Cited by 394Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismReading and Literacy DevelopmentNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

A procedure for identifying regions preferentially activated by attention to semantic and phonological relations using functional magnetic resonance imaging

McDermott, Kathleen B, Petersen, Steven E, Watson, Jason M, Ojemann, Jeffrey G·2003·Neuropsychologia

Abstract

A procedure is introduced for using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques to identify neural regions associated with attention to semantic and phonological aspects of written words within a single group of subjects. Short lists (16 words/list), consisting of visually-presented semantically-related words (bed, rest) or rhyming words (weep, beep) were presented rapidly to subjects, who were asked to attend to the relations among the words. Regions preferentially involved in attention to semantic relations appeared within left anterior/ventral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, approximate Brodmann Area, BA47), left posterior/dorsal IFG (BA44/45), left superior/middle temporal cortex (BA22/21), left fusiform gyrus (BA37), and right cerebellum. Regions preferentially involved in attention to phonological relations appeared within left inferior frontal cortex (near BA6/44, posterior to the semantic regions within IFG described above) and within bilateral inferior parietal cortex (BA40) and precuneus (BA7). This method is notable in that a comparison of the two tasks within some of the individual subjects revealed activation patterns similar to the group average, especially within left inferior frontal and left superior/middle parietal cortices. This fact combined with the efficiency with which the data can be obtained (here, in about an hour of functional scanning) and the adaptability of the task for many different subject populations suggests a wide range of possibilities for this technique: it could be used to track language development (e.g. in children), compare language organization across subject populations (e.g. for dyslexic or blind subjects), and identify language regions within individuals (e.g. potentially to aid in surgical planning).

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0028-3932(02)00162-8

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  • Frontal activations have consistently been observed during successful declarative retrieval.

    “Frontal activations have consistently been observed during successful declarative retrieval (Rugg et al., 1996; Buckner et al., 1998; McDermott et al., 2003; Simons and Spiers, 2003; Spaniol et al., 2009; Huijbers et al., 2013).”

    From Neural Correlates of Long-Term Memory Enhancement Following Retrieval Practice (2021) · cites this paper as McDermott et al., 2003

  • BA44 and BA45 can be dissociated based on function, with BA44 more important for phonological processing and BA45 more important for semantic processing.

    “BA44 and BA45 can be dissociated based on their function, with BA44 being more important for phonological processing (i.e. related to the encoding or decoding of the sound structure of words) and BA45 being more important for semantic processing (i.e. related to the meaning of words)”

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Authors
McDermott, K. B., Petersen, S. E., Watson, J. M., & Ojemann, J. G.
Affiliations
Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Corresponding author
McDermott, Kathleen B
Venue
Neuropsychologia
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2003-01
Volume
41
Issue
3
Pages
293-303
ISSN
0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2161236321
Cited by
393
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 24
FWCI
9.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (MH62514, R03MH062514)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
semantic attention, word processing, semantic relations, rhyme, written word, inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal cortex, fusiform gyrus, cerebellum, inferior parietal cortex, precuneus, language development, dyslexia, blind subjects, language localization, surgical planning
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Attention, Brain, Brain Mapping, Cognition, Female, Humans, Language, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Phonetics, Reading, Semantics

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