Multiple dimensions underlying the functional organization of the language network

TY - JOUR

T1 - Multiple dimensions underlying the functional organization of the language network

AU - Hodgson, Victoria J.

AU - Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.

AU - Jackson, Rebecca L.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council studentship to V.J.H, a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to R.L.J. (no. pf170068), a programme grant to M.A.L.R. from the Medical Research Council (grant no. MR/R023883/1 ), an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council to M.A.L.R. ( GAP: 670428 ) and Medical Research Council intramural funding (no. MC_UU_00005/18). Publisher Copyright: © 2021

PY - 2021/11/1

Y1 - 2021/11/1

N2 - Understanding the different neural networks that support human language is an ongoing challenge for cognitive neuroscience. Which divisions are capable of distinguishing the functional significance of regions across the language network? A key separation between semantic cognition and phonological processing was highlighted in early meta-analyses, yet these seminal works did not formally test this proposition. Moreover, organization by domain is not the only possibility. Regions may be organized by the type of process performed, as in the separation between representation and control processes proposed within the Controlled Semantic Cognition framework. The importance of these factors was assessed in a series of activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses that investigated which regions of the language network are consistently recruited for semantic and phonological domains, and for representation and control processes. Whilst semantic and phonological processing consistently recruit many overlapping regions, they can be dissociated (by differential involvement of bilateral anterior temporal lobes, precentral gyrus and superior temporal gyri) only when using both formal analysis methods and sufficient data. Both semantic and phonological regions are further dissociable into control and representation regions, highlighting this as an additional, distinct dimension on which the language network is functionally organized. Furthermore, some of these control regions overlap with multiple-demand network regions critical for control beyond the language domain, suggesting the relative level of domain-specificity is also informative. Multiple, distinct dimensions are critical to understand the role of language regions. Here we present a proposal as to the core principles underpinning the functional organization of the language network.

AB - Understanding the different neural networks that support human language is an ongoing challenge for cognitive neuroscience. Which divisions are capable of distinguishing the functional significance of regions across the language network? A key separation between semantic cognition and phonological processing was highlighted in early meta-analyses, yet these seminal works did not formally test this proposition. Moreover, organization by domain is not the only possibility. Regions may be organized by the type of process performed, as in the separation between representation and control processes proposed within the Controlled Semantic Cognition framework. The importance of these factors was assessed in a series of activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses that investigated which regions of the language network are consistently recruited for semantic and phonological domains, and for representation and control processes. Whilst semantic and phonological processing consistently recruit many overlapping regions, they can be dissociated (by differential involvement of bilateral anterior temporal lobes, precentral gyrus and superior temporal gyri) only when using both formal analysis methods and sufficient data. Both semantic and phonological regions are further dissociable into control and representation regions, highlighting this as an additional, distinct dimension on which the language network is functionally organized. Furthermore, some of these control regions overlap with multiple-demand network regions critical for control beyond the language domain, suggesting the relative level of domain-specificity is also informative. Multiple, distinct dimensions are critical to understand the role of language regions. Here we present a proposal as to the core principles underpinning the functional organization of the language network.

KW - Control

KW - Language

KW - Meta-analysis

KW - Multiple Demand Network

KW - Phonology

KW - Semantics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111625553&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118444

DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118444

M3 - Article

C2 - 34343627

AN - SCOPUS:85111625553

SN - 1053-8119

VL - 241

JO - Neuroimage

JF - Neuroimage

M1 - 118444

ER -