) scanner twice. The results of an Independent Component Analysis revealed encoding-related activity of the medial visual network preceding correct recognition of positive probes and correct rejection of lure probes. The engagement of this network preceding false alarms was not observed. We also explored if diurnal rhythmicity influences working memory processes. Diurnal differences were seen in the default mode network and the medial visual network with lower deactivation in the evening hours. The GLM results showed greater activation of the right lingual gyrus, part of the visual cortex and the left cerebellum in the evening. The study offers new insight into the mechanisms associated with false memories, suggesting that deficient engagement of the medial visual network during the memorization phase of a task results in short-term memory distortions. The results shed new light on the dynamics of working memory processes by taking into account the effect of time-of-day on memory performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Fafrowicz
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Lojasiewicza Street 4, 30-348, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Anna Ceglarek
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Lojasiewicza Street 4, 30-348, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Justyna Olszewska
- grid.267474.40000 0001 0674 4543Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI USA
| | - Anna Sobczak
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Lojasiewicza Street 4, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Bartosz Bohaterewicz
- grid.433893.60000 0001 2184 0541Department of Psychology of Individual Differences, Psychological Diagnosis and Psychometrics, Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Monika Ostrogorska
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Chair of Radiology, Medical College, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Patricia Reuter-Lorenz
- grid.214458.e0000000086837370Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA
| | - Koryna Lewandowska
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Lojasiewicza Street 4, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Barbara Sikora-Wachowicz
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Lojasiewicza Street 4, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Halszka Oginska
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Lojasiewicza Street 4, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Hubalewska-Mazgaj
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland
| | - Tadeusz Marek
- grid.5522.00000 0001 2162 9631Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Lojasiewicza Street 4, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
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14
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Bartoň M, Rapcsak SZ, Zvončák V, Mareček R, Cvrček V, Rektorová I. Functional neuroanatomy of reading in Czech: Evidence of a dual-route processing architecture in a shallow orthography. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1037365. [PMID: 36726504 PMCID: PMC9885179 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1037365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction According to the strong version of the orthographic depth hypothesis, in languages with transparent letter-sound mappings (shallow orthographies) the reading of both familiar words and unfamiliar nonwords may be accomplished by a sublexical pathway that relies on serial grapheme-to-phoneme conversion. However, in languages such as English characterized by inconsistent letter-sound relationships (deep orthographies), word reading is mediated by a lexical-semantic pathway that relies on mappings between word-specific orthographic, semantic, and phonological representations, whereas the sublexical pathway is used primarily to read nonwords. Methods In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to elucidate neural substrates of reading in Czech, a language characterized by a shallo worthography. Specifically, we contrasted patterns of brain activation and connectivity during word and nonword reading to determine whether similar or different neural mechanisms are involved. Neural correlates were measured as differences in simple whole-brain voxel-wise activation, and differences in visual word form area (VWFA) task-related connectivity were computed on the group level from data of 24 young subject. Trial-to-trial reading reaction times were used as a measure of task difficulty, and these effects were subtracted from the activation and connectivity effects in order to eliminate difference in cognitive effort which is naturally higher for nonwords and may mask the true lexicality effects. Results We observed pattern of activity well described in the literature mostly derived from data of English speakers - nonword reading (as compared to word reading) activated the sublexical pathway to a greater extent whereas word reading was associated with greater activation of semantic networks. VWFA connectivity analysis also revealed stronger connectivity to a component of the sublexical pathway - left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), for nonword compared to word reading. Discussion These converging results suggest that the brain mechanism of skilled reading in shallow orthography languages are similar to those engaged when reading in languages with a deep orthography and are supported by a universal dual-pathway neural architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Bartoň
- Applied Neuroscience Research Group, Central European Institute of Technology – CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Steven Z. Rapcsak
- Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Vojtěch Zvončák
- Department of Telecommunications, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czechia
| | - Radek Mareček
- Applied Neuroscience Research Group, Central European Institute of Technology – CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Václav Cvrček
- Institute of the Czech National Corpus, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Irena Rektorová
- Applied Neuroscience Research Group, Central European Institute of Technology – CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia,International Clinical Research Center, ICRC, St. Anne’s University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia,*Correspondence: Irena Rektorová, ✉ ; ✉
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15
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Ozernov‐Palchik O, Sury D, Turesky TK, Yu X, Gaab N. Longitudinal changes in brain activation underlying reading fluency. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:18-34. [PMID: 35984111 PMCID: PMC9783447 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Reading fluency-the speed and accuracy of reading connected text-is foundational to educational success. The current longitudinal study investigates the neural correlates of fluency development using a connected-text paradigm with an individualized presentation rate. Twenty-six children completed a functional MRI task in 1st/2nd grade (time 1) and again 1-2 years later (time 2). There was a longitudinal increase in activation in the ventral occipito-temporal (vOT) cortex from time 1 to time 2. This increase was also associated with improvements in reading fluency skills and modulated by individual speed demands. These findings highlight the reciprocal relationship of the vOT region with reading proficiency and its importance for supporting the developmental transition to fluent reading. These results have implications for developing effective interventions to target increased automaticity in reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ola Ozernov‐Palchik
- McGovern Institute for Brain ResearchMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
- Harvard Graduate School of EducationHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
| | - Dana Sury
- Department of Learning Disabilities, Faculty of EducationBeit Berl CollegeHasharonIsrael
| | - Ted K. Turesky
- Harvard Graduate School of EducationHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
| | - Xi Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and LearningBeijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Harvard Graduate School of EducationHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
- Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
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16
