Salvo Joseph J, Anderson Nathan L, Braga Rodrigo M
Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States.
Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2025 Jun 10;3. doi: 10.1162/IMAG.a.25. eCollection 2025.
Communication involves the translation of sensory information (e.g., heard words) into abstract concepts according to abstract rules (e.g., the meaning of those words). Accordingly, using language involves an interplay betweenbrain areas that process sensory information andareas that respond to linguistic input regardless of the input modality (e.g., reading sentences or listening to speech). Previous work has shown that intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC), when performed within individuals, can delineate a distributed language network (LANG) that overlaps in detail with regions activated by a reading task. The network is widely distributed across multiple brain regions, recapitulating an organization that is characteristic of association cortex, and which suggests that the LANG network serves transmodal, not unimodal, functions. Here, we tested whether LANG encapsulates transmodal functions by assessing its degree of overlap with two language tasks: one auditory (i.e., listening to speech) and one visual (i.e., reading sentences). The results show that the LANG network aligns well with regions activated by both tasks, supporting a transmodal function. Further, the boundaries of the distributed language network along the lateral temporal cortex serve as a good proxy for the division between transmodal language and unimodal auditory functions: listening to sounds (i.e., filtered, incomprehensible speech) evoked activity that was largely outside of the LANG network but closely followed the network boundaries. These findings support that individualized iFC estimates can delineate the division between sensory-linked and abstract linguistic functions. We conclude that within-individual iFC may be viable for language mapping in individuals with aphasia who cannot perform language tasks in the scanner.
交流涉及根据抽象规则（例如那些单词的含义）将感官信息（例如听到的单词）转化为抽象概念。因此，使用语言涉及处理感官信息的脑区与响应语言输入的脑区之间的相互作用，而不论输入方式如何（例如阅读句子或听语音）。先前的研究表明，个体内的内在功能连接性（iFC）能够描绘出一个分布式语言网络（LANG），该网络与阅读任务激活的区域在细节上重叠。该网络广泛分布于多个脑区，重现了联合皮层特有的一种组织形式，这表明LANG网络具有跨模态而非单模态功能。在此，我们通过评估LANG与两项语言任务的重叠程度来测试它是否包含跨模态功能：一项听觉任务（即听语音）和一项视觉任务（即阅读句子）。结果表明，LANG网络与两项任务激活的区域高度吻合，支持其跨模态功能。此外，沿颞叶外侧皮质的分布式语言网络边界可很好地代表跨模态语言和单模态听觉功能之间的划分：听声音（即经过滤波的、难以理解的语音）诱发的活动大多在LANG网络之外，但紧密跟随网络边界。这些发现支持个体iFC估计能够描绘出感觉关联功能与抽象语言功能之间的划分。我们得出结论，个体内iFC对于无法在扫描仪中执行语言任务的失语症个体进行语言映射可能是可行的。
