Journal
NEUROIMAGE
Volume 45, Issue 4, Pages 1368-1377Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.12.043
Keywords
Working memory; Phonological buffer; Learning; Vocabulary acquisition; Phonological short-term memory; Episodic memory; Activation; Positron emission tomography
Funding
- PRIN 2007
- FAR 2007
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Vocabulary acquisition is such a major aspect of language learning in children, but also in adults when learning a foreign language, that a dedicated vocabulary learning device may exist within the language organ. To identify the relevant brain systems, we performed regional cerebral blood flow measurements in normal subjects while they were learning a list of neologisms or a list of word-nonword pairs. Structures implicated in phonological short-term memory (Broca's area, left temporo-parietal junction) were steadily activated during nonwords learning, while the left temporal lobe neocortical and paralimbic structures (parahippocampal region), associated with long-term memory, contributed to learning in a time-dependent manner, with maximal activation at the beginning of the process. The neural system specifically activated when learning new vocabulary was strongly lateralized to the left hemisphere. This evidence refines current models of memory function and supports theories which emphasise the importance of phonological competence in hemispheric dominance for language. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc.
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