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Gagl B, Richlan F, Ludersdorfer P, Sassenhagen J, Eisenhauer S, Gregorova K, Fiebach CJ. The lexical categorization model: A computational model of left ventral occipito-temporal cortex activation in visual word recognition. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009995. [PMID: 35679333 PMCID: PMC9182256 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To characterize the functional role of the left-ventral occipito-temporal cortex (lvOT) during reading in a quantitatively explicit and testable manner, we propose the lexical categorization model (LCM). The LCM assumes that lvOT optimizes linguistic processing by allowing fast meaning access when words are familiar and filtering out orthographic strings without meaning. The LCM successfully simulates benchmark results from functional brain imaging described in the literature. In a second evaluation, we empirically demonstrate that quantitative LCM simulations predict lvOT activation better than alternative models across three functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. We found that word-likeness, assumed as input into a lexical categorization process, is represented posteriorly to lvOT, whereas a dichotomous word/non-word output of the LCM could be localized to the downstream frontal brain regions. Finally, training the process of lexical categorization resulted in more efficient reading. In sum, we propose that word recognition in the ventral visual stream involves word-likeness extraction followed by lexical categorization before one can access word meaning. Visual word recognition is a critical process for reading and relies on the human brain’s left ventral occipito-temporal (lvOT) regions. However, the lvOTs specific function in visual word recognition is not yet clear. We propose that these occipito-temporal brain systems are critical for lexical categorization, i.e., the process of determining whether an orthographic percept is a known word or not, so that further lexical and semantic processing can be restricted to those percepts that are part of our "mental lexicon". We demonstrate that a computational model implementing this process, the lexical categorization model, can explain seemingly contradictory benchmark results from the published literature. We further use functional magnetic resonance imaging to show that the lexical categorization model successfully predicts brain activation in the left ventral occipito-temporal cortex elicited during a word recognition task. It does so better than alternative models proposed so far. Finally, we provide causal evidence supporting this model by empirically demonstrating that training the process of lexical categorization improves reading performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Gagl
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Linguistics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- * E-mail:
| | - Fabio Richlan
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Philipp Ludersdorfer
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jona Sassenhagen
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Susanne Eisenhauer
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Klara Gregorova
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christian J. Fiebach
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Brain Imaging Center, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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17
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Qu J, Pang Y, Liu X, Cao Y, Huang C, Mei L. Task modulates the orthographic and phonological representations in the bilateral ventral Occipitotemporal cortex. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:1695-1707. [PMID: 35247162 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00641-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
As a key area in word reading, the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex is proposed for abstract orthographic processing, and its middle part has even been labeled as the visual word form area. Because the definition of the VWFA largely varies and the reading task differs across studies, the function of the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex in word reading is continuingly debated on whether this region is specific for orthographic processing or be involved in an interactive framework. By using representational similarity analysis (RSA), this study examined information representation in the VWFA at the individual level and the modulatory effect of reading task. Twenty-four subjects were scanned while performing the explicit (i.e., the naming task) and implicit (i.e., the perceptual task) reading tasks. Activation analysis showed that the naming task elicited greater activation in regions related to phonological processing (e.g., the bilateral prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal cortex), while the perceptual task recruited greater activation in visual cortex and default mode network (e.g., the bilateral middle frontal gyrus, angular gyrus, and the right middle temporal gyrus). More importantly, RSA also showed that task modulated information representation in the bilateral anterior occipitotemporal cortex and VWFA. Specifically, ROI-based RSA revealed enhanced orthographic and phonological representations in the bilateral anterior fusiform cortex and VWFA in the naming task relative to the perceptual task. These results suggest that lexical representation in the VWFA is influenced by the demand of phonological processing, which supports the interactive account of the VWFA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Qu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yingdan Pang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Xiaoyu Liu
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Ying Cao
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Chengmei Huang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Leilei Mei
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
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18
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Ouyang G, Dien J, Lorenz R. Handling EEG artifacts and searching individually optimal experimental parameter in real time: a system development and demonstration. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 34902847 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac42b6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Objective.Neuroadaptive paradigms that systematically assess event-related potential (ERP) features across many different experimental parameters have the potential to improve the generalizability of ERP findings and may help to accelerate ERP-based biomarker discovery by identifying the exact experimental conditions for which ERPs differ most for a certain clinical population. Obtaining robust and reliable ERPs online is a prerequisite for ERP-based neuroadaptive research. One of the key steps involved is to correctly isolate electroencephalography artifacts in real time because they contribute a large amount of variance that, if not removed, will greatly distort the ERP obtained. Another key factor of concern is the computational cost of the online artifact handling method. This work aims to develop and validate a cost-efficient system to support ERP-based neuroadaptive research.Approach.We developed a simple online artifact handling method, single trial PCA-based artifact removal (SPA), based on variance distribution dichotomies to distinguish between artifacts and neural activity. We then applied this method in an ERP-based neuroadaptive paradigm in which Bayesian optimization was used to search individually optimal inter-stimulus-interval (ISI) that generates ERP with the highest signal-to-noise ratio.Main results.SPA was compared to other offline and online algorithms. The results showed that SPA exhibited good performance in both computational efficiency and preservation of ERP pattern. Based on SPA, the Bayesian optimization procedure was able to quickly find individually optimal ISI.Significance.The current work presents a simple yet highly cost-efficient method that has been validated in its ability to extract ERP, preserve ERP effects, and better support ERP-based neuroadaptive paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guang Ouyang
- Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Joseph Dien
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States of America
| | - Romy Lorenz
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
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19
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Caffarra S, Karipidis II, Yablonski M, Yeatman JD. Anatomy and physiology of word-selective visual cortex: from visual features to lexical processing. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:3051-3065. [PMID: 34636985 PMCID: PMC8639194 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02384-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Over the past 2 decades, researchers have tried to uncover how the human brain can extract linguistic information from a sequence of visual symbols. The description of how the brain's visual system processes words and enables reading has improved with the progressive refinement of experimental methodologies and neuroimaging techniques. This review provides a brief overview of this research journey. We start by describing classical models of object recognition in non-human primates, which represent the foundation for many of the early models of visual word recognition in humans. We then review functional neuroimaging studies investigating the word-selective regions in visual cortex. This research led to the differentiation of highly specialized areas, which are involved in the analysis of different aspects of written language. We then consider the corresponding anatomical measurements and provide a description of the main white matter pathways carrying neural signals crucial to word recognition. Finally, in an attempt to integrate structural, functional, and electrophysiological findings, we propose a view of visual word recognition, accounting for spatial and temporal facets of word-selective neural processes. This multi-modal perspective on the neural circuitry of literacy highlights the relevance of a posterior-anterior differentiation in ventral occipitotemporal cortex for visual processing of written language and lexical features. It also highlights unanswered questions that can guide us towards future research directions. Bridging measures of brain structure and function will help us reach a more precise understanding of the transformation from vision to language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sendy Caffarra
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 291 Campus Drive, Li Ka Shing Building, Stanford, CA, 94305-5101, USA
- Stanford University Graduate School of Education, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Mikeletegi 69, 20009, San Sebastian, Spain
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125, Modena, Italy
| | - Iliana I Karipidis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, School of Medicine, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, 94305-5717, USA.
