Influence of lexical status and orthographic similarity on the multi-voxel response of the visual word form area.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies demonstrated that a region in the left fusiform gyrus, often referred to as the 'visual word form area' (VWFA), is responsive to written words, but the precise functional role of VWFA remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the influence of orthographic similarity, and lexical factors on the multivoxel response patterns to written stimuli. Using high-resolution fMRI at 7 T, we compared the organization of visual word representations in VWFA to the organization in early visual cortex and a language region in the superior temporal gyrus. Sets of four letter words and pseudowords were presented, in which orthographic similarity was parametrically manipulated. We found that during a lexical decision task VWFA is responsive to the lexical status of a stimulus, bu

SUBMITTER: Baeck A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4412851 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature