title: A common neural hub resolves syntactic and non-syntactic conflict through cooperation with task-specific networks.
abstract: Regions within the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) have simultaneously been implicated in syntactic processing and cognitive control. Accounts attempting to unify LIFG's function hypothesize that, during comprehension, cognitive control resolves conflict between incompatible representations of sentence meaning. Some studies demonstrate co-localized activity within LIFG for syntactic and non-syntactic conflict resolution, suggesting domain-generality, but others show non-overlapping activity, suggesting domain-specific cognitive control and/or regions that respond uniquely to syntax. We propose however that examining exclusive activation sites for certain contrasts creates a false dichotomy: both domain-general and domain-specific neural machinery must coordinate to facilitate conflict resolution across domains. Here, subjects completed four diverse tasks involving conflict -one syntactic, three non-syntactic- while undergoing fMRI. Though LIFG consistently activated within individuals during conflict processing, functional connectivity analyses revealed task-specific coordination with distinct brain networks. Thus, LIFG may function as a conflict-resolution "hub" that cooperates with specialized neural systems according to information content.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA; Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland, College Park, USA; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, USA; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, USA. Electronic address: ninahsu@umd.edu.
authors.forename: Nina S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: School of Education, University of California, Irvine, USA; Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA. Electronic address: smjaeggi@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Susanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jaeggi
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland, College Park, USA; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, USA; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, USA. Electronic address: jnovick1@umd.edu.
authors.forename: Jared M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Novick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D057190:Stroop Test; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive control; Domain-generality; Domain-specificity; Language processing; Network connectivity