| | - Maya Yablonski
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 291 Campus Drive, Li Ka Shing Building, Stanford, CA, 94305-5101, USA
- Stanford University Graduate School of Education, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Jason D Yeatman
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 291 Campus Drive, Li Ka Shing Building, Stanford, CA, 94305-5101, USA
- Stanford University Graduate School of Education, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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20
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Cloppenborg T, Mertens M, Hopf JL, Kalbhenn T, Bien CG, Woermann FG, Polster T. Reading and the visual word form area (VWFA) - Management and clinical experience at one epilepsy surgery center. Epilepsy Behav 2021; 124:108274. [PMID: 34536734 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Presurgical evaluation has no established routine to assess reading competence and to identify essential "not to resect" reading areas. Functional models describe a visual word form area (VWFA) located in the midfusiform gyrus in the dominant ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOTC) as essential for reading. We demonstrate the relevance and feasibility of invasive VWFA-mapping. METHODS Four patients with epilepsy received invasive VWFA-mapping via left temporo-basal strip-electrodes. Co-registration of the results and additional data from the literature led to the definition of a region of interest (ROI) for a retrospective assessment of postoperative reading deficits by a standardized telephone-interview in patients with resections in this ROI between 2004 and 2018. RESULTS Electrical cortical stimulation disturbed whole word recognition and reading in four patients with structural epilepsy. Stimulation results showed distribution in the basal temporal lobe (dorsal mesencephalon to preoccipital notch). We identified 34 patients with resections in the ROI of the dominant hemisphere. Of these, 15 (44.1%) showed a postoperative reading deficit with a mean duration of 18.2 months (+/-32.4, 0.5-122). Six patients suffered from letter-by-letter (LBL) reading. Two patients had permanent LBL reading after resection in the ROI. SIGNIFICANCE We present evidence on the functional relevance of the vOTC for reading by (1) extra-operative cortical stimulation of the VWFA and by (2) a retrospective case study of reading deficits in patients operated in this area. Reading assessments and data concerning essential reading structures should be included in the presurgical evaluation of patients with lesions in the left vOTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Cloppenborg
- Bielefeld University, Medical School, Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Markus Mertens
- Society of Epilepsy Research, Bethel Epilepsy Centre, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Johanna L Hopf
- Bielefeld University, Medical School, Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Thilo Kalbhenn
- Bielefeld University, Medical School, Department of Neurosurgery (Evangelisches Klinikum Bethel), Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Christian G Bien
- Bielefeld University, Medical School, Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Friedrich G Woermann
- Bielefeld University, Medical School, Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Tilman Polster
- Bielefeld University, Medical School, Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Bielefeld, Germany
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21
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Distinct neural sources underlying visual word form processing as revealed by steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP). Sci Rep 2021; 11:18229. [PMID: 34521874 PMCID: PMC8440525 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95627-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
EEG has been central to investigations of the time course of various neural functions underpinning visual word recognition. Recently the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) paradigm has been increasingly adopted for word recognition studies due to its high signal-to-noise ratio. Such studies, however, have been typically framed around a single source in the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT). Here, we combine SSVEP recorded from 16 adult native English speakers with a data-driven spatial filtering approach—Reliable Components Analysis (RCA)—to elucidate distinct functional sources with overlapping yet separable time courses and topographies that emerge when contrasting words with pseudofont visual controls. The first component topography was maximal over left vOT regions with a shorter latency (approximately 180 ms). A second component was maximal over more dorsal parietal regions with a longer latency (approximately 260 ms). Both components consistently emerged across a range of parameter manipulations including changes in the spatial overlap between successive stimuli, and changes in both base and deviation frequency. We then contrasted word-in-nonword and word-in-pseudoword to test the hierarchical processing mechanisms underlying visual word recognition. Results suggest that these hierarchical contrasts fail to evoke a unitary component that might be reasonably associated with lexical access.
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22
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Fedorenko E. The early origins and the growing popularity of the individual-subject analytic approach in human neuroscience. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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23
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Abstract
The scientific study of reading has a rich history that spans disciplines from vision science to linguistics, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neurology, and education. The study of reading can elucidate important general mechanisms in spatial vision, attentional control, object recognition, and perceptual learning, as well as the principles of plasticity and cortical topography. However, literacy also prompts the development of specific neural circuits to process a unique and artificial stimulus. In this review, we describe the sequence of operations that transforms visual features into language, how the key neural circuits are sculpted by experience during development, and what goes awry in children for whom learning to read is a struggle. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D Yeatman
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California 93405, USA; .,Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.,Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Alex L White
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California 93405, USA; .,Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.,Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Barnard College, New York, New York 10027, USA
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24
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The rise and fall of rapid occipito-temporal sensitivity to letters: Transient specialization through elementary school. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 49:100958. [PMID: 34010761 PMCID: PMC8141525 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Letters, foundational units of alphabetic writing systems, are quintessential to human culture. The ability to read, indispensable to perform in today’s society, necessitates a reorganization of visual cortex for fast letter recognition, but the developmental course of this process has not yet been characterized. Here, we show the emergence of visual sensitivity to letters across five electroencephalography measurements from kindergarten and throughout elementary school and relate this development to emerging reading skills. We examined the visual N1, the electrophysiological correlate of ventral occipito-temporal cortex activation in 65 children at varying familial risk for dyslexia. N1 letter sensitivity emerged in first grade, when letter sound knowledge gains were most pronounced and decayed shortly after when letter knowledge is consolidated, showing an inverted U-shaped development. This trajectory can be interpreted within an interactive framework that underscores the influence of top-down predictions. While the N1 amplitudes to letters correlated with letter sound knowledge at the beginning of learning, no association between the early N1 letter response and later reading skills was found. In summary, the current findings provide an important reference point for our neuroscientific understanding of learning trajectories and the process of visual specialization during skill learning.
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25
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Grotheer M, Yeatman J, Grill-Spector K. White matter fascicles and cortical microstructure predict reading-related responses in human ventral temporal cortex. Neuroimage 2021; 227:117669. [PMID: 33359351 PMCID: PMC8416179 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Reading-related responses in the lateral ventral temporal cortex (VTC) show a consistent spatial layout across individuals, which is puzzling, since reading skills are acquired during childhood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that white matter fascicles and gray matter microstructure predict the location of reading-related responses in lateral VTC. We obtained functional (fMRI), diffusion (dMRI), and quantitative (qMRI) magnetic resonance imaging data in 30 adults. fMRI was used to map reading-related responses by contrasting responses in a reading task with those in adding and color tasks; dMRI was used to identify the brain's fascicles and to map their endpoint densities in lateral VTC; qMRI was used to measure proton relaxation time (T1), which depends on cortical tissue microstructure. We fit linear models that predict reading-related responses in lateral VTC from endpoint density and T1 and used leave-one-subject-out cross-validation to assess prediction accuracy. Using a subset of our participants (N=10, feature selection set), we find that i) endpoint densities of the arcuate fasciculus (AF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF) are significant predictors of reading-related responses, and ii) cortical T1 of lateral VTC further improves the predictions of the fascicle model. In the remaining participants (N=20, validation set), we show that a linear model that includes T1, AF, ILF and VOF significantly predicts i) the map of reading-related responses across lateral VTC and ii) the location of the visual word form area, a region critical for reading. Overall, our data-driven approach reveals that the AF, ILF, VOF and cortical microstructure have a consistent spatial relationship with an individual's reading-related responses in lateral VTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Grotheer
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA..
