Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105519
Brent Kelsen , Artur Czeszumski , Sophie Hsin-Yi Liang , Yu-Cheng Pei , June Hung , Hsiao-Lung Chan , Hsuan-Wen Yeh
Anxiety experienced when interacting in a foreign language hinders communication through detrimental behavioral, cognitive, and somatic effects. Despite its impact, there is limited research on how neural asymmetry relates to foreign language anxiety (FLA). While researchers have investigated FLA through brain imaging, there remains an absence of studies examining its correlation with frontal alpha asymmetry. Understanding FLA in the context of frontal alpha asymmetry is significant because it can reveal specific neural mechanisms underlying this anxiety. We investigated the associations between listening and speaking FLA – across behavioral, cognitive, and somatic domains – and participants’ resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) signals prior to verbal interactions in a foreign language. The results revealed that significantly higher right-left frontal alpha asymmetry was associated with greater reported FLA in most listening and all of the speaking domains. This study offers insight into the neural processes in connection with FLA, highlighting the significance of frontal alpha asymmetry as a potential neural marker for understanding and addressing its unique challenges.
{"title":"Exploring foreign language anxiety and resting-state EEG alpha asymmetry","authors":"Brent Kelsen , Artur Czeszumski , Sophie Hsin-Yi Liang , Yu-Cheng Pei , June Hung , Hsiao-Lung Chan , Hsuan-Wen Yeh","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105519","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105519","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Anxiety experienced when interacting in a foreign language hinders communication through detrimental behavioral, cognitive, and somatic effects. Despite its impact, there is limited research on how neural asymmetry relates to foreign language anxiety (FLA). While researchers have investigated FLA through brain imaging, there remains an absence of studies examining its correlation with frontal alpha asymmetry. Understanding FLA in the context of frontal alpha asymmetry is significant because it can reveal specific neural mechanisms underlying this anxiety. We investigated the associations between listening and speaking FLA – across behavioral, cognitive, and somatic domains – and participants’ resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) signals prior to verbal interactions in a foreign language. The results revealed that significantly higher right-left frontal alpha asymmetry was associated with greater reported FLA in most listening and all of the speaking domains. This study offers insight into the neural processes in connection with FLA, highlighting the significance of frontal alpha asymmetry as a potential neural marker for understanding and addressing its unique challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"261 ","pages":"Article 105519"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142878588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105532
Yuan Xie , Peng Zhou , Likan Zhan , Yanan Xue
How our brain integrates single words into larger linguistic units is a central focus in neurolinguistic studies. Previous studies mainly explored this topic at the semantic or syntactic level, with few looking at how cortical activities track word sequences with different levels of semantic correlations. In addition, prior research did not tease apart the semantic factors from the syntactic ones in the word sequences. The current study addressed these issues by conducting a speech perception EEG experiment using the frequency-tagging paradigm. Participants (N = 25, Meanage = 23;4, 16 girls) were asked to listen to different types of sequences and their neural activity was recorded by EEG. We also constructed a model simulation based on surprisal values of GPT-2. Both the EEG results and the model prediction show that low-frequency neural activity tracks syntactic information through semantic mediation. Implications of the findings were discussed in relation to the language processing mechanism.
