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Updated: Jun 24, 2026
08:45
Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
Published on: October 24, 2012
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Whole-Brain Millisecond-Scale Effective Connectivity Atlas of Auditory and Visual Naming
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|December 3, 2025
Summary
This study reveals that directional neural information flow, specifically excitatory bursts, supports speech processing. Transient excitatory flows between brain regions enable speech transitions, with faster naming linked to stronger directional flow.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Speech production is modeled as interactions between distant cortical regions connected by white matter.
- Previous research linked functional coactivation (simultaneous high-gamma activity) to neural interactions but lacked whole-brain directional insights.
- The temporal dynamics and directionality of information flow in speech processing remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal roles of directional neural information flow during auditory and visual naming tasks.
- To understand how transient information transmission dynamics contribute to speech processing at a whole-brain level.
- To link specific information flow patterns to speech response times and stimulation-induced symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Utilized intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) data from 9,526 sites across 127 patients during naming tasks.
- Estimated directional information flow using transfer entropy-based effective connectivity, classifying it as excitatory or inhibitory.
- Analyzed the temporal evolution of information flow, its relationship with functional coactivation, and correlation with clinical outcomes.
Main Results:
- Excitatory information flows initiated from sensory cortices, propagated to higher-order regions, and became bidirectional.
- Each excitatory flow was transient (<500 ms), often followed by inhibitory flows and shifts in pathway activation.
- Faster naming correlated with stronger excitatory flows in specific cortical regions (left perisylvian for auditory, bilateral basal temporal for visual).
- Stronger excitatory flows predicted stimulation-induced symptoms, particularly speech arrest during visual naming, outperforming coactivation measures.
Conclusions:
- Transient, directional neural interactions mediated by white matter pathways are crucial for successive stages of speech processing.
- The dynamic interplay of excitatory and inhibitory flows enables functional transitions necessary for naming.
- This study provides causal evidence for the role of temporally precise white matter pathways in speech, extending neurobiological models.
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