| | - Jason Yeatman
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kalanit Grill-Spector
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
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26
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Neural Representation in Visual Word Form Area during Word Reading. Neuroscience 2020; 452:49-62. [PMID: 33212220 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.10.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The visual word form area (VWFA) has been consistently identified as a crucial structure in visual word processing. Nevertheless, it is controversial whether the VWFA represents external visual information (e.g., case information) of visual words. To address that question, we functionally localized VWFA at the group level (gVWFA) and at the individual level (iVWFA), and used multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to explore the information representation in the VWFA during an implicit reading task (i.e., a passive viewing task). Univariate activation analysis revealed that participants showed stronger activations for uppercase English words compared to lowercase ones in the VWFA. MVPA further revealed that the classifier trained based on lowercase words versus letter strings significantly distinguished uppercase words versus letter strings in the iVWFA, while that trained based on lowercase words versus uppercase words distinguished lowercase letter strings versus uppercase letter strings neither in the gVWFA nor in the iVWFA. These results suggest that the VWFA does not represent case information, but represents case-independent linguistic information. Our findings elaborate the function in the VWFA and support the VWFA hypothesis.
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27
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Brem S, Maurer U, Kronbichler M, Schurz M, Richlan F, Blau V, Reithler J, van der Mark S, Schulz E, Bucher K, Moll K, Landerl K, Martin E, Goebel R, Schulte-Körne G, Blomert L, Wimmer H, Brandeis D. Visual word form processing deficits driven by severity of reading impairments in children with developmental dyslexia. Sci Rep 2020; 10:18728. [PMID: 33127943 PMCID: PMC7603304 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75111-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The visual word form area (VWFA) in the left ventral occipito-temporal (vOT) cortex is key to fluent reading in children and adults. Diminished VWFA activation during print processing tasks is a common finding in subjects with severe reading problems. Here, we report fMRI data from a multicentre study with 140 children in primary school (7.9-12.2 years; 55 children with dyslexia, 73 typical readers, 12 intermediate readers). All performed a semantic task on visually presented words and a matched control task on symbol strings. With this large group of children, including the entire spectrum from severely impaired to highly fluent readers, we aimed to clarify the association of reading fluency and left vOT activation during visual word processing. The results of this study confirm reduced word-sensitive activation within the left vOT in children with dyslexia. Interestingly, the association of reading skills and left vOT activation was especially strong and spatially extended in children with dyslexia. Thus, deficits in basic visual word form processing increase with the severity of reading disability but seem only weakly associated with fluency within the typical reading range suggesting a linear dependence of reading scores with VFWA activation only in the poorest readers.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Neumuensterallee 9, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - U Maurer
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Neumuensterallee 9, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - M Kronbichler
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler Clinic, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - M Schurz
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - F Richlan
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - V Blau
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - J Reithler
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - S van der Mark
- MR-Center, University Children's Hospital, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - E Schulz
- Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - K Bucher
- MR-Center, University Children's Hospital, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - K Moll
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - K Landerl
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - E Martin
- MR-Center, University Children's Hospital, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - R Goebel
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - G Schulte-Körne
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - L Blomert
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - H Wimmer
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - D Brandeis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Neumuensterallee 9, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
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Miller JA, Voorhies WI, Li X, Raghuram I, Palomero-Gallagher N, Zilles K, Sherwood CC, Hopkins WD, Weiner KS. Sulcal morphology of ventral temporal cortex is shared between humans and other hominoids. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17132. [PMID: 33051475 PMCID: PMC7555511 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73213-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Hominoid-specific brain structures are of particular importance in understanding the evolution of human brain structure and function, as they are absent in mammals that are widely studied in the extended neuroscience field. Recent research indicates that the human fusiform gyrus (FG), which is a hominoid-specific structure critical for complex object recognition, contains a tertiary, longitudinal sulcus (mid-fusiform sulcus, MFS) that bisects the FG into lateral and medial parallel gyri. The MFS is a functional and architectonic landmark in the human brain. Here, we tested if the MFS is specific to the human FG or if the MFS is also identifiable in other hominoids. Using magnetic resonance imaging and cortical surface reconstructions in 30 chimpanzees and 30 humans, we show that the MFS is also present in chimpanzees. The MFS is relatively deeper and cortically thinner in chimpanzees compared to humans. Additional histological analyses reveal that the MFS is not only present in humans and chimpanzees, but also in bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons. Taken together, these results reveal that the MFS is a sulcal landmark that is shared between humans and other hominoids. These results require a reconsideration of the sulcal patterning in ventral temporal cortex across hominoids, as well as revise the compensation theory of cortical folding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Miller
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, 210 Barker Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
| | - Willa I Voorhies
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Xiang Li
- School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ishana Raghuram
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Nicola Palomero-Gallagher
- Research Centre Jülich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine INM-1, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Karl Zilles
- Research Centre Jülich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine INM-1, Jülich, Germany
- JARA-Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen, Germany
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Suite 6000, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| | - William D Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA
| | - Kevin S Weiner
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, 210 Barker Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
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29
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The “Inferior Temporal Numeral Area” distinguishes numerals from other character categories during passive viewing: A representational similarity analysis. Neuroimage 2020; 214:116716. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
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30
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Herman AB, Brown EG, Dale CL, Hinkley LB, Subramaniam K, Houde JF, Fisher M, Vinogradov S, Nagarajan SS. The Visual Word Form Area compensates for auditory working memory dysfunction in schizophrenia. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8881. [PMID: 32483253 PMCID: PMC7264140 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63962-0] [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: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory working memory impairments feature prominently in schizophrenia. However, the existence of altered and perhaps compensatory neural dynamics, sub-serving auditory working memory, remains largely unexplored. We compared the dynamics of induced high gamma power (iHGP) across cortex in humans during speech-sound working memory in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy comparison subjects (HC) using magnetoencephalography (MEG). SZ showed similar task performance to HC while utilizing different brain regions. During encoding of speech sounds, SZ lacked the correlation of iHGP with task performance in posterior superior temporal gyrus (STGp) that was observed in healthy subjects. Instead, SZ recruited the visual word form area (VWFA) during both stimulus encoding and response preparation. Importantly, VWFA activity during encoding correlated with the magnitude of SZ hallucinations, task performance and an independent measure of verbal working memory. These findings suggest that VWFA plasticity is harnessed to compensate for STGp dysfunction in schizophrenia patients with hallucinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander B Herman
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- UCB-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Ethan G Brown
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Corby L Dale
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Leighton B Hinkley
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Karuna Subramaniam
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - John F Houde
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Melissa Fisher
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- San Francisco Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Sophia Vinogradov
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- San Francisco Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Srikantan S Nagarajan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
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31
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Wang K, Li X, Huang R, Ding J, Song L, Han Z. The left inferior longitudinal fasciculus supports orthographic processing: Evidence from a lesion-behavior mapping analysis. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2020; 201:104721. [PMID: 31865263 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Orthographic processing is a critical stage in visual word recognition. However, the white-matter pathways that support this processing are unclear, as prior findings might have been confounded by impure behavioral measures, potential structural reorganization of the brain, and limited sample sizes. To address this issue, we investigated the correlations between the integrity of 20 major tracts in the whole brain and the pure orthographic index across 67 patients with short-term brain damage. The integrity of the tracts was measured by the lesion volume percentage and the mean fractional anisotropy value. The orthographic index was calculated as the residual of the orthographic tasks after regressing out corresponding nonorthographic tasks and the orthographic factor from the principal component analysis (PCA) on the basis of four orthographic tasks. We found significant correlations associated with the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), even after controlling for the influence of potential confounding variables. These observations strengthen evidence for the vital role of the left ILF in orthographic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiaonan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Junhua Ding
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston 77030, USA
| | - Luping Song
- Shenzhen University General Hospital, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shenzhen 518055, China.
