Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System

© The Author 2016. During linguistic processing, a set of brain regions on the lateral surfaces of the left frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices exhibit robust responses. These areas display highly correlated activity while a subject rests or performs a naturalistic language comprehension task,...

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Main Authors: Chai, Lucy R, Mattar, Marcelo G, Blank, Idan Asher, Fedorenko, Evelina G, Bassett, Danielle S
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2022
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134664.2
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author Chai, Lucy R
Mattar, Marcelo G
Blank, Idan Asher
Fedorenko, Evelina G
Bassett, Danielle S
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Chai, Lucy R
Mattar, Marcelo G
Blank, Idan Asher
Fedorenko, Evelina G
Bassett, Danielle S
author_sort Chai, Lucy R
collection MIT
description © The Author 2016. During linguistic processing, a set of brain regions on the lateral surfaces of the left frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices exhibit robust responses. These areas display highly correlated activity while a subject rests or performs a naturalistic language comprehension task, suggesting that they form an integrated functional system. Evidence suggests that this system is spatially and functionally distinct from other systems that support high-level cognition in humans. Yet, how different regions within this system might be recruited dynamically during task performance is not well understood. Here we use network methods, applied to fMRI data collected from 22 human subjects performing a language comprehension task, to reveal the dynamic nature of the language system. We observe the presence of a stable core of brain regions, predominantly located in the left hemisphere, that consistently coactivate with one another. We also observe the presence of a more flexible periphery of brain regions, predominantly located in the right hemisphere, that coactivate with different regions at different times. However, the language functional ROIs in the angular gyrus and the anterior temporal lobe were notable exceptions to this trend. By highlighting the temporal dimension of language processing, these results suggest a trade-off between a region's specialization and its capacity for flexible network reconfiguration.
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spelling mit-1721.1/134664.22022-07-14T17:14:56Z Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System Chai, Lucy R Mattar, Marcelo G Blank, Idan Asher Fedorenko, Evelina G Bassett, Danielle S Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences © The Author 2016. During linguistic processing, a set of brain regions on the lateral surfaces of the left frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices exhibit robust responses. These areas display highly correlated activity while a subject rests or performs a naturalistic language comprehension task, suggesting that they form an integrated functional system. Evidence suggests that this system is spatially and functionally distinct from other systems that support high-level cognition in humans. Yet, how different regions within this system might be recruited dynamically during task performance is not well understood. Here we use network methods, applied to fMRI data collected from 22 human subjects performing a language comprehension task, to reveal the dynamic nature of the language system. We observe the presence of a stable core of brain regions, predominantly located in the left hemisphere, that consistently coactivate with one another. We also observe the presence of a more flexible periphery of brain regions, predominantly located in the right hemisphere, that coactivate with different regions at different times. However, the language functional ROIs in the angular gyrus and the anterior temporal lobe were notable exceptions to this trend. By highlighting the temporal dimension of language processing, these results suggest a trade-off between a region's specialization and its capacity for flexible network reconfiguration. 2022-07-14T17:14:54Z 2021-10-27T20:06:04Z 2022-07-14T17:14:54Z 2016 2021-03-26T18:19:38Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134664.2 Chai, L. R., et al. "Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System." Cereb Cortex (2016). en 10.1093/CERCOR/BHW238 Cerebral Cortex Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ application/octet-stream Oxford University Press (OUP) Oxford University Press
spellingShingle Chai, Lucy R
Mattar, Marcelo G
Blank, Idan Asher
Fedorenko, Evelina G
Bassett, Danielle S
Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System
title Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System
title_full Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System
title_fullStr Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System
title_full_unstemmed Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System
title_short Functional Network Dynamics of the Language System
title_sort functional network dynamics of the language system
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134664.2
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