title: Neuro-cognitive foundations of word stress processing - evidence from fMRI.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To date, the neural correlates of phonological word stress processing are largely unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study, we investigated the processing of word stress and vowel quality using an identity matching task with pseudowords.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In line with previous studies, a bilateral fronto-temporal network comprising the superior temporal gyri extending into the sulci as well as the inferior frontal gyri was observed for word stress processing. Moreover, we found differences in the superior temporal gyrus and the superior temporal sulcus, bilaterally, for the processing of different stress patterns. For vowel quality processing, our data reveal a substantial contribution of the left intraparietal cortex. All activations were modulated by task demands, yielding different patterns for same and different pairs of stimuli.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the left superior temporal gyrus represents a basic system underlying stress processing to which additional structures including the homologous cortex site are recruited with increasing difficulty.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Section Neuropsychology, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. klein@neuropsych.rwth-aachen.de
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Domahs
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grande
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Domahs
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D010700:Phonetics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology