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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Published on: June 29, 2021

Decoding and disrupting left midfusiform gyrus activity during word reading.

Elizabeth A Hirshorn¹, Yuanning Li², Michael J Ward³

¹Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; hirshorn@pitt.edu.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|June 22, 2016

Summary

The left midfusiform gyrus (lmFG) processes visual word forms. Disrupting lmFG activity impairs word and letter perception, supporting its role in orthographic representation.

Keywords:

electrical stimulation fusiform gyrus intracranial EEG temporal dynamics word reading

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Computational Linguistics

Background:

The visual representation of words is a long-standing debate in cognitive science.
The visual word form hypothesis proposes the left midfusiform gyrus (lmFG) is critical for processing visual word information.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of the left midfusiform gyrus (lmFG) in visual word processing.
To provide empirical support for the visual word form hypothesis using direct brain stimulation and electrophysiological recordings.

Main Methods:

Direct brain stimulation of the left midfusiform gyrus (lmFG) in patients.
Pre- and postsurgical behavioral assessments of word and letter perception.
Intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) and machine learning analysis of lmFG activity.

Main Results:

Disrupting lmFG activity via stimulation or resection impaired whole word and letter perception.
Early lmFG activity encoded orthographic similarity, consistent with gist-level visual representation.
Later lmFG activity supported precise orthographic word form individuation.

Conclusions:

The left midfusiform gyrus (lmFG) is crucial for multiple stages of visual word processing.
Findings strongly support the visual word form hypothesis, highlighting lmFG's role in orthographic representation.