Neural representation of verb meaning: an fMRI study.

Full Abstract

The neural basis for verb comprehension has proven elusive, in part because of the limited range of verb categories that have been assessed. In the present study, 16 healthy young adults were probed for the meaning associated with verbs of MOTION and verbs of COGNITION. We observed distinct patterns of activation for each verb subcategory:
MOTION verbs are associated with recruitment of left ventral temporal-occipital cortex, bilateral prefrontal cortex and caudate, whereas COGNITION verbs are associated with left posterolateral temporal activation. These findings are consistent with the claim that the neural representations of verb subcategories are distinct. Although the "sensory-motor" hypothesis may play a role in explaining activation associated with MOTION verbs, the left posterolateral temporal distribution of cortical activation associated with COGNITION verbs cannot be easily explained by the "sensory-motor" hypothesis. We suggest that left posterolateral temporal activation supports aspects of lexical semantic processing concerned with the neural representation of propositional knowledge contributing to COGNITION verbs.Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Grossman, Murray (M); Koenig, Phyllis (P); DeVita, Chris (C); Glosser, Guila (G); Alsop, David (D); Detre, John (J); Gee, James (J);

Affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4283, USA. mgrossma(-atsign-)mail.med.upenn.edu

Grants: AG15116 (Agency:NIA NIH HHS) ; AG17586 (Agency:NIA NIH HHS) ; NS35867 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Human brain mapping (Hum Brain Mapp), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Feb; vol 15 (issue 2) : pp 124-34

Dates: Created 2002/02/08; Completed 2002/04/12; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 11835603, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Behavior - physiology
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - anatomy & histology; physiology
Emotions - physiology
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans

Humans
Language Tests
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Nerve Net - physiology
Reaction Time - physiology
Reading
Verbal Behavior - physiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.