Document Detail


Modulation of BOLD response in motion-sensitive lateral temporal cortex by real and fictive motion sentences.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19925197     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Can linguistic semantics affect neural processing in feature-specific visual regions? Specifically, when we hear a sentence describing a situation that includes motion, do we engage neural processes that are part of the visual perception of motion? How about if a motion verb was used figuratively, not literally? We used fMRI to investigate whether semantic content can "penetrate" and modulate neural populations that are selective to specific visual properties during natural language comprehension. Participants were presented audiovisually with three kinds of sentences: motion sentences ("The wild horse crossed the barren field."), static sentences, ("The black horse stood in the barren field."), and fictive motion sentences ("The hiking trail crossed the barren field."). Motion-sensitive visual areas (MT+) were localized individually in each participant as well as face-selective visual regions (fusiform face area; FFA). MT+ was activated significantly more for motion sentences than the other sentence types. Fictive motion sentences also activated MT+ more than the static sentences. Importantly, no modulation of neural responses was found in FFA. Our findings suggest that the neural substrates of linguistic semantics include early visual areas specifically related to the represented semantics and that figurative uses of motion verbs also engage these neural systems, but to a lesser extent. These data are consistent with a view of language comprehension as an embodied process, with neural substrates as far reaching as early sensory brain areas that are specifically related to the represented semantics.
Authors:
Ayse Pinar Saygin; Stephen McCullough; Morana Alac; Karen Emmorey
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of cognitive neuroscience     Volume:  22     ISSN:  1530-8898     ISO Abbreviation:  J Cogn Neurosci     Publication Date:  2010 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-07-16     Completed Date:  2010-11-10     Revised Date:  2011-02-04    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8910747     Medline TA:  J Cogn Neurosci     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  2480-90     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0515, USA. apsaygin@gmail.com
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Brain Mapping*
Female
Functional Laterality / physiology*
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Male
Motion*
Oxygen / blood
Photic Stimulation / methods
Psycholinguistics
Semantics*
Temporal Lobe / blood supply*
Young Adult
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R01 DC010997-32/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 HD13249/HD/NICHD NIH HHS
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
7782-44-7/Oxygen

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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