Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands; email:
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2014;37:347-62. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-071013-013847. Epub 2014 Jun 2.
A hallmark of human language is that we combine lexical building blocks retrieved from memory in endless new ways. This combinatorial aspect of language is referred to as unification. Here we focus on the neurobiological infrastructure for syntactic and semantic unification. Unification is characterized by a high-speed temporal profile including both prediction and integration of retrieved lexical elements. A meta-analysis of numerous neuroimaging studies reveals a clear dorsal/ventral gradient in both left inferior frontal cortex and left posterior temporal cortex, with dorsal foci for syntactic processing and ventral foci for semantic processing. In addition to core areas for unification, further networks need to be recruited to realize language-driven communication to its full extent. One example is the theory of mind network, which allows listeners and readers to infer the intended message (speaker meaning) from the coded meaning of the linguistic utterance. This indicates that sensorimotor simulation cannot handle all of language processing.
人类语言的一个特点是，我们以无尽的新方式组合从记忆中检索到的词汇构建块。这种语言的组合方面被称为统一。在这里，我们关注的是句法和语义统一的神经生物学基础。统一的特点是具有高速的时间特征，包括对检索到的词汇元素的预测和整合。对大量神经影像学研究的荟萃分析揭示了左额下回和左颞后皮质在句法处理中具有明显的背/腹梯度，而在语义处理中则具有腹侧焦点。除了统一的核心区域外，还需要招募更多的网络来充分实现语言驱动的交流。一个例子是心理理论网络，它允许听众和读者从语言表达的编码意义中推断出预期的信息（说话者的意思）。这表明感觉运动模拟不能处理所有的语言处理。
