Open Peer Commentary Pulvermüller: Brain's language
Hebb's other postulate at work on words
Joaquín M. Fuster a1 a1 Neuropsychiatric Institute and Brain Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024
joaquinf@ucla.edu
Abstract
The correlative coactivation of sensory inputs, Hebb's
“second rule,” probably plays a critical role in the
formation of word representations in the neocortex. It is essential to
the acquisition of word meaning. The acquisition of semantic memory
is inseparable from that of individual memory, and therefore the
two probably share the same neural connective substrate. Thus,
“content” words are represented mainly in postrolandic
cortex, where individual perceptual memories are also represented,
whereas “action” words are represented in frontal cortex,
with executive memories. The activation of a memory network may not
necessarily entail the high-frequency oscillatory firing of its cells,
though reverberation remains a plausible mechanism of short-term
memory.
