Decoding semantic representations in mind and brain

Authors

Saskia L. Frisby, Medical Research Council (MRC) Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK. Electronic address: saskia.frisby@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk.
Ajay D. Halai, Medical Research Council (MRC) Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK.
Christopher R. Cox, Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Matthew A. Lambon Ralph, Medical Research Council (MRC) Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK.
Timothy T. Rogers, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1202 West Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706, USA. Electronic address: ttrogers@wisc.edu.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-9-2023

Abstract

A key goal for cognitive neuroscience is to understand the neurocognitive systems that support semantic memory. Recent multivariate analyses of neuroimaging data have contributed greatly to this effort, but the rapid development of these novel approaches has made it difficult to track the diversity of findings and to understand how and why they sometimes lead to contradictory conclusions. We address this challenge by reviewing cognitive theories of semantic representation and their neural instantiation. We then consider contemporary approaches to neural decoding and assess which types of representation each can possibly detect. The analysis suggests why the results are heterogeneous and identifies crucial links between cognitive theory, data collection, and analysis that can help to better connect neuroimaging to mechanistic theories of semantic cognition.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Trends in cognitive sciences

Recommended Citation

Frisby, S. L., Halai, A. D., Cox, C. R., Lambon Ralph, M. A., & Rogers, T. T. (2023). Decoding semantic representations in mind and brain. Trends in cognitive sciences https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.12.006