How does the "default mode" network contribute to semantic cognition? Brain Lang 2024 May;252:105405
Date
04/06/2024Pubmed ID
38579461DOI
10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105405Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85189700094 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
This review examines whether and how the "default mode" network (DMN) contributes to semantic processing. We review evidence implicating the DMN in the processing of individual word meanings and in sentence- and discourse-level semantics. Next, we argue that the areas comprising the DMN contribute to semantic processing by coordinating and integrating the simultaneous activity of local neuronal ensembles across multiple unimodal and multimodal cortical regions, creating a transient, global neuronal ensemble. The resulting ensemble implements an integrated simulation of phenomenological experience - that is, an embodied situation model - constructed from various modalities of experiential memory traces. These situation models, we argue, are necessary not only for semantic processing but also for aspects of cognition that are not traditionally considered semantic. Although many aspects of this proposal remain provisional, we believe it provides new insights into the relationships between semantic and non-semantic cognition and into the functions of the DMN.
Author List
Fernandino L, Binder JRAuthor
Leonardo Fernandino PhD Assistant Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
BrainCognition
Humans
Semantics
