Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
Published on: November 30, 2018
Reconciling time, space and function: a new dorsal-ventral stream model of sentence comprehension
Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky1, Matthias Schlesewsky
1Department of Germanic Linguistics, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany. iboke@staff.uni-marburg.de
Abstract:
We present a new dorsal-ventral stream framework for language comprehension which unifies basic neurobiological assumptions (Rauschecker & Scott, 2009) with a cross-linguistic neurocognitive sentence comprehension model (eADM; Bornkessel & Schlesewsky, 2006). The dissociation between (time-dependent) syntactic structure-building and (time-independent) sentence interpretation assumed within the eADM provides a basis for the division of labour between the dorsal and ventral streams in comprehension. We posit that the ventral stream performs time-independent unifications of conceptual schemata, serving to create auditory objects of increasing complexity. The dorsal stream engages in the time-dependent combination of elements, subserving both syntactic structuring and a linkage to action. Furthermore, frontal regions accomplish general aspects of cognitive control in the service of action planning and execution rather than linguistic processing. This architecture is supported by a range of existing empirical findings and helps to resolve a number of theoretical and empirical puzzles within the existing dorsal-ventral streams literature.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Parallel Processing
Language and Cognition
Elaborative Rehearsals
The effectiveness of...
Working Memory

