Word meaning in the ventral visual path: a perceptual to conceptual gradient of semantic coding.
The meaning of words referring to concrete items is thought of as a multidimensional representation that includes both perceptual (e.g., average size, prototypical color) and conceptual (e.g., taxonomic class) dimensions. Are these different dimensions coded in different brain regions? In healthy human subjects, we tested the presence of a mapping between the implied real object size (a perceptual dimension) and the taxonomic categories at different levels of specificity (conceptual dimensions) of a series of words, and the patterns of brain activity recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging in six areas along the ventral occipito-temporal cortical path. Combining multivariate pattern classification and representational similarity analysis, we found that the real object size implied by a word appears to be primarily encoded in early visual regions, while the taxonomic category and sub-categorical cluster in more anterior temporal regions. This anteroposterior gradient of information content indicates that different areas along the ventral stream encode complementary dimensions of the semantic space.
École Doctorale Cerveau-Cognition-Comportement, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6, 75005 Paris, France; Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; NeuroSpin Center, Institute of BioImaging, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy. Electronic address: valentinaborghesani@gmail.com.
Valentina
V
Borghesani
Parietal, INRIA, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Centre De Recherche en Mathématiques de la Décision, CNRS-UMR, Université PARIS - DAUPHINE, 7534 Paris, France.
Fabian
F
Pedregosa
Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; NeuroSpin Center, Institute of BioImaging, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
Marco
M
Buiatti
NeuroSpin Center, Institute of BioImaging, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France.
Alexis
A
Amadon
Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; NeuroSpin Center, Institute of BioImaging, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France.
Evelyn
E
Eger
Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; NeuroSpin Center, Institute of BioImaging, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
Manuela
M
Piazza
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012660:Semantics; D055815:Young Adult
Decoding; MVPA; RSA; Semantic knowledge; fMRI