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Two distinct neural networks support the mapping of meaning to a novel word.

ABSTRACT: Children can learn the meaning of a new word from context during normal reading or listening, without any explicit instruction. It is unclear how such meaning acquisition is supported and achieved in human brain. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we investigated neural networks supporting word learning with a functional connectivity approach. Participants were exposed to a new word presented in two successive sentences and needed to derive the meaning of the new word. We observed two neural networks involved in mapping the meaning to the new word. One network connected the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) with the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), medial superior frontal gyrus, caudate nucleus, thalamus, and inferior parietal lobule. The other network connected the left middle temporal gyrus (LMTG) with the MFG, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. The LIFG network showed stronger interregional interactions for new than real words, whereas the LMTG network showed similar connectivity patterns for new and real words. We proposed that these two networks support different functions during word learning. The LIFG network appears to select the most appropriate meaning from competing candidates and to map the selected meaning onto the new word. The LMTG network may be recruited to integrate the word into sentential context, regardless of whether the word is real or new. The LIFG and the LMTG networks share a common node, the MFG, suggesting that these two networks communicate in working memory.

SUBMITTER: Ye Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6870358 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Two distinct neural networks support the mapping of meaning to a novel word.

Ye Zheng Z Mestres-Missé Anna A Rodriguez-Fornells Antoni A Münte Thomas F TF

Human brain mapping 20100802 7

Children can learn the meaning of a new word from context during normal reading or listening, without any explicit instruction. It is unclear how such meaning acquisition is supported and achieved in human brain. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we investigated neural networks supporting word learning with a functional connectivity approach. Participants were exposed to a new word presented in two successive sentences and needed to derive the meaning of the new word. We ...[more]

PMID: 20681014

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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

Two distinct neural networks support the mapping of meaning to a novel word.

Publications

Two distinct neural networks support the mapping of meaning to a novel word.

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