The associative-semantic network for words and pictures: Effective connectivity and graph analysis

Journal article

Explicit associative-semantic processing of words and pictures activates a distributed set of brain areas that has been replicated across a wide range of studies. We applied graph analysis to examine the structure of this network. We determined how the left ventral occipitotemporal transition zone (vOT) was connected to word-specific areas. A modularity analysis discerned four communities: one corresponded to the classical perisylvian language system, including superior temporal sulcus (STS), middle temporal gyrus (GTm) and pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus (GFi), among other nodes. A second subsystem consisted of vOT and anterior fusiform gyrus along with hippocampus and intraparietal sulcus. The two subsystems were linked through a unique connection between vOT and GTm, which were hubs with a high betweenness centrality compared to STS and GFi which had a high local clustering coefficient. Graph analysis reveals novel insights into the structure of the network for associative-semantic processing. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Authors: Vandenberghe, R; Wang, Y; Nelissen, N; Vandenbulcke, M; Dhollander, T

• Journal: Brain and Language
• Volume: 127
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 264-272
• Publication date: 2013-11-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.09.005
• EISSN: 1090-2155
• ISSN: 0093-934X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Language; Semantic; Lexical; Effective connectivity; FMRI; Visual word form area