The representation of the verb's argument structure as disclosed by fMRI

Ramin Assadollahi,Jonas Obleser,Marcus Meinzer,Tobias Flaisch,Brigitte Rockstroh

doi:10.1186/1471-2202-10-3

Abstract

BackgroundIn the composition of an event the verb's argument structure defines the number of participants and their relationships. Previous studies indicated distinct brain responses depending on how many obligatory arguments a verb takes. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study served to verify the neural structures involved in the processing of German verbs with one (e.g. "snore") or three (e.g. "gives") argument structure. Within a silent reading design, verbs were presented either in isolation or with a minimal syntactic context ("snore" vs. "Peter snores").ResultsReading of isolated one-argument verbs ("snore") produced stronger BOLD responses than three-argument verbs ("gives") in the inferior temporal fusiform gyrus (BA 37) of the left hemisphere, validating previous magnetoencephalographic findings. When presented in context one-argument verbs ("Peter snores") induced more pronounced activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) of the left hemisphere than three-argument verbs ("Peter gives").ConclusionIn line with previous studies our results corroborate the left temporal lobe as site of representation and the IFG as site of processing of verbs' argument structure.

Highlights

In the composition of an event the verb's argument structure defines the number of participants and their relationships
Functional imaging studies disclosed the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 45/47) of the left hemisphere [7,8,9] to be involved in the processing of the verb's argument structure
Basic contrasts The comparison of the four experimental conditions [one-argument or three-argument verbs preceded by a name (N1; N3); one-argument or three argument verbs preceded by senseless letter strings (V1; V3)] with the fixation baseline revealed similar activity in bilateral primary and secondary occipital cortices and in the fusiform gyrus

Summary

Introduction

In the composition of an event the verb's argument structure defines the number of participants and their relationships. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study served to verify the neural structures involved in the processing of German verbs with one The verb's argument structure defines the number and relationships of participants needed for a complete event. A sentence like "Peter gives Jim a book" includes three participants with three thematic roles: the agent (Peter), the recipient (Jim) and the theme (the book; [2]). Functional imaging studies disclosed the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 45/47) of the left hemisphere [7,8,9] to be involved in the processing of the verb's argument structure.

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Conclusion