An early electrophysiological sign of semantic processing in basal extrastriate areas

Abstract

Recognition potential (RP), a recently discovered electrophysiological response of the brain, is sensitive to semantic aspects of stimuli. Given its peak values (about 250 ms), RP may be a good candidate for the study of semantic processing during its occurrence. However, its topography and neural generators are largely unknown. To improve this state of affairs, high-resolution electroencephalography and brain electrical source analysis were carried out. Results suggest a possible origin of RP in the lingual gyrus, hence reflecting the activity of the basal extrastriate areas. RP therefore appears to be a highly valuable tool in the study of those regions considered to be the “third language areas” (in addition to Broca's and Wernicke's areas), whose precise role in language processing is still largely unknown. Another important finding was that RP amplitude in the left hemisphere differed as a function of the semantic category of the stimuli, providing evidence for the sensitivity of this component to semantic categorization. A tentative proposal is made with regard to the role of the basal extrastriate areas.