Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension
For sentence comprehension, information carried by semantic relations between constituents must be combined with other information to decode the constituent structure of a sentence, due to atypical and noisy situations of language use. Neural correlates of decoding sentence structure by semantic inf...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-04-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811924000387 |
| _version_ | 1797300383934054400 |
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| author | Yun Zhang Marcus Taft Jiaman Tang Le Li |
| author_facet | Yun Zhang Marcus Taft Jiaman Tang Le Li |
| author_sort | Yun Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For sentence comprehension, information carried by semantic relations between constituents must be combined with other information to decode the constituent structure of a sentence, due to atypical and noisy situations of language use. Neural correlates of decoding sentence structure by semantic information have remained largely unexplored. In this functional MRI study, we examine the neural basis of semantic-driven syntactic parsing during sentence reading and compare it with that of other types of syntactic parsing driven by word order and case marking. Chinese transitive sentences of various structures were investigated, differing in word order, case making, and agent-patient semantic relations (i.e., same vs. different in animacy). For the non-canonical unmarked sentences without usable case marking, a semantic-driven effect triggered by agent-patient ambiguity was found in the left inferior frontal gyrus opercularis (IFGoper) and left inferior parietal lobule, with the activity not being modulated by naturalness factors of the sentences. The comparison between each type of non-canonical sentences with canonical sentences revealed that the non-canonicity effect engaged the left posterior frontal and temporal regions, in line with previous studies. No extra neural activity was found responsive to case marking within the non-canonical sentences. A word order effect across all types of sentences was also found in the left IFGoper, suggesting a common neural substrate between different types of parsing. The semantic-driven effect was also observed for the non-canonical marked sentences but not for the canonical sentences, suggesting that semantic information is used in decoding sentence structure in addition to case marking. The current findings illustrate the neural correlates of syntactic parsing with semantics, and provide neural evidence of how semantics facilitates syntax together with other information. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:06:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bbaa5342b14f4aa897790e7d8cf9f8dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:06:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj.art-bbaa5342b14f4aa897790e7d8cf9f8dc2024-02-22T04:51:49ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722024-04-01289120543Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehensionYun Zhang0Marcus Taft1Jiaman Tang2Le Li3Center for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR ChinaCenter for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR China; School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, AustraliaCenter for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR ChinaCenter for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR China; Corresponding author.For sentence comprehension, information carried by semantic relations between constituents must be combined with other information to decode the constituent structure of a sentence, due to atypical and noisy situations of language use. Neural correlates of decoding sentence structure by semantic information have remained largely unexplored. In this functional MRI study, we examine the neural basis of semantic-driven syntactic parsing during sentence reading and compare it with that of other types of syntactic parsing driven by word order and case marking. Chinese transitive sentences of various structures were investigated, differing in word order, case making, and agent-patient semantic relations (i.e., same vs. different in animacy). For the non-canonical unmarked sentences without usable case marking, a semantic-driven effect triggered by agent-patient ambiguity was found in the left inferior frontal gyrus opercularis (IFGoper) and left inferior parietal lobule, with the activity not being modulated by naturalness factors of the sentences. The comparison between each type of non-canonical sentences with canonical sentences revealed that the non-canonicity effect engaged the left posterior frontal and temporal regions, in line with previous studies. No extra neural activity was found responsive to case marking within the non-canonical sentences. A word order effect across all types of sentences was also found in the left IFGoper, suggesting a common neural substrate between different types of parsing. The semantic-driven effect was also observed for the non-canonical marked sentences but not for the canonical sentences, suggesting that semantic information is used in decoding sentence structure in addition to case marking. The current findings illustrate the neural correlates of syntactic parsing with semantics, and provide neural evidence of how semantics facilitates syntax together with other information.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811924000387Broca's areaSemantic relationSyntaxfMRI |
| spellingShingle | Yun Zhang Marcus Taft Jiaman Tang Le Li Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension NeuroImage Broca's area Semantic relation Syntax fMRI |
| title | Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension |
| title_full | Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension |
| title_fullStr | Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension |
| title_short | Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension |
| title_sort | neural correlates of semantic driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension |
| topic | Broca's area Semantic relation Syntax fMRI |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811924000387 |
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