Word length modulates neural activity in auditory cortex during covert object naming. Neuroreport 2003 Dec 19;14(18):2323-6
Date
12/10/2003Pubmed ID
14663184DOI
10.1097/00001756-200312190-00007Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85026153091 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 45 CitationsAbstract
Several lines of evidence show that posterior portions of left auditory cortex participate in aspects of speech production. A current hypothesis is that these regions play a specific role in processing phonological codes. We used event-related fMRI to test this hypothesis. Subjects covertly named objects that had names varying in length from one to four syllables. Behavioral data, both in previous work and in the present study, show an increase in naming reaction time as words get longer, reflecting the increase in phonological load. If left posterior auditory areas participate in phonological aspects of production, word length should modulate neural activity in this region. Object naming activated the left planum temporale in each subject, confirming previous findings of auditory cortex involvement in speech production. The timecourse of activation in this region showed a length effect, consistent with its hypothesized role in phonological processing. Similar effects were also observed in premotor cortex, but not in occipital-temporal cortex, which presumably supports visual processing of the pictures to be named.
Author List
Okada K, Smith KR, Humphries C, Hickok GMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Auditory CortexFemale
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Photic Stimulation
Reaction Time
Reading
Speech