我们的大脑如何将单个单词整合成更大的语言单位是神经语言学研究的中心焦点。以往的研究主要在语义或句法层面探讨这一主题,很少关注皮层活动如何追踪具有不同语义相关性水平的单词序列。此外,以往的研究并未将词序列中的语义因素与句法因素分开。本研究利用频率标记范式进行语音感知脑电图实验,解决了这些问题。研究对象(N = 25, mean = 23,女生4,16)听不同类型的序列,并记录其脑电活动。我们还基于GPT-2的惊奇值构建了模型仿真。脑电结果和模型预测均表明,低频神经活动通过语义中介跟踪句法信息。研究结果的意义与语言加工机制有关。
{"title":"Low-frequency neural activity tracks syntactic information through semantic mediation","authors":"Yuan Xie , Peng Zhou , Likan Zhan , Yanan Xue","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105532","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105532","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>How our brain integrates single words into larger linguistic units is a central focus in neurolinguistic studies. Previous studies mainly explored this topic at the semantic or syntactic level, with few looking at how cortical activities track word sequences with different levels of semantic correlations. In addition, prior research did not tease apart the semantic factors from the syntactic ones in the word sequences. The current study addressed these issues by conducting a speech perception EEG experiment using the frequency-tagging paradigm. Participants (<em>N</em> = 25, <em>Mean</em><sub>age</sub> = 23;4, 16 girls) were asked to listen to different types of sequences and their neural activity was recorded by EEG. We also constructed a model simulation based on surprisal values of GPT-2. Both the EEG results and the model prediction show that low-frequency neural activity tracks syntactic information through semantic mediation. Implications of the findings were discussed in relation to the language processing mechanism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"261 ","pages":"Article 105532"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142959267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105529
Mélodie Bellegarda , Gary Boddaert , Sophie Dufour , Dominique Knutsen , Angèle Brunellière
Although previous research has shown that speakers adapt on the words they use, it remains unclear whether speakers adapt their phonological representations, leading them to perceive new phonemic contrasts following a social interaction. This event-related potential (ERP) study investigates whether the neuronal responses to the perception of the /e/-/ε/ vowel merger in Northern French speakers show evidence for discriminating /e/ and /ε/ phonemes after interacting with a speaker who produced this contrast. Northern French participants engaged in an interactive map task and we measured their ERP responses elicited after the presentation of a last syllable which was either phonemically identical to or different from preceding syllables. There was no evidence for discrimination between /e/ and /ε/ phonemes before the social interaction, while mismatch negativity (MMN) and late responses revealed /e/-/ε/ discrimination after the social interaction. The findings suggest rapid neuronal adaptations of phonemic representations thanks to the social interaction.
{"title":"Neural evidence for perceiving a vowel merger after a social interaction within a native language","authors":"Mélodie Bellegarda , Gary Boddaert , Sophie Dufour , Dominique Knutsen , Angèle Brunellière","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105529","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105529","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although previous research has shown that speakers adapt on the words they use, it remains unclear whether speakers adapt their phonological representations, leading them to perceive new phonemic contrasts following a social interaction. This event-related potential (ERP) study investigates whether the neuronal responses to the perception of the /e/-/ε/ vowel merger in Northern French speakers show evidence for discriminating /e/ and /ε/ phonemes after interacting with a speaker who produced this contrast. Northern French participants engaged in an interactive map task and we measured their ERP responses elicited after the presentation of a last syllable which was either phonemically identical to or different from preceding syllables. There was no evidence for discrimination between /e/ and /ε/ phonemes before the social interaction, while mismatch negativity (MMN) and late responses revealed /e/-/ε/ discrimination after the social interaction. The findings suggest rapid neuronal adaptations of phonemic representations thanks to the social interaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"261 ","pages":"Article 105529"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143016809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105531
Gaelle E. Doucet , Jordanna A. Kruse , Attakias Mertens , Callum Goldsmith , Nichole M. Eden , Jacob Oleson , Karla K. McGregor
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant difficulty with language learning, comprehension, and expression. The neurocognitive bases of DLD are underspecified but are thought to be related, in part, to altered basal ganglia (BG). The BG are known to have a high level of brain iron, which contributes to myelination and dopaminergic pathways among other physiological mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether a brain iron imbalance might contribute to the altered BG function that characterizes individuals with DLD. Using a T2*-weighted signal, we compared BG brain iron levels in 7-to-13-year olds with DLD and typical language development (TD). We found a significant age-by-group interaction in the caudate with children with DLD showing a positive association between brain iron and age, which was not the case in TD children. A sex-by-age-by-group interaction was also reported in the right putamen and right nucleus accumbens. Higher brain iron in the caudate was associated with poorer story recall; there was no relation between brain iron levels and recall of word lists. This first-ever investigation of brain iron levels in individuals with DLD provides preliminary evidence of an abnormal developmental trajectory of brain iron balance and offers a potential explanation for the altered BG function and verbal impairments that characterize DLD.
