Semantic Processing in the Right Hemisphere: A Function of Coarse Coding or Semantic Distance?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey E. Turner ◽  
Ronald T. Kellogg
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Semantic Distance ◽  
Coarse Coding ◽  
The Right

Lateralization of semantic processing is shaped by exposure to specific mother tongues: The case of insight problem solving by bilingual and monolingual native Hebrew speakers

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 900-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
NILI METUKI ◽  
SHANI SINKEVICH ◽  
MICHAL LAVIDOR
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Task Requirements ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
Insight Problems ◽  
Coarse Coding ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cross Language

Solving insight problems is a complex task found to involve coarse semantic processing in the right hemisphere when tested in English. In Hebrew, the left hemisphere (LH) may be more active in this task, due to the inter-hemispheric interaction between semantic, phonological and orthographic processing. In two Hebrew insight problems experiments, we revealed a performance advantage in the LH, in contrast to the patterns previously observed in English. A third experiment, conducted in English with early Hebrew–English bilinguals, confirmed that the LH advantage found with Hebrew speakers does not depend on specific task requirements in Hebrew. We suggest that Hebrew speakers show redundancy between the hemispheres in coarse semantic processing in handling frequent lexical ambiguities stemming from the orthographic structure in Hebrew. We further suggest that inter-hemispheric interactions between linguistic and non-linguistic processes may determine the hemisphere in which coarse coding will take place. These findings highlight the possible effect of exposure to a specific mother tongue on the lateralization of processes in the brain, and carries possible theoretical and methodological implications for cross-language studies.

scholarly journals Studies on semantic priming effects in right hemisphere stroke: A systematic review

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-163
Author(s):  
Juliana de Lima Müller ◽  
Jerusa Fumagalli de Salles
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Right Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Hemisphere Stroke

ABSTRACT The role of the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) associated with semantic priming effects (SPEs) must be better understood, since the consequences of RH damage on SPE are not yet well established. Objective: The aim of this article was to investigate studies analyzing SPEs in patients affected by stroke in the RH through a systematic review, verifying whether there are deficits in SPEs, and whether performance varies depending on the type of semantic processing evaluated or stimulus in the task. Methods: A search was conducted on the LILACS, PUBMED and PSYCINFO databases. Results: Out of the initial 27 studies identified, 11 remained in the review. Difficulties in SPEs were shown in five studies. Performance does not seem to vary depending on the type of processing, but on the type of stimulus used. Conclusion: This ability should be evaluated in individuals that have suffered a stroke in the RH in order to provide treatments that will contribute to their recovery.

scholarly journals Localization of Syntactic and Semantic Brain Responses using Magnetoencephalography

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1193-1205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabet Service ◽  
Päivi Helenius ◽  
Sini Maury ◽  
Riitta Salmelin
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Word Class ◽  
Sentence Reading ◽  
Word Onset ◽  
Semantic Errors ◽  
The Right

Electrophysiological methods have been used to study the temporal sequence of syntactic and semantic processing during sentence comprehension. Two responses associated with syntactic violations are the left anterior negativity (LAN) and the P600. A response to semantic violation is the N400. Although the sources of the N400 response have been identified in the left (and right) temporal lobe, the neural signatures of the LAN and P600 have not been revealed. The present study used magnetoencephalography to localize sources of syntactic and semantic activation in Finnish sentence reading. Participants were presented with sentences that ended in normally inf lected nouns, nouns in an unacceptable case, verbs instead of nouns, or nouns that were correctly inflected but made no sense in the context. Around 400 msec, semantically anomalous last words evoked strong activation in the left superior temporal lobe with significant activation also for word class errors (N400). Weaker activation was seen for the semantic errors in the right hemisphere. Later, 600-800 msec after word onset, the strongest activation was seen to word class and morphosyntactic errors (P600). Activation was significantly weaker to semantically anomalous and correct words. The P600 syntactic activation was localized to bilateral sources in the temporal lobe, posterior to the N400 sources. The results suggest that the same general region of the superior temporal cortex gives rise to both LAN and N400 with bilateral reactivity to semantic manipulation and a left hemisphere effect to syntactic manipulation. The bilateral P600 response was sensitive to syntactic but not semantic factors.

