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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Examining Online Syntactic Processing of Spoken Complex Sentences in Chinese Using Dual-Modal Interference Tasks

Examining Online Syntactic Processing of Spoken Complex Sentences in Chinese Using Dual-Modal Interference Tasks

Published on: September 5, 2019

Neural correlates of verb argument structure processing.

Cynthia K Thompson¹, Borna Bonakdarpour, Stephen C Fix

¹Department of Communication Disorders, Northwestern University, IL 60208, USA. ckthom@northwestern.edu

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

|October 26, 2007

Summary

Brain imaging reveals that processing verb argument structure complexity involves specific neural regions. Increased complexity in verb argument structure engages more neural tissue in the inferior parietal region, particularly the supramarginal and angular gyri.

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Published on: October 13, 2018

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Science

Background:

Neuroimaging and lesion studies indicate distinct neural mechanisms for processing word classes like verbs and nouns.
Linguistic studies suggest that subcategories within word classes, such as verb argument structure, are differentially processed in the brain.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural instantiation of verbs based on argument structure complexity (one-, two-, and three-argument verbs).
To compare neural activation patterns for verbs of varying argument structures against nouns and pseudowords.

Main Methods:

Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
Participants performed a lexical decision task with stimuli including one-, two-, and three-argument verbs, nouns, and pseudowords.
Analysis focused on activation maps comparing different verb types and word classes.

Main Results:

Verbs and nouns showed largely overlapping activation maps, with no significant differences between them.
Pseudowords elicited widespread activation in visual, motor, and peri-sylvian regions.
Processing verbs with two arguments compared to one argument activated the left supramarginal and angular gyri.
Comparing two- and three-argument verbs to one-argument verbs revealed bilateral activation in these regions.

Conclusions:

Posterior peri-sylvian regions, including the supramarginal and angular gyri, are engaged in processing verb argument structure.
Increasing argument structure complexity in verbs correlates with increased neural engagement in the inferior parietal region.
These findings support theories positing the role of these regions in semantic integration.