MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Brain Lang. 2012 Jun;121(3):219-25. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.02.007. Epub 2012 Apr 26.
Neuroimaging studies of English suggest that speech comprehension engages two interdependent systems: a bilateral fronto-temporal network responsible for general perceptual and cognitive processing, and a specialised left-lateralised network supporting specifically linguistic processing. Using fMRI we test this hypothesis in Polish, a Slavic language with rich and diverse morphology. We manipulated general perceptual complexity (presence or absence of an onset-embedded stem, e.g. kotlet 'cutlet' vs. kot 'cat') and specifically linguistic complexity (presence of an inflectional affix, e.g. dom 'house, Nom' vs. dom-u 'house, Gen'). Non-linguistic complexity activated a bilateral network, as in English, but we found no differences between inflected and uninflected nouns. Instead, all types of words activated left inferior frontal areas, suggesting that all Polish words can be considered linguistically 'complex' in processing terms. The results support a dual network hypothesis, but highlight differences between languages like English and Polish, and underline the importance of cross-linguistic comparisons.
对英语的神经影像学研究表明，言语理解涉及两个相互依存的系统：一个负责一般感知和认知处理的双侧额颞网络，以及一个专门支持特定语言处理的左侧网络。我们使用 fMRI 在波兰语中检验了这一假设，波兰语是一种具有丰富多样形态的斯拉夫语言。我们操纵了一般感知的复杂性（存在或不存在起始嵌入的词干，例如 kotlet“肉排”与 kot“猫”）和特定语言的复杂性（存在屈折词缀，例如 dom“房子，Nom”与 dom-u“房子，Gen”）。非语言复杂性激活了一个双侧网络，就像在英语中一样，但我们没有发现带屈折词缀和不带屈折词缀的名词之间有差异。相反，所有类型的词都激活了左侧下额叶区域，这表明从处理的角度来看，所有波兰语单词都可以被认为是语言上“复杂”的。研究结果支持双网络假说，但强调了英语和波兰语等语言之间的差异，并强调了跨语言比较的重要性。
