Networks and Multimodalities underlying Language Processing in the Brain

doi:10.1017/9781009202336.005

3 - Networks and Multimodalities underlying Language Processing in the Brain

Evidence from Structural and Functional Neuroimaging

from Part II - Neuroimaging Studies of Brain and Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 December 2025

Edna Andrews,

Charlotte Sophia Rammell and

Hayes Bierman

Edited by

Edna Andrews and

Swathi Kiran

Show author details

Edna Andrews: Affiliation:
Duke University, North Carolina
Swathi Kiran: Affiliation:
Boston University

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Summary

The emergence of robust accessibility to functional neuroimaging in the late 1990s and early 2000s provided a new way to study language processing in the human brain, the most common techniques being PET and fMRI studies. Prior to this moment, neural language mappings were tied to invasive procedures in surgery and pathology, where CSM (cortical stimulation mapping) was one of the primary sources of data. Reframing approaches to understanding language processing in the brain allowed for closer ties between the cognitive neurosciences and linguistic theory, as well as new perspectives of multimodalities, resting state functional connectivity, and embodied cognition. Here we explore the range of outcomes in functional and structural neuroimaging studies focusing on language processing in the brain, including studies of bi- and multilingualism. The chapter concludes with a discussion of some of the central challenges in neuroimaging studies of language(s), including software and inter-method discrepancies, protocol design, proficiency measurements, and ecological validity.

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Handbook of Language and Brain , pp. 47 - 67
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009202336.005 [Opens in a new window]
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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