Abstract
The brain's remarkable capacity for language requires bidirectional interactions between functionally specialized brain regions. We used magnetoencephalography to investigate interregional interactions in the brain network for language while 102 participants were reading sentences. Using Granger causality analysis, we identified inferior frontal cortex and anterior temporal regions to receive widespread input and middle temporal regions to send widespread output. This fits well with the notion that these regions play a central role in language processing. Characterization of the functional topology of this network, using data-driven matrix factorization, which allowed for partitioning into a set of subnetworks, revealed directed connections at distinct frequencies of interaction. Connections originating from temporal regions peaked at alpha frequency, whereas connections originating from frontal and parietal regions peaked at beta frequency. These findings indicate that the information flow between language-relevant brain areas, which is required for linguistic processing, may depend on the contributions of distinct brain rhythms.
Highlights
The brain’s remarkable capacity for language requires bidirectional interactions between functionally specialized brain regions
In this paper we show that communication between language-relevant areas in the brain is supported by rhythmic neuronal synchronization and that different rhythms reflect the direction of information flow
These findings likely reflect a generic mechanism that allows for dynamic routing of information in a network of task-relevant brain regions during cognitive processing
Summary
The brain’s remarkable capacity for language requires bidirectional interactions between functionally specialized brain regions. Connections originating from temporal regions peaked at alpha frequency, whereas connections originating from frontal and parietal regions peaked at beta frequency These findings indicate that the information flow between language-relevant brain areas, which is required for linguistic processing, may depend on the contributions of distinct brain rhythms. The information flow between cortical regions may be facilitated by interregional rhythmic synchronization [5], where neuronal rhythms of specific different frequencies reflect the direction in which the information is flowing [6, 7] This bidirectional flow of information should be a crucial feature of the neurobiological system that supports language processing. This functional relevance likely extends to other cognitive domains, reflecting a generic mechanism that allows for dynamic routing of information in a network of task-relevant brain regions
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