| | - Zaizhu Han
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
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32
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Heilbron M, Richter D, Ekman M, Hagoort P, de Lange FP. Word contexts enhance the neural representation of individual letters in early visual cortex. Nat Commun 2020; 11:321. [PMID: 31949153 PMCID: PMC6965097 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13996-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual context facilitates perception, but how this is neurally implemented remains unclear. One example of contextual facilitation is found in reading, where letters are more easily identified when embedded in a word. Bottom-up models explain this word advantage as a post-perceptual decision bias, while top-down models propose that word contexts enhance perception itself. Here, we arbitrate between these accounts by presenting words and nonwords and probing the representational fidelity of individual letters using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In line with top-down models, we find that word contexts enhance letter representations in early visual cortex. Moreover, we observe increased coupling between letter information in visual cortex and brain activity in key areas of the reading network, suggesting these areas may be the source of the enhancement. Our results provide evidence for top-down representational enhancement in word recognition, demonstrating that word contexts can modulate perceptual processing already at the earliest visual regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micha Heilbron
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, NL-6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - David Richter
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, NL-6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias Ekman
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, NL-6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Hagoort
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, NL-6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Floris P de Lange
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, NL-6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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A mesial-to-lateral dissociation for orthographic processing in the visual cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:21936-21946. [PMID: 31591198 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1904184116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Efficient reading requires a fast conversion of the written word to both phonological and semantic codes. We tested the hypothesis that, within the left occipitotemporal cortical regions involved in visual word recognition, distinct subregions harbor slightly different orthographic codes adapted to those 2 functions. While the lexico-semantic pathway may operate on letter or open-bigram information, the phonological pathway requires the identification of multiletter graphemes such as "ch" or "ou" in order to map them onto phonemes. To evaluate the existence of a specific stage of graphemic encoding, 20 adults performed lexical decision and naming tasks on words and pseudowords during functional MRI. Graphemic encoding was facilitated or disrupted by coloring and spacing the letters either congruently with multiletter graphemes (ch-ai-r) or incongruently with them (c-ha-ir). This manipulation affected behavior, primarily during the naming of pseudowords, and modulated brain activity in the left midfusiform sulcus, at a site medial to the classical visual word form area (VWFA). This putative grapheme-related area (GRA) differed from the VWFA in being preferentially connected functionally to dorsal parietal areas involved in letter-by-letter reading, while the VWFA showed effects of lexicality and spelling-to-sound regularity. Our results suggest a partial dissociation within left occipitotemporal cortex: the midfusiform GRA would encode orthographic information at a sublexical graphemic level, while the lateral occipitotemporal VWFA would contribute primarily to direct lexico-semantic access.
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34
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Pleisch G, Karipidis II, Brem A, Röthlisberger M, Roth A, Brandeis D, Walitza S, Brem S. Simultaneous EEG and fMRI reveals stronger sensitivity to orthographic strings in the left occipito-temporal cortex of typical versus poor beginning readers. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 40:100717. [PMID: 31704655 PMCID: PMC6974919 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The level of reading skills in children and adults is reflected in the strength of preferential neural activation to print. Such preferential activation appears in the N1 event-related potential (ERP) over the occipitotemporal scalp after around 150–250 ms and the corresponding blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in the ventral occipitotemporal (vOT) cortex. Here, orthography-sensitive (print vs. false font) processing was examined using simultaneous EEG-fMRI in 38 first grade children with poor and typical reading skills, and at varying familial risk for developmental dyslexia. Coarse orthographic sensitivity was observed as an increased activation to print in the N1 ERP and in the BOLD signal of individually varying vOT regions in 57% of beginning readers. Finer differentiation in processing orthographic strings (words vs. nonwords) further occurred in specific vOT clusters. Neither method alone showed robust differences in orthography-sensitive processing between typical and poor reading children. Importantly, using single-trial N1 ERP-informed fMRI analysis, we found differential modulation of the orthography-sensitive BOLD response in the left vOT for typical readers only. This result, thus, confirms subtle functional alterations in a brain structure known to be critical for fluent reading at the very beginning of reading instruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgette Pleisch
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Iliana I Karipidis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Alexandra Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martina Röthlisberger
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Roth
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Brandeis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Center for Integrative Human Physiology Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susanne Walitza
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Center for Integrative Human Physiology Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; MR-Center of the University Hospital of Psychiatry and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
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35
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Merkley R, Conrad B, Price G, Ansari D. Investigating the visual number form area: a replication study. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:182067. [PMID: 31824678 PMCID: PMC6837224 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.182067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The influential triple-code model of number representation proposed that there are three distinct brain regions for three different numerical representations: verbal words, visual digits and abstract magnitudes. It was hypothesized that the region for visual digits, known as the number form area, would be in ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC), near other visual category-specific regions, such as the visual word form area. However, neuroimaging investigations searching for a region that responds in a category-specific manner to the visual presentation of number symbols have yielded inconsistent results. Price & Ansari (Price, Ansari 2011 Neuroimage 57, 1205-1211) investigated whether any regions activated more in response to passively viewing digits in contrast with letters and visually similar nonsense symbols and identified a region in the left angular gyrus. By contrast, Grotheer et al. (Grotheer, Herrmann, Kovács 2016 J. Neurosci. 36, 88-97) found bilateral regions in vOTC which were more activated in response to digits than other stimuli categories while performing a one-back task. In the current study, we aimed to replicate the findings reported in Grotheer et al. with Price & Ansari's passive viewing task as this is the most stringent test of bottom-up, sensory-driven, category-specific perception. Moreover, we used the contrasts reported in both papers in order to test whether the discrepancy in findings could be attributed to the difference in analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Merkley
