The Involvement of the Left Motor Cortex in Learning of a Novel Action Word Lexicon
The Involvement of the Left Motor Cortex in Learning of a Novel Action Word Lexicon
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2010.08.034
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发表时间：
2010-10-12
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Hummel, Friedhelm C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Liuzzi, Gianpiero;Freundlieb, Nils;Hummel, Friedhelm C.
目前的理论观点认为，根据Hebb的联想学习原理[5]，与动作相关的词义是通过大脑外侧裂周围语言区和运动皮层（MC）之间的功能联系建立的[1-4]。为了验证这一假设，我们通过经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）干扰MC中的神经可塑性来探索左侧MC学习新动作词词汇的功能相关性[6-9]。结合tDCS，受试者通过联想学习范式学习了76个具体的与身体相关的动作的新词汇。与“假”刺激的对照条件相比，阴极tDCS降低了词汇习得的成功率，如新动作词翻译成母语的测试所示。对学习行为的分析揭示了阴极tDCS对关联耦合动作与新单词的能力的特定影响。相比之下，当tDCS应用于前额叶皮层或当受试者学习与物体相关的单词时，我们在对照实验中没有发现这些效果。本研究提供了直接证据的命题，即左MC是因果关系参与了新的动作相关词汇的收购。
Current theoretical positions assume that action-related word meanings are established by functional connections between perisylvian language areas and the motor cortex (MC) [1-4] according to Hebb's associative learning principle [5]. To test this assumption, we probed the functional relevance of the left MC for learning of a novel action word vocabulary by disturbing neural plasticity in the MC with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) [6-9]. In combination with tDCS, subjects learned a novel vocabulary of 76 concrete, body-related actions by means of an associative learning paradigm. Compared with a control condition with "sham" stimulation, cathodal tDCS reduced success rates in vocabulary acquisition, as shown by tests of novel action word translation into the native language. The analysis of learning behavior revealed a specific effect of cathodal tDCS on the ability to associatively couple actions with novel words. In contrast, we did not find these effects in control experiments, when tDCS was applied to the prefrontal cortex or when subjects learned object-related words. The present study lends direct evidence to the proposition that the left MC is causally involved in the acquisition of novel action-related words.