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Cited by 4,060Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismMemory Processes and InfluencesReading and Literacy Development

Where is the semantic system? A critical review and meta-analysis of 120 functional neuroimaging studies

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Binder, Jeffrey R., Desai, Rutvik H., Graves, William W., Conant, Lisa L.·2009·Cerebral Cortex
DOI 10.1093/cercor/bhp055PMC PMC2774390
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Abstract

Semantic memory refers to knowledge about people, objects, actions, relations, self, and culture acquired through experience. The neural systems that store and retrieve this information have been studied for many years, but a consensus regarding their identity has not been reached. Using strict inclusion criteria, we analyzed 120 functional neuroimaging studies focusing on semantic processing. Reliable areas of activation in these studies were identified using the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) technique. These activations formed a distinct, left-lateralized network comprised of 7 regions: posterior inferior parietal lobe, middle temporal gyrus, fusiform and parahippocampal gyri, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and posterior cingulate gyrus. Secondary analyses showed specific subregions of this network associated with knowledge of actions, manipulable artifacts, abstract concepts, and concrete concepts. The cortical regions involved in semantic processing can be grouped into 3 broad categories: posterior multimodal and heteromodal association cortex, heteromodal prefrontal cortex, and medial limbic regions. The expansion of these regions in the human relative to the nonhuman primate brain may explain uniquely human capacities to use language productively, plan, solve problems, and create cultural and technological artifacts, all of which depend on the fluid and efficient retrieval and manipulation of semantic knowledge.

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  • The dmPFC is hypothesized to support abstracting affective meaning of stimuli or the processes of self-reflecting and identifying one's own affective reactions to stimuli.

    “Finally, the dmPFC is hypothesized to support abstracting affective meaning of stimuli or the processes of self-reflecting and identifying one’s own affective reactions to stimuli [121, 126–130].”

    From Prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and threat processing: implications for PTSD (2022) · cites this paper as [127]

    The Left DMPFC section proposes a role in self-guided, goal-directed retrieval of semantic information, not in identifying one’s own affective reactions. The Left IFG section instead assigns processing the affective significance of concepts to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). The supplied copy does not give page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • The location of the DMN as equidistant from all sensory/motor systems is aligned with its broad range of functions that require integration between multiple sensory systems, including episodic and semantic memory, social cognition, goal-directed working memory, and reward-guided decision making.

    “Second, the location of the DMN as equidistant from all sensory/motor systems is aligned with its broad range of functions that require integration between multiple sensory systems, including episodic [51] and semantic memory [52-54], social cognition [55, 56], goal-directed working memory tasks [26, 32, 33, 35] and reward-guided decision making [57, 58].”

    From Situating the default-mode network along a principal gradient of macroscale cortical organization (2016) · cites this paper as [52]

  • DMN nodes in the lateral temporal and lateral parietal cortices are consistently implicated in language comprehension and semantic processing.

    “DMN nodes in the lateral temporal and lateral parietal cortices are consistently implicated in language comprehension and semantic processing.”

    From 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis. (2023) · cites this paper as [55]

  • Meta-analyses have confirmed significant overlap between the DMN and language and semantic processing systems.

    “Meta-analyses have confirmed significant overlap between the DMN and language and semantic processing systems.”

    From 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis. (2023) · cites this paper as [55]

  • High-level DMN areas have been previously found to encode amodal abstract information.

    “Accordingly, movie-viewing to spoken-recall pattern correlations were not found in low-level sensory areas, but instead were located in high-level DMN areas, which have been previously found to encode amodal abstract information (Binder et al. 2009; Honey et al. 2012; Regev et al. 2013).”

    From How We Transmit Memories to Other Brains: Constructing Shared Neural Representations Via Communication (2017) · cites this paper as Binder et al. 2009

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Authors
Binder, J. R., Desai, R. H., Graves, W. W., & Conant, L. L.
Affiliations
Medical College of Wisconsin (US)
ORCID
Venue
Cerebral Cortex
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2009-03-27
Volume
19
Issue
12
Pages
2767-2796
ISSN
  • 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2199
DOI
10.1093/cercor/bhp055
PMC
PMC2774390
OpenAlex
W2112891119
Semantic Scholar
f6865ed39f0fc55b43c5d6b93e8ca597a21a9ccb
Cited by
4,060
References
440
Citations by year
2026: 208 · 2025: 280 · 2024: 226 · 2023: 244 · 2022: 331 · 2021: 270 · 2020: 359 · 2019: 288 · 2018: 239 · 2017: 268 · 2016: 257 · 2015: 269 · 2014: 206 · 2013: 211 · 2012: 172
FWCI
9.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Scholar Commons (University of South Carolina) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH019992)
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R03DC008416, R01DC006287)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS033576, R01NS035929)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (F32HD056767)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
Keywords
semantic memory, semantic processing, semantic system, artificial neural networks, middle temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, action knowledge, abstract concepts, concrete concepts, human evolution, primate brain, language, prefrontal cortex, association cortex
MeSH terms
Brain, Brain Mapping, Cognition, Humans, Memory, Models, Neurological, Nerve Net, Neuroradiography, Semantics

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