文理解における動詞処理の脳内表象：補部の数、下位範疇、意味フレーム

読 language syntax

Cortical representation of verb processing in sentence comprehension: number of complements, subcategorization, and thematic frames.

Cereb Cortex. 2007 Aug;17(8):1958-69. Epub 2006 Nov 13.

Shetreet E, Palti D, Friedmann N, Hadar U.

The processing of various attributes of verbs is crucial for sentence comprehension. Verb attributes include the number of complements the verb selects, the number of different syntactic phrase types (subcategorization options), and the number of different thematic roles (thematic options). Two functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments investigated the cerebral location and pattern of activation of these attributes. Experiment 1 tested the effect of number of complements. Experiment 2 tested the number of options of subcategorization and of thematic frames. A group of mismatch verbs with different number of options for subcategorization and thematic frames was included to distinguish between the effects of these attributes. Fourteen Hebrew speakers performed a semantic decision task on auditorily presented sentences. Parametric analysis revealed graded activations in the left superior temporal gyrus and the left inferior frontal gyrus in correlation with the number of options. By contrast, the areas that correlated with the number of complements, the right precuneus and the right cingulate, were not conventionally linguistic. This suggests that processing the number of options is more specifically linguistic than processing the number of complements. The mismatch verbs showed a pattern of activation similar to that of the subcategorization group but unlike that of the thematic frames group. By implication, and contrary to claims by some linguists, subcategorization seems indispensable in verb processing.

ヘブライ語での実験

  • 実験1：補部の数の効果
  • 実験2：下位範疇と意味フレームのオプションの数



結果

  • 左上側頭回、左下前頭回でオプション数と相関
  • 右楔前部と右帯状回で補部の数と相関(どちらも言語野ではない)

⇒オプションの数の処理は補部の数の処理に比べ言語特異的


言語学者の主張とは反対に下位範疇化は動詞の処理に必須。


結果はともかく主張には賛同しかねる。もうちょい読みます。