1
|
Wen H, Wang D, Bi Y. Processing Language Partly Shares Neural Genetic Basis with Processing Tools and Body Parts. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0138-24.2024. [PMID: 38886065 PMCID: PMC11298957 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0138-24.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Language is an evolutionarily salient faculty for humans that relies on a distributed brain network spanning across frontal, temporal, parietal, and subcortical regions. To understand whether the complex language network shares common or distinct genetic mechanisms, we examined the relationships between the genetic effects underlying the brain responses to language and a set of object domains that have been suggested to coevolve with language: tools, faces (indicating social), and body parts (indicating social and gesturing). Analyzing the twin datasets released by the Human Connectome Project that had functional magnetic resonance imaging data from human twin subjects (monozygotic and dizygotic) undergoing language and working memory tasks contrasting multiple object domains (198 females and 144 males for the language task; 192 females and 142 males for the working memory task), we identified a set of cortical regions in the frontal and temporal cortices and subcortical regions whose activity to language was significantly genetically influenced. The heterogeneity of the genetic effects among these language clusters was corroborated by significant differences of the human gene expression profiles (Allen Human Brain Atlas dataset). Among them, the bilateral basal ganglia (mainly dorsal caudate) exhibited a common genetic basis for language, tool, and body part processing, and the right superior temporal gyrus exhibited a common genetic basis for language and tool processing across multiple types of analyses. These results uncovered the heterogeneous genetic patterns of language neural processes, shedding light on the evolution of language and its shared origins with tools and bodily functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haojie Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Dahui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yanchao Bi
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Borghi AM, Gervasi AM, Brozzoli C. Language as a means to reduce uncertainty: Comment on "An active inference model of hierarchical action understanding, learning and imitation" by R. Proietti, G. Pezzulo, A. Tessari. Phys Life Rev 2023; 46:261-263. [PMID: 37567075 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna M Borghi
- Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; ISTC-CNR, Rome, Italy.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Boulenger V, Finos L, Koun E, Salemme R, Desoche C, Roy AC. Up right, not right up: Primacy of verticality in both language and movement. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:981330. [PMID: 36248682 PMCID: PMC9558293 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.981330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
When describing motion along both the horizontal and vertical axes, languages from different families express the elements encoding verticality before those coding for horizontality (e.g., going up right instead of right up). In light of the motor grounding of language, the present study investigated whether the prevalence of verticality in Path expression also governs the trajectory of arm biological movements. Using a 3D virtual-reality setting, we tracked the kinematics of hand pointing movements in five spatial directions, two of which implied the vertical and horizontal vectors equally (i.e., up right +45° and bottom right −45°). Movement onset could be prompted by visual or auditory verbal cues, the latter being canonical in French (“en haut à droite”/up right) or not (“à droite en haut”/right up). In two experiments, analyses of the index finger kinematics revealed a significant effect of gravity, with earlier acceleration, velocity, and deceleration peaks for upward (+45°) than downward (−45°) movements, irrespective of the instructions. Remarkably, confirming the linguistic observations, we found that vertical kinematic parameters occurred earlier than horizontal ones for upward movements, both for visual and congruent verbal cues. Non-canonical verbal instructions significantly affected this temporal dynamic: for upward movements, the horizontal and vertical components temporally aligned, while they reversed for downward movements where the kinematics of the vertical axis was delayed with respect to that of the horizontal one. This temporal dynamic is so deeply anchored that non-canonical verbal instructions allowed for horizontality to precede verticality only for movements that do not fight against gravity. Altogether, our findings provide new insights into the embodiment of language by revealing that linguistic path may reflect the organization of biological movements, giving priority to the vertical axis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Boulenger
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage, UMR 5596, CNRS/University Lyon 2, Lyon, France
- *Correspondence: Véronique Boulenger,
| | - Livio Finos
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Eric Koun
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (IMPACT), Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, University Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Roméo Salemme
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (IMPACT), Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, University Lyon 1, Lyon, France
- Neuro-Immersion, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France
| | - Clément Desoche
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (IMPACT), Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, University Lyon 1, Lyon, France
- Neuro-Immersion, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France
| | - Alice C. Roy
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage, UMR 5596, CNRS/University Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kemmerer D. Revisiting the relation between syntax, action, and left BA44. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:923022. [PMID: 36211129 PMCID: PMC9537576 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.923022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Among the many lines of research that have been exploring how embodiment contributes to cognition, one focuses on how the neural substrates of language may be shared, or at least closely coupled, with those of action. This paper revisits a particular proposal that has received considerable attention-namely, that the forms of hierarchical sequencing that characterize both linguistic syntax and goal-directed action are underpinned partly by common mechanisms in left Brodmann area (BA) 44, a cortical region that is not only classically regarded as part of Broca's area, but is also a core component of the human Mirror Neuron System. First, a recent multi-participant, multi-round debate about this proposal is summarized together with some other relevant findings. This review reveals that while the proposal is supported by a variety of theoretical arguments and empirical results, it still faces several challenges. Next, a narrower application of the proposal is discussed, specifically involving the basic word order of subject (S), object (O), and verb (V) in simple transitive clauses. Most languages are either SOV or SVO, and, building on prior work, it is argued that these strong syntactic tendencies derive from how left BA44 represents the sequential-hierarchical structure of goal-directed actions. Finally, with the aim of clarifying what it might mean for syntax and action to have "common" neural mechanisms in left BA44, two different versions of the main proposal are distinguished. Hypothesis 1 states that the very same neural mechanisms in left BA44 subserve some aspects of hierarchical sequencing for syntax and action, whereas Hypothesis 2 states that anatomically distinct but functionally parallel neural mechanisms in left BA44 subserve some aspects of hierarchical sequencing for syntax and action. Although these two hypotheses make different predictions, at this point neither one has significantly more explanatory power than the other, and further research is needed to elaborate and test them.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David Kemmerer
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IND, United States
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IND, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Affiliation(s)
- J. Navarro
- Laboratoire d’Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EMC), Bron, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - P. A. Hancock
- Minds in Technology, Machines in Thought (MIT2) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, and Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Thibault S, Py R, Gervasi AM, Salemme R, Koun E, Lövden M, Boulenger V, Roy AC, Brozzoli C. Tool use and language share syntactic processes and neural patterns in the basal ganglia. Science 2021; 374:eabe0874. [PMID: 34762470 DOI: 10.1126/science.abe0874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Thibault
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, 69000, France.,University of Lyon, Lyon 69000, France
| | - Raphaël Py
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, 69000, France.,University of Lyon, Lyon 69000, France
| | - Angelo Mattia Gervasi
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, 69000, France
| | - Romeo Salemme
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, 69000, France
| | - Eric Koun
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, 69000, France
| | - Martin Lövden
- Aging Research Center (ARC), Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Véronique Boulenger
- University of Lyon, Lyon 69000, France.,Dynamics of Language laboratory, CNRS UMR5596, Lyon, France
| | - Alice C Roy
- University of Lyon, Lyon 69000, France.,Dynamics of Language laboratory, CNRS UMR5596, Lyon, France
| | - Claudio Brozzoli
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, 69000, France.,University of Lyon, Lyon 69000, France.,Aging Research Center (ARC), Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Russo M, Ozeri-Engelhard N, Hupfeld K, Nettekoven C, Thibault S, Sedaghat-Nejad E, Buchwald D, Xing D, Zobeiri O, Kilteni K, Albert ST, Ariani G. Highlights from the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Neural Control of Movement. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:967-975. [PMID: 34406885 PMCID: PMC8560412 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00334.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Russo
- Department of Neurology, Tor Vergata Polyclinic, Rome, Italy
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Nofar Ozeri-Engelhard
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey
| | - Kathleen Hupfeld
- Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Caroline Nettekoven
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Thibault
- ImpAct team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Inserm U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Ehsan Sedaghat-Nejad
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Daniela Buchwald
- Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA, Software & Electronics Engineering, Duderstadt, Germany
| | - David Xing
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Omid Zobeiri
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Scott T Albert
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Giacomo Ariani
- The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Computer Science, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Vandervert L, Moe K. The cerebellum-driven social basis of mathematics: implications for one-on-one tutoring of children with mathematics learning disabilities. CEREBELLUM & ATAXIAS 2021; 8:13. [PMID: 33971983 PMCID: PMC8112041 DOI: 10.1186/s40673-021-00136-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to argue that the patterns of sequence control over kinematics (movements) and dynamics (forces) which evolved in phonological processing in inner speech during the evolution of the social-cognitive capacities behind stone-tool making that led to the emergence of Homo sapiens are homologous to the social cerebellum's capacity to learn patterns of sequence within language that we refer to as mathematics. It is argued that this evolution (1) selected toward a social cognitive cerebellum which arose from the arduous, repetitive precision patterns of knapping (stone shaping) and (2) that over a period of a million-plus years was selected from mentalizing toward the kinematics and dynamics as observed and modeled in Theory of Mind (ToM) of more experienced stone knappers. It is concluded that components of this socially-induced autobiographical knowledge, namely, (1) segmenting events, (2) sequencing events, and (3) sequencing event clusters, all at various levels of abstraction, can inform optimum approaches to one-on-one tutoring of children with mathematical learning disabilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kimberly Moe
- Dept. of Education, Adjunct, Whitworth University, Spokane, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
A computational model of language functions in flexible goal-directed behaviour. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21623. [PMID: 33303842 PMCID: PMC7729881 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78252-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The function of language in high-order goal-directed human cognition is an important topic at the centre of current debates. Experimental evidence shows that inner speech, representing a self-directed form of language, empowers cognitive processes such as working memory, perception, categorization, and executive functions. Here we study the relations between inner speech and processes like feedback processing and cognitive flexibility. To this aim we propose a computational model that controls an artificial agent who uses inner speech to internally manipulate its representations. The agent is able to reproduce human behavioural data collected during the solution of the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, a neuropsychological test measuring cognitive flexibility, both in the basic condition and when a verbal shadowing protocol is used. The components of the model were systematically lesioned to clarify the specific impact of inner speech on the agent’s behaviour. The results indicate that inner speech improves the efficiency of internal representation manipulation. Specifically, it makes the representations linked to specific visual features more disentangled, thus improving the agent’s capacity to engage/disengage attention on stimulus features after positive/negative action outcomes. Overall, the model shows how inner speech could improve goal-directed internal manipulation of representations and enhance behavioural flexibility.
Collapse
|
10
|
Pizzamiglio G, Zhang Z, Kolasinski J, Riddoch JM, Passingham RE, Mantini D, Rounis E. A Role for the Action Observation Network in Apraxia After Stroke. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:422. [PMID: 31920586 PMCID: PMC6933001 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Limb apraxia is a syndrome often observed after stroke that affects the ability to perform skilled actions despite intact elementary motor and sensory systems. In a large cohort of unselected stroke patients with lesions to the left, right, and bilateral hemispheres, we used voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) on clinical CT head images to identify the neuroanatomical correlates of the impairment of performance in three tasks investigating praxis skills in patient populations. These included a meaningless gesture imitation task, a gesture production task involving pantomiming transitive and intransitive gestures, and a gesture recognition task involving recognition of these same categories of gestures. Neocortical lesions associated with poor performance in these tasks were all in the left hemisphere. They involved the pre-striate and medial temporal cortices, the superior temporal sulcus, inferior parietal area PGi, the superior longitudinal fasciculus underlying the primary motor cortex, and the uncinate fasciculus, subserving connections between temporal and frontal regions. No significant lesions were identified when language deficits, as indicated via a picture naming task, were controlled for. The implication of the superior temporal sulcus and the anatomically connected prestriate and inferior parietal regions challenges traditional models of the disorder. The network identified has been implicated in studies of action observation, which might share cognitive functions sub-serving praxis and language skills.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gloria Pizzamiglio
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Zuo Zhang
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - James Kolasinski
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Jane M Riddoch
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Richard E Passingham
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Dante Mantini
- Research Centre for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Brain Imaging and Neural Dynamics Research Group, IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, Venice, Italy
| | - Elisabeth Rounis
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|