Language Localization From Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Beta-Power Dynamics During Sentence Completion

European Journal of Neuroscience. 2025. Vol. 62. No. 8. Article e70282.

Mariya Protopova, Bolgina T., Arutiunian V., Dragoy O.

For noninvasive language mapping, the choice of imaging method, task, and baseline remains an area of active research. While the sentence completion task is a recommended option for fMRI studies, the indirect nature of the signal is a limitation of the imaging method. This study presents a sentence completion paradigm for group- and individual-level language localization and lateralization based on beta power (17–25 Hz) modulations. MEG recordings of 21 neurologically healthy native Russian speakers were used to test whether the task would elicit beta desynchronization in canonical language regions during sentence completion. In addition to the traditional passive (no-task) control condition, an active (syllable repetition) control condition was used to further control for nonrelevant processes. The paradigm revealed the engagement of anterior and posterior language-related brain areas using both active and passive control conditions. However, the active control condition provided more widespread activity patterns, suggesting its superior suitability for further individual presurgical language mapping. Despite the individual variability in the results, their general agreement with the current understanding of the language-associated brain topography supports the potential of the developed MEG paradigm for presurgical language mapping.

Keywords: Magnetoencephalography (MEG), sentence completion, language localizer paradigm, beta power

Publication based on the results of: Neural foundations of language and its impairments: From basic research to clinical practice (2025)