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Differentiating lexical form, meaning, and structure in the neural language system.

ABSTRACT: A technique for studying the relationship between brain and language, which involves correlating scores on two continuous variables, signal intensity across the entire brains of brain-damaged patients and behavioral priming scores, was used to investigate a central issue in cognitive neuroscience: Are the components of the neural language system organized as a single undifferentiated process, or do they respond differentially to different types of linguistic structure? Differences in lexical structure, in the form of the regular and irregular past tense, have proven to be critical in this debate by contrasting a highly predictable rule-like process (e.g., jump-jumped) with an unpredictable idiosyncratic process typified by the irregulars (e.g., think-thought). The key issue raised by these contrasts is whether processing regular and irregular past tense forms differentially engages different aspects of the neural language system or whether they are processed within a single system that distinguishes between them purely on the basis of phonological and semantic differences. The correlational analyses provide clear evidence for a functional differentiation between different brain regions associated with the processing of lexical form, meaning, and morphological structure.

SUBMITTER: Tyler LK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1149400 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Differentiating lexical form, meaning, and structure in the neural language system.

Tyler L K LK Marslen-Wilson W D WD Stamatakis E A EA

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20050527 23

A technique for studying the relationship between brain and language, which involves correlating scores on two continuous variables, signal intensity across the entire brains of brain-damaged patients and behavioral priming scores, was used to investigate a central issue in cognitive neuroscience: Are the components of the neural language system organized as a single undifferentiated process, or do they respond differentially to different types of linguistic structure? Differences in lexical str ...[more]

PMID: 15923263

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Project description:In order to memorize sentences we use both processes of language comprehension during encoding and processes of language production during maintenance. While the former processes are easily testable via controlled presentation of the input, the latter are more difficult to assess directly as language production is typically initiated and controlled internally. In the present event-related potential (ERP) study we track subvocal rehearsal of sentences, with the goal of studying the concomitant planning processes with the help of a silent cued-production task. Native German participants read different types of sentences word-by-word, then were prompted by a visual cue to silently repeat each individual word, in a rehearsal phase. In order to assess both local and global effects of sentence planning, we presented correct sentences, syntactically or semantically violated sentences, or random word order sequences. Semantic violations during reading elicited an N400 effect at the noun violating the selectional restrictions of the preceding verb. Syntactic violations, induced by a gender incongruency between determiner and noun, led to a P600 effect at the same position. Different ERP patterns occurred during the silent production phase. Here, semantically violated sentences elicited an early fronto-central negativity at the verb, while syntactically violated sentences elicited a late right-frontal positivity at the determiner. Random word order was accompanied by long-lasting slow waves during the production phase. The findings are consistent with models of hierarchical sentence planning and further indicate that the ongoing working memory processes are qualitatively distinct from comprehension mechanisms and neurophysiologically specific for syntactic and lexical-semantic level planning. In conclusion, active working memory maintenance of sentences is likely to comprise specific stages of sentence production that are indicated by ERP correlates of syntactic and semantic planning at the phrasal and clausal level respectively.

Dataset Information

Differentiating lexical form, meaning, and structure in the neural language system.

Publications

Differentiating lexical form, meaning, and structure in the neural language system.

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