Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain
Neuroscientists have debated for centuries whether some regions of the human brain are selectively engaged in specific high-level mental functions or whether, instead, cognition is implemented in multifunctional brain regions. For the critical case of language, conflicting answers arise from the neu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70065 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6354-6391 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3823-514X https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3853-7885 |
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| author | Fedorenko, Evelina G. Behr, Michael K. Kanwisher, Nancy |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Fedorenko, Evelina G. Behr, Michael K. Kanwisher, Nancy |
| author_sort | Fedorenko, Evelina G. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Neuroscientists have debated for centuries whether some regions of the human brain are selectively engaged in specific high-level mental functions or whether, instead, cognition is implemented in multifunctional brain regions. For the critical case of language, conflicting answers arise from the neuropsychological literature, which features striking dissociations between deficits in linguistic and nonlinguistic abilities, vs. the neuroimaging literature, which has argued for overlap between activations for linguistic and nonlinguistic processes, including arithmetic, domain general abilities like cognitive control, and music. Here, we use functional MRI to define classic language regions functionally in each subject individually and then examine the response of these regions to the nonlinguistic functions most commonly argued to engage these regions: arithmetic, working memory, cognitive control, and music. We find little or no response in language regions to these nonlinguistic functions. These data support a clear distinction between language and other cognitive processes, resolving the prior conflict between the neuropsychological and neuroimaging literatures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:32:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/70065 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:32:01Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/700652022-09-28T14:38:25Z Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain Fedorenko, Evelina G. Behr, Michael K. Kanwisher, Nancy Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT Kanwisher, Nancy Kanwisher, Nancy Behr, Michael K. Fedorenko, Evelina G. Neuroscientists have debated for centuries whether some regions of the human brain are selectively engaged in specific high-level mental functions or whether, instead, cognition is implemented in multifunctional brain regions. For the critical case of language, conflicting answers arise from the neuropsychological literature, which features striking dissociations between deficits in linguistic and nonlinguistic abilities, vs. the neuroimaging literature, which has argued for overlap between activations for linguistic and nonlinguistic processes, including arithmetic, domain general abilities like cognitive control, and music. Here, we use functional MRI to define classic language regions functionally in each subject individually and then examine the response of these regions to the nonlinguistic functions most commonly argued to engage these regions: arithmetic, working memory, cognitive control, and music. We find little or no response in language regions to these nonlinguistic functions. These data support a clear distinction between language and other cognitive processes, resolving the prior conflict between the neuropsychological and neuroimaging literatures. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Award K99HD-057522) Ellison Medical Foundation 2012-04-19T18:07:12Z 2012-04-19T18:07:12Z 2011-09 2011-07 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0027-8424 1091-6490 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70065 Fedorenko, E., M. K. Behr, and N. Kanwisher. “Functional Specificity for High-level Linguistic Processing in the Human Brain.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108.39 (2011): 16428–16433. Web. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6354-6391 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3823-514X https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3853-7885 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1112937108 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) PNAS |
| spellingShingle | Fedorenko, Evelina G. Behr, Michael K. Kanwisher, Nancy Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain |
| title | Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain |
| title_full | Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain |
| title_fullStr | Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain |
| title_short | Functional specificity for high-level linguistic processing in the human brain |
| title_sort | functional specificity for high level linguistic processing in the human brain |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70065 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6354-6391 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3823-514X https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3853-7885 |
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