The neural architecture of pragmatic processing

语言理解不只是简单地解读话语的字面意思： 我们对说话者意图的了解有力地影响了我们的解释 语言和社会背景，以及我们的一般世界知识。这种利用扬声器的能力 超越句子字面意思的意图和背景知识指的是 作为“语用学”，是交际成功的核心。语用缺陷是其特点 许多发育障碍，如自闭症谱系障碍或社交障碍 障碍，通常发生在后天性额叶或右半球的个体中 由于中风、头部受伤或变性造成的损害。鉴于成功的沟通是关键 对于我们形成个人和职业关系的能力来说，发展有效的 诊断和治疗患有沟通障碍的个人。一个 理解语用加工背后的神经和认知机制是一种 基本前提。 在fMRI中使用强大的功能定位方法，并坚持当前的 关于可重现和透明科学的标准，我们在这里建议系统地审查 三个与传播有关的网络的贡献--语言网络、社会网络 认知网络，执行功能网络-语用推理，以及 通过传统的基于任务的网络协同组合实现这些网络之间的交互 范式(目标1)、自然主义认知范式(目标2和目标3)和动态网络 建模(目标3)。在目标1中，我们考察了在语言、社交和执行方面的反应 网络到各种语用现象，如幽默、隐喻和善意的谎言。在目标2中，我们 在RICH的处理过程中检查我们每个目标网络中与刺激相关的活动 自然主义的语言材料。在目标3中，我们使用动态网络建模来研究 语言加工过程中网络之间的相互作用。这项工作将产生深远的影响 两)基础科学，通过提供对关键的相对重要性的丰富表征 网络，它们之间的分工，以及它们相互作用的性质，以及ii)临床 实践，通过提供坚实的理论框架和坚实的经验基础 理解沟通障碍。总而言之，这项研究将带来新的批判性曙光 关于语用推理的神经结构，并为今后的工作奠定了基础 探讨不同原因的语用障碍中交际失误的本质。

Language comprehension entails more than simply decoding the literal meaning of an utterance: our interpretation is powerfully shaped by our knowledge of the intent of the speaker, the linguistic and social context, and our general world knowledge. This ability to exploit speaker intent and background knowledge to go beyond the literal meaning of the sentence is referred to as “pragmatics”, and is at the core of communicative success. Pragmatic deficits characterize numerous developmental disorders, like autism spectrum disorders or Social Communication Disorder, and commonly arise in individuals with acquired frontal lobe or right hemisphere damage due to stroke, head injury, or degeneration. Given that successful communication is key to our ability to form personal and professional relationships, it is critical to develop effective diagnostics and treatments for individuals suffering from communication disorders. An understanding of the neural and cognitive mechanisms that underlie pragmatic processing is an essential prerequisite. Using a powerful functional localization approach in fMRI and adhering to the current standards of reproducible and transparent science, we here propose to systematically examine the contributions of three communication-relevant networks – the language network, the social cognition network, and the executive-function network – to pragmatic reasoning, and the interactions among these networks through a synergistic combination of traditional task-based paradigms (Aim 1), naturalistic cognition paradigms (Aims 2 and 3), and dynamic network modeling (Aim 3). In Aim 1, we examine the responses in the language, social, and executive networks to diverse pragmatic phenomena, like humor, metaphor, and white lies. In Aim 2, we examine stimulus-related activity in each of our target networks during the processing of rich naturalistic linguistic materials. And in Aim 3, we use dynamic network modeling to examine the interactions between networks during linguistic processing. This work will profoundly impact both i) basic science, by providing a rich characterization of the relative importance of the key networks, the division of labor among them, and the nature of their interactions, and ii) clinical practice, by providing a solid theoretical framework and a robust empirical foundation for understanding disorders of communication. In summary, this research will shed new critical light on the neural architecture of pragmatic reasoning and lay the foundation for future work aimed at probing the nature of communicative failures in pragmatic disorders of diverse etiologies.