TY - JOUR
T1 - Gateway to Syntax: On the Neural Origins of the Left Anterior Negativity and Their Functional Implications
AU - Martin-Loeches, Manuel
AU - Sommer, Werner
AU - Jiménez-Ortega, Laura
AU - Espuny, Javier
AU - Rubianes, Miguel
AU - Casado, Pilar
N1 - Funding information:
This study was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Investigación y Universidades, Programa de ayudas a Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento, Proyectos de Investigación no Orientada. Grant numbers: PID2021-123421NB-I00 & PID2021-124227NB-I00.
Publisher copyright:
© 2025 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
PY - 2025/12/4
Y1 - 2025/12/4
N2 - The neural origins of the Left Anterior Negativity (LAN) component of the Event-Related brain Potentials (ERP) have never been directly probed although this information is of the highest interest for a comprehensive view of the neural foundation of language. The LAN emerges specifically after morphosyntactic violations and is affected by both linguistic and extralinguistic, non-syntactic information. Here, we explored the neural sources of the LAN by analyzing data from three previously published ERP data sets obtained from canonical morphosyntactic violation conditions. The neuroelectric source analyses were based on LAN data from N = 76 participants and comprised two distributed source algorithms: sLORETA (standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography), and CLARA (classical LORETA analysis recursively applied), and a discrete dipole model (BESA, brain electrical source analysis). The results indicate that the most acceptable candidate as primary neural source of the LAN is the left frontal operculum (LFO), though the right FO might also be implicated. Considering its location, functions and connections, we speculate that the FO may be monitoring articulatory (morphological or morphophonological) predictions during language comprehension. The direct links between the FO and the anterior temporal pole might also account for nonlinguistic influences on the LAN.
AB - The neural origins of the Left Anterior Negativity (LAN) component of the Event-Related brain Potentials (ERP) have never been directly probed although this information is of the highest interest for a comprehensive view of the neural foundation of language. The LAN emerges specifically after morphosyntactic violations and is affected by both linguistic and extralinguistic, non-syntactic information. Here, we explored the neural sources of the LAN by analyzing data from three previously published ERP data sets obtained from canonical morphosyntactic violation conditions. The neuroelectric source analyses were based on LAN data from N = 76 participants and comprised two distributed source algorithms: sLORETA (standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography), and CLARA (classical LORETA analysis recursively applied), and a discrete dipole model (BESA, brain electrical source analysis). The results indicate that the most acceptable candidate as primary neural source of the LAN is the left frontal operculum (LFO), though the right FO might also be implicated. Considering its location, functions and connections, we speculate that the FO may be monitoring articulatory (morphological or morphophonological) predictions during language comprehension. The direct links between the FO and the anterior temporal pole might also account for nonlinguistic influences on the LAN.
KW - Syntax Processing
KW - Language
KW - Left Anterior Negativity (LAN)
KW - Neural Sources
U2 - 10.1162/nol.a.227
DO - 10.1162/nol.a.227
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2641-4368
SP - 1
EP - 48
JO - Neurobiology of Language
JF - Neurobiology of Language
ER -