Abstract
AbstractLanguage comprehension requires sub-lexical (e.g., phonological) and lexical-semantic processing. We designed a task to compare the sub-lexical and lexical-semantic processing of verbs during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Likewise, we were interested in the dichotomous representation of concrete-motor versus abstract-non-motor concepts, so two semantic categories of verbs were included: motor and mental. The findings support the involvement of the left dorsal stream of the perisylvian network for sub-lexical processing during the reading of pseudo-verbs and the ventral stream for lexical-semantic representation during the reading of verbs. According to the embodied or grounded cognition approach, modality-specific mechanisms, i.e.,, sensory-motor systems, and the well-established multimodal left perisylvian network contribute to semantic representation for concrete and abstract verbs. The present study detected a preferential modality-specific system for abstract-mental verbs. The visual system was recruited by mental verbs and showed functional connectivity with the right crus I/lobule VI from the cerebellum, suggesting the existence of this network to support the semantic representation of abstract concepts. These results confirm the dissociation between sub-lexical and lexical-semantic processing and provide evidence about the neurobiological basis of semantic representations for abstract verbs.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference67 articles.
1. The brain basis of language processing: from structure to function;Physiol Rev [Internet,2011
2. Nouns, verbs, objects, actions, and abstractions: Local fMRI activity indexes semantics, not lexical categories
3. Hickok G , Poeppel D. O P I N I O N The cortical organization of speech processing [Internet]. 2007. Available from: www.nature.com/reviews/neuro
4. Saur D , rn Kreher BW , Schnell S , Kü mmerer D , Kellmeyer P , Vry MS , et al. Ventral and dorsal pathways for language [Internet]. 2008 [cited 2021 Feb 22]. Available from: www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/
5. Coltheart M. Modeling Reading: The Dual-Route Approach. In: Snowling MJ , Hulme C , editors. The Science of Reading: A Handbook. Blackwell Publishing Ltd; 2005. p. 2–23.