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Benjamin Conrad
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Gavin Price
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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36
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Jouravlev O, Zheng D, Balewski Z, Le Arnz Pongos A, Levan Z, Goldin-Meadow S, Fedorenko E. Speech-accompanying gestures are not processed by the language-processing mechanisms. Neuropsychologia 2019; 132:107132. [PMID: 31276684 PMCID: PMC6708375 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2019] [Accepted: 06/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Speech-accompanying gestures constitute one information channel during communication. Some have argued that processing gestures engages the brain regions that support language comprehension. However, studies that have been used as evidence for shared mechanisms suffer from one or more of the following limitations: they (a) have not directly compared activations for gesture and language processing in the same study and relied on the fallacious reverse inference (Poldrack, 2006) for interpretation, (b) relied on traditional group analyses, which are bound to overestimate overlap (e.g., Nieto-Castañon and Fedorenko, 2012), (c) failed to directly compare the magnitudes of response (e.g., Chen et al., 2017), and (d) focused on gestures that may have activated the corresponding linguistic representations (e.g., "emblems"). To circumvent these limitations, we used fMRI to examine responses to gesture processing in language regions defined functionally in individual participants (e.g., Fedorenko et al., 2010), including directly comparing effect sizes, and covering a broad range of spontaneously generated co-speech gestures. Whenever speech was present, language regions responded robustly (and to a similar degree regardless of whether the video contained gestures or grooming movements). In contrast, and critically, responses in the language regions were low - at or slightly above the fixation baseline - when silent videos were processed (again, regardless of whether they contained gestures or grooming movements). Brain regions outside of the language network, including some in close proximity to its regions, differentiated between gestures and grooming movements, ruling out the possibility that the gesture/grooming manipulation was too subtle. Behavioral studies on the critical video materials further showed robust differentiation between the gesture and grooming conditions. In summary, contra prior claims, language-processing regions do not respond to co-speech gestures in the absence of speech, suggesting that these regions are selectively driven by linguistic input (e.g., Fedorenko et al., 2011). Although co-speech gestures are uncontroversially important in communication, they appear to be processed in brain regions distinct from those that support language comprehension, similar to other extra-linguistic communicative signals, like facial expressions and prosody.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olessia Jouravlev
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA; Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
| | - David Zheng
- Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Zuzanna Balewski
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | - Zena Levan
- University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | | | - Evelina Fedorenko
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
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37
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Cross-Language Pattern Similarity in the Bilateral Fusiform Cortex Is Associated with Reading Proficiency in Second Language. Neuroscience 2019; 410:254-263. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Revised: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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38
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Gao C, Conte S, Richards JE, Xie W, Hanayik T. The neural sources of N170: Understanding timing of activation in face-selective areas. Psychophysiology 2019; 56:e13336. [PMID: 30710345 PMCID: PMC6508977 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2018] [Revised: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The N170 ERP component has been widely identified as a face-sensitive neural marker. Despite extensive investigations conducted to examine the neural sources of N170, there are two issues in prior literature: (a) few studies used individualized anatomy as head model for the cortical source analysis of the N170, and (b) the relationship between the N170 and face-selective regions from fMRI studies is unclear. Here, we addressed these questions by presenting pictures of faces and houses to the same group of healthy adults and recording structural MRI, fMRI, and high-density ERPs in separate sessions. Source analysis based on the participant's anatomy showed that the middle and posterior fusiform gyri were the primary neural sources for the face-sensitive aspects of the N170. Source analysis based on regions of interest from the fMRI revealed that the fMRI-defined fusiform face area was the major contributor to the N170. The current study suggests that the fusiform gyrus is a major neural contributor to the N170 ERP component and provides further insights about the spatiotemporal characteristics of face processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanji Gao
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Stefania Conte
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - John E Richards
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Wanze Xie
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Taylor Hanayik
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
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39
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Emerging neural specialization of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex to characters through phonological association learning in preschool children. Neuroimage 2019; 189:813-831. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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40
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Laterality for recognizing written words and faces in the fusiform gyrus covaries with language dominance. Cortex 2019; 117:196-204. [PMID: 30986634 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Recognizing words and faces engages highly specialized sites within the middle fusiform gyrus, known as the visual word form area (VWFA) and fusiform face area (FFA) respectively. The VWFA and FFA have clear but opposite population-level asymmetries, with the VWFA typically being lateralized to the left and the FFA to the right hemisphere. The present study investigates how language dominance may relate to these asymmetries. We hypothesize that individuals with left hemisphere dominance for word production (i.e., left language dominance, LLD) will have typical lateralization for word and face recognition in the fusiform gyrus, whereas participants with right language dominance (RLD) will demonstrate 'atypical' rightward laterality for words and leftward dominance for faces. To test this hypothesis, we recruited twenty-seven left-handers who had previously been identified as being LLD or RLD based on a visual half field task. Using fMRI, hemisphere dominance was determined for language (Broca's region) as well as for word and face recognition in the middle fusiform gyrus for each participant. The direction of asymmetry correlated significantly between language and recognizing words (ρ = .648, p < .001) as well as between language and face recognition (ρ = -.620, p = .001). Moreover, most LLD-participants were typically lateralized for faces and written words, while both functions tended to be reversed in individuals with RLD. However, segregation between language and face recognition was less clear in participants with RLD, as many of them lacked an obvious asymmetry for faces. Although our results thus suggest there is no one-on-one relationship between asymmetries for language, written word and face recognition, they also argue against a complete independence of their lateralization.
