RESEARCH
NLP
From Thought to Action: How a Hierarchy of Neural Dynamics Supports Language Production
February 06, 2025
Abstract
Humans effortlessly communicate their thoughts through intricate sequences of motor actions. Yet, the neural processes that coordinate language production remain largely unknown, in part because speech artifacts limit the use of neuroimaging. To elucidate the unfolding of language production in the brain, we investigate with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) the neurophysiological activity of 35 skilled typists, while they typed sentences on a keyboard. This approach confirms the hierarchical predictions of linguistic theories: the neural activity preceding the production of each word is marked by the sequential rise and fall of context-, word-, syllable-, and letter-level representations. Remarkably, each of these neural representations is maintained over long time periods within each level of the language hierarchy. This phenomenon results in a superposition of successive representations that is supported by a hierarchy of dynamic neural codes. Overall, these findings provide a precise computational breakdown of the neural dynamics that coordinate the production of language in the human brain.
AUTHORS
Written by
Mingfang (Lucy) Zhang
F.-Xavier Alario
Pierre Bourdillon
Svetlana Pinet
Jarod Levy
Jean Remi King
Jérémy Rapin
Publisher
NA
Research Topics
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