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. 2011 May 31:2:104.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00104. eCollection 2011.

Perisylvian Functional Connectivity during Processing of Sentential Negation

Jörg Bahlmann  1 , Jutta L Mueller, Michiru Makuuchi, Angela D Friederici
Affiliations

Perisylvian Functional Connectivity during Processing of Sentential Negation

Jörg Bahlmann et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Every language has the means to reverse the truth value of a sentence by using specific linguistic markers of negation. In the present study we investigated the neural processing costs afforded by the construction of meaning in German sentences containing negation in different clause types. We studied negations within and across clause boundaries as well as single and double negations. Participants read German sentences comprising of affirmations, single negations in the main or in the subordinate clause, or double negations. As a result, we found a network including the left inferior frontal gyrus (pars triangularis, BA 45), and the left inferior parietal gyrus (BA 40) to be activated whenever negations in the main clause had to be processed. Additionally, we found increased functional coupling between the left pars triangularis (BA 45), left pars opercularis (BA 44), left SMA (BA 6), and left superior temporal gyrus (BA 42) during the processing of main clause negations. The study shows that in order to process negations that require semantic integration across clause boundaries left BA 45 interplays with other areas that have been related to language processing and/or the processing of cognitive demands and logical/conditional reasoning. Thus, the results indicate that the left perisylvian language network synchronizes in order to resolve negations, in particular, whenever requirements on meaning integration are enhanced.

Keywords: fMRI; functional connectivity; language; negation; semantic.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of experimental design. Sentences were presented phrase-by-phrase. After a delay of 3 s a comprehension sentence was shown and participants should judge the correctness of the content of the sentence.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Behavioral data. (A) Error rates for the processing of double negations (NN), negations in the main clause (NA), negations in the subordinate clause (AN), and affirmations (AA). The two conditions with negations in the main clause (NN, NA) produced slightly more errors than the two conditions with affirmations in the main clause (AN, AA). (B) Reaction times for the processing of double negations (NN), negations in the main clause (NA), negations in the subordinate clause (AN), and affirmations (AA).
Figure 3
Figure 3
fMRI effect of negation in the main clause. The whole-brain ANOVA revealed significant activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG, BA 45), left inferior parietal lobule (LIPL), right angular gyrus (RAG), right anterior insula (RAI), and left precentral gyrus (LPRE).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Volume of interest analysis. Top: The VOI analysis in left IFG and left IPG corroborated the findings of the ANOVA. The BOLD response for negations was higher than for affirmations in the main clause. Bottom: The VOI analysis in the right angular gyrus (RAG) revealed more deactivations for affirmations in comparison to negations. The effect in the left precentralis (LPRE) and right anterior insula (RAI) reached not significance.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Psychophysiological interaction analysis of negation. Illustration of the functional coupling between the seed region pars triangularis (BA 45) and the pars opercularis (BA 44), the left STG, and the SMA. The processing of negations triggers the coupling of the hemodynamic response between the brain regions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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