Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2013, Vol. 8 ›› Issue (20): 1837-1843.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.20.002

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

Qing-Lin Wu1, Yu-Chen Chan2, Joseph P. Lavallee3, Hsueh-Chin Chen4, Kuo-En Chang5, Yao-Ting Sung4   

  1. 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 Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, China
    5 Graduate Institute of Information and Computer Education, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, China
  • Received:2013-02-08 Revised:2013-05-11 Online:2013-07-15 Published:2013-07-15
  • Contact: Hsueh-Chih Chen, Professor, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, Taiwan Normal University, Education College Building, Room 612, No. 162, Heping E. Rd., Sec. 1Da-an District, Taipei 10610, Taiwan, China, chcjyh@ntnu.edu.tw
  • About author:Qing-Lin Wu, Studying for doctorate.
  • Supported by:

    中国台北教育部，台北师范大学顶级大学计划

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Abstract:

Embodied semantics theory asserts that the meaning of action-related words is neurally repre-sented through networks that overlap with or are identical to networks involved in sensory-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 regions. Materials consisted of 72 high-frequency Chinese characters, with 18 in each of four categories: 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 char-acters. Compared to characters without hand-radicals, reading characters with hand-radicals acti-vated 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.

Key words: neural regeneration, neuroimaging, functional MRI, hand-radical, radical representation, Chinese character recognition, embodied semantics, semantic function, Chinese learning, grants-supported paper, neuroregeneration