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41
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Centanni TM, Norton ES, Ozernov-Palchik O, Park A, Beach SD, Halverson K, Gaab N, Gabrieli JDE. Disrupted left fusiform response to print in beginning kindergartners is associated with subsequent reading. Neuroimage Clin 2019; 22:101715. [PMID: 30798165 PMCID: PMC6389729 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Dyslexia is a common neurobiological disorder in which a child fails to acquire typical word reading skills despite adequate opportunity and intelligence. The visual word form area (VWFA) is a region within the left fusiform gyrus that specializes for print over the course of reading acquisition and is often hypoactivated in individuals with dyslexia. It is currently unknown whether atypicalities in this brain region are already present in kindergarten children who will subsequently develop dyslexia. Here, we measured fMRI activation in response to letters and false fonts in bilateral fusiform gyrus in children with and without risk for dyslexia (defined by family history or low scores on assessments of pre-reading skills, such as phonological awareness). We then followed these children longitudinally through the end of second grade to evaluate whether brain activation patterns in kindergarten were related to second-grade reading outcomes. Compared to typical readers who exhibited no risk factors for reading impairment in kindergarten, there was significant hypoactivation to both letters and false-fonts in the left fusiform gyrus in at-risk children who subsequently developed reading impairment, but not in at-risk children who developed typical reading skills. There were no significant differences in letter- or false-font responses in the right fusiform gyrus among the groups. The finding that hypoactivation to print in the VWFA is present in children who subsequently develop reading impairment even prior to the onset of formal reading instruction suggests that atypical responses to print play an early role in the development of reading impairments such as dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M Centanni
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States; Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129, United States.
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States; Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States
| | - Ola Ozernov-Palchik
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Anne Park
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Sara D Beach
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Kelly Halverson
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - John D E Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
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42
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Weiner KS. The Mid‐Fusiform Sulcus (
sulcus sagittalis gyri fusiformis
). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2019; 302:1491-1503. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.24041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin S. Weiner
- Department of PsychologyUC Berkeley Berkeley California
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute Berkeley California
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43
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Zhou Z, Whitney C, Strother L. Embedded word priming elicits enhanced fMRI responses in the visual word form area. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0208318. [PMID: 30629612 PMCID: PMC6328158 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Lexical embedding is common in all languages and elicits mutual orthographic interference between an embedded word and its carrier. The neural basis of such interference remains unknown. We employed a novel fMRI prime-target embedded word paradigm to test for involvement of a visual word form area (VWFA) in left ventral occipitotemporal cortex in co-activation of embedded words and their carriers. Based on the results of related fMRI studies we predicted either enhancement or suppression of fMRI responses to embedded words initially viewed as primes, and repeated in the context of target carrier words. Our results clearly showed enhancement of fMRI responses in the VWFA to embedded-carrier word pairs as compared to unrelated prime-target pairs. In contrast to non-visual language-related areas (e.g., left inferior frontal gyrus), enhanced fMRI responses did not occur in the VWFA when embedded-carrier word pairs were restricted to the left visual hemifield. Our finding of fMRI enhancement in the VWFA is novel evidence of its involvement in representational rivalry between orthographically similar words, and the co-activation of embedded words and their carriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiheng Zhou
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, United States of America
| | - Carol Whitney
- Independent Researcher, Silver Spring, MD, United States of America
| | - Lars Strother
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, United States of America
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44
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Word selectivity in high-level visual cortex and reading skill. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 36:100593. [PMID: 30318344 PMCID: PMC6969272 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Word-selective neural responses in human ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC) emerge as children learn to read, creating a visual word form area (VWFA) in the literate brain. It has been suggested that the VWFA arises through competition between pre-existing selectivity for other stimulus categories, changing the topography of VOTC to support rapid word recognition. Here, we hypothesized that competition between words and objects would be resolved as children acquire reading skill. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined the relationship between responses to words and objects in VOTC in two ways. First, we defined the VWFA using a words > objects contrast and found that only skilled readers had a region that responded more to words than objects. Second, we defined the VWFA using a words > faces contrast and examined selectivity for words over objects in this region. We found that word selectivity strongly correlated with reading skill, suggesting reading skill-dependent tuning for words. Furthermore, we found that low word selectivity in struggling readers was not due to a lack of response to words, but to a high response to objects. Our results suggest that the fine-tuning of word-selective responses in VOTC is a critical component of skilled reading.
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45
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Converging evidence for functional and structural segregation within the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex in reading. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E9981-E9990. [PMID: 30224475 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1803003115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC) is crucial for recognizing visual patterns, and previous evidence suggests that there may be different subregions within the vOTC involved in the rapid identification of word forms. Here, we characterize vOTC reading circuitry using a multimodal approach combining functional, structural, and quantitative MRI and behavioral data. Two main word-responsive vOTC areas emerged: a posterior area involved in visual feature extraction, structurally connected to the intraparietal sulcus via the vertical occipital fasciculus; and an anterior area involved in integrating information with other regions of the language network, structurally connected to the angular gyrus via the posterior arcuate fasciculus. Furthermore, functional activation in these vOTC regions predicted reading behavior outside of the scanner. Differences in the microarchitectonic properties of gray-matter cells in these segregated areas were also observed, in line with earlier cytoarchitectonic evidence. These findings advance our understanding of the vOTC circuitry by linking functional responses to anatomical structure, revealing the pathways of distinct reading-related processes.
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46
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Glezer LS, Weisberg J, O'Grady Farnady C, McCullough S, Midgley KJ, Holcomb PJ, Emmorey K. Orthographic and phonological selectivity across the reading system in deaf skilled readers. Neuropsychologia 2018; 117:500-512. [PMID: 30005927 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
People who are born deaf often have difficulty learning to read. Recently, several studies have examined the neural substrates involved in reading in deaf people and found a left lateralized reading system similar to hearing people involving temporo-parietal, inferior frontal, and ventral occipito-temporal cortices. Previous studies in typical hearing readers show that within this reading network there are separate regions that specialize in processing orthography and phonology. We used fMRI rapid adaptation in deaf adults who were skilled readers to examine neural selectivity in three functional ROIs in the left hemisphere: temporoparietal cortex (TPC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and the visual word form area (VWFA). Results show that in deaf skilled readers, the left VWFA showed selectivity for orthography similar to what has been reported for hearing readers, the TPC showed less sensitivity to phonology than previously reported for hearing readers using the same paradigm, and the IFG showed selectivity to orthography, but not phonology (similar to what has been reported previously for hearing readers). These results provide evidence that while skilled deaf readers demonstrate coarsely tuned phonological representations in the TPC, they develop finely tuned representations for the orthography of written words in the VWFA and IFG. This result suggests that phonological tuning in the TPC may have little impact on the neural network associated with skilled reading for deaf adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie S Glezer
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States; Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States.
