scholarly journals The brain network in support of social semantic accumulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyao Zhang ◽  
Yangwen Xu ◽  
Meimei Zhang ◽  
Shaonan Wang ◽  
Nan Lin
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Word List ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Complex Materials ◽  
Semantic Richness ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Some studies have indicated that a specific ‘social semantic network’ represents the social meanings of words. However, studies of the comprehension of complex materials, such as sentences and narratives, have indicated that the same network supports the online accumulation of connected semantic information. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that this network does not simply represent the social meanings of words but also accumulates connected social meanings from texts. We defined the social semantic network by conducting a meta-analysis of previous studies on social semantic processing and then examined the effects of social semantic accumulation using a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) experiment. Two important findings were obtained. First, the social semantic network showed a stronger social semantic effect in sentence and narrative reading than in word list reading, indicating the amplitude of social semantic activation can be accumulated in the network. Second, the activation of the social semantic network in sentence and narrative reading can be better explained by the holistic social-semantic-richness rating scores of the stimuli than by those of the constitutive words, indicating the social semantic contents can be integrated in the network. These two findings convergently indicate that the social semantic network supports the accumulation of connected social meanings.

scholarly journals The Brain Network for Deductive Reasoning: A Quantitative Meta-analysis of 28 Neuroimaging Studies

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 3483-3497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Prado ◽  
Angad Chadha ◽  
James R. Booth
Keyword(s):  
Deductive Reasoning ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Cognitive Organization ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Density Analysis ◽  
Neural Bases ◽  
Kernel Density Analysis ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Multilevel Kernel Density Analysis

Over the course of the past decade, contradictory claims have been made regarding the neural bases of deductive reasoning. Researchers have been puzzled by apparent inconsistencies in the literature. Some have even questioned the effectiveness of the methodology used to study the neural bases of deductive reasoning. However, the idea that neuroimaging findings are inconsistent is not based on any quantitative evidence. Here, we report the results of a quantitative meta-analysis of 28 neuroimaging studies of deductive reasoning published between 1997 and 2010, combining 382 participants. Consistent areas of activations across studies were identified using the multilevel kernel density analysis method. We found that results from neuroimaging studies are more consistent than what has been previously assumed. Overall, studies consistently report activations in specific regions of a left fronto-parietal system, as well as in the left BG. This brain system can be decomposed into three subsystems that are specific to particular types of deductive arguments: relational, categorical, and propositional. These dissociations explain inconstancies in the literature. However, they are incompatible with the notion that deductive reasoning is supported by a single cognitive system relying either on visuospatial or rule-based mechanisms. Our findings provide critical insight into the cognitive organization of deductive reasoning and need to be accounted for by cognitive theories.

Naturalizing Aesthetics

2021 ◽  
pp. 18-21
Author(s):  
Steven Brown
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Anterior Insula ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Sensory Pathways ◽  
Biological Importance ◽  
Art Works ◽  
Taste And Smell ◽  
The Brain

Aesthetic processing is about what we like and dislike. It applies to all types of perceived objects, not just art works. There should be a general brain network that deals with aesthetic appraisals of like and dislike regardless of the appraised object. In order to investigate this, the authors carried out a large-scale meta-analysis of published neuroimaging studies of aesthetic processing for objects that are perceived using four different sensory pathways: vision, audition, taste, and smell. A part of the brain called the anterior insula appeared as the most concordant area of activation across the four sensory pathways. From an evolutionary standpoint, it most likely that the appreciation of human artifacts like art works piggybacked onto an existing system for the appraisal of objects of biological importance, such as food sources and potential mates.

Extensive Left Temporal Pole Damage Does Not Impact on Theory of Mind Abilities

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 2025-2046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Michel ◽  
Laurence Dricot ◽  
Renaud Lhommel ◽  
Cécile Grandin ◽  
Adrian Ivanoiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Semantic Dementia ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Temporal Pole ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

The temporal poles (TPs) are among the brain regions that are often considered as the brain network sustaining our ability to understand other people's mental states or “Theory of Mind” (ToM). However, so far the functional role of the left and right TPs in ToM is still debated, and it is even not clear yet whether these regions are necessary for ToM. In this study, we tested whether the left TP is necessary for ToM by assessing the mentalizing abilities of a patient (C.M.) diagnosed with semantic dementia. Converging evidence from detailed MRI and 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose PET examinations showed a massive atrophy of the left TP with the right TP being relatively unaffected. Furthermore, C.M.'s atrophy encompassed most regions of the left TP usually activated in neuroimaging studies investigating ToM. Given C.M.'s language impairments, we used a battery of entirely nonverbal ToM tasks. Across five tasks encompassing 100 trials, which probed the patient's ability to attribute various mental states (intentions, knowledge, and beliefs), C.M. showed a totally spared performance. This finding suggests that, despite its consistently observed activation in neuroimaging studies involving ToM tasks, the left TP is not necessary for ToM reasoning, at least in nonverbal conditions and as long as its right counterpart is preserved. Implications for understanding the social abilities of patients with semantic dementia are discussed.

scholarly journals Age-related changes in the neural networks supporting semantic cognition: A meta-analysis of 47 functional neuroimaging studies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hoffman ◽  
Alexa M. Morcom
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Semantic Cognition ◽  
Age Related

AbstractSemantic cognition is central to understanding of language and the world and, unlike many cognitive domains, is thought to show little age-related decline. We investigated age-related differences in the neural basis of this critical cognitive domain by performing an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies comparing young and older people. On average, young people outperformed their older counterparts during semantic tasks. Overall, both age groups activated similar left-lateralised regions. However, older adults displayed less activation than young people in some elements of the typical left-hemisphere semantic network, including inferior prefrontal, posterior temporal and inferior parietal cortex. They also showed greater activation in right frontal and parietal regions, particularly those held to be involved in domain-general controlled processing, and principally when they performed more poorly than the young. Thus, semantic processing in later life is associated with a shift from semantic-specific to domain-general neural resources, consistent with the theory of neural dedifferentiation, and a performance-related reduction in prefrontal lateralisation, which may reflect a response to increased task demands.

