Recent neurophysiological evidence suggests that a hierarchical neural network of low-to-high level processing subserves written language comprehension. While a considerable amount of research has identified distinct regions and stages of processing, the relations between them and to this hierarchical model remain unclear. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a technique frequently employed in such investigations; however, no studies have sought to test whether the conventional method of reconstructing currents at the source of the magnetic field is best suited for such across-subject designs. The present study details the results of three MEG experiments addressing these issues. Neuronal populations supporting responses to low-level orthographic properties were housed posteriorly near the primary visual cortex. More anterior regions along the fusiform gyrus encoded higher-level processes and became active ~80ms later. A functional localiser of these early letter-specific responses was developed for the production of functional regions of interest in future studies. Previously established response components were successfully grouped based on proximity to the localiser, which characterised location, latency and functional sensitivity. Unconventional anatomically constrained signed minimum norm estimates of MEG data were most sensitive to the primary experimental manipulation, suggesting that the conventional unsigned unconstrained method is sub-optimal for studying written word processing.

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Converging evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies of human concepts indicate distinct neural systems for taxonomic and thematic knowledge. A recent study of naming in aphasia found involvement of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) during taxonomic (feature-based) processing, and involvement of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) during thematic (function-based) processing. We conducted an online magnetoencephalography (MEG) study to examine the spatio-temporal nature of taxonomic and thematic relations. We measured participants’ brain responses to words preceded by either a taxonomically or thematically related item (e.g., cottage→castle, king→castle). In a separate experiment we collected relatedness ratings of the word pairs from participants. We examined effects of relatedness and relation type on activation in ATL and TPJ regions of interest (ROIs) using permutation t-tests to identify differences in ROI activation between conditions as well as single-trial correlational analyses to examine the millisecond-by-millisecond influence of the stimulus variables on the ROIs. Taxonomic relations strongly predicted ATL activation, and both kinds of relations influenced the TPJ. Our results further strengthen the view of the ATL's importance to taxonomic knowledge. Moreover, they provide a nuanced view of thematic relations as involving taxonomic knowledge.

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Do visual representations contribute to spoken word recognition? We examine, using MEG, the effects of sublexical and lexical variables at superior temporal (ST) areas and the posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) compared with that of word imageability at visual cortices. Embodied accounts predict early modulation of visual areas by imageability - concurrently with or prior to modulation of pMTG by lexical variables. Participants responded to speech stimuli varying continuously in imageability during lexical decision with simultaneous MEG recording. We employed the linguistic variables in a new type of correlational time course analysis to assess trial-by-trial activation in occipital, ST, and pMTG regions of interest (ROIs). The linguistic variables modulated the ROIs during different time windows. Critically, visual regions reflected an imageability effect prior to effects of lexicality on pMTG. This surprising effect supports a view on which sensory aspects of a lexical item are not a consequence of lexical activation.