Processing Chinese hand-radicals activates the medial frontal gyrus: A functional MRI investigation

Qing-Lin Wu; Yu-Chen Chan; Joseph P Lavallee; Hsueh-Chin Chen; Kuo-En Chang; Yao-Ting Sung

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.20.002

Processing Chinese hand-radicals activates the medial frontal gyrus: A functional MRI investigation

Neural Regen Res. 2013 Jul 15;8(20):1837-43. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.20.002.

Authors

Qing-Lin Wu¹, Yu-Chen Chan², Joseph P Lavallee³, Hsueh-Chin Chen¹, Kuo-En Chang⁴, Yao-Ting Sung¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, China.
² Institute of Learning Sciences, Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, China.
³ School of Education and Applied Linguistics, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China.
⁴ Graduate Institute of Information and Computer Education, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, China.

PMID: 25206492
PMCID: PMC4145974
DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.20.002

Abstract

Embodied semantics theory asserts that the meaning of action-related words is neurally represented through networks that overlap with or are identical to networks involved in sory-motor processing. While some studies supporting this theory have focused on Chinese characters, less attention has been paid to their semantic radicals. Indeed, there is still disagreement about whether these radicals are processed independently. The present study investigated whether radicals are processed separately and, if so, whether this processing occurs in sensory-motor gions. Materials consisted of 72 high-frequency Chinese characters, with 18 in each of four ries: hand-action verbs with and without hand-radicals, and verbs not related to hand actions, with and without hand-radicals. Twenty-eight participants underwent functional MRI scans while reading the characters. Compared to characters without hand-radicals, reading characters with hand-radicals activated the right medial frontal gyrus. Verbs involving hand-action activated the left inferior parietal lobule, possibly reflecting integration of information in the radical with the semantic meaning of the verb. The findings may be consistent with embodied semantics theory and suggest that neural representation of radicals is indispensable in processing Chinese characters.

Keywords: Chinese character recognition; Chinese learning; embodied semantics; functional MRI; grants-supported paper; hand-radical; neural regeneration; neuroimaging; neuroregeneration; radical representation; semantic function.