Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026
10:45
Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions
Published on: July 6, 2011
Mechanism of case processing in the brain: an fMRI study
Satoru Yokoyama1, Hideki Maki, Yosuke Hashimoto
1Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai-city, Japan. yokoyama@idac.tohoku.ac.jp
Plos One
|July 19, 2012
Summary
This study reveals how the brain processes grammatical cases. Genitive case processing shows distinct brain activation patterns compared to nominative and accusative cases.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- The case system is vital for sentence comprehension, signifying relationships between sentence elements.
- Limited research exists on the neural processing of grammatical cases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the brain activity associated with processing different English cases.
- To determine if grammatical cases are processed distinctly in the brain.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
- 15 native English speakers performed an English-case processing task.
Main Results:
- All cases activated the left inferior frontal gyrus and posterior middle temporal gyrus.
- Genitive case processing showed greater activation in these regions than nominative and accusative cases.
- Differences in behavioral performance were controlled for, suggesting distinct neural processing patterns.
Conclusions:
- Grammatical cases are processed differently in the brain.
- The unique activation for genitive cases may stem from its structural complexity compared to nominative and accusative cases.
