语言经验对抽象概念表征的影响：来自正常和早期语言经验缺乏群体的认知行为和脑影像研究

Words denoting abstract concepts (e.g. science) constitute nearly half of human lexicon, yet little is known about how they are represented in the brain. Previous studies have typically emphasized the predominant reliance of abstract words on linguistic representations, especially the word-word associations arising from statistical co-occurrence patterns in natural language. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence for this point of view due to the lack of quantitative methods for linguistic experience. This project will take advantage of the advanced development of neural-network-based statistical language models in the field of natural language processing and investigate the effects of linguistic distance of abstract words on behavioral and neuroimaging data in healthy participants. Furthermore, by comparing native and non-native congenitally deaf signers, this project will examine the potential influence of early-life linguistic experience deprivation on the representation of abstract words. To summarize, this project will uncover the mechanisms of how linguistic experience is involved in abstract word processing, which will help to deepen our understanding of the general computational principles of the human conceptual system. Project applicants have published research articles as first author on journals such as Cerebral Cortex and Human Brain Mapping, and are qualified to complete the project.

抽象概念（如“科学”）是人脑概念系统的重要成分，但人脑存储和加工抽象概念的机制尚不清楚。一般认为语言经验在抽象概念表征中发挥着核心作用，其中自然语言中词语共同出现所形成的关联（如“科学”-“创新”）可能是影响概念表征的重要因素。因为缺乏语言经验的有效量化手段，该观点实验证据较为欠缺。本研究拟采用自然语言处理领域神经网络统计语言模型的最新进展来量化语言关联，在正常群体中考察语言经验对抽象概念行为表现和脑功能激活强度的影响；然后比较有和无早期语言经验的先天聋人群体加工抽象概念行为和脑数据的差异，深入探讨早期语言经验缺乏对抽象概念表征的影响。研究成果将澄清语言经验在抽象概念表征的参与作用，对了解人脑概念系统的普遍工作原理有重要意义。项目申请人前期相关工作曾以第一作者身份发表在Cerebral cortex、Human Brain Mapping等杂志上，具备完成项目的条件。

抽象概念是人脑概念系统的重要组成部分，其认知神经机制是认知科学和认知神经科学领域的基础科学问题之一。现有概念研究多以具体客体概念为研究对象，提出语义类别与经验类型两种主要组织方式，但人脑存储和加工抽象概念的机制研究极少，一般认为语言经验在抽象概念表征中发挥着核心作用。在项目执行两年中，为了回答抽象概念的认知神经机制，尤其是与语言加工的关系，项目负责人带领团队一方面基于健康被试和脑损伤被试群体，在抽象概念中检验概念经典认知组织方式——语义类别与经验类型——的神经基础，一方面以有和无早期语言经验先天聋人为主要研究对象，结合认知行为实验和任务态脑功能磁共振成像实验等研究方法，探讨早期语言经验剥夺对抽象概念认知加工及脑机制的影响。研究发现，社会类别和情绪信息是抽象概念的重要组织维度，其脑区基础相对独立，脑损伤可导致社会类别抽象词以及带有情绪信息抽象词的特异性损伤；初步证据显示早期语言经验缺失对抽象词认知行为及局部脑区基础无显著影响。这些研究结果从类别组织和经验特征组织（情绪经验和语言经验）对抽象概念的神经表征进行了考察，发现了抽象概念的分布式神经表征基础，拓展了传统基于客体概念所提出的经典概念理论，为回答抽象知识的认知与脑机制等基础科学问题提供了新的思路。