1. Gravity matters for the neural representations of action semantics.
- Author
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Xiong Z, Tian Y, Wang X, Wei K, and Bi Y
- Subjects
- Humans, Cognition, Temporal Lobe, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Semantics, Brain Mapping methods
- Abstract
The dynamic relationship between the neural representation of action word semantics and specific sensorimotor experience remains controversial. Here, we temporarily altered human subjects' sensorimotor experience in a 15-day head-down tilt bed rest setting, a ground-based analog of microgravity that disproportionally affects sensorimotor experiences of the lower limbs, and examined whether such effector-dependent activity deprivation specifically affected the neural processes of comprehending verbs of lower-limb actions (e.g. to kick) relative to upper-limb ones (e.g. to pinch). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared the multivoxel neural patterns for such action words prior to and after bed rest. We found an effector-specific (lower vs. upper limb) experience modulation in subcortical sensorimotor-related and anterior temporal regions. The neural action semantic representations in other effector-specific verb semantic regions (e.g. left lateral posterior temporal cortex) and motor execution regions were robust against such experience alterations. These effector-specific, sensorimotor-experience-sensitive and experience-independent patterns of verb neural representation highlight the multidimensional and dynamic nature of semantic neural representation, and the broad influence of microgravity (hence gravity) environment on cognition., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2023
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