Fatemeh Geranmayeh1, Sonia Brownsett1, Robert Leech1, Christian F. Beckmann1, Richard J.S. Wise1
1The Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
This functional MRI study investigated the involvement of the left inferior parietal cortex (IPC) in speech production (Speech). We compared Speech with non-communicative repetitive tongue movements (Tongue). The data were analyzed with both univariate contrasts between conditions and independent component analysis (ICA). Although the former indicated decreased activity of left IPC during Speech relative to Tongue, the ICA revealed a Speech component in which there was correlated activity between left IPC, frontal and temporal cortices known to be involved in language. This study confirms that a large extent of the left IPC is involved in the production of spoken discourse.