Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Cerebellar BOLD signal during the acquisition of a new lexicon predicts its early consolidation.

Cerebellar BOLD signal during the acquisition of a new lexicon predicts its early consolidation. Thumbnail


Abstract

Cerebellar contributions to language are presently poorly understood, but it has been argued that the cerebellar role in motor learning can be extended to learning in cognitive and linguistic domains. Here, we used fMRI to investigate whether the cerebellum is recruited in mapping novel words onto existing semantic concepts. On separate days, participants performed a Basque vocabulary learning task and a control English synonym task in the MRI scanner. Learning-related BOLD activity was found in left inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral insula, pre-SMA, left superior parietal cortex, right caudate, the right cerebellar vermis and right cerebellar Crus II. The extent to which the cerebellar regions, but not the cerebral areas, were recruited during learning correlated positively with participants' off-line improvement in performance after the learning task. These data provide evidence for a cerebellar role in lexical learning, and suggest that the right cerebellum may contribute toward consolidation of lexico-semantic associations in the language network.

Acceptance Date Jul 10, 2015
Publication Date Aug 21, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Brain Lang
Print ISSN 0093-934X
Publisher Elsevier
Pages 33-44
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2015.07.005
Keywords Cerebellum, Language, Vocabulary, Learning, Lexicon, fMRI, Word association, Non-motor
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2015.07.005

Files




Downloadable Citations