Influence of word category and morphological complexity on lexical processing in human brain
Tadao Miyamoto (Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University)
Jorge Riera (New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University)
Jungho Kim (Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University)
Yuko Akitsuki (New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University)
Kazuki Iwata (New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University. LBC Research Center, Tohoku University 21st Century Center of Excellence Program in Humanities)
Kei Yoshimoto (Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University)
Kaoru Horie (Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University)
Shigeru Sato (Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University)
Ryuta Kawashima (New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University)
In the present study, we compared the processing of nouns, unmarked active verbs, and inflected passive verbs in Japanese using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Twenty-eight healthy subjects were asked to perform a lexical decision task. All of the three conditions activated the left inferior frontal, middle and inferior temporal, and occipital cortices. In contrast, verbs elicited greater activation in the left middle temporal gyrus than nouns, and inflected verbs showed greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus than unmarked verbs. This result suggests that processing demand of verbs elicits greater activation in the left middle temporal cortex than nouns, and that inflection is processed in the left inferior frontal gyrus.
