1
|
El-Sourani N, Trempler I, Wurm MF, Fink GR, Schubotz RI. Predictive Impact of Contextual Objects during Action Observation: Evidence from Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:326-337. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The processing of congruent stimuli, such as an object or action in its typical location, is usually associated with reduced neural activity, probably due to facilitated recognition. However, in some situations, congruency increases neural activity—for example, when objects next to observed actions are likely versus unlikely to be involved in forthcoming action steps. Here, we investigated using fMRI whether the processing of contextual cues during action perception is driven by their (in)congruency and, thus, informative value to make sense of an observed scene. Specifically, we tested whether both highly congruent contextual objects (COs), which strongly indicate a future action step, and highly incongruent COs, which require updating predictions about possible forthcoming action steps, provide more anticipatory information about the action course than moderately congruent COs. In line with our hypothesis that especially the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) subserves the integration of the additional information into the predictive model of the action, we found highly congruent and incongruent COs to increase bilateral activity in action observation nodes, that is, the IFG, the occipitotemporal cortex, and the intraparietal sulcus. Intriguingly, BA 47 was significantly stronger engaged for incongruent COs reflecting the updating of prediction in response to conflicting information. Our findings imply that the IFG reflects the informative impact of COs on observed actions by using contextual information to supply and update the currently operating predictive model. In the case of an incongruent CO, this model has to be reconsidered and extended toward a new overarching action goal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nadiya El-Sourani
- Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster
- University Hospital Cologne and University of Cologne
| | | | | | - Gereon R. Fink
- University Hospital Cologne and University of Cologne
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM3: Cognitive Neuroscience), Research Centre Jülich
| | - Ricarda I. Schubotz
- Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster
- University Hospital Cologne and University of Cologne
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jones RG, Briggs RG, Conner AK, Bonney PA, Fletcher LR, Ahsan SA, Chakraborty AR, Nix CE, Jacobs CC, Lack AM, Griffin DT, Teo C, Sughrue ME. Measuring graphical strength within the connectome: A neuroanatomic, parcellation-based study. J Neurol Sci 2020; 408:116529. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2019.116529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
|
3
|
Baker CM, Burks JD, Briggs RG, Conner AK, Glenn CA, Morgan JP, Stafford J, Sali G, McCoy TM, Battiste JD, O'Donoghue DL, Sughrue ME. A Connectomic Atlas of the Human Cerebrum-Chapter 2: The Lateral Frontal Lobe. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 2019; 15:S10-S74. [PMID: 30260426 DOI: 10.1093/ons/opy254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In this supplement, we show a comprehensive anatomic atlas of the human cerebrum demonstrating all 180 distinct regions comprising the cerebral cortex. The location, functional connectivity, and structural connectivity of these regions are outlined, and where possible a discussion is included of the functional significance of these areas. In part 2, we specifically address regions relevant to the lateral frontal lobe.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cordell M Baker
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Joshua D Burks
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Robert G Briggs
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Andrew K Conner
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Chad A Glenn
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Jake P Morgan
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Jordan Stafford
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Goksel Sali
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Tressie M McCoy
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Ok-lahoma Health Sciences Center, Okla-homa City, Oklahoma
| | - James D Battiste
- Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Daniel L O'Donoghue
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Michael E Sughrue
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.,De-partment of Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Briggs RG, Conner AK, Rahimi M, Sali G, Baker CM, Burks JD, Glenn CA, Battiste JD, Sughrue ME. A Connectomic Atlas of the Human Cerebrum-Chapter 14: Tractographic Description of the Frontal Aslant Tract. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 2019; 15:S444-S449. [PMID: 30260440 DOI: 10.1093/ons/opy268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
In this supplement, we show a comprehensive anatomic atlas of the human cerebrum demonstrating all 180 distinct regions comprising the cerebral cortex. The location, functional connectivity, and structural connectivity of these regions are outlined, and where possible a discussion is included of the functional significance of these areas. In this chapter, we specifically address the regions integrating to form the frontal aslant tract.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert G Briggs
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Andrew K Conner
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Meherzad Rahimi
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Goksel Sali
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Cordell M Baker
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Joshua D Burks
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Chad A Glenn
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - James D Battiste
- Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Michael E Sughrue
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.,Department of Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Maffongelli L, D’Ausilio A, Fadiga L, Daum MM. The Ontogenesis of Action Syntax. COLLABRA-PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1525/collabra.215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Language and action share similar organizational principles. Both are thought to be hierarchical and recursive in nature. Here we address the relationship between language and action from developmental and neurophysiological perspectives. We discuss three major aspects: The extent of the analogy between language and action; the necessity to extend research on the yet largely neglected aspect of action syntax; the positive contribution of a developmental approach to this topic. We elaborate on the claim that adding an ontogenetic approach will help to obtain a comprehensive picture about both the interplay between language and action and its development, and to answer the question whether the underlying mechanisms of detecting syntactic violations of action sequences are similar to or different from the processing of language syntactic violations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Maffongelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, CH
- Department of Psychology, Johannes-Gutenberg-University Mainz, DE
| | - Alessandro D’Ausilio
- Center for Translational Neurophysiology of Speech and Communication (CTNSC@UNIFE), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Ferrara, IT
- Section of Human Physiology, University of Ferrara, IT
| | - Luciano Fadiga
- Center for Translational Neurophysiology of Speech and Communication (CTNSC@UNIFE), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Ferrara, IT
- Section of Human Physiology, University of Ferrara, IT
| | - Moritz M. Daum
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, CH
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, CH
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Casado P, Martín-Loeches M, León I, Hernández-Gutiérrez D, Espuny J, Muñoz F, Jiménez-Ortega L, Fondevila S, de Vega M. When syntax meets action: Brain potential evidence of overlapping between language and motor sequencing. Cortex 2017; 100:40-51. [PMID: 29212607 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Revised: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
