DMN function: language and associations etc

Submitted by axel.vadim on
This is reply to Doug's comment about DMN, language and associations (from previous thread; see also below). Somehow I could do the reply directly there.
 
Doug, if you can post some references to representative paper(s) related to DMN/language and DMN/associations this would be helpful for me. Thanks!
 
As to what you are saying regarding associations, I am confused with terminology. When you are saying "involved" you mean more negative or more positive response? For example, the papers of Addis & Schacter show that we have negative response in the DMN for arithmetic task, but positive response for some self-referential stuff, like episodic memory or feature thinking. So, what of these require more associations?
 

 

Doug wrote:

How much angular vs. posterior middle (& superior) temporal gyrus is activated by language depends on the particular task, individual(s), and study.  Part of the DMN is more active during demanding language conditions, e.g., requiring conversion of information between visual & auditory modalities – which seems to contradict the idea that the DMN is most active when we are doing nothing. 

Personally, I think the DMN is involved in associative activity, so that by default we make associations between whatever stimuli and/or thoughts that occur simultaneously in time – there is decreased activity when we are doing a task so that irrelevant information does not interfere or create dysfunctional associations.  This hypothesis explains why demanding tasks [which nearly always require associations] are associated with more activity in the DMN than less demanding tasks, although not as much overall as at rest.  Furthermore, it explains the symptoms with neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s that are associated with lower DMN activity – reduced ability to form new (associative) memories and loss of other abilities that require associative references (such as spatial navigation and math).

My language comments were based on informal comparisons of published DMN results / coordinates with the results from ongoing studies when I was working with a language researcher (James Booth).  Only recently interested in exploring resting state analysis on my own, I have not followed the DMN literature closely enough to know whether other studies have examined the relationship between DMN and language.

 

Similarly, my comments about DMN and associations are based upon a broad review of studies that show task-related activation in (especially) parietal cortex with published maps of the DMN.  To the best of my knowledge, no one else has come to this conclusion, but I think the hypothesis that the DMN is involved in associative processes deserves to be explored.  I have recently acquired fMRI data during an associative memory task, and the activation maps look suspiciously similar to the DMN – although I have not yet collected REST data for a direct comparison.

 

Doug Burman

 

 

Legal Disclaimer: Information contained in this e-mail, including any files transmitted with it, may contain confidential medical or business information intended only for use by the intended recipient(s).  Any unauthorized disclosure, use, copying, distribution or taking of any action based on the contents of this email is strictly prohibited.  Review by any individual other than the intended recipient does not waive or surrender the physician-patient privilege or any other legal rights.  If you received this e-mail in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by return email.

<

1.      I am not sure how many, but at least some task fMRI studies did not use resting contrast for activation detection. In this case, an “activation” of target task as compared with control task is probably a less “deactivation” if a resting condition is adopted.

2.      I remember a few review papers mentioned that some DMN regions (may be inferior parietal lobule) are involved in memory retrieval.

Yufeng

 

From: RFMRI.ORG [mailto:rfmri.org-bounces@rnet.co] On Behalf Of The R-fMRI Network Sent: Saturday, December 07, 2013 5:20 AM
To: rfmri.org@rnet.co
Subject: Re: [RFMRI] DMN function: language and associations etc

 

[To post a comment, please reply to rfmri.org@gmail.com ABOVE this line]

 

Commented by Doug Burman (ddburman)

My language comments were based on informal comparisons of published DMN results / coordinates with the results from ongoing studies when I was working with a language researcher (James Booth).  Only recently interested in exploring resting state analysis on my own, I have not followed the DMN literature closely enough to know whether other studies have examined the relationship between DMN and language.

 

Similarly, my comments about DMN and associations are based upon a broad review of studies that show task-related activation in (especially) parietal cortex with published maps of the DMN.  To the best of my knowledge, no one else has come to this conclusion, but I think the hypothesis that the DMN is involved in associative processes deserves to be explored.  I have recently acquired fMRI data during an associative memory task, and the activation maps look suspiciously similar to the DMN – although I have not yet collected REST data for a direct comparison.

 

Doug Burman

 

 

Legal%20Disclaimer:%20Information%20 contained%20in%20this%20e-mail,%20including%20any%20files%20transmitted%20with%20it,%20may%20contain%20 confidential%20medical%20or%20business%20information%20intended%20only%20for%20use%20by%20the%20 intended%20recipient(s). %20Any%20unauthorized%20disclosure,%20use,%20copying,%20 distribution%20or%20taking%20of%20any%20action%20based%20on%20the%20contents%20of%20this%20email%20is%20 strictly%20prohibited. %20Review%20by%20any%20individual%20other%20than%20the%20intended%20 recipient%20does%20not%20waive%20or%20surrender%20the%20physician-patient%20privilege%20or%20any%20 other%20legal%20rights. %20If%20you%20received%20this%20e-mail%20in%20error,%20please%20delete%20it%20 immediately%20and%20notify%20the%20sender%20by%20return%20email.%20 <Online version of this post: http://www.rfmri.org/comment/2997#comment-2997

 

Forums
Discuss (controversial) issues