{"title":"Subcortical brain iron and its link to verbal memory in children with developmental language disorder","authors":"Gaelle E. Doucet , Jordanna A. Kruse , Attakias Mertens , Callum Goldsmith , Nichole M. Eden , Jacob Oleson , Karla K. McGregor","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105531","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105531","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant difficulty with language learning, comprehension, and expression. The neurocognitive bases of DLD are underspecified but are thought to be related, in part, to altered basal ganglia (BG). The BG are known to have a high level of brain iron, which contributes to myelination and dopaminergic pathways among other physiological mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether a brain iron imbalance might contribute to the altered BG function that characterizes individuals with DLD. Using a T2*-weighted signal, we compared BG brain iron levels in 7-to-13-year olds with DLD and typical language development (TD). We found a significant age-by-group interaction in the caudate with children with DLD showing a positive association between brain iron and age, which was not the case in TD children. A sex-by-age-by-group interaction was also reported in the right putamen and right nucleus accumbens. Higher brain iron in the caudate was associated with poorer story recall; there was no relation between brain iron levels and recall of word lists. This first-ever investigation of brain iron levels in individuals with DLD provides preliminary evidence of an abnormal developmental trajectory of brain iron balance and offers a potential explanation for the altered BG function and verbal impairments that characterize DLD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"261 ","pages":"Article 105531"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11769726/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142933354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105545
Jeroen J. Stekelenburg , Jakob Limpens , Martijn Baart , Jean Vroomen
Selective speech adaptation refers to the phenomenon where repeated exposure to identical speech sounds temporarily reduces sensitivity to that sound. We used EEG to track the time-course of this effect. Participants were first exposed to the Dutch vowels /e/ or /ø/ and subsequently identified ambiguous sounds halfway between these phonemes. In over 90 % of the trials, the ambiguous speech sounds were perceived as the opposite phoneme to the one they were repeatedly exposed to. This perceptual shift was linked to late EEG deviations, starting around 575 ms after sound onset, which were primarily located in the left superior temporal gyrus. These findings highlight a strong link between the perceptual interpretation of ambiguous phonemes and late brain potentials. As selective speech adaptation can occur at various levels within the auditory processing hierarchy, the observed EEG effects likely reflect activity at a higher-order cortical stage involved in resolving perceptual ambiguity.
{"title":"Electrophysiological correlates of selective speech adaptation","authors":"Jeroen J. Stekelenburg , Jakob Limpens , Martijn Baart , Jean Vroomen","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105545","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105545","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Selective speech adaptation refers to the phenomenon where repeated exposure to identical speech sounds temporarily reduces sensitivity to that sound. We used EEG to track the time-course of this effect. Participants were first exposed to the Dutch vowels /e/ or /ø/ and subsequently identified ambiguous sounds halfway between these phonemes. In over 90 % of the trials, the ambiguous speech sounds were perceived as the opposite phoneme to the one they were repeatedly exposed to. This perceptual shift was linked to late EEG deviations, starting around 575 ms after sound onset, which were primarily located in the left superior temporal gyrus. These findings highlight a strong link between the perceptual interpretation of ambiguous phonemes and late brain potentials. As selective speech adaptation can occur at various levels within the auditory processing hierarchy, the observed EEG effects likely reflect activity at a higher-order cortical stage involved in resolving perceptual ambiguity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105545"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143054322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105537
Miaomiao Zhu , Qing Cai
Hemispheric specialization of different functions is proposed to confer evolutionary benefits, yet the behavioral impacts of lateralization and its cognitive and neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the effect of lateralization pattern between language and spatial attention on dual-task performance and its association with callosal connectivity. Functional lateralization was assessed using fMRI verbal fluency and landmark tasks, and interhemispheric connections were evaluated through diffusion-weighted imaging. The typical lateralization pattern enhanced overall performance and reduced interference in dual-task compared to the co-lateralized pattern (both functions lateralized to one hemisphere). However, no differences were observed between the mirrored pattern (right language dominance and left attention dominance) and the co-lateralized pattern. While callosal connectivity did not significantly differ among groups, a negative correlation was observed between the lateralization degree and callosal connectivity. Our findings partially support the functional crowding hypothesis and offer insights into neurocognitive mechanisms underlying functional reorganization after brain lesions.
