title: This is your brain on Scrabble: Neural correlates of visual word recognition in competitive Scrabble players as measured during task and resting-state.
abstract: Competitive Scrabble players devote considerable time to studying words and practicing Scrabble-related skills (e.g., anagramming). This training is associated with extraordinary performance in lexical decision, the standard visual word recognition task (Hargreaves, Pexman, Zdrazilova & Sargious, 2012). In the present study we investigated the neural consequences of this lexical expertise. Using both event-related and resting-state fMRI, we compared brain activity and connectivity in 12 competitive Scrabble experts with 12 matched non-expert controls. Results showed that when engaged in the lexical decision task (LDT), Scrabble experts made use of brain regions not generally associated with meaning retrieval in visual word recognition, but rather those associated with working memory and visual perception. The analysis of resting-state data also showed group differences, such that a different network of brain regions was associated with higher levels of Scrabble-related skill in experts than in controls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Seaman Family MR Research Centre, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: protzner@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Andrea B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Protzner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: ishargre@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Ian S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Hargreaves
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: jacyippee@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: kmyersstewart@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kaia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Myers-Stewart
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Hees
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Seaman Family MR Research Centre, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: goodyear@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Bradley G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Goodyear
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: Peter.Sargious@albertahealthservices.ca.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sargious
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Seaman Family MR Research Centre, University of Calgary, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: pexman@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Penny M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Pexman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D012660:Semantics; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Expertise; Language networks; Lexical processing; Resting-state; fMRI