Cortical activity associated with vocalization and reading proper

To determine whether motor and premotor areas are involved in silent readin g, we report a positron emission tomography study on reading aloud and cove rt reading. The anterior insula, primary sensorimotor cortex and supplement ary motor area were activated separately in reading aloud compared with cov ert reading, but they were not activated in covert reading compared with fi xation control, nor in a conjunction involving reading aloud and covert rea ding, suggesting the role of articulation or vocalization. (C) 2001 Elsevie r Science B.V. All rights reserved.