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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

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Published on: March 24, 2023
Natural speech reveals the semantic maps that tile human cerebral cortex
Alexander G Huth1, Wendy A de Heer2, Thomas L Griffiths1,2
1Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Researchers mapped the brain's semantic system, revealing intricate, consistent patterns in how language meaning is organized. This creates a detailed semantic atlas, showing which brain areas represent specific concepts.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- The semantic system in the cerebral cortex underlies language meaning.
- Comprehensive mapping of this system and its regional selectivity is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically map semantic selectivity across the human cortex.
- To create a detailed semantic atlas of the brain's language network.
Main Methods:
- Voxel-wise modeling of functional MRI (fMRI) data.
- Analysis of brain activity while subjects listened to narrative stories.
- Development of a novel generative model for atlas creation.
Main Results:
- Identified intricate and consistent patterns of semantic organization across individuals.
- Demonstrated that most semantic system areas represent specific semantic domains.
- Generated a detailed semantic atlas illustrating domain representation in each area.
Conclusions:
- Data-driven methods are effective for mapping functional brain representations.
- The semantic system exhibits organized, domain-specific representations.
- The created atlas provides a valuable resource for understanding language processing in the brain.
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