This study aims to extend the embodied cognition approach to syntactic processing. The hypothesis is that the brain resources to plan and perform motor sequences are also involved in syntactic processing. To test this hypothesis, Event-Related brain Potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants read sentences with embedded relative clauses, judging for their acceptability (half of the sentences contained a subject-verb morphosyntactic disagreement). The sentences, previously divided into three segments, were self-administered segment-by-segment in two different sequential manners: linear or non-linear. Linear self-administration consisted of successively pressing three buttons with three consecutive fingers in the right hand, while non-linear self-administration implied the substitution of the finger in the middle position by the right foot. Our aim was to test whether syntactic processing could be affected by the manner the sentences were self-administered. Main results revealed that the ERPs LAN component vanished whereas the P600 component increased in response to incorrect verbs, for non-linear relative to linear self-administration. The LAN and P600 components reflect early and late syntactic processing, respectively. Our results convey evidence that language syntactic processing and performing non-linguistic motor sequences may share resources in the human brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Casado
- Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, UCM-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain; Psychobiology Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Manuel Martín-Loeches
- Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, UCM-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain; Psychobiology Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Inmaculada León
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, ULL, La Laguna, Spain; Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | | | - Javier Espuny
- Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, UCM-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Muñoz
- Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, UCM-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain; Psychobiology Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Jiménez-Ortega
- Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, UCM-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain; Psychobiology Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sabela Fondevila
- Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, UCM-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, ULL, La Laguna, Spain; Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Maffongelli L, Bartoli E, Sammler D, Kölsch S, Campus C, Olivier E, Fadiga L, D'Ausilio A. Distinct brain signatures of content and structure violation during action observation. Neuropsychologia 2015; 75:30-9. [PMID: 26004058 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2014] [Revised: 05/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Sentences, musical phrases and goal-directed actions are composed of elements that are linked by specific rules to form meaningful outcomes. In goal-directed actions including a non-canonical element or scrambling the order of the elements alters the action's content and structure, respectively. In the present study we investigated event-related potentials of the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded during observation of both alterations of the action content (obtained by violating the semantic components of an action, e.g. making coffee with cola) and alterations of the action structure (obtained by inverting the order of two temporally adjacent pictures of sequences depicting daily life actions) interfering with the normal flow of the motor acts that compose an action. Action content alterations elicited a bilateral posterior distributed EEG negativity, peaking at around 400 ms after stimulus onset similar to the ERPs evoked by semantic violations in language studies. Alteration of the action structure elicited an early left anterior negativity followed by a late left anterior positivity, which closely resembles the ERP pattern found in language syntax violation studies. Our results suggest a functional dissociation between the processing of action content and structure, reminiscent of a similar dissociation found in the language or music domains. Importantly, this study provides further support to the hypothesis that some basic mechanisms, such as the rule-based structuring of sequential events, are shared between different cognitive domains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - E Bartoli
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - D Sammler
- Max Planck Institute, Leipzig, Germany
| | - S Kölsch
- Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
| | - C Campus
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - E Olivier
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy; Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
| | - L Fadiga
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy; Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - A D'Ausilio
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Weiss PH, Ubben SD, Kaesberg S, Kalbe E, Kessler J, Liebig T, Fink GR. Where language meets meaningful action: a combined behavior and lesion analysis of aphasia and apraxia. Brain Struct Funct 2014; 221:563-76. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0925-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
9
|
Bourguignon NJ. A rostro-caudal axis for language in the frontal lobe: the role of executive control in speech production. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 47:431-44. [PMID: 25305636 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The present article promotes a formal executive model of frontal functions underlying speech production, bringing together hierarchical theories of adaptive behavior in the (pre-)frontal cortex (pFC) and psycho- and neurolinguistic approaches to spoken language within an information-theoretic framework. Its biological plausibility is revealed through two Activation Likelihood Estimation meta-analyses carried out on a total of 41 hemodynamic studies of overt word and continuous speech production respectively. Their principal findings, considered in light of neuropsychological evidence and earlier models of speech-related frontal functions, support the engagement of a caudal-to-rostral gradient of pFC activity operationalized by the nature and quantity of speech-related information conveyed by task-related external cues (i.e., cue codability) on the one hand, and the total informational content of generated utterances on the other. In particular, overt reading or repetition and picture naming recruit primarily caudal motor-premotor regions involved in the sensorimotor and phonological aspects of speech; word and sentence generation engage mid- ventro- and dorsolateral areas supporting its basic predicative and syntactic functions; finally, rostral- and fronto-polar cortices subsume domain-general strategic processes of discourse generation for creative speech. These different levels interact in a top-down fashion, ranging representationally and temporally from the most general and extended to the most specific and immediate. The end-result is an integrative theory of pFC as the main executive component of the language cortical network, which supports the existence of areas specialized for speech communication and articulation and regions subsuming internal reasoning and planning. Prospective avenues of research pertaining to this model's principal predictions are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas J Bourguignon
- Centre de recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Canada; Département d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Université de Montréal, Canada; Centre for Research on the Brain, Language and Music, Montreal, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Gross RG, Camp E, McMillan CT, Dreyfuss M, