Evidence for highly selective neuronal tuning to whole words in the "visual word form area".
Theories of reading have posited the existence of a neural representation coding for whole real words (i.e., an orthographic lexicon), but experimental support for such a representation has proved elusive. Using fMRI rapid adaptation techniques, we provide evidence that the human left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (specifically the "visual word form area," VWFA) contains a representation based on neurons highly selective for individual real words, in contrast to current theories that posit a sublexical representation in the VWFA.
Glezer
Laurie S
LS
Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Research Building Room WP-12, 3970 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007, USA.
Jiang
Xiong
X
Riesenhuber
Maximilian
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D011932:Reading; D012660:Semantics; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology*; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult
D010100:Oxygen