Neural specificity for semantic and syntactic processing in Spanish-English bilingual children

A low-activity cortical network selectively encodes syntax

“…Supplementary Fig. S4 replicates the Figure 1 analyses but using beta activity (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). Beta is another important frequency band in cognition [53,54].…”

“…The question of selectivity has implications for the cognitive architecture of language, where the degree of separation between syntax, semantics, and the lexicon is a matter of heated debate [6,8,18,[76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87]. While various regions have been reported to be selective for syntax [4,15,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27], recent studies taking individual subject anatomy into account have consistently failed to identify syntax selectivity in any region. This lack of evidence has been interpreted as support for so-called "lexicalist" models, where syntax is inextricably linked to particular words [16][17][18][28][29][30].…”

“…Relatedly, there is significant disagreement regarding selectivity : the degree to which syntax overlaps with words and meaning, which has important theoretical implications (see [ 18 , 19 ] for discussion). Findings of syntax-selective regions are abundant in the literature [ 4 – 6 , 15 , 20 – 27 ], although the precise locations and functions identified vary widely across studies. However, recent work using more advanced and targeted methods has reported extensive spatial overlap in these systems [ 15 – 18 , 28 – 30 ].…”