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Abstract:
We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate
narrative comprehension. Narrative materials were presented as
spoken narratives, written narratives, or picture narratives (told
without words). Reading/listening to narratives was alternated with
reading/listening to independent, unrelated sentences. Picture
narratives were alternated with independent, unrelated pictures.
Comprehension of narratives, as compared to unconnected text,
involved bilaterally the precuneus, and the junctions of the
parietal and temporal lobes, as well as superior temporal sulcus,
and superior and middle frontal gyri in the right hemisphere. The
regions showing increased signal during narrative comprehension
were distinct from the brain regions supporting word and
sentence-level processes, which provides support for a theoretical
assumption common to many theories of discourse processing. The
brain regions were largely independent of modality; patterns of
activity were very similar for written, spoken, and picture
narratives. Formal analyses of laterality demonstrated greater
increased activity for narratives in the right than the left
hemisphere of the temporal lobe and temporal poles. These findings
replicate the finding that the right hemisphere is involved in
comprehension processes that link ideas between sentences and
corroborates the behavioral challenges that patients with
right-hemisphere brain damage face during language comprehension.
That similar results were found for both verbal and non-verbal
media suggests a common neural circuit for comprehension, and
supports theories that propose language comprehension is based on
general cognitive processes.
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