Identification of lexical–phonological networks in the superior temporal sulcus using functional magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

General agreement exists that dorsal aspects of the temporal lobe support the perception of speech but there is less agreement regarding the mapping between levels of speech processing and neural regions within the dorsal temporal lobe. The present experiment sought to identify temporal lobe regions that support one such level, namely, lexical-phonological representation/processing. To do this, we manipulated phonological neighborhood density, a variable that affects processing within lexical-phonological networks. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, 10 participants listened to blocks of either high-density or low-density words. High-density words produced significantly more activation in the posterior half of the superior temporal sulcus bilaterally, suggesting that these regions are involved in lexical-phonological processing networks.

Left TPJ activity in verbal working memory: Implications for storage- and sensory-specific models of short term memory

“…For example, a posterior region in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) has been shown to be active over a delay in WM tasks (Buchsbaum et al, 2005;Fiebach et al, 2006;Hickok et al, 2003;Sakai et al, 2002) and shown a preference for verbal information (Paulesu et al, 1993(Paulesu et al, , 1996Salmon et al, 1996;Barch and Csernansky, 2007). However, this region in the left STG has been implicated in speech perception and production (Okada and Hickok, 2006;Acheson et al, in press) as well as WM. Thus, maintenance activity in the STG is not supportive of storage-specific accounts because this region is important for the perception of speech.…”

How Does Learning to Read Affect Speech Perception?

“…It is thought to play a role assembling phonological information from visual (i.e., orthographic) inputs (Dejerine, 1891;Horwitz et al, 1998;Pugh et al, 2000;Shaywitz et al, 2002;Booth et al, 2004) while SMG is believed to contribute more generally to phonological processing (Price et al, 1997;Devlin et al, 2003;Seghier et al, 2004;Zevin and McCandliss, 2005;Prabhakaran et al, 2006;Raizada and Poldrack, 2007). In contrast, the audiomotor integration area Spt (Okada and Hickok, 2006;Hickok et al, 2009) is found in the ventral bank of the Sylvian fissure where it forms the posterior part of the planum temporale and receives direct projections from caudal regions of auditory cortex Pandya, 1978, 1991;Kaas and Hackett, 2000). In addition, it is directly linked to PMv via the fibers of the arcuate fasciculus (Catani et al, 2005;Petrides and Pandya, 2009).…”

The weight of skill: Interindividual variability of reading related brain activation patterns in fluent readers

“…According to some researchers, the left STS is organised along a posterior to anterior gradient where some specificity can be found for intelligible speech (Binder et al, 2000) or words (Scott, Blank, Rosen, & Wise, 2000). For others, phonological analysis necessary to the lexical identification follows an opposite direction and relies rather on more posterior regions of the STS that may be 'bounded anteriorly by the most anterolateral aspect of Heschel's gyrus' (Hickok & Poeppel, 2007;Okada & Hickok, 2006). In any case, the STS activation observed here is located either at the anterior or posterior limit of the STS parts delineated by each school, and points towards an important role for this region in accessing and analyzing speech-related units.…”