| | - Jill Weisberg
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
| | - Cindy O'Grady Farnady
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
| | - Stephen McCullough
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
| | | | | | - Karen Emmorey
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
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47
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Oliver M, Carreiras M, Paz-Alonso PM. Functional Dynamics of Dorsal and Ventral Reading Networks in Bilinguals. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:5431-5443. [PMID: 28122808 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2015] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In today's world, bilingualism is increasingly common. However, it is still unclear how left-lateralized dorsal and ventral reading networks are tuned to reading in proficient second-language learners. Here, we investigated differences in functional regional activation and connectivity as a function of L1 and L2 reading, L2 orthographic depth, and task demands. Thirty-seven late bilinguals with the same L1 and either an opaque or transparent L2 performed perceptual and semantic reading tasks in L1 and L2 during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. Results revealed stronger regional recruitment for L2 versus L1 reading and stronger connectivity within the dorsal stream during L1 versus L2 reading. Differences in orthographic depth were associated with a segregated profile of left ventral occipitotemporal (vOT) coactivation with dorsal regions for the transparent L2 group and with ventral regions for the opaque L2 group. Finally, semantic versus perceptual demands modulated left vOT engagement, supporting the interactive account of the contribution of vOT to reading, and were associated with stronger coactivation within the ventral network. Our findings support a division of labor between ventral and dorsal reading networks, elucidating the critical role of the language used to read, L2 orthographic depth, and task demands on the functional dynamics of bilingual reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myriam Oliver
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, 2009 Gipuzkoa, Spain
| | - Manuel Carreiras
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, 2009 Gipuzkoa, Spain.,IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, 48013 Bizkaia, Spain.,Department of Basque Language and Communication, EHU/UPV, Bilbao, 48940 Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Pedro M Paz-Alonso
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, 2009 Gipuzkoa, Spain
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48
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Zhang B, He S, Weng X. Localization and Functional Characterization of an Occipital Visual Word form Sensitive Area. Sci Rep 2018; 8:6723. [PMID: 29712966 PMCID: PMC5928127 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25029-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In human occipitotemporal cortex, category-specific processing for visual objects seems to involve pairs of cortical regions, often with one located in the occipital cortex and another more anteriorly. We investigated whether such an arrangement might be the case for visual word processing. In addition to the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) located in the occipitotemporal sulcus, we observed that another region in occipital lobe with robust responses to written words (Chinese characters). The current fMRI study investigated this area’s precise location and its functional selectivity using Chinese characters and other categories of visual images (cars, chairs and insects). In all the 13 subjects we could identify a cluster of voxels near the inferior occipital gyrus or middle occipital gyrus with stronger responses to Chinese characters than scrambled objects. We tentatively label this area as the Occipital Word Form Sensitive Area (OWA). The OWA’s response amplitudes showed similar preference to written words as the VWFA, with the VWFA showing a higher degree of word selectivity, which was confirmed by the result from spatial patterns of response. These results indicate that the OWA, together with the VWFA, are critical parts of the network for processing and representing the category information for word.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Zhang
- Institute of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Graduate school, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,School of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Sheng He
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. .,Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA.
| | - Xuchu Weng
- Institute of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. .,Center of Cognition and Brain Disorder, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
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49
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Weiner KS, Barnett MA, Witthoft N, Golarai G, Stigliani A, Kay KN, Gomez J, Natu VS, Amunts K, Zilles K, Grill-Spector K. Defining the most probable location of the parahippocampal place area using cortex-based alignment and cross-validation. Neuroimage 2018; 170:373-384. [PMID: 28435097 PMCID: PMC6330657 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.04.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The parahippocampal place area (PPA) is a widely studied high-level visual region in the human brain involved in place and scene processing. The goal of the present study was to identify the most probable location of place-selective voxels in medial ventral temporal cortex. To achieve this goal, we first used cortex-based alignment (CBA) to create a probabilistic place-selective region of interest (ROI) from one group of 12 participants. We then tested how well this ROI could predict place selectivity in each hemisphere within a new group of 12 participants. Our results reveal that a probabilistic ROI (pROI) generated from one group of 12 participants accurately predicts the location and functional selectivity in individual brains from a new group of 12 participants, despite between subject variability in the exact location of place-selective voxels relative to the folding of parahippocampal cortex. Additionally, the prediction accuracy of our pROI is significantly higher than that achieved by volume-based Talairach alignment. Comparing the location of the pROI of the PPA relative to published data from over 500 participants, including data from the Human Connectome Project, shows a striking convergence of the predicted location of the PPA and the cortical location of voxels exhibiting the highest place selectivity across studies using various methods and stimuli. Specifically, the most predictive anatomical location of voxels exhibiting the highest place selectivity in medial ventral temporal cortex is the junction of the collateral and anterior lingual sulci. Methodologically, we make this pROI freely available (vpnl.stanford.edu/PlaceSelectivity), which provides a means to accurately identify a functional region from anatomical MRI data when fMRI data are not available (for example, in patient populations). Theoretically, we consider different anatomical and functional factors that may contribute to the consistent anatomical location of place selectivity relative to the folding of high-level visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin S Weiner
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States.
| | - Michael A Barnett
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Nathan Witthoft
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Golijeh Golarai
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Anthony Stigliani
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Kendrick N Kay
- Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
| | - Jesse Gomez
- Stanford Neurosciences Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Vaidehi S Natu
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Katrin Amunts
- Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; JARA-BRAIN, Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance, Jülich, Germany
| | - Karl Zilles
- Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; JARA-BRAIN, Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance, Jülich, Germany
| | - Kalanit Grill-Spector
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States; Stanford Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
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50
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Centanni TM, Norton ES, Park A, Beach SD, Halverson K, Ozernov-Palchik O, Gaab N, Gabrieli JDE. Early development of letter specialization in left fusiform is associated with better word reading and smaller fusiform face area. Dev Sci 2018; 21:e12658. [PMID: 29504651 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A functional region of left fusiform gyrus termed "the visual word form area" (VWFA) develops during reading acquisition to respond more strongly to printed words than to other visual stimuli. Here, we examined responses to letters among 5- and 6-year-old early kindergarten children (N = 48) with little or no school-based reading instruction who varied in their reading ability. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure responses to individual letters, false fonts, and faces in left and right fusiform gyri. We then evaluated whether signal change and size (spatial extent) of letter-sensitive cortex (greater activation for letters versus faces) and letter-specific cortex (greater activation for letters versus false fonts) in these regions related to (a) standardized measures of word-reading ability and (b) signal change and size of face-sensitive cortex (fusiform face area or FFA; greater activation for faces versus letters). Greater letter specificity, but not letter sensitivity, in left fusiform gyrus correlated positively with word reading scores. Across children, in the left fusiform gyrus, greater size of letter-sensitive cortex correlated with lesser size of FFA. These findings are the first to suggest that in beginning readers, development of letter responsivity in left fusiform cortex is associated with both better reading ability and also a reduction of the size of left FFA that may result in right-hemisphere dominance for face perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M Centanni
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Anne Park
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sara D Beach
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kelly Halverson
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Nadine Gaab
- Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - John DE Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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