Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ( IF 3.2 ) Pub Date : 2020-07-31 , DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01571 Ben Alderson-Day 1 , Jamie Moffatt 1, 2 , Marco Bernini 1 , Kaja Mitrenga 1 , Bo Yao 3 , Charles Fernyhough 1
Stories transport readers into vivid imaginative worlds, but understanding how readers create such worlds—populating them with characters, objects, and events—presents serious challenges across disciplines. Auditory imagery is thought to play a prominent role in this process, especially when representing characters' voices. Previous research has shown that direct reference to speech in stories (e.g., He said, “I'm over here”) may prompt spontaneous activation of voice-selective auditory cortex more than indirect speech [Yao, B., Belin, P., & Scheepers, C. Silent reading of direct versus indirect speech activates voice-selective areas in the auditory cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 3146–3152, 2011]. However, it is unclear whether this effect reflects differential processing of speech or differences in linguistic content, source memory, or grammar. One way to test this is to compare direct reference effects for characters speaking and thinking in a story. Here, we present a multidisciplinary fMRI study of 21 readers' responses to characters' speech and thoughts during silent reading of short fictional stories. Activations relating to direct and indirect references were compared for both speaking and thinking. Eye-tracking and independent localizer tasks (auditory cortex and theory of mind [ToM]) established ROIs in which responses to stories could be tracked for individuals. Evidence of elevated auditory cortex responses to direct speech over indirect speech was observed, replicating previously reported effects; no reference effect was observed for thoughts. Moreover, a direct reference effect specific to speech was also evident in regions previously associated with inferring intentions from communication. Implications are discussed for the spontaneous representation of fictional characters and the potential roles of inner speech and ToM in this process.
中文翻译:
在沉默阅读期间处理语音和思想:语音选择听觉皮层和心理理论网络中虚构人物语音的直接参考效应。
故事将读者带入生动的想象世界,但了解读者如何创造这样的世界——用人物、物体和事件填充他们——提出了跨学科的严峻挑战。听觉意象被认为在这个过程中扮演着重要的角色,尤其是在表现角色的声音时。先前的研究表明,在故事中直接提及语音(例如,何说,“我在这里”)可能比间接语音更能促使语音选择性听觉皮层的自发激活 [Yao, B., Belin, P., & Scheepers, C. 直接和间接语音的默读会激活听觉皮层中的语音选择区域。认知神经科学杂志,23, 3146–3152, 2011]。然而,尚不清楚这种影响是否反映了语音处理的差异或语言内容、源记忆或语法的差异。测试这一点的一种方法是比较故事中人物说话和思考的直接参考效果。在这里,我们展示了一项多学科 fMRI 研究,研究了 21 位读者在默读短篇小说时对人物的言语和思想的反应。与直接和间接参考相关的激活在说话和思考方面进行了比较。眼动追踪和独立定位器任务(听觉皮层和心理理论 [ToM])建立了投资回报率,其中可以跟踪个人对故事的反应。观察到听觉皮层对直接语音的反应高于间接语音的证据,复制了先前报告的效果;没有观察到思想的参考效果。此外,特定于语音的直接参考效应在先前与从通信中推断意图相关的区域中也很明显。讨论了虚构人物的自发表现以及内心语言和 ToM 在这个过程中的潜在作用的含义。