fMRI characterization of the language formulation area

Abstract

Participants read sentences presented one word at a time, half of which ended with a semantically incongruent ending. 1.5T functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 11 participants, showing that the left posterior inferior temporal region, which has previously been termed the Language Formulation Area (LFA), responded to cloze probability. It is suggested, based on anatomical positioning and a literature review, that the responsiveness of the LFA to cloze probabilities may reflect a role in coordinating the lexical and non-lexical reading pathways. Finally, it is noted that previous studies have implicated this region in dyslexia and some speculations are made in this regard.