The Neurobiology of Lexical and Sentential Negation

2020 ◽  
pp. 739-756
Author(s):  
Liuba Papeo ◽  
Manuel de Vega
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Language Understanding ◽  
Sentential Negation ◽  
Neurophysiological Mechanisms ◽  
Pragmatic Aspects ◽  
The Brain

Is negation inherently harder than affirmation? How does negation change the neural representation of a word meaning? Recent studies considering pragmatic aspects of language, largely neglected in early studies on negation, have challenged the view that negation involves an extra processing stage to modify, or recode, an affirmative representation initially activated. In consequence, researchers have sought to determine the earliest effects of negation on the neural activity associated with language understanding. Behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological research have highlighted three circumstances. First, negation changes the neural representation of a word meaning from the earliest stages of word processing. Second, negation reduces or abolishes the activity in brain areas representing the word in the scope of negation. Third, the brain network for response inhibition is recruited during processing negation. Composing these results into a unitary framework, a neurobiological model of negation is proposed that integrates the neurophysiological mechanisms of lexical-semantic processing and inhibition.

scholarly journals Mapping social reward and punishment processing in the human brain: A voxel-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging findings using the Social Incentive Delay task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Martins ◽  
L. Rademacher ◽  
A. S. Gabay ◽  
R. Taylor ◽  
J. A. Richey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Social Reward ◽  
Bold Signal ◽  
Social Incentives ◽  
Delay Task ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Reward And Punishment

ABSTRACTSocial incentives (rewards or punishments) motivate human learning and behaviour, and alterations in the brain circuits involved in the processing social incentives have been linked with several neuropsychiatric disorders. However, questions still remain about the exact neural substrates implicated in social incentive processing. Here, we conducted four Anisotropic Effect Size Signed Differential Mapping voxel-based meta-analyses of fMRI studies investigating the neural correlates of the anticipation and receipt of social rewards and punishments using the Social Incentive Delay task. We map the regions involved in each of these four processes in the human brain, identify decreases in the BOLD signal during the anticipation of both social reward and punishment avoidance that were missed in individual studies due to a lack of power, and characterise the effect size and direction of changes in the BOLD signal for each brain area. Our results provide a better understanding of the brain circuitry involved in social incentive processing and can inform hypotheses about potentially disrupted brain areas linked with dysfunctional social incentive processing during disease.HighlightsVoxel-based meta-analysis of the neural underpinnings of social incentive processingWe map the brain regions involved in the processing of social incentives in humansWe identify new regions missed in individual studies as a result of lack of powerOur work can inform research on pathological brain processing of social incentives

Morphological Changes in the Brain of Acutely Ill and Weight-Recovered Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Seitz ◽  
Katharina Bühren ◽  
Georg G. von Polier ◽  
Nicole Heussen ◽  
Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Clinical Prognosis ◽  
Qualitative Review ◽  
Brain Changes ◽  
The Brain

Objective: Acute anorexia nervosa (AN) leads to reduced gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volume in the brain, which however improves again upon restoration of weight. Yet little is known about the extent and clinical correlates of these brain changes, nor do we know much about the time-course and completeness of their recovery. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis and a qualitative review of all magnetic resonance imaging studies involving volume analyses of the brain in both acute and recovered AN. Results: We identified structural neuroimaging studies with a total of 214 acute AN patients and 177 weight-recovered AN patients. In acute AN, GM was reduced by 5.6% and WM by 3.8% compared to healthy controls (HC). Short-term weight recovery 2–5 months after admission resulted in restitution of about half of the GM aberrations and almost full WM recovery. After 2–8 years of remission GM and WM were nearly normalized, and differences to HC (GM: –1.0%, WM: –0.7%) were no longer significant, although small residual changes could not be ruled out. In the qualitative review some studies found GM volume loss to be associated with cognitive deficits and clinical prognosis. Conclusions: GM and WM were strongly reduced in acute AN. The completeness of brain volume rehabilitation remained equivocal.

The Auditory Brainstem Implant

2019 ◽  
pp. 758-770
Author(s):  
Robert V. Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Technique ◽  
Cochlear Nucleus ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Auditory Brainstem ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Auditory Neurons ◽  
Auditory Brainstem Implant ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Implanted Device

The auditory brainstem implant (ABI) is a surgically implanted device to electrically stimulate auditory neurons in the cochlear nucleus complex of the brainstem in humans to restore hearing sensations. The ABI is similar in function to a cochlear implant, but overall outcomes are poorer. However, recent applications of the ABI to new patient populations and improvements in surgical technique have led to significant improvements in outcomes. While the ABI provides hearing benefits to patients, the outcomes challenge our understanding of how the brain processes neural patterns of auditory information. The neural pattern of activation produced by an ABI is highly unnatural, yet some patients achieve high levels of speech understanding. Based on a meta-analysis of ABI surgeries and outcomes, a theory is proposed of a specialized sub-system of the cochlear nucleus that is critical for speech understanding.

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