The Left Angular Gyrus Is Causally Involved in Context-dependent Integration and Associative Encoding during Narrative Reading

Branzi, Francesca M.; Pobric, Gorana; Jung, JeYoung; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.

Abstract

The role of the left angular gyrus (AG) in language processing remains unclear. In this study, we used TMS to test the hypothesis that the left AG causally supports the processes necessary for context-dependent integration and encoding of information during language processing. We applied on-line TMS over the left AG to disrupt the on-line context-dependent integration during a language reading task, specifically while human participants integrated information between two sequentially presented paragraphs of text (“context” and “target” paragraphs). We assessed the effect of TMS on the left AG by asking participants to retrieve integrated contextual information when given the target condition as cue in a successive memory task. Results from the memory task showed that TMS applied over the left AG during reading impaired the formation of integrated context-target representation. These results provide the first evidence of a causal link between the left AG function, on-line information integration, and associative encoding during language processing.

Citation

Branzi, F. M., Pobric, G., Jung, J., & Lambon Ralph, M. A. (2021). The Left Angular Gyrus Is Causally Involved in Context-dependent Integration and Associative Encoding during Narrative Reading. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 33(6), 1082-1095. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01698

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 28, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Mar 3, 2021
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 19, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 4, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
• Print ISSN: 0898-929X
• Electronic ISSN: 1530-8898
• Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1082-1095
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01698
• Keywords: Cognitive Neuroscience
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5402802
• Publisher URL: https://direct.mit.edu/jocn/article/doi/10.1162/jocn_a_01698/97392/The-Left-Angular-Gyrus-Is-Causally-Involved-in