Distinct and common cortical activations for multimodal semantic categories

Perceptual Knowledge Retrieval Activates Sensory Brain Regions

“…1d), in contrast to the other sensory modalities and the pseudoword control. This result provides direct support for our previous interpretation (Goldberg et al, 2006) that this region supports knowledge of semantic categories (e.g., fruit) in which flavor properties are necessary and relevant. The involvement of this region during the retrieval of gustatory knowledge is consistent with the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in representing specific aspects of taste and smell, including flavor identity (Small et al, 2004) and reward contingencies (Rolls, 2004), even when photographs of foods are presented (Simmons et al, 2005).…”

“…An area in the posterior superior temporal cortex, adjacent to the auditory-association cortex, is activated when participants are asked to judge the sound that an object makes (Kellenbach et al, 2001). In addition, comparisons between fruit names show a specific recruitment of medial orbitofrontal regions (Goldberg et al, 2006) implicated in processing olfactory and gustatory information (Rolls, 2004). Yet although these disparate results are suggestive, no one study has examined with common task demands whether retrieval of perceptual knowledge, in general, relies on sensory brain mechanisms.…”

“…No previous research to our knowledge has shown areas in the somatosensory cortex to be active during a tactile semantic judgment, although we expected such activation when participants verified tactile knowledge. To test whether comparisons among fruit names activate the medial orbitofrontal cortex because of the flavor properties involved (Goldberg et al, 2006), we examined activity in this region when participants ver-ified taste knowledge. Finally, auditory mechanisms in the superior temporal cortex were expected to support decisions based on sound knowledge, whereas verifications of color knowledge were expected to activate the ventral temporal extrastriate cortex.…”

Oxytocin enhances the perception of biological motion in humans

“…The recognition of movements and actions of other people is necessary for communicating, decoding "body language," and learning by imitation (Giese & Poggio, 2003;Peuskens, Vanrie, Verfaillie, & Orban, 2005;Puce & Perrett, 2003). Biological and nonbiological motion stimuli are differentially processed at the semantic level (Goldberg, Perfetti, & Schneider, 2006). However, the assessment of biological and nonbiological (mechanic) motion is methodologically challenging and requires the special consideration of task difficulty, visual forms defined by motion, and the level of noise that masks the motion.…”

A dynamical connectionist model of idea generation

“…These regions include the left temporal lobe [2], parts of the frontal and parietal cortices, and the premotor cortex, as well as the right inferotemporal cortex [10]. A consensus has emerged [2], [12] that conceptual representations of concrete objects are based on activating representations of their sensorimotor features [3]. The differential distribution of specific features in semantic categories then produces an emergent differentiation in categorical representation as well [11].…”