Revealing the neural networks that extract conceptual gestalts from continuously evolving or changing semantic contexts

Branzi, Francesca M.; Humphreys, Gina F.; Hoffman, Paul; Ralph, Matthew A. Lambon

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116802

Cited by 37 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 98 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some have proposed that the left Ag might play a key role in the integration of semantic information (Humphries et al, 2007;Binder et al, 2009), while others have argued that left Ag supports buffering processes that operate on content that is integrated elsewhere (Vilberg and Rugg, 2012;Lambon Ralph, 2015, 2017). The latter hypothesis is in accord with evidence showing that left Ag is engaged when semantic tasks require context-dependent integration (Simony et al, 2016;Baldassano et al, 2017;van der Linden et al, 2017;Branzi et al, 2019), but deactivated when tasks do not require such process . This transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study tested the hypothesis that, during semantic tasks, the primary functional role of the left Ag reflects information buffering and context formation.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Reading task. The experimental stimuli used in the reading task were the same as in Branzi et al (2019). Thus, a total of 40 narrative pairs, each one composed by two paragraphs, were employed in the reading task.…”

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For each narrative pair, the same second paragraph (target) was preceded by different first paragraphs (contexts) that could be either high−congruent (i.e., HC) or low−congruent (i.e., LC) with the target in terms of meaning. Both HC and LC context paragraphs could be integrated with the targets paragraphs, though a reworking of the evolving semantic context was required after LC contexts, because of a shift in the semantic context (see Table 1 for an example of the stimuli; for the full list of the stimuli used in the reading task see Branzi et al, 2019). Homonym words (e.g., bank), presented at the beginning of the target paragraph, were employed to determine the exact point in the paragraph in which the shift in the semantic context should have been experienced.…”

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the reading task, there were 40 items per condition (HC, LC and NC). As in our previous study (Branzi et al, 2019), each trial consisted in the presentation of two paragraphs of text (context and target) that participants had to read silently (verbal material and numbers). Contexts and targets were displayed on the screen until participants pressed a button to indicate that they had finished reading the paragraph (for both contexts and targets).…”

Section: Memory Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stimulation site for the left Ag region corresponded to the MNI coordinates (x = −48, y = −63, z = 36) derived from our previous fMRI study, in which the same experimental material was used and where Ag activity was modulated by context integration (Branzi et al, 2019) (see Figure 2).…”

Section: Stimulation Parameters and Stimulation Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The left angular gyrus is causally involved in information buffering and context formation: evidence from a narrative reading task

Branzi

Pobric²,

Jung

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The role of the left angular gyrus (Ag) in semantic processing remains unclear. In this study, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to test the hypothesis that the left Ag supports the information buffering processes necessary for context-dependent semantic integration (narrative reading task). We applied online TMS to the left Ag to disrupt the buffering processes while female and male human participants integrated information between two paragraphs of text presented sequentially (i.e., context and target conditions). We assessed the effect of TMS on the left Ag by recording reading times for target conditions during the reading task and by asking participants to retrieve contextual information given the target condition as cue in a successive memory task. TMS applied over the left Ag during the reading task impaired the retrieval of contextual information in the memory task without affecting reading times. These results suggest that the Ag supports information buffering and context formation.This study provides the first evidence of a causal role of the left Ag in language tasks that require context-dependent semantic integration.Significance statement: The present study offers novel insights into the processes that are associated with the left angular gyrus (Ag) activation during context-dependent naturalistic language processing.We used TMS while human participants read written narratives to interfere with online language integration. We measured how TMS over the left Ag was affecting reading times and retrieval of integrated narrative representations. We were able to show that the left Ag is causally involved in information buffering and context formation.3 Target Cue conditions (assessing the encoding of context-target information)Cue: The expert said that race is one aspect of social biases that leads to discriminatory behaviours.This psychologist was saying that these biases can affect people's lives dramatically.Question: Where was the psychologist during the interview?Response Choices: 1. In a TV studio; 2. In a radio studio; 3. In his office Context Cue conditions (assessing the encoding of context information)Cue for LC conditions: This famous driver was explaining that his car had a problem which made it slow. It seemed that it was a fuel system problem. Cue for HC conditions:This famous psychologist was explaining the causes of wrongful convictions throughout history. It seemed that it was a social minority problem. Question: Where was the interview?Response Choices: 1. In a TV studio; 2. In a radio studio; 3. In an office

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Memory Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Stimulation Parameters and Stimulation Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The left angular gyrus is causally involved in information buffering and context formation: evidence from a narrative reading task

Branzi

Pobric²,

Jung

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The functional dissociation of posterior parietal regions during multimodal memory formation

Jablonowski

Rose

2022

Human Brain Mapping

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The incidental acquisition of multimodal associations is a key memory function for everyday life. While the posterior parietal cortex has been frequently shown to be involved for these memory functions, ventral and dorsal regions revealed differences in their functional recruitment and the precise difference in multimodal memory processing with respect to the associative process has not been differentiated. Using an incidental multimodal learning task, we isolated the associative process during multimodal learning and recollection. The result of the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study demonstrated that during both learning and recollection a clear functional differentiation between ventral and dorsal posterior parietal regions was found and can be related directly to the associative process. The recruitment of a ventral region, the angular gyrus, was specific for learning and recollection of multimodal associations. In contrast, a dorsal region, the superior parietal lobule, could be attributed to memory guided attentional processing. Independent of the memory stage, we assumed a general role for the angular gyrus in the generation of associative representations and updating of fixed association, episodic memory.

show abstract

Semantic‐specific and domain‐general mechanisms for integration and update of contextual information

Branzi,

Lambon Ralph

2023

Human Brain Mapping

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent research has highlighted the importance of domain‐general processes and brain regions for language and semantic cognition. Yet, this has been mainly observed in executively demanding tasks, leaving open the question of the contribution of domain‐general processes to natural language and semantic cognition. Using fMRI, we investigated whether neural processes reflecting context integration and context update—two key aspects of naturalistic language and semantic processing—are domain‐specific versus domain‐general. Thus, we compared neural responses during the integration of contextual information across semantic and non‐semantic tasks. Whole‐brain results revealed both shared (left posterior‐dorsal inferior frontal gyrus, left posterior inferior temporal gyrus, and left dorsal angular gyrus/intraparietal sulcus) and distinct (left anterior‐ventral inferior frontal gyrus, left anterior ventral angular gyrus, left posterior middle temporal gyrus for semantic control only) regions involved in context integration and update. Furthermore, data‐driven functional connectivity analysis clustered domain‐specific versus domain‐general brain regions into distinct but interacting functional neural networks. These results provide a first characterisation of the neural processes required for context‐dependent integration during language processing along the domain‐specificity dimension, and at the same time, they bring new insights into the role of left posterior lateral temporal cortex and left angular gyrus for semantic cognition.

show abstract

Revealing the neural networks that extract conceptual gestalts from continuously evolving or changing semantic contexts

Cited by 37 publications

References 98 publications

The left angular gyrus is causally involved in information buffering and context formation: evidence from a narrative reading task

The left angular gyrus is causally involved in information buffering and context formation: evidence from a narrative reading task

The functional dissociation of posterior parietal regions during multimodal memory formation

Semantic‐specific and domain‐general mechanisms for integration and update of contextual information

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About