title: Predictive Brain Mechanisms in Sound-to-Meaning Mapping during Speech Processing.
abstract: Spoken language comprehension relies not only on the identification of individual words, but also on the expectations arising from contextual information. A distributed frontotemporal network is known to facilitate the mapping of speech sounds onto their corresponding meanings. However, how prior expectations influence this efficient mapping at the neuroanatomical level, especially in terms of individual words, remains unclear. Using fMRI, we addressed this question in the framework of the dual-stream model by scanning native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, a language highly dependent on context. We found that, within the ventral pathway, the violated expectations elicited stronger activations in the left anterior superior temporal gyrus and the ventral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for the phonological-semantic prediction of spoken words. Functional connectivity analysis showed that expectations were mediated by both top-down modulation from the left ventral IFG to the anterior temporal regions and enhanced cross-stream integration through strengthened connections between different subregions of the left IFG. By further investigating the dynamic causality within the dual-stream model, we elucidated how the human brain accomplishes sound-to-meaning mapping for words in a predictive manner.
  
  
  
  In daily communication via spoken language, one of the core processes is understanding the words being used. Effortless and efficient information exchange via speech relies not only on the identification of individual spoken words, but also on the contextual information giving rise to expected meanings. Despite the accumulating evidence for the bottom-up perception of auditory input, it is still not fully understood how the top-down modulation is achieved in the extensive frontotemporal cortical network. Here, we provide a comprehensive description of the neural substrates underlying sound-to-meaning mapping and demonstrate how the dual-stream model functions in the modulation of expectations, allowing for a better understanding of how the human brain accomplishes sound-to-meaning mapping in a predictive manner.
authors: Beijing City Key Laboratory for Medical Physics and Engineering, School of Physics.|Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, and.|McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China 100871.
authors: Bingjiang
authors: 0000-0001-8554-5138
authors: B
authors: Lyu
authors: Beijing City Key Laboratory for Medical Physics and Engineering, School of Physics, jgao@pku.edu.cn gejq@pku.edu.cn.|Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, and.|McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China 100871.
authors: Jianqiao
authors: J
authors: Ge
authors: School of Computer Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China 100081, and.
authors: Zhendong
authors: Z
authors: Niu
authors: Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China 518057.
authors: Li Hai
authors: LH
authors: Tan
authors: Beijing City Key Laboratory for Medical Physics and Engineering, School of Physics, jgao@pku.edu.cn gejq@pku.edu.cn.|Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, and.|McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China 100871.|Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China 518057.
authors: Jia-Hong
authors: JH
authors: Gao
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D012660:Semantics; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chinese; context; expectation; fMRI; speech; top-down