Lateralised semantic and indirect semantic priming effects in people with schizophrenia

1998 ◽  
Vol 172 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Weisbrod ◽  
Sabine Maier ◽  
Sabine Harig ◽  
Ulrike Himmelsbach ◽  
Manfred Spitzer
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
Semantic Associations ◽  
The Right

BackgroundIn schizophrenia, disturbances in the development of physiological hemisphere asymmetry are assumed to play a pathogenetic role. The most striking difference between hemispheres is in language processing. The left hemisphere is superior in the use of syntactic or semantic information, whereas the right hemisphere uses contextual information more effectively.MethodUsing psycholinguistic experimental techniques, semantic associations were examined in 38 control subjects, 24 non-thought-disordered and 16 thought-disordered people with schizophrenia, for both hemispheres separately.ResultsDirect semantic priming did not differ between the hemispheres in any of the groups. Only thought-disordered people showed significant indirect semantic priming in the left hemisphere.ConclusionsThe results support: (a) a prominent role of the right hemisphere for remote associations; (b) enhanced spreading of semantic associations in thought-disordered subjects; and (c) disorganisation of the functional asymmetry of semantic processing in thought-disordered subjects.

scholarly journals A Brain Mapping Approach to Inspect the Underlying Neural Correlates upon Perceiving Persian Metaphors

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaheh Yazdani ◽  
Amirsaeid Moloodi ◽  
Zahra Kheradmand ◽  
Ali Mohammad Kamali ◽  
K.S. Rao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Mapping ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Neural Modulation ◽  
The Right

Metaphors are frequently used in our daily life communications to comprehend and convey abstract concepts. Different neuroimaging studies also show a wide neural connection to metaphor perception. This study used a brain mapping setup (quantitative electroencephalography) to examine large-scale brain networks in participants when they were submitted to non-metaphorical sentences as compared to creative and conventional metaphorical phrases. To this end, 20 healthy right-handed individuals with Persian as their mother-tongue language consented to participate in the above language task. Having evaluated the functional connectivity across key cortical hubs, no significant or predominant role of the right hemisphere was observed upon comprehension of the conventional and creative metaphorical phrases. Rather, a wide interhemispheric functional connectivity is proposed to play a key part in the above task. Further understanding about the neural networks involved in the semantic processing of metaphors may potentially open new avenues to neural modulation in patients who find it challenging to comprehend figurative language or abstract metaphorical meanings (e.g. schizophrenics).

scholarly journals Theoretical Considerations for Understanding “Understanding” by Adults With Right Hemisphere Brain Damage

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connie A. Tompkins
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Right Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
Contextual Constraint ◽  
Nonliteral Language ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Coarse Coding ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Hemisphere Brain Damage

Abstract This article reviews and evaluates leading accounts of narrative comprehension deficits in adults with focal damage to the right cerebral hemisphere (RHD). It begins with a discussion of models of comprehension, which explain how comprehension proceeds through increasingly complex levels of representation. These models include two phases of comprehension processes, broad activation of information as well as pruning and focusing interpretation of meaning based on context. The potential effects of RHD on each processing phase are reviewed, focusing on factors that range from relatively specific (e.g., how the right versus the left hemisphere activate word meanings; how the right hemisphere is involved in inferencing) to more general (the influence of cognitive resource factors; the role of suppression of contextually-irrelevant information). Next, two specific accounts of RHD comprehension difficulties, coarse coding and suppression deficit, are described. These have been construed as opposing processes, but a possible reconciliation is proposed related to the different phases of comprehension and the extent of meaning activation. Finally, the article addresses the influences of contextual constraint on language processing and the continuity of literal and nonliteral language processing, two areas in which future developments may assist our clinical planning.

scholarly journals Predicting audiovisual speech: Early combined effects of sentential and visual constraints

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Solberg Økland ◽  
Ana Todorović ◽  
Claudia S. Lüttke ◽  
James M. McQueen ◽  
Floris P. de Lange
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Audiovisual Speech ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Visual Salience ◽  
Visual Constraints ◽  
Early Effects ◽  
The Right

AbstractIn language comprehension, a variety of contextual cues act in unison to render upcoming words more or less predictable. As a sentence unfolds, we use prior context (sentential constraints) to predict what the next words might be. Additionally, in a conversation, we can predict upcoming sounds through observing the mouth movements of a speaker (visual constraints). In electrophysiological studies, effects of visual salience have typically been observed early in language processing, while effects of sentential constraints have typically been observed later. We hypothesized that the visual and the sentential constraints might feed into the same predictive process such that effects of sentential constraints might also be detectable early in language processing through modulations of the early effects of visual salience. We presented participants with audiovisual speech while recording their brain activity with magnetoencephalography. Participants saw videos of a person saying sentences where the last word was either sententially constrained or not, and began with a salient or non-salient mouth movement. We found that sentential constraints indeed exerted an early (N1) influence on language processing. Sentential modulations of the N1 visual predictability effect were visible in brain areas associated with semantic processing, and were differently expressed in the two hemispheres. In the left hemisphere, visual and sentential constraints jointly suppressed the auditory evoked field, while the right hemisphere was sensitive to visual constraints only in the absence of strong sentential constraints. These results suggest that sentential and visual constraints can jointly influence even very early stages of audiovisual speech comprehension.

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