The Role of the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus in Resolving Immediate and Carryover Semantic Interference During Picture Naming

Abstract

Naming pictures from the same semantic category can interfere with subsequent word retrieval. Although the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) has been implicated in resolving this semantic interference, its causal role in this process remains unclear. Across three experiments, we investigated the contribution of the LIFG to interference resolution during blocked-cyclic naming. Experiment 1 tested whether continuous theta-burst stimulation over the LIFG increased semantic interference relative to vertex stimulation. Although the overall interference effect did not differ significantly between stimulation sites, exploratory analyses revealed an unexpected pattern based on the initial context (related vs. unrelated) with which items were named, suggesting that LIFG disruption affected retrieval of previously related items even when they were subsequently named in unrelated contexts. This observation motivated two further experiments examining the consequences of prior naming context more directly. Experiment 2 established that, without stimulation, interference observed in related blocks was no longer evident after the items were redistributed into unrelated blocks. Experiment 3 combined this design with cathodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the LIFG. Planned comparisons showed that cathodal stimulation slowed naming of initially related items both within related blocks and after redistribution into unrelated blocks; corresponding comparisons for items named consistently in unrelated blocks were not significant. The similar patterns across two stimulation methods suggest that LIFG-mediated control may influence both selection under current competition and subsequent retrieval of previously competing words. These findings could be accommodated within a hybrid account in which working memory supports context-guided selection and selection-related control helps recalibrate lexical accessibility, limiting the carryover of interference into subsequent naming.