Language is mediated by pathways connecting distant brain regions that have diverse functional roles. For word production, the network includes a ventral pathway, connecting temporal and inferior frontal regions, and a dorsal pathway, connecting parietal and frontal regions. Despite the importance of word production for scientific and clinical purposes, the functional connectivity underlying this task has received relatively limited attention, and mostly from techniques limited in either spatial or temporal resolution. Here, we exploited data obtained from depth intra-cerebral electrodes stereotactically implanted in eight epileptic patients. The signal was recorded directly from various structures of the neocortex with high spatial and temporal resolution. The neurophysiological activity elicited by a picture naming task was analyzed in the time-frequency domain (10–150 Hz), and functional connectivity between brain areas among ten regions of interest was examined. Task related-activities detected within a network of the regions of interest were consistent with findings in the literature, showing task-evoked desynchronization in the beta band and synchronization in the gamma band. Surprisingly, long-range functional connectivity was not particularly stronger in the beta than in the high-gamma band. The latter revealed meaningful sub-networks involving, notably, the temporal pole and the inferior frontal gyrus (ventral pathway), and parietal regions and inferior frontal gyrus (dorsal pathway). These findings are consistent with the hypothesized network, but were not detected in every patient. Further research will have to explore their robustness with larger samples.

中文翻译：

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对单词产生过程中功能连接性的脑内探索。

语言是由连接具有不同功能角色的遥远大脑区域的途径介导的。为了产生单词，该网络包括连接颞和下额叶区域的腹侧通路和连接顶和额叶区域的背侧通路。尽管对于科学和临床目的而言，单词产生的重要性很重要，但该任务所基于的功能连接受到了相对有限的关注，并且主要受到空间或时间分辨率受限的技术的关注。在这里，我们利用立体定向植入八名癫痫患者的深度脑内电极获得的数据。直接从新皮层的各种结构以高时空分辨率记录信号。在时频域（10–150 Hz）中分析了由图片命名任务引起的神经生理活动，并检查了十个感兴趣区域之间的大脑区域之间的功能连接性。在感兴趣区域的网络内检测到的与任务相关的活动与文献中的发现一致，表明在β波段中任务诱发的失步和在γ波段中发生的失步。令人惊讶的是，β中的远程功能连接并不比高伽玛频带中的强。后者揭示了有意义的子网，主要涉及颞极和额下回（腹侧通路）以及顶区和额下回（背侧通路）。这些发现与假设的网络一致，但并未在每位患者中都发现。