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This study identifies and analyzes statistically significant overlaps between selective sweep screens in anatomically modern humans and several domesticated species. The results obtained suggest that (paleo-)genomic data can be exploited to complement the fossil record and support the idea of self-domestication in Homo sapiens, a process that likely intensified as our species populated its niche. Our analysis lends support to attempts to capture the \"domestication syndrome\" in terms of alterations to certain signaling pathways and cell lineages, such as the neural crest.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185306.].

Predictive processing (PP) stands as a predominant theoretical framework in neuroscience. While some efforts have been made to frame PP within a cognitive domain‐general network perspective, suggesting the existence of a “prediction network,” these studies have primarily focused on specific cognitive domains or functions. The question of whether a domain‐general predictive network that encompasses all well‐established cognitive domains exists remains unanswered. The present meta‐analysis aims to address this gap by testing the hypothesis that PP relies on a large‐scale network spanning across cognitive domains, supporting PP as a unified account toward a more integrated approach to neuroscience. The Activation Likelihood Estimation meta‐analytic approach was employed, along with Meta‐Analytic Connectivity Mapping, conjunction analysis, and behavioral decoding techniques. The analyses focused on prediction incongruency and prediction congruency, two conditions likely reflective of core phenomena of PP. Additionally, the analysis focused on a prediction phenomena‐independent dimension, regardless of prediction incongruency and congruency. These analyses were first applied to each cognitive domain considered (cognitive control, attention, motor, language, social cognition). Then, all cognitive domains were collapsed into a single, cross‐domain dimension, encompassing a total of 252 experiments. Results pertaining to prediction incongruency rely on a defined network across cognitive domains, while prediction congruency results exhibited less overall activation and slightly more variability across cognitive domains. The converging patterns of activation across prediction phenomena and cognitive domains highlight the role of several brain hubs unfolding within an organized large‐scale network (Dynamic Prediction Network), mainly encompassing bilateral insula, frontal gyri, claustrum, parietal lobules, and temporal gyri. Additionally, the crucial role played at a cross‐domain, multimodal level by the anterior insula, as evidenced by the conjunction and Meta‐Analytic Connectivity Mapping analyses, places it as the major hub of the Dynamic Prediction Network. Results support the hypothesis that PP relies on a domain‐general, large‐scale network within whose regions PP units are likely to operate, depending on the context and environmental demands. The wide array of regions within the Dynamic Prediction Network seamlessly integrate context‐ and stimulus‐dependent predictive computations, thereby contributing to the adaptive updating of the brain's models of the inner and external world. Predictive processing units operate within a cognitive domain‐general network encompassing bilateral insula, frontal gyri, claustrum, parietal lobules, and temporal gyri. The role played at a cross‐domain, multimodal level by the anterior insula, as evidenced by the conjunction and Meta‐Analytic Connectivity Mapping analyses, places it as the major hub of the Dynamic Prediction Network.

Prediction models usually assume that highly constraining contexts allow the pre-activation of phonological information. However, the evidence for phonological prediction is mixed and controversial. In this study, we implement a paradigm that capitalizes on the phonological errors produced by non-native speakers to investigate whether speaker-specific phonological predictions are made based on speaker identity (native-vs-foreign). EEG data was recorded from 42 healthy native Italian speakers. Participants were asked to read sentence fragments after which a final word was spoken by either a native- or a foreign-accented speaker. The spoken final word could be predictable or not, depending on the sentence context. The identity of the speaker (native-vs-foreign) may or may not be cued by an image of the face of the speaker. Our main analysis indicated that cueing the speaker identity was associated with a larger N400 predictability effect, possibly reflecting an easier processing of predictable words due to phonological preactivation. As visual inspection of the waveforms revealed a more complex pattern than initially anticipated, we used temporal EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) to identify and disentangle the ERP components underlying the effect observed. In the native-accent condition, predictable words elicited a posterior positivity relative to unpredictable words, possibly reflecting a P3b response, which was more pronounced when the speaker identity was cued. In the foreign-accent condition, cueing the speaker identity was associated with a smaller N1 and a larger P3a response. These results suggest that phonological prediction for native- and foreign-accented speakers likely involve different cognitive processes.

This study explores cortical tracking of speech (CTS) in adults who stutter (AWS) compared to typically fluent adults (TFA) while listening to sentences. We manipulated the upcoming involvement of the speech-motor system during listening: participants either had to simply listen to the sentences (listening only) or complete unfinished sentences by naming a picture (listening-for-speaking). AWS, known for atypical neural structure and functionaing in the speech-motor network, exhibited reduced CTS in the theta band in temporal sensors during the listening-for-speaking task, reflected at the source level in the left temporo-parietal junction and the right pre-motor and supplementary motor regions. Additionally, connectivity analyses reveal that TFA had stronger inter- and intra-hemispheric information transfer in the theta range than AWS in both tasks, involving frontal, temporo-parietal, (pre-)motor, and superior temporal regions, with different patterns according to the task. Notably, increased connectivity from the right superior temporal cortex to the left sensorimotor cortex correlated with faster naming times in the listening-for-speaking task. These findings suggest that atypical speech-motor functioning in stuttering impact also speech perception, especially in situations requiring articulatory alertness, and highlight the involvement of frontal and (pre-) motor regions in normal conditions in CTS. Significance Statement: This study shows for the first time that individuals with a speech-motor impairment, namely persistent developmental stuttering, also show impaired cortical tracking of speech, especially when upcoming speech production is required. The effects emerge in the theta range, corresponding to the syllabic rhythm, suggested to be an optimal interface between the human biomechanic constraints for producing sounds and the human brain's perceptual capabilities for speech. Our study highlights the relevance of speech-motor regions in cortical tracking of speech and suggests that spoken language perception in individuals with speech-motor deficits is an important ground for research, especially in real-life conversational settings where smooth transitioning between listening and speaking is required.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Footnotes* https://osf.io/7gpyb/

This study provides the first neurophysiological evidence of how cochlear implant (CI) input affects predictive processing during audiovisual language comprehension in deaf individuals. Using EEG, we compared 18 CI users with 18 normal-hearing (NH) controls during sentence comprehension where final word predictability was determined by high or low semantic constraint (HC vs. LC) of the preceding sentence frame. Between sentence frame and final word, a 800 ms silent gap was introduced. Mouth visibility was manipulated during sentence frames (visible or digitally occluded; V+ vs. V-), while the final words were always presented with the mouth visible. In NH participants, lower-beta power (12-15 Hz) in left frontal and central sensors decreased for HC vs. LC contexts during the pre-target silent gap, but only when the mouths was visible, suggesting active prediction generation. In CI users, this lower beta power decrease was absent. After final word presentation, both groups showed N400 predictability effects, indicating preserved prediction evaluation. However, CI users exhibited extended N400 effects in the V+ condition, suggesting additional processing demands. Across all participants, pre-target beta modulations correlated with language production abilities, supporting prediction-by-production frameworks. Within CI users, poorer audiometric thresholds correlated with larger N400 constraint effects, possibly indicating greater reliance on contextual prediction to compensate for degraded sensory input. These findings demonstrate that CI-mediated perception alters the neural mechanisms of prediction generation. The link between production skills and predictive mechanisms suggests that strengthening expressive language abilities may enhance predictive processing in CI users.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Footnotes* https://osf.io/g2kbj/overview?view_only=3606247f01524feb9d2e60d0c364797eFunder Information DeclaredMinistero dell'università e della ricerca, 20177894ZHFondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo, CUP_C93C23003190005

In the present study the microstructural properties of the right and left Frontal Aslant tract (FAT) have been investigated in relation to bilingualism and to language modality by comparing a group of unimodal bilinguals (i.e., bilinguals of two spoken languages) and a group of bimodal bilinguals (i.e., bilinguals of a spoken and a signed language). The microstructural properties of the left FAT correlated with performance in picture naming and semantic fluency in L2 for both groups of bilinguals. The microstructural properties of the both the right and left FAT correlated with picture naming performance in L1 for bimodal bilinguals. No significant correlations were found with performance in a language comprehension task. Overall, the results suggest that the FAT plays a relevant role in language control in bilinguals. While the left FAT seems to be mainly involved in the suppression of the spoken native language (L1) during the use of the spoken or signed L2, both the right and the left FAT seem to be involved in the suppression of sign language (L2) during speaking in L1.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Footnotes* https://osf.io/bv8fm/?view_only=2adaabcc68ab4465af57dc76f0c36e30

It is well attested that people predict forthcoming information during language comprehension. The literature presents different proposals on how this ability could be implemented. Here, we tested the hypothesis according to which language production mechanisms have a role in such predictive processing. To this aim, we studied two electroencephalographic correlates of predictability during speech comprehension ‒ pretarget alpha‒beta (8-30 Hz) power decrease and the post-target N400 event-related potential (ERP) effect, ‒ in a population with impaired speech-motor control, i.e., adults who stutter (AWS), compared to typically fluent adults (TFA). Participants listened to sentences that could either constrain towards a target word or not, allowing or not to make predictions. We analyzed time-frequency modulations in a silent interval preceding the target and ERPs at the presentation of the target. Results showed that, compared to TFA, AWS display: i) a widespread and bilateral reduced power decrease in posterior temporal and parietal regions, and a power increase in anterior regions, especially in the left hemisphere (high vs. low constraining) and ii) a reduced N400 effect (non-predictable vs. predictable). The results suggest a reduced efficiency in generating predictions in AWS with respect to TFA. Additionally, the magnitude of the N400 effect in AWS is correlated with alpha power change in the right pre-motor and supplementary motor cortex, a key node in the dysfunctional network in stuttering. Overall, the results support the idea that processes and neural structures prominently devoted to speech planning and execution support prediction during language comprehension. The study contributes to the developing enterprise of investigating language production and comprehension not as separate systems, but as sets of processes which may be partly shared. We showed that a population with impaired speech-motor control, i.e., adults who stutter, are characterized by atypical electrophysiological patterns associated with prediction in speech comprehension. The results highlight that an underlying atypical function of neural structures supporting speech production also affects processes deployed during auditory comprehension. The implications are twofold: on the theoretical side, the study supports the need for a more integrated view of language comprehension and production as human capabilities, while on the applied and clinical side, these results might open new venues for efficient treatments of developmental stuttering.

The present study investigates whether predictions during language comprehension are generated by engaging the production system. We recorded EEG from participants performing both a comprehension and a production task in two separate blocks. Participants listened to high and low constraint incomplete sentences and were asked either to name a picture to complete it (production) or to simply listen to the final word (comprehension). We found that in a silent gap before the final stimulus, predictable stimuli elicited alpha (8-10 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) desynchronization in both tasks. Source estimation highlighted not only the involvement of the left-lateralized language network, but also of temporo-parietal areas in the right hemisphere. Furthermore, correlations between the desynchronizations in comprehension and production showed spatiotemporal commonalities in language-relevant areas in the left hemisphere, especially in the temporal, lateral inferior and dorsal frontal, and inferior parietal corteces. As proposed by prediction-by-production models, our results show that comprehenders engage the production system while predicting upcoming words. Keywords: language prediction, language production, alpha-beta oscillations, internal model Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes * https://osf.io/tcbsh/