A Heteromodal Word-Meaning Binding Site in the Visual Word Form Area under Top-Down Frontoparietal Control

Abstract

The integral capacity of human language together with semantic memory drives the linkage of words and their meaning, which theoretically is subject to cognitive control. However, it remains unknown whether, across different language modalities and input/output formats, there is a shared system in the human brain for word-meaning binding and how this system interacts with cognitive control. Here, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment based on a large cohort of subjects (50 females, 50 males) to comprehensively measure the brain responses evoked by semantic processing in spoken and written word comprehension and production tasks (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). We found that heteromodal word input and output tasks involved distributed brain regions within a frontal-parietal-temporal network and focally coactivated the anterior lateral visual word form area (VWFA), which is located in the basal occipitotemporal area. Directed connectivity analysis revealed that the VWFA was invariably under significant top-down modulation of the frontoparietal control network and interacts with regions related to attention and semantic representation. This study reveals that the VWFA is a key site subserving general semantic processes linking words and meaning, challenging the predominant emphasis on this area's specific role in reading or more general visual processes. Our findings also suggest that the dynamics between semantic memory and cognitive control mechanisms during word processing are largely independent of the modalities of input or output.

Angular Gyrus Responses Show Joint Statistical Dependence with Brain Regions Selective for Different Categories

“…4). This observation converges with recent reports of a heteromodal semantic hub in the fusiform gyrus [66,67] to suggest that some integration might already occur in posterior temporal cortex, but additional studies are needed to clarify the functional implications of this finding.…”

Repetition Probability Effects for Chinese Characters and German Words in the Visual Word Form Area

“…Previous studies suggested that predictive mechanisms are important in determining the RS, observed in the LFA for simple graphemes or letters (Grotheer & Kovács, 2014), in the superior temporal gyrus for word stress processing (Honbolygó et al, 2020) and in the superior temporal gyrus for lexical representations (Wang et al, 2021) as well as for semantic processes (Qin et al, 2021). These results combined with the Repetition probability effects for words 20 current study, in which the involvement of predictive processes is suggested for visual word recognition in the VWFA, suggest that top-down probabilistic prediction effects are reflected across several stages of language processing.…”

Functional connectivity during orthographic, phonological, and semantic processing of Chinese characters identifies distinct visuospatial and phonosemantic networks

“…It should be noted that activation of the FFG remained significant during phonological and semantic processing after the subtraction of activation during font-size judgment. This implies that the mid-fusiform area is involved in the finer visuo-orthographic analysis of characters and not the recognition of the general outline of characters, and may be responsible for the integration of visual, phonological and semantic information (Qin et al, 2021).…”