Decoding Semantics from Dynamic Brain Activation Patterns: From Trials to Task in EEG/MEG Source Space

The temporal dynamics within the semantic brain network and its dependence on stimulus and task parameters are still not well understood. Here, we addressed this by decoding task as well as stimulus information from source-estimated EEG/MEG human data. We presented the same visual word stimuli in a lexical decision (LD) and three semantic decision (SD) tasks. The meanings of the presented words varied across five semantic categories. Source space decoding was applied over time in five ROIs in the left hemisphere (anterior and posterior temporal lobe, inferior frontal gyrus, primary visual areas, and angular gyrus) and one in the right hemisphere (anterior temporal lobe). Task decoding produced sustained significant effects in all ROIs from 50 to 100 ms, both when categorizing tasks with different semantic demands (LD-SD) as well as for similar semantic tasks (SD-SD). In contrast, a semantic word category could only be decoded in lATL, rATL, PTC, and IFG, between 250 and 500 ms. Furthermore, we compared two approaches to source space decoding: conventional ROI-by-ROI decoding and combined-ROI decoding with back-projected activation patterns. The former produced more reliable results for word category decoding while the latter was more informative for task decoding. This indicates that task effects are distributed across the whole semantic network while stimulus effects are more focal. Our results demonstrate that the semantic network is widely distributed but that bilateral anterior temporal lobes together with control regions are particularly relevant for the processing of semantic information.