Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 15;44(3):1062-1069.
doi: 10.1002/hbm.26136. Epub 2022 Oct 31.

Asymmetric information flow in brain networks supporting expressive language in childhood

Vivek V Sharma  1 , Jennifer Vannest  2   3 , Darren S Kadis  1   4
Affiliations

Asymmetric information flow in brain networks supporting expressive language in childhood

Vivek V Sharma et al. Hum Brain Mapp. .

Abstract

Low-beta (13-23 Hz) event-related desynchrony (ERD), a neural signature of expressive language, lateralizes from bilateral to left hemisphere in development. In contrast, low-beta event-related synchrony (ERS), thought to reflect inhibition, lateralizes from bilateral to the right hemisphere across development. Using whole-brain directed connectivity analyses, we aimed to characterize hemispheric and regional contributions to expressive language, in childhood. We studied 80 children and adolescents, 4 to less than 19 years of age, performing covert auditory verb generation in magnetoencephalography. Outdegree, indegree, and betweenness centrality were used to differentiate regions acting as drivers, receivers, and bridging hubs, respectively. The number of suprathreshold connections significantly increased with age for delta band (p < .01). Delta outflow was mapped to left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), while regions of right hemisphere, including right IFG, showed significant inflow. The right parietal cortex showed significant ERS, but without corresponding outdegree or indegree. Betweenness mapped to midline cortical and subcortical structures. Results suggest Broca's area develops a driving role in the language network, while Broca's homologue receives information without necessarily propagating it. Subcortical and midline hubs act as intrahemispheric relays. Findings suggest that Broca's homologue is inhibited during expressive language, in development.

Keywords: MEG; brain; development; information flow; language.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Axial slices (Panel a) showing low‐beta (13–23 Hz) event‐related desynchrony (ERD) in the top row (cool colors), and event‐related synchrony (ERS) in the bottom row (warm colors) in 80 children and adolescents (4–18 years old) performing verb generation.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
In (a), scatterplot shows significant correlations between age and delta (1–4 Hz) band degree based on normalized phase slope index in 80 children and adolescents performing verb generation. Bar plot (center) displays a significant association between direction of oscillatory changes and direction of information flow. Top 1% of all edges (right) during verb generation is shown across all participants. In (b), axial slices show delta band outdegree (top row) and indegree (middle row). Outdegree and indegree for delta reflect intrahemispheric connections. Axial slices show delta band betweenness centrality based on phase slope index (bottom row).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alexander, G. E. , Crutcher, M. D. , & DeLong, M. R. (1990). Basal ganglia‐thalamocortical circuits: Parallel substrates for motor, oculomotor, “prefrontal” and “limbic” functions. In Uylings H. B., Van Eden C. G., DeBruin J. P., Corner M. A., & Feenstra M. G. (Eds.), Progress in brain research (Vol. 85, pp. 119–146). Elsevier. - PubMed
    1. Barnes‐Davis, M. E. , Fujiwara, H. , Drury, G. , Merhar, S. L. , Parikh, N. A. , & Kadis, D. S. (2021). Functional hyperconnectivity during a stories listening task in magnetoencephalography is associated with language gains for children born extremely preterm. Brain Sciences, 11(10), 1271. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Berl, M. M. , Mayo, J. , Parks, E. N. , Rosenberger, L. R. , VanMeter, J. , Ratner, N. B. , Vaidya, C. J. , & Gaillard, W. B. (2014). Regional differences in the developmental trajectory of lateralization of the language network. Human Brain Mapping, 35, 270–284. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Binder, J. R. , Frost, J. A. , Hammeke, T. A. , Cox, R. W. , Rao, S. M. , & Prieto, T. (1997). Human brain language areas identified by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Neuroscience, 17(1), 353–362. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Booth, J. R. , Wood, L. , Lu, D. , Houk, J. C. , & Bitan, T. (2007). The role of the basal ganglia and cerebellum in language processing. Brain Research, 1133(1), 136–144. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types