Abstract
Semantic control, the ability to selectively access and manipulate meaningful information on the basis of context demands, is a critical component of semantic cognition. The precise neural correlates of semantic control are disputed, with particular debate surrounding parietal involvement, the spatial extent of the posterior temporal contribution and network lateralisation. Here semantic control is revisited, utilising improved analysis techniques and a decade of additional data to refine our understanding of the network. A meta-analysis of 925 peaks over 126 contrasts illuminated a left-focused network consisting of inferior frontal gyrus, posterior middle temporal gyrus, posterior inferior temporal gyrus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. This extended the temporal region implicated, and found no parietal involvement. Although left-lateralised overall, relative lateralisation varied across the implicated regions. Supporting analyses confirmed the multimodal nature of the semantic control network and situated it within the wider set of regions implicated in semantic cognition.
Highlights
Semantic cognition is comprised of two distinct, yet interacting elements; semantic representation and semantic control, a distinction that forms the basis of the Controlled Semantic Cognition framework (Jefferies, 2013; Lambon Ralph et al, 2017)
An updated meta-analysis will determine the regions consistently implicated in semantic control, helping address these puzzles: which parietal regions are implicated, what is the spatial extent of posterior temporal involvement, and is the network strongly left-lateralised throughout? the additional data makes it possible to independently assess the regions implicated in semantic control with visual and auditory stimuli and directly contrast them, testing whether the network is multimodal as hypothesised within the Controlled Semantic Cognition framework
Meta-analyses were employed to ask 1) which regions are involved in semantic control, 2) are the same regions involved in semantic control with visual and auditory stimuli, and 3) how do semantic control areas relate to those implicated in general semantic cognition
Summary
Semantic cognition is comprised of two distinct, yet interacting elements; semantic representation and semantic control, a distinction that forms the basis of the Controlled Semantic Cognition framework (Jefferies, 2013; Lambon Ralph et al, 2017). Noonan et al, (2013) identified areas with high activation likelihood in a left-focused network, including posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG), inferior parietal cortex, anterior cingulate and anterior MTG, as well as bilateral IFG and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). The role of inferior parietal regions is disputed, both in semantic cognition generally and semantic control (e.g., Binder and Desai, 2011; Humphreys and Lambon Ralph, 2014).
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