{"title":"Hemispheric co-lateralization of language and spatial attention reduces performance in dual-task","authors":"Miaomiao Zhu , Qing Cai","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105537","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105537","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hemispheric specialization of different functions is proposed to confer evolutionary benefits, yet the behavioral impacts of lateralization and its cognitive and neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the effect of lateralization pattern between language and spatial attention on dual-task performance and its association with callosal connectivity. Functional lateralization was assessed using fMRI verbal fluency and landmark tasks, and interhemispheric connections were evaluated through diffusion-weighted imaging. The typical lateralization pattern enhanced overall performance and reduced interference in dual-task compared to the co-lateralized pattern (both functions lateralized to one hemisphere). However, no differences were observed between the mirrored pattern (right language dominance and left attention dominance) and the co-lateralized pattern. While callosal connectivity did not significantly differ among groups, a negative correlation was observed between the lateralization degree and callosal connectivity. Our findings partially support the functional crowding hypothesis and offer insights into neurocognitive mechanisms underlying functional reorganization after brain lesions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"262 ","pages":"Article 105537"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105538
Meng Han , Yaxu Zhang
An ERP experiment was conducted to investigate the common and distinct neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the on-line processing of two types of politeness maxims (self-depreciation and other-elevation) and the individual differences during sentence reading. Electroencephalograms were recorded while participants read sentences containing pragmatically appropriate or inappropriate honorific or humble terms. When collapsing all participants’ data, inappropriate humble and honorific terms elicited N400 and P600 effects, respectively, which could reflect semantic processing costs and rechecking processes, respectively. More importantly, communication abilities modulated N400 and late negativity effects for appropriateness for humble but not honorific terms. In contrast, perspective-taking and emphatic concern modulated N400 and late positivity effects, respectively, for honorific but not humble terms. Moreover, some commonness of the appropriateness effect modulation by individual variables was also observed. These results are discussed in terms of the commonness and individuality of neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the processing of different politeness maxims during sentence comprehension.
{"title":"Common and distinct ERP responses to violations of two different types of politeness maxims during sentence comprehension","authors":"Meng Han , Yaxu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105538","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105538","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An ERP experiment was conducted to investigate the common and distinct neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the on-line processing of two types of politeness maxims (self-depreciation and other-elevation) and the individual differences during sentence reading. Electroencephalograms were recorded while participants read sentences containing pragmatically appropriate or inappropriate honorific or humble terms. When collapsing all participants’ data, inappropriate humble and honorific terms elicited N400 and P600 effects, respectively, which could reflect semantic processing costs and rechecking processes, respectively. More importantly, communication abilities modulated N400 and late negativity effects for appropriateness for humble but not honorific terms. In contrast, perspective-taking and emphatic concern modulated N400 and late positivity effects, respectively, for honorific but not humble terms. Moreover, some commonness of the appropriateness effect modulation by individual variables was also observed. These results are discussed in terms of the commonness and individuality of neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the processing of different politeness maxims during sentence comprehension.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105538"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105535
Anastasia A. Bohsali , Joseph M. Gullett , David B. FitzGerald , Thomas Mareci , Bruce Crosson , Keith White , Stephen E. Nadeau
Introduction
Although many white matter tracts underlying language functions have been identified, even in aggregate they do not provide a sufficiently detailed and expansive picture to enable us to fully understand the computational processes that might underly language production and comprehension. We employed diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) with a tensor distribution model to more extensively explore the white matter tracts supporting core language functions. Our study was guided by hypotheses stemming largely from the aphasia literature.
