Brain networks underlying orthographic, phonological and semantic processing of Chinese characters

Abstract

Brain imaging studies using different experimental paradigms have consistently shown that the brain networks for Chinese reading involve the left middle frontal gyrus (LMFG), bilateral fusiform gyrus (FG), bilateral parietal lobule and bilateral lingual gyrus and cuneus. LMFG engagement in Chinese reading has been observed in studies examining various types of reading-related processing such as visual, phonological and semantic processing, and a recent meta-analysis has provided corroborated evidence that the three language processes have convergent activation at the LMFG (Wu, Ho, & Chen, 2012). To understand the functional integration of various regions responsible for orthographic, phonological and semantic processing, a within-subject study on the three processes is necessary as the studies reported in the meta-analysis contain inconsistent tasks and baseline conditions for the same process, and that contrasts between the processes and connectivity between brain regions are impossible to be calculated. However, no study has examined the three language processes within the same subject so far, and the exact functions subserved by the LMFG and how they are related to Chinese reading remain unexamined. This study aims to present the brain network for Chinese reading for the three processes with a within-subject design, focusing on the role of the LMFG, and to examine the functional connectivity between the regions involved.