The boundaries of language and thought in deductive inference.

Full Abstract

Is human thought fully embedded in language, or do some forms of thought operate independently? To directly address this issue, we focus on inference-making, a central feature of human cognition. In a 3T fMRI study we compare logical inferences relying on sentential connectives (e.g., not, or, if ... then) to linguistic inferences based on syntactic transformation of sentences involving ditransitive verbs (e.g., give, say, take). When contrasted with matched grammaticality judgments, logic inference alone recruited "core" regions of deduction [Brodmann area (BA) 10p and 8m], whereas linguistic inference alone recruited perisylvian regions of linguistic competence, among others (BA 21, 22, 37, 39, 44, and 45 and caudate). In addition, the two inferences commonly recruited a set of general "support" areas in frontoparietal cortex (BA 6, 7, 8, 40, and 47). The results indicate that logical inference is not embedded in natural language and confirm the relative modularity of linguistic processes.

Author information

Author/s: Monti, Martin M (MM); Parsons, Lawrence M (LM); Osherson, Daniel N (DN);

Affiliation: Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Medical Research Council, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom. martin.monti(-atsign-)mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 106 (issue 30) : pp 12554-9

Dates: Created 2009/08/11; Completed 2009/09/28;

PMID: 19617569, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/28/2009, IMS Date: )

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