Methods
We employed high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) with a dual region of interest tractography approach. Our diffusion tensor distribution model uses a mixture of Wishart distributions to estimate the water molecule displacement probability functions on a voxel-by-voxel basis and to model crossing/branching fibers using a multicompartmental approach.
Results
We replicated the results of previously published studies of tracts underlying language function. Our study also yielded a number of novel findings: 1) extensive connectivity between Broca’s region and the entirety of the middle and superior frontal gyri; 2) extensive interconnectivity between the four subcomponents of Broca’s region, pars orbitalis, pars triangularis, pars opercularis, and the inferior precentral gyrus; 3) connectivity between the mid-superior temporal gyrus and the transverse gyrus; 4) connectivity between the mid-superior temporal gyrus, the transverse gyrus, and the planum temporale and the inferior and middle temporal gyri; and 5) connectivity between mid- and anterior superior temporal gyrus and all components of Broca’s region.
Discussion
These results, which replicate the results of prior DTT studies, also considerably extend them and thereby provide a fuller picture of the structural basis of language function and the basis for a novel model of the neural network architecture of language function. This new model is entirely consistent with discoveries from the aphasia literature and with parallel distributed processing conceptualizations of language function.
{"title":"Neural connectivity underlying core language functions","authors":"Anastasia A. Bohsali , Joseph M. Gullett , David B. FitzGerald , Thomas Mareci , Bruce Crosson , Keith White , Stephen E. Nadeau","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105535","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105535","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Although many white matter tracts underlying language functions have been identified, even in aggregate they do not provide a sufficiently detailed and expansive picture to enable us to fully understand the computational processes that might underly language production and comprehension. We employed diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) with a tensor distribution model to more extensively explore the white matter tracts supporting core language functions. Our study was guided by hypotheses stemming largely from the aphasia literature.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We employed high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) with a dual region of interest tractography approach. Our diffusion tensor distribution model uses a mixture of Wishart distributions to estimate the water molecule displacement probability functions on a voxel-by-voxel basis and to model crossing/branching fibers using a multicompartmental approach.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We replicated the results of previously published studies of tracts underlying language function. Our study also yielded a number of novel findings: 1) extensive connectivity between Broca’s region and the entirety of the middle and superior frontal gyri; 2) extensive interconnectivity between the four subcomponents of Broca’s region, pars orbitalis, pars triangularis, pars opercularis, and the inferior precentral gyrus; 3) connectivity between the mid-superior temporal gyrus and the transverse gyrus; 4) connectivity between the mid-superior temporal gyrus, the transverse gyrus, and the planum temporale and the inferior and middle temporal gyri; and 5) connectivity between mid- and anterior superior temporal gyrus and all components of Broca’s region.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>These results, which replicate the results of prior DTT studies, also considerably extend them and thereby provide a fuller picture of the structural basis of language function and the basis for a novel model of the neural network architecture of language function. This new model is entirely consistent with discoveries from the aphasia literature and with parallel distributed processing conceptualizations of language function.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"262 ","pages":"Article 105535"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105534
Leonie Kram , Beate Neu , Ann-Katrin Ohlerth , Axel Schroeder , Bernhard Meyer , Sandro M. Krieg , Sebastian Ille
Background
Reliable language mappings require sufficient language skills. This study evaluated whether linguistic task properties impact feasibility and reliability of navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS)-based language mappings in aphasic glioma patients.
Methods
The effect of linguistic complexity on naming accuracy during baseline testing without stimulation and on the number of errors during nTMS was evaluated for 16 moderately and 4 severely expressive aphasic patients.
Result
During baseline, items acquired later in life and used less frequently, a higher amount of multisyllabic, compound, and inanimate items were named inaccurately. Even after removing these more complex items, less frequent and multisyllabic items were more error-prone during stimulation.
Conclusion
Higher linguistic item complexity was associated with decreased naming accuracy during baseline and resulted in a potentially higher false positive rate during nTMS in aphasic glioma patients. Thus, tailoring task complexity to individual performance capabilities may considerably support the preservation of residual functionality.
{"title":"The impact of linguistic complexity on feasibility and reliability of language mapping in aphasic glioma patients","authors":"Leonie Kram , Beate Neu , Ann-Katrin Ohlerth , Axel Schroeder , Bernhard Meyer , Sandro M. Krieg , Sebastian Ille","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105534","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105534","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Reliable language mappings require sufficient language skills. This study evaluated whether linguistic task properties impact feasibility and reliability of navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS)-based language mappings in aphasic glioma patients.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The effect of linguistic complexity on naming accuracy during baseline testing without stimulation and on the number of errors during nTMS was evaluated for 16 moderately and 4 severely expressive aphasic patients.</div></div><div><h3>Result</h3><div>During baseline, items acquired later in life and used less frequently, a higher amount of multisyllabic, compound, and inanimate items were named inaccurately. Even after removing these more complex items, less frequent and multisyllabic items were more error-prone during stimulation.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Higher linguistic item complexity was associated with decreased naming accuracy during baseline and resulted in a potentially higher false positive rate during nTMS in aphasic glioma patients. Thus, tailoring task complexity to individual performance capabilities may considerably support the preservation of residual functionality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"262 ","pages":"Article 105534"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143016751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-17DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105536
Francesca Vitale , Ana Hernández-Sauret , Alessio Avenanti , Manuel de Vega
The embodied approach to language meaning suggests that negation with action verbs decreases activation of the negated concept, reflected in reduced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This study aims to explore how action negation influences inhibitory and facilitatory mechanisms within the primary motor cortex (M1) using paired-pulse TMS (ppTMS). We evaluated corticospinal excitability (CSE), short intracortical inhibition (SICI), indexing GABAA activity, and intracortical facilitation (ICF), related to glutamatergic activity. Participants read action and attentional sentences, presented in affirmative and negative form, with TMS pulses administered over the left M1 at 250 ms from verb onset. Results show negated action sentences differently modulate CSE and SICI compared to affirmative ones, indicating GABAA activity of negation. No differences emerged for attentional sentences, nor for ICF stimulation. This study confirms the suppressive impact of action negation on CSE and highlights inhibitory networks’ role in action negation processing within M1.
{"title":"Exploring the impact of sentential negation on inhibitory motor networks: Insights from paired-pulse TMS","authors":"Francesca Vitale , Ana Hernández-Sauret , Alessio Avenanti , Manuel de Vega","doi":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The embodied approach to language meaning suggests that negation with action verbs decreases activation of the negated concept, reflected in reduced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This study aims to explore how action negation influences inhibitory and facilitatory mechanisms within the primary motor cortex (M1) using paired-pulse TMS (ppTMS). We evaluated corticospinal excitability (CSE), short intracortical inhibition (SICI), indexing GABAA activity, and intracortical facilitation (ICF), related to glutamatergic activity. Participants read action and attentional sentences, presented in affirmative and negative form, with TMS pulses administered over the left M1 at 250 ms from verb onset. Results show negated action sentences differently modulate CSE and SICI compared to affirmative ones, indicating GABAA activity of negation. No differences emerged for attentional sentences, nor for ICF stimulation. This study confirms the suppressive impact of action negation on CSE and highlights inhibitory networks’ role in action negation processing within M1.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55330,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Language","volume":"262 ","pages":"Article 105536"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143016816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}