Abstract
THE relationship between the semantic processing of words and of pictures is a matter of debate among cognitive scientists1,2. We studied the functional anatomy of such processing by using positron-emission tomography (PET). We contrasted activity during two semantic tasks (probing knowledge of associations between concepts, and knowledge of the visual attributes of these concepts) and a baseline task (discrimination of physical stimulus size), performed either with words or with pictures. Modality-specific activations unrelated to semantic processing occurred in the left inferior parietal lobule for words, and the right middle occipital gyrus for pictures. A semantic network common to both words and pictures extended from the left superior occipital gyrus through the middle and inferior temporal cortex to the inferior frontal gyrus. A picture-specific activation related to semantic tasks occurred in the left posterior inferior temporal sulcus, and word-specific activations related to semantic tasks were localized to the left superior temporal sulcus, left anterior middle temporal gyrus, and left inferior frontal sulcus. Thus semantic tasks activate a distributed semantic processing system shared by both words and pictures, with a few specific areas differentially active for either words or pictures.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
The Different Bases of the Meaning and of the Seeing-in Experiences
Review of Philosophy and Psychology Open Access 16 February 2023
-
Electrophysiological evidence for the effectiveness of images versus text in warnings
Scientific Reports Open Access 23 January 2023
-
A tale of two gradients: differences between the left and right hemispheres predict semantic cognition
Brain Structure and Function Open Access 12 September 2021
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Get just this article for as long as you need it
$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Caplan, D. Language: Structure, Processing and Disorders 63–104 (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1992).
Shallice, T. In The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Language (eds Coltheart, M. Sartori, G. & Job, R.) 111–127 (Lawrence Erlbaum, Hove, 1987).
Farah, M. Visual Agnosia: Disorders of Object Recognition and What They Tell Us About Normal Vision (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990).
Gomori, A. & Hawryluk, G. Neurology 34, 947–950 (1984).
Albert, M., Soffer, D., Silverberg, R. & Reches, A. Neurology 29, 870–879 (1979).
Mack, J. & Bollen, F. Neuropsychologia 15, 345–348 (1977).
Bub, D., Black, S., Hampson, E. & Kertesz, A. Cogn. Neuropsychol. 5, 27–66 (1988).
Beauvois, M. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 298, 35–47 (1982).
Warrington, E. & McCarthy, R. Neuropsychologia 32, 1465–1473 (1994).
Warrington, E. & Shallice, T. Brain 107, 829–853 (1984).
McCarthy, R. & Warrington, E. Nature 334, 428–430 (1988).
Glaser, W. Cognition 42, 61–105 (1992).
Caramazza, A., Hillis, A., Rapp, B. & Romani, C. Cogn. Neuropsychol. 7, 161–189 (1990).
Butterworth, B., Howard, D. & McLoughlin, P. Neuropsychologia 22, 409–426 (1984).
Howard, D. & Patterson, K. Pyramids and Palm Trees: a Test of Semantic Access from Pictures and Words. (Thames Valley, Bury St Edmunds, 1992).
te Linde, J. J. Exp. Psychol. Learn. Mem. Cogn. 8, 584–598 (1982).
Martin, A., Wiggs, C., Ungerleider, L. & Haxby, J. Nature 379, 649–652 (1996).
Demonet, J.-F. et al. Brain 115, 1753–1768 (1992).
Price, C., Moore, C. & Frackowiak, R. S. J. Neuroimage 3, 40–52 (1996).
Martin, A., Haxby, J., Lalonde, F., Wiggs, C. & Ungerleider, L. Science 270, 102–105 (1995).
Price, C., Wise, R. & Frackowiak, R. S. J. Cereb. Cort. 6, 62–70 (1996).
Damasio, H., Grabowski, T., Tranel, D., Hichwa, R. & Damasio, A. Nature 380, 499–505 (1996).
Petersen, S., Fox, P., Snyder, A. & Raichle, M. Nature 331, 585–589 (1988).
Riddoch, J. & Humphreys, G. Cogn. Neuropsychol. 4, 131–185 (1987).
Coltheart, V., Patterson, K. & Leahy, J. Q. J. Exp. Psychol. 47A, 917–955 (1994).
Mishkin, M., Ungerleider, L. & Macko, K. Trends Neurosci. 6, 414–417 (1983).
Wilson, F., Scalaidhe, S. O. & Goldman-Rakic, P. Science 260, 1955–1958 (1993).
Snodgrass, J. & Vanderwart, M. J. Exp. Psychol. Hum. Learn. Mem. 6, 174–215 (1980).
Friston, K. et al. Hum. Brain Mapp. 2, 189–210 (1995).
Friston, K. et al. Hum. Brain Mapp. 2, 165–189 (1995).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vandenberghe, R., Price, C., Wise, R. et al. Functional anatomy of a common semantic system for words and pictures. Nature 383, 254–256 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383254a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/383254a0
This article is cited by
-
Electrophysiological evidence for the effectiveness of images versus text in warnings
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
The Different Bases of the Meaning and of the Seeing-in Experiences
Review of Philosophy and Psychology (2023)
-
The time-locked neurodynamics of semantic processing in autism spectrum disorder: an EEG study
Cognitive Neurodynamics (2022)
-
Neural responses to facial attractiveness in the judgments of moral goodness and moral beauty
Brain Structure and Function (2022)
-
A tale of two gradients: differences between the left and right hemispheres predict semantic cognition
Brain Structure and Function (2022)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
