Imagery or meaning? Evidence for a semantic origin of category-specific brain activity in metabolic imaging.

Détails

ID Serval
serval:BIB_ED6E80CBFC78
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Titre
Imagery or meaning? Evidence for a semantic origin of category-specific brain activity in metabolic imaging.
Périodique
European Journal of Neuroscience
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Hauk O., Davis M.H., Kherif F., Pulvermüller F.
ISSN
1460-9568 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0953-816X
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2008
Volume
27
Numéro
7
Pages
1856-1866
Langue
anglais
Notes
Publication types: Comparative Study ; Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tPublication Status: ppublish
Résumé
Category-specific brain activation distinguishing between semantic word types has imposed challenges on theories of semantic representations and processes. However, existing metabolic imaging data are still ambiguous about whether these category-specific activations reflect processes involved in accessing the semantic representation of the stimuli, or secondary processes such as deliberate mental imagery. Further information about the response characteristics of category-specific activation is still required. Our study for the first time investigated the differential impact of word frequency on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to action-related words and visually related words, respectively. First, we corroborated previous results showing that action-relatedness modulates neural responses in action-related areas, while word imageability modulates activation in object processing areas. Second, we provide novel results showing that activation negatively correlated with word frequency in the left fusiform gyrus was specific for visually related words, while in the left middle temporal gyrus word frequency effects emerged only for action-related words. Following the dominant view in the literature that effects of word frequency mainly reflect access to lexico-semantic information, we suggest that category-specific brain activation reflects distributed neuronal ensembles, which ground language and concepts in perception-action systems of the human brain. Our approach can be applied to any event-related data using single-stimulus presentation, and allows a detailed characterization of the functional role of category-specific activation patterns.
Mots-clé
Adult, Brain/metabolism, Female, Humans, Imagination/physiology, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy/methods, Male, Mental Processes/physiology, Photic Stimulation/methods, Reading, Semantics, Word Association Tests
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Oui
Création de la notice
22/01/2013 15:06
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 16:15
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