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Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open
Journal article
How the brain learns how feware "many": An fMRI study of the flexibility of quantifier semantics
NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), v 125, pp 45-52
15 Jan 2016
PMID: 26481678
Abstract
Previous work has shown that the meaning of a quantifier such as "many" or "few" depends in part on quantity. However, the meaning of a quantifier may vary depending on the context, e.g. in the case of common entities such as "many ants" (perhaps several thousands) compared to endangered species such as "many pandas" (perhaps a dozen). In a recent study (Heim et al., 2015 Front. Psychol.) we demonstrated that the relative meaning of "many" and "few" may be changed experimentally. In a truth value judgment task, displays with 40% of circles in a named color initially had a low probability of being labeled "many". After a training phase, the likelihood of acceptance 40% as "many" increased. Moreover, the semantic learning effect also generalized to the related quantifier "few" which had not been mentioned in the training phase. Thus, fewer 40% arrays were considered "few." In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that this semantic adaptation effect was supported by cytoarchitectonic Brodmann area (BA) 45 in Broca's region which may contribute to semantic evaluation in the context of language and quantification. In an event-related fMRI study, 17 healthy volunteers performed the same paradigm as in the previous behavioral study. We found a relative signal increase when comparing the critical, trained proportion to untrained proportions. This specific effect was found in left BA 45 for the trained quantifier "many", and in left BA 44 for both quantifiers, reflecting the semantic adjustment for the untrained but related quantifier "few." These findings demonstrate the neural basis for processing the flexible meaning of a quantifier, and illustrate the neuroanatomical structures that contribute to variable meanings that can be associated with a word when used in different contexts. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Details
- Title
- How the brain learns how feware "many": An fMRI study of the flexibility of quantifier semantics
- Creators
- Stefan Heim - RWTH Aachen UniversityCorey T. McMillan - University of PennsylvaniaRobin Clark - University of PennsylvaniaLaura Baehr - University of PennsylvaniaKylie Ternes - University of PennsylvaniaChristopher Olm - University of PennsylvaniaNam Eun Min - University of PennsylvaniaMurray Grossman - University of Pennsylvania
- Publication Details
- NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), v 125, pp 45-52
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 8
- Grant note
- Wyncote Foundation P01AG032953 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics NS044266; AG017586; AG032953; NS053488; AG038490; AG043503 / National Institutes of Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA Section for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience INM-1 / Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine at the Research Centre Julich P50NS053488 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS) Uniklinik RWTH Aachen
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physical Therapy (and Rehabilitation Sciences)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000366647500005
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84945157001
- Other Identifier
- 991021894091604721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Neuroimaging
- Neurosciences
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging