fMRI Studies of Language

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows the noninvasive study of brain mechanisms underlying language function. In this article, we introduce the basic principles of fMRI, review fMRI studies of language, and finally discuss emerging viewpoints deriving from this method. These viewpoints are that (a) brain areas involved in language are more widely distributed and bilateral than once thought; (b) there is no language module: brain areas involved in language process both linguistic and nonlinguistic information; (c) language perception and production are highly interrelated; and related, and (d) many aspects of language are embodied in and derive from general sensorimotor systems.