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Exploring the neural dynamics underpinning individual differences in sentence comprehension.

ABSTRACT: This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate individual differences in the neural underpinnings of sentence comprehension, with a focus on neural adaptability (dynamic configuration of neural networks with changing task demands). Twenty-seven undergraduates, with varying working memory capacities and vocabularies, read sentences that were either syntactically simple or complex under conditions of varying extrinsic working memory demands (sentences alone or preceded by to-be-remembered words or nonwords). All readers showed greater neural adaptability when extrinsic working memory demands were low, suggesting that adaptability is related to resource availability. Higher capacity readers showed greater neural adaptability (greater increase in activation with increasing syntactic complexity) across conditions than did lower capacity readers. Higher capacity readers also showed better maintenance of or increase in synchronization of activation between brain regions as tasks became more demanding. Larger vocabulary was associated with more efficient use of cortical resources (reduced activation in frontal regions) in all conditions but was not associated with greater neural adaptability or synchronization. The distinct characterizations of verbal working memory capacity and vocabulary suggest that dynamic facets of brain function such as adaptability and synchronization may underlie individual differences in more general information processing abilities, whereas neural efficiency may more specifically reflect individual differences in language experience.

SUBMITTER: Prat CS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3138509 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Exploring the neural dynamics underpinning individual differences in sentence comprehension.

Prat Chantel S CS Just Marcel Adam MA

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) 20101210 8

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate individual differences in the neural underpinnings of sentence comprehension, with a focus on neural adaptability (dynamic configuration of neural networks with changing task demands). Twenty-seven undergraduates, with varying working memory capacities and vocabularies, read sentences that were either syntactically simple or complex under conditions of varying extrinsic working memory demands (sentences alone or preceded by to- ...[more]

PMID: 21148612

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Project description:Functional neuroimaging and lesion-symptom mapping investigations implicate a left frontal-temporal-parietal network for sentence processing. The majority of studies have focused on sentence comprehension, with fewer in the domain of sentence production, which have not fully elucidated overlapping and/or unique brain structures associated with the two domains, particularly for sentences with noncanonical word order. Using voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) we examined the relationship between lesions within the left hemisphere language network and both sentence comprehension and production of simple and complex syntactic structures in 76 participants with chronic stroke-induced aphasia. Results revealed shared regions across domains in the anterior and posterior superior temporal gyri (aSTG, pSTG), and the temporal pole (adjusted for verb production/comprehension). Additionally, comprehension was associated with lesions in the anterior and posterior middle temporal gyri (aMTG, pMTG), the MTG temporooccipital regions, SMG/AG, central and parietal operculum, and the insula. Subsequent VLSM analyses (production versus comprehension) revealed critical regions associated with each domain: anterior temporal lesions were associated with production; posterior temporo-parietal lesions were associated with comprehension, implicating important roles for regions within the ventral and dorsal stream processing routes, respectively. Processing of syntactically complex, noncanonical (adjusted for canonical), sentences was associated with damage to the pSTG across domains, with additional damage to the pMTG and IPL associated with impaired sentence comprehension, suggesting that the pSTG is crucial for computing noncanonical sentences across domains and that the pMTG, and IPL are necessary for re-analysis of thematic roles as required for resolution of long-distance dependencies. These findings converge with previous studies and extend our knowledge of the neural mechanisms of sentence comprehension to production, highlighting critical regions associated with both domains, and further address the mechanism engaged for syntactic computation, controlled for the contribution of verb processing.

Dataset Information

Exploring the neural dynamics underpinning individual differences in sentence comprehension.

Publications

Exploring the neural dynamics underpinning individual differences in sentence comprehension.

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