Seeking the neural basis of grammar : English noun and verb morphological processing investigated with rapid event-related fMRI and intracortical electrophysiology

(cont.) the functionality of the fMRI data analysis and visualization tools used at Massachusetts General Hospital. I analyze and interpret an 18-subject fMRI experiment I ran using the new task design and software tools. Finally, I present preliminary findings on linguistic questions as well as the nature of fMRI signal, using direct Electrophysiological data recorded from electrodes implanted in the brains of two Epilepsy patients. These patients had electrodes implanted through or near classical language areas of their brains, as a necessary clinical step in locating and surgically removing the seizure-causing tissue. The main findings of this thesis are: 1.) Morphology alone can activate Broca's area, 2.) Other areas are involved, including BA47, anterior insula, and SMA, 3.) Broca's area and BA47 respond to application of abstract grammatical features, even without phonological manipulations, 4.) Morphophonological manipulation additionally recruits insula and SMA, 5.) While simply accessing nouns versus verbs may involve separable brain regions, inflectional processing of the two categories may be done by the same process, 6.) Regularly and Irregularly inflected verbs show a double dissociation of activation in frontal and medial regions, 7.) Processing of English noun more than verb morphology may rely on some contribution from number processing brain systems ...

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Sahin, Nedim T. (Nedim Turan), 1975-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Steven Pinker.

• Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28851

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/28851