The Role of the Angular Gyrus in Semantic Cognition – A Synthesis of Five Functional Neuroimaging Studies

The Role of the Angular Gyrus in Semantic Cognition – A Synthesis of Five Functional Neuroimaging Studies | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Role of the Angular Gyrus in Semantic Cognition – A Synthesis of Five Functional Neuroimaging Studies Philipp Kuhnke, Curtiss A. Chapman, Vincent K.M. Cheung, Sabrina Turker, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1193371/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Semantic knowledge is central to human cognition. The angular gyrus (AG) is widely considered a key brain region for semantic cognition. However, the role of the AG in semantic processing is controversial. Key controversies concern response polarity (activation vs. deactivation) and its relation to task difficulty, lateralization (left vs. right AG), and functional-anatomical subdivision (PGa vs. PGp subregions). Here, we combined the fMRI data of five studies on semantic processing (n = 172) and analyzed the response profiles from the same anatomical regions-of-interest for left and right PGa and PGp. We found that the AG was consistently deactivated during non-semantic conditions, whereas response polarity during semantic conditions was inconsistent. However, the AG consistently showed relative response differences between semantic and non-semantic conditions, and between different semantic conditions. A combined analysis across all studies revealed that AG responses could be best explained by independent effects of both task difficulty and semantic processing demand. Task difficulty effects were stronger in PGa than PGp, regardless of hemisphere. Semantic effects were stronger in left than right AG, regardless of subregion. These results suggest that the AG is independently engaged in both domain-general task-difficulty-related processes and domain-specific semantic processes. In semantic processing, we propose that left AG acts as a “multimodal convergence zone” that binds different semantic features associated with the same concept, enabling efficient access to task-relevant features. concepts fMRI inferior parietal lobe semantic memory Full Text Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 23 Dec, 2021 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Dec, 2021 Editor invited by journal 22 Dec, 2021 First submitted to journal 21 Dec, 2021 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-1193371","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":72275431,"identity":"a41ba362-441c-4941-bd8d-9e1e085a86ba","order_by":0,"name":"Philipp Kuhnke","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCQYeBsYGBhsGA6gAkEOcljTStRwmQYvkjNxjD2dUnJc35z/AurngF4NsPyEt0hJ56YYbztw23Dkjge32zD4G45mErJGTyDGTfNh2O8HgBgPbbd4ehsQNB4jS8u9cgsH5AxAt+wlpkQZp2dhwIMHgANBhPD+AthDyi2TPGzPJGceSgX5JbLs9s0HCeAYhWySOA23pqbEDhtjhY7cL/tjI9jcQsgYBGBuYGdskiFcPBswMf0jUMQpGwSgYBSMCAAAoU0OHpg0GNgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9778-4977","institution":"Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences: Max-Planck-Institut fur Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Philipp","middleName":"","lastName":"Kuhnke","suffix":""},{"id":72275432,"identity":"45ae36d2-500b-4c1e-a643-ddd16b3e6488","order_by":1,"name":"Curtiss A. 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