Temporal attention and the role of left frontoparietal network in the generalization of linguistic rules: a combined fMRI-TBS investigation
Orienting of attentionin the temporal domain enhances statistical learning from speech and isdeterminant in the generalisation of linguistic rules (Orpella, Ripollés et al., 2020, 2022). Thistype of attention is sustainedby the left frontoparietal network. The present study aims: 1) to identifywhich are the network mechanisms that participants use to learn linguisticrules when the frontoparietal network is not available, and 2) to know which regionsare properly involved in the generalization of linguistic rules. For thefulfillment of our objectives, we combined the use of TMS and fMRI in an intrasubjectdesign where eachparticipant attends 3 experimental sessions. On session 1, participants are exposed to thefirst artificial language (L1) and functional images are acquired duringlearning. This first session allows us to extract the individual peak ofactivation in the left parietal lobe (LPL) and acquire a T1 structuralinformation to guide the region TMS intervention. The LPL peak corresponds tothe area in charge of rule abstraction and temporal orienting of attentionbased on our previous study (Orpella, Ripollés et al., 2020). On sessions 2 and3, participants are tested for generalization by learning another language (L2/L3)following a comparable rule as L1 under the effects of Theta Burst Stimulation(TBS). In one of the sessions, they are TBS on the LPL (the peak of activationfrom session 1) right before entering the MRI scanner with the goal tointerfere with LPL function. On the other session, they are TBS in the Vertexas a control condition. Participants are fMRI scanned under the effects of eachTMS intervention such that we could observe the network related to ruleextraction when no generalisation is possible (under TBS to LPL) and thenetwork purely related to rule generalisation (under TBS to Vertex). At the functional level, for the first session, the Bold-signalin the LPL (Brodmann’s BA40) was consistently found in all participants replicatingthe work by Orpella, Ripollés, et al. (2020). In the same way, this study was able to replicate the behavioural results , finding response patterns consistent with what was expected in the different languages used.
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