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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 28, 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

Syntactic processing is distributed across the language system.

Idan Blank¹, Zuzanna Balewski², Kyle Mahowald²

¹Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

|December 16, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Syntactic processing in language comprehension is not localized but distributed across the entire human brain language system. This finding, supported by individual-subject brain imaging, aligns with patient studies on syntactic deficits.

Keywords:

Functional MRI Language Syntactic complexity Syntactic processing

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Published on: September 5, 2019

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Published on: May 9, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Linguistics
Cognitive Science

Background:

Language comprehension involves extensive brain networks.
The localization of syntactic processing within these networks remains debated.
Previous studies often focused on specific regions like Broca's area.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether syntactic processing is localized or distributed across the brain's language system.
To test the hypothesis that the entire language system is sensitive to syntactic complexity.
To reconcile neuroimaging findings with evidence from aphasic patients.

Main Methods:

Utilized an individual-subjects approach for localizing brain regions.
Analyzed brain responses to syntactic complexity.
Compared findings with existing neuropsychological patient data.

Main Results:

Found responses to syntactic complexity throughout the entire language system.
Demonstrated that effects in some regions might be subtle due to lower overall language response.
Results support a distributed model of syntactic processing, consistent with patient studies.

Conclusions:

Syntactic processing is distributed across the brain's language network, not confined to specific areas.
This distributed nature suggests syntax may be intrinsically linked with other language functions like lexico-semantic processing.
Future neuroimaging research should consider the entire language system to fully understand syntactic processing.