Passive reactivation of background information from long-term memory during reading.
The present study examined the nature of background information activation in text reading with a moving-window technique, previously used in behavioral studies. We compared brain activation evoked by a locally coherent target sentence that was either consistent, qualified (conflict-then-consistent) or inconsistent with some background information in long-term memory. With a significantly longer reading time of the target sentence, the inconsistent condition showed greater brain activation in several cortical regions than did the consistent and the qualified conditions. Neither reading time nor brain activations showed any differences between the consistent and the qualified conditions. The results indicate that processing of a sentence in text reading involves passive reactivation of updated background information stored in long-term memory, consistent with proposal from a 'here-and-now' theory.
Mo
Lei
L
Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China, and MRI Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Liu
Ho-Ling
HL
Jin
Hua
H
Ng
Yen-Bee
YB
Lin
Chongde
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D011932:Reading; D013997:Time Factors; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*
D010100:Oxygen