PMID- 31849777
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20201001
IS  - 1664-1078 (Print)
IS  - 1664-1078 (Electronic)
IS  - 1664-1078 (Linking)
VI  - 10
DP  - 2019
TI  - Merge-Generability as the Key Concept of Human Language: Evidence From 
      Neuroscience.
PG  - 2673
LID - 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02673 [doi]
LID - 2673
AB  - Ever since the inception of generative linguistics, various dependency patterns 
      have been widely discussed in the literature, particularly as they pertain to the 
      hierarchy based on "weak generation" - the so-called Chomsky Hierarchy. However, 
      humans can make any possible dependency patterns by using artificial means on a 
      sequence of symbols (e.g., computer programing). The differences between 
      sentences in human language and general symbol sequences have been routinely 
      observed, but the question as to why such differences exist has barely been 
      raised. Here, we address this problem and propose a theoretical explanation in 
      terms of a new concept of "Merge-generability," that is, whether the structural 
      basis for a given dependency is provided by the fundamental operation Merge. In 
      our functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we tested the judgments 
      of noun phrase (NP)-predicate (Pred) pairings in sentences of Japanese, an SOV 
      language that allows natural, unbounded nesting configurations. We further 
      introduced two pseudo-adverbs, which artificially force dependencies that do not 
      conform to structures generated by Merge, i.e., non-Merge-generable; these 
      adverbs enable us to manipulate Merge-generability (Natural or Artificial). By 
      employing this novel paradigm, we obtained the following results. Firstly, the 
      behavioral data clearly showed that an NP-Pred matching task became more 
      demanding under the Artificial conditions than under the Natural conditions, 
      reflecting cognitive loads that could be covaried with the increased number of 
      words. Secondly, localized activation in the left frontal cortex, as well as in 
      the left middle temporal gyrus and angular gyrus, was observed for the [Natural - 
      Artificial] contrast, indicating specialization of these left regions in 
      syntactic processing. Any activation due to task difficulty was completely 
      excluded from activations in these regions, because the Natural conditions were 
      always easier than the Artificial ones. And finally, the [Artificial - Natural] 
      contrast resulted in the dorsal portion of the left frontal cortex, together with 
      wide-spread regions required for general cognitive demands. These results 
      indicate that Merge-generable sentences are processed in these specific regions 
      in contrast to non-Merge-generable sentences, demonstrating that Merge is indeed 
      a fundamental operation, which comes into play especially under the Natural 
      conditions.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2019 Tanaka, Nakamura, Ohta, Fukui, Zushi, Narita and Sakai.
FAU - Tanaka, Kyohei
AU  - Tanaka K
AD  - Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University 
      of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
FAU - Nakamura, Isso
AU  - Nakamura I
AD  - Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters, The University 
      of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
FAU - Ohta, Shinri
AU  - Ohta S
AD  - Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 
      Japan.
FAU - Fukui, Naoki
AU  - Fukui N
AD  - Graduate School of Languages and Linguistics, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.
FAU - Zushi, Mihoko
AU  - Zushi M
AD  - Faculty of Foreign Languages, Kanagawa University, Yokohama, Japan.
FAU - Narita, Hiroki
AU  - Narita H
AD  - Department of English, Faculty of Letters, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Japan.
FAU - Sakai, Kuniyoshi L
AU  - Sakai KL
AD  - Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University 
      of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20191129
PL  - Switzerland
TA  - Front Psychol
JT  - Frontiers in psychology
JID - 101550902
PMC - PMC6895067
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Chomsky Hierarchy
OT  - Merge
OT  - Merge-generability
OT  - fMRI
OT  - inferior frontal gyrus
OT  - lateral premotor cortex
OT  - syntax
EDAT- 2019/12/19 06:00
MHDA- 2019/12/19 06:01
PMCR- 2019/11/29
CRDT- 2019/12/19 06:00
PHST- 2019/08/06 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2019/11/13 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2019/12/19 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2019/12/19 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2019/12/19 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2019/11/29 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02673 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Front Psychol. 2019 Nov 29;10:2673. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02673. eCollection 
      2019.