The neural substrate of analogical reasoning: an fMRI study

This study investigated the anatomical substrate of analogical reasoning using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In the study, subjects performed a verbal analogy task (e.g., soldier is to army as drummer is to band) and, to control for activation caused by purely semantic access, a semantic judgment task. Significant activation differences between the verbal analogy and the semantic judgment task were found bilaterally in the prefrontal cortex (right BA 11/BA 47 and left BA45), the fusiform gyrus, and the basal ganglia; left lateralized in the postero-superior temporal gyrus (BA 22) and the (para) hippocampal region; and right lateralized in the anterior cingulate. The role of these areas in analogical reasoning is discussed.