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Human Temporal Cortical Single Neuron Activity during Language: A Review.

George A Ojemann¹

¹Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Box 356470, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. gojemann@u.washington.edu.

|June 26, 2014

Summary

Human temporal cortical neurons show dynamic activity shifts during language tasks, memory encoding, and verbal learning. Findings contrast with other neuroimaging techniques, offering unique insights into the biologic substrate for language.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Linguistics

Background:

Understanding the neural basis of human language is crucial.
Previous research often relies on indirect measures of brain activity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate single neuron activity in the human temporal cortex during language processing and verbal memory tasks.
To compare findings from single neuron recordings with other neuroimaging techniques.

Main Methods:

Recordings of human temporal cortical single neuron activity during awake neurosurgery for epilepsy.
Analysis of neuronal responses during object naming, word reading, verbal memory, and verbal associative learning tasks.

Main Results:

Similar proportions of neurons changed activity with language tasks in either hemisphere.
Dominant hemisphere activity showed relative inhibition during overt speech and overlearned tasks, but activation during memory encoding and learning.
Individual neurons participate in distinct networks for different language aspects and languages.
Majority of activity changes were tonic sustained shifts, with infrequent patterned phasic activity.

Conclusions:

Human single neuron recordings offer a unique perspective on the biologic substrate for language.
Temporal cortical neurons exhibit dynamic network activity patterns related to language, memory, and learning.
Findings challenge some conclusions drawn from other neuroimaging techniques.