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Examining the brain dynamics of control processes during language production using intracranial electroencephalography
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Poster A5 in Poster Session A, Tuesday, October 24, 10:15 am - 12:00 pm CEST, Espace Vieux-Port
Elizabeth Anderson1,2, Sophie Kajfez1, Charles Dickey2, Katherine Andrade1,2, Burke Rosen2, Carrie R. McDonald2, David Lee2, Leena Kansal2, June Yoshii-Contreras2, Jerry J. Shih2, Sharona Ben-Haim2, Eric Halgren2, Stephanie Ries1; 1San Diego State University, 2University of California San Diego
Although language production is complex, speakers can typically produce 2-3 words per second selected from more than 50,000 words in their mental lexicon (Levelt et al., 1999). Several brain regions have been linked to word retrieval and associated cognitive control processes during language production. In particular, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and lateral and medial prefrontal cortices have been associated with semantic interference resolution in speech production (e.g., Piai et al., 2013; Riès et al., 2017). We used the picture-word interference paradigm to investigate when these different regions may be engaged in semantic interference resolution for word retrieval during language production. While previous work examining word retrieval primarily used non-invasive techniques (e.g., EEG, MEG, fMRI), intracranial EEG recordings are well-suited to determine which brain regions are involved in distinct processes because they combine excellent spatial and temporal resolution and access deeper focal neural activity not accessible using non-invasive techniques. We collected intracranial stereotactic EEG in 11 individuals with intractable epilepsy undergoing invasive monitoring to identify seizure foci (6 M; mean age: 29 years, SD: 8.1 years). Participants named pictures superimposed with to-be-ignored distractor words that were either semantically-related, semantically unrelated, or identical to the picture name. There was a main effect of condition on reaction time (χ2(2, 11) = 105.8, p < .001) and error rate (χ2(2,5) = 11.85, p < .01). There were significantly slower RTs in unrelated compared to identity (t = -7.02, p = <.0001), and in related compared to unrelated (t = 2.82, p = .012). Significantly more errors occurred in the unrelated than identity condition (Wald Z = 3.27, p = <.01). There was no significant difference between unrelated and related (Wald Z = .006, p = .99). In preliminary intracranial EEG analyses with three patients, we analyzed the effect of condition on bipolar local field potentials (LFP, 0.1-30 Hz) and high frequency band activity (HFB, 70-150 Hz). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed distinct components in several brain regions across patients during the task including rostral middle and superior frontal, lateral orbitofrontal, and ACC for stimulus-locked HFB data and ACC and superior frontal gyrus for stimulus-locked LFP data. In follow up analyses for HFB we observed greater amplitude in the related versus unrelated conditions in middle frontal regions (p = .03) 600-800 ms post-stimulus onset. For LFPs we observed greater amplitude in related versus unrelated conditions in the prefrontal cortex, including the orbitofrontal (p = .012) and superior frontal (p = .014) regions in the same time-window (600-800 ms post-stimulus onset). Increased engagement of frontal regions in the related versus unrelated condition is in agreement with a role of these regions in cognitive control processes involved in semantic interference resolution during word retrieval in language production and suggest that these processes are involved later than initial lexical activation processes. Future results from this ongoing study will help shed light on the neural underpinnings of cognitive control in language production.
Topic Areas: Language Production, Control, Selection, and Executive Processes