Tool use and language share syntactic processes and neural patterns in the basal ganglia

Thibault, Simon; Py, Raphaël; Gervasi, Angelo Mattia; Salemme, Roméo; Koun, Éric; Lövdén, Martin; Boulenger, Véronique; Roy, Alice C.; Brozzoli, Claudio

doi:10.1126/science.abe0874

Cited by 58 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Finally, the finding of common neuro-functional resources between semantics and tool use predicts potential reciprocal impact of one function over the other at the behavioral level 3,39 . Coherently, the use of novel tools that received a label, which may have sharpened their semantic representation, is facilitated in comparison to unlabeled tools 40 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This specificity might depend on the degree of similarity between the computations performed by given neural structures (i.e. IFG and OTC for conceptual processing and BG for hierarchical processing 3 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their potential co-evolution predicts that tool use and linguistic processes may rely on common neural and cognitive resources 2 . Recently, we revealed that tool use and syntax share cognitive processes and neural substrates within the basal ganglia (BG) 3 . The fundamental question therefore opens of whether tool use also shares other crucial components with language.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tool use relies on a left fronto-parietal network, encompassing the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) 4,5 , as well as subcortical structures, like the BG 6 . This left fronto-parietal stream supports the planning and execution of tooluse movement 5 , while the BG may support the sequential and hierarchical aspects of tool use 3,6 . Furthermore, activity in the occipito-temporal cortex (OTC) contributes to the visual recognition of tools 7,8 , the observation 4 and actual execution of tool-use actions 5 .…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The tool-use cortical network contributes to semantic neural representations

Thibault

Koun

Salemme

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Tool use and language are two highly refined human abilities which may have co-evolved, thus resulting in neural commonalities. We recently provided evidence for shared neural resources between tool use and syntax. However, the debate is still open on whether semantics and phonology also recruit neurofunctional supplies common to tool use. Here we tested the hypothesis that activity within the tool-use network contributes to semantic and phonological neural representations. To this aim, we identified the tool-use network with fMRI while participants used pliers. The same participants underwent, a semantic and a phonological task to evidence the underlying networks. Through a series of representational similarity analyses we tested whether activity in tool-use clusters contributed to neural representations of semantic and phonological stimuli. The results revealed that semantic activity patterns within the left inferior frontal gyrus and left occipitotemporal cortex, activated by tool use, displayed significant similarity between nouns belonging to the same semantic category. Activity in tool-use related areas therefore contributes to semantics. By contrast, no significant relationship was observed for the activity patterns elicited by phonological stimuli. These findings suggest that semantics is grounded within the tool-use network, reinforcing the hypothesis of a functional link between semantics and tool use.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The tool-use cortical network contributes to semantic neural representations

Thibault

Koun

Salemme

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…More recent evidence also suggests that body representation and cognitive skills are directly linked. It was recently shown that integrating an external object as a body part and embedding its functional structure in the motor program can selectively improve syntactic performance in language in adults [ 33 ]. It appears essential to promote efficient body representation in children during early development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Body Representation and Motor Skills with a Preschool Education Program: A Preliminary Study

et al. 2022

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Background: Body representation is described as a fundamental ability to build efficient motor skills. However, no structured and evidence-based program on body representation currently exists. This study assesses the effectiveness of a school-based body representation program (ENCOR: EN for ‘Enfant’ and COR for ‘Corps’ in French) on body representation abilities and motor skills in preschool children. ENCOR focus on body representation abilities as a foundational ability for motor skills. It was designed with teachers and occupational therapists to be autonomously achieved by teachers. Methods: Twenty-three children aged 5–6 years were included and provided with education interventions (control versus ENCOR). Results: Body representation accuracy and precision in localization increased by about 20% and 37%, respectively, in the intervention program compared to the control intervention. In the body part naming task, participants performed fewer of the most frequent errors (i.e., from 198 to 116 left-right discrimination errors). As expected, performance in the body representation tasks and the motor skills tasks were correlated at baseline. We show that motor skills improved after the ENCOR training. Conclusions: Given the need for evidence-based programs in schools, this program could efficiently help implementing body representation education on a large scale. Future studies should evaluate the effectiveness of the program on other cognitive abilities and academic outcomes.

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Neural correlates of sequence learning in children with developmental dyslexia

Hedenius

Persson

2022

Human Brain Mapping

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Developmental Dyslexia (DD) is a condition in which reading accuracy and/or fluency falls substantially below what is expected based on the individuals age, general level of cognitive ability, and educational opportunities. The procedural circuit deficit hypothesis (PDH) proposes that DD may be largely explained in terms of alterations of the cortico‐basal ganglia procedural memory system (in particular of the striatum) whereas the (hippocampus‐dependent) declarative memory system is intact, and may serve a compensatory role in the condition. The present study was designed to test this hypothesis. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, we examined the functional and structural brain correlates of sequence‐specific procedural learning (SL) on the serial reaction time task, in 17 children with DD and 18 typically developing (TD) children. The study was performed over 2 days with a 24‐h interval between sessions. In line with the PDH, the DD group showed less activation of the striatum during the processing of sequential statistical regularities. These alterations predicted the amount of SL at day 2, which in turn explained variance in children's reading fluency. Additionally, reduced hippocampal activation predicted larger SL gains between day 1 and day 2 in the TD group, but not in the DD group. At the structural level, caudate nucleus volume predicted the amount of acquired SL at day 2 in the TD group, but not in the DD group. The findings encourage further research into factors that promote learning in children with DD, including through compensatory mechanisms.

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Tool use and language share syntactic processes and neural patterns in the basal ganglia

Cited by 58 publications

References 74 publications

The tool-use cortical network contributes to semantic neural representations

The tool-use cortical network contributes to semantic neural representations

Improving Body Representation and Motor Skills with a Preschool Education Program: A Preliminary Study

Neural correlates of sequence learning in children with developmental dyslexia

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