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A cultural effect on brain function

Nature Neuroscience volume 3, pages 91–96 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

We present behavioral and anatomical evidence for a multi-component reading system in which different components are differentially weighted depending on culture-specific demands of orthography. Italian orthography is consistent, enabling reliable conversion of graphemes to phonemes to yield correct pronunciation of the word. English orthography is inconsistent, complicating mapping of letters to word sounds. In behavioral studies, Italian students showed faster word and non-word reading than English students. In two PET studies, Italians showed greater activation in left superior temporal regions associated with phoneme processing. In contrast, English readers showed greater activations, particularly for non-words, in left posterior inferior temporal gyrus and anterior inferior frontal gyrus, areas associated with word retrieval during both reading and naming tasks.

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Figure 1: Vocal reaction times in single word and non-word reading.
Figure 2: Functional commonalities and differences between English and Italian reading systems.

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Acknowledgements

The studies were funded by the EEC-BIOMED II grant (contract BMH4-CT96-0274) and by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. We are grateful to Andrew Holmes for statistical advice and Caroline Moore for help with preparing the bibliography.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific Institute H S. Raffaele, INB-CNR, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    E. Paulesu, F. Fazio, L. Menoncello & D. Perani

  2. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 7 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK

    E. McCrory, A. Gallagher & U. Frith

  3. Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, Institute of Neurology, 12 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3GB, UK

    N. Brunswick, C. Price & C. D. Frith

  4. Neurology Department, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    S. F. Cappa & M. Cotelli

  5. Psychology Department, University Vita e Salute H San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

    S. F. Cappa

  6. Istituto di Fisiologia Umana, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    G. Cossu & F. Corte

  7. Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea-La Nostra Famiglia, Bosisio Parini, Italy

    M. Lorusso & S. Pesenti

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Correspondence to U. Frith.

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Paulesu, E., McCrory, E., Fazio, F. et al. A cultural effect on brain function. Nat Neurosci 3, 91–96 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/71163

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