Fine Subdivisions of the Semantic Network Supporting Social and Sensory–Motor Semantic Processing

Abstract

Neuroimaging studies have consistently indicated that semantic processing involves a brain network consisting of multimodal cortical regions distributed in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. However, little is known about how semantic information is organized and processed within the network. Some recent studies have indicated that sensory-motor semantic information modulates the activation of this network. Other studies have indicated that this network responds more to social semantic information than to other information. Using fMRI, we collectively investigated the brain activations evoked by social and sensory-motor semantic information by manipulating the sociality and imageability of verbs in a word comprehension task. We detected 2 subgroups of brain regions within the network showing sociality and imageability effects, respectively. The 2 subgroups of regions are distinct but overlap in bilateral angular gyri and adjacent middle temporal gyri. A follow-up analysis of resting-state functional connectivity showed that dissociation of the 2 subgroups of regions is partially associated with their intrinsic functional connectivity differences. Additionally, an interaction effect of sociality and imageability was observed in the left anterior temporal lobe. Our findings indicate that the multimodal cortical semantic network has fine subdivisions that process and integrate social and sensory-motor semantic information.

Duality of Function: Activation for Meaningless Nonwords and Semantic Codes in the Same Brain Areas

“…Indeed, as Westbury et al (2016) point out, semantics is likely to be a multi-component rather than monolithic construct, and the influence of uncontrolled aspects of semantics may account for inconsistencies across studies examining the neural basis of imageability effects. For example, many studies have shown activation for high greater than low imageability words in the bilateral AG and PC ( Jessen et al 2000 ; Binder et al 2005 ; Sabsevitz et al 2005 ; Graves et al 2010 ; Lin et al 2017 ). Others, however, have shown bilateral PC but not AG ( Graves et al 2017 ), left but not right hemisphere AG ( Mellet et al 1998 ; Wang et al 2010 ; Westbury et al 2016 ), or results in entirely different areas ( Kiehl et al 1999 ; Pexman et al 2007b ; Hauk et al 2008 ).…”

Neural correlates of three cognitive processes involved in theory of mind and discourse comprehension

“…The first cognitive component is social concept representation and retrieval. Neuroimaging studies have indicated that the representation and retrieval of social concepts may be selectively supported by the anterior superior temporal sulcus (ASTS) and possibly also by the MPFC, TPJ, posterior cingulate gyrus (PC), and precuneus (Lin, Bi, Zhao, Luo, & Li, 2015;Lin et al, 2017;Mason, Banfield, & Macrae, 2004;Mitchell, Heatherton, & Macrae, 2002;Olson, McCoy, Klobusicky, & Ross, 2013;Rice, Ralph, & Hoffman, 2015;Ross & Olson, 2010;Zahn et al, 2007). Zahn et al (2007) found that the activation level of the ASTS is modulated by the richness of social semantic information and thus proposed that the ASTS represents social concepts.…”

Close yet independent: Dissociation of social from valence and abstract semantic dimensions in the left anterior temporal lobe

“…It has been shown that semantic judgment of social word pairs (e.g., words describing human characteristics, such as "honor-brave") elicits stronger activations than those not typically or distinctively in reference to humans (e.g., "trainable-ridden") in the superior ATL, along with other regions, such as the posterior temporal and inferior parietal regions (Binney, Hoffman, & Lambon Ralph, 2016;Lin et al, 2018;Zahn et al, 2007). One dimension that may underlie at least some of the ATL preferences for the so-called social semantics is emotional valence, which tended to be confounded in previous studies.…”