RT Journal Article
T1 Neurocognitive signatures of phonemic sequencing in expert backward speakers.
A1 Torres-Prioris, María José
A1 López-Barroso, Diana
A1 Càmara, Estela
A1 Fittipaldi, Sol
A1 Sedeño, Lucas
A1 Ibáñez, Agustín
A1 Berthier, Marcelo L.
A1 García, Adolfo M.
K1 Cerebro - Envejecimiento
AB Despite its prolific growth, neurolinguistic research on phonemic sequencing has largely neglected the study of individuals with highly developed skills in this domain. To bridge this gap, we report multidimensional signatures of two experts in backward speech, that is, the capacity to produce utterances by reversing the order of phonemes while retaining their identity. Our approach included behavioral assessments of backward and forward speech alongside neuroimaging measures of voxel-based morphometry, diffusion tensor imaging, and resting-state functional connectivity. Relative to controls, both backward speakers exhibited behavioral advantages for reversing words and sentences of varying complexity, irrespective of working memory skills. These patterns were accompanied by increased grey matter volume, higher mean diffusivity, and enhanced functional connectivity along dorsal and ventral stream regions mediating phonological and other linguistic operations, with complementary support of areas subserving associative-visual and domain-general processes. Still, the specific loci of these neural patterns differed between both subjects, suggesting individual variability in the correlates of expert backward speech. Taken together, our results offer new vistas on the domain of phonemic sequencing, while illuminating neuroplastic patterns underlying extraordinary language abilities.
PB Nature
YR 2020
FD 2020-06
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/34142
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/34142
LA eng
NO Torres-Prioris, M.J., López-Barroso, D., Càmara, E. et al. Neurocognitive signatures of phonemic sequencing in expert backward speakers. Sci Rep 10, 10621 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67551-z
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 25 ene 2026