Cerebral Cortex Advance Access published online on June 22, 2009
Cerebral Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhp119
Topographical Functional Connectivity Pattern in the Perisylvian Language Networks
1 Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 2 Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands, 3 Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Arendahls Wiese 199, D-45141 Essen, Germany, 4 Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6500 AH Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Address correspondence to Hua-Dong Xiang, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Email: h.xiang{at}donders.ru.nl.
We performed a resting-state functional connectivity study to investigate directly the functional correlations within the perisylvian language networks by seeding from 3 subregions of Broca's complex (pars opercularis, pars triangularis, and pars orbitalis) and their right hemisphere homologues. A clear topographical functional connectivity pattern in the left middle frontal, parietal, and temporal areas was revealed for the 3 left seeds. This is the first demonstration that a functional connectivity topology can be observed in the perisylvian language networks. The results support the assumption of the functional division for phonology, syntax, and semantics of Broca's complex as proposed by the memory, unification, and control (MUC) model and indicated a topographical functional organization in the perisylvian language networks, which suggests a possible division of labor for phonological, syntactic, and semantic function in the left frontal, parietal, and temporal areas.
Key Words: Broca's complex functional organization pars opercularis (BA 44) pars orbitalis (BA 47) pars triangularis (BA 45)