Department of Psychology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Neuroimage. 2010 Mar;50(1):291-301. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.12.035. Epub 2009 Dec 21.
One hundred and fifty years of neurolinguistic research has identified the key structures in the human brain that support language. However, neither the classic neuropsychological approaches introduced by Broca (1861) and Wernicke (1874), nor modern neuroimaging employing PET and fMRI has been able to delineate the temporal flow of language processing in the human brain. We recorded the electrocorticogram (ECoG) from indwelling electrodes over left hemisphere language cortices during two common language tasks, verb generation and picture naming. We observed that the very high frequencies of the ECoG (high-gamma, 70-160 Hz) track language processing with spatial and temporal precision. Serial progression of activations is seen at a larger timescale, showing distinct stages of perception, semantic association/selection, and speech production. Within the areas supporting each of these larger processing stages, parallel (or "incremental") processing is observed. In addition to the traditional posterior vs. anterior localization for speech perception vs. production, we provide novel evidence for the role of premotor cortex in speech perception and of Wernicke's and surrounding cortex in speech production. The data are discussed with regards to current leading models of speech perception and production, and a "dual ventral stream" hybrid of leading speech perception models is given.
150 年来的神经语言学研究已经确定了支持语言的人类大脑的关键结构。然而,无论是布罗卡(Broca)(1861 年)和韦尼克(Wernicke)(1874 年)引入的经典神经心理学方法,还是使用 PET 和 fMRI 的现代神经影像学,都未能描绘出人类大脑中语言处理的时间流程。我们在两个常见的语言任务,动词生成和图片命名期间,记录了驻留在左半球语言皮质上的脑电描记图(ECoG)。我们观察到 ECoG 的高频(高伽马,70-160 Hz)以空间和时间精度跟踪语言处理。在更大的时间尺度上可以看到激活的连续进展,显示出感知、语义联想/选择和言语产生的不同阶段。在支持这些较大处理阶段中的每一个的区域内,观察到并行(或“增量”)处理。除了语音感知与产生的传统后部与前部定位外,我们还提供了新的证据,证明运动前皮质在语音感知中的作用,以及韦尼克区及其周围皮质在言语产生中的作用。该数据与当前主流的语音感知和产生模型进行了讨论,并给出了主流语音感知模型的“双重腹侧流”混合模型。