title: Language universals engage Broca's area.
abstract: It is well known that natural languages share certain aspects of their design. For example, across languages, syllables like blif are preferred to lbif. But whether language universals are myths or mentally active constraints-linguistic or otherwise-remains controversial. To address this question, we used fMRI to investigate brain response to four syllable types, arrayed on their linguistic well-formedness (e.g., blif≻bnif≻bdif≻lbif, where ≻ indicates preference). Results showed that syllable structure monotonically modulated hemodynamic response in Broca's area, and its pattern mirrored participants' behavioral preferences. In contrast, ill-formed syllables did not systematically tax sensorimotor regions-while such syllables engaged primary auditory cortex, they tended to deactivate (rather than engage) articulatory motor regions. The convergence between the cross-linguistic preferences and English participants' hemodynamic and behavioral responses is remarkable given that most of these syllables are unattested in their language. We conclude that human brains encode broad restrictions on syllable structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Berent
authors.affiliation: Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Monica L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: MR Research & Development, Siemens Healthcare, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Vibhas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Deshpande
authors.affiliation: MR Research & Development, Siemens Healthcare, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ravi Teja
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Seethamraju
authors.affiliation: Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stern
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D066191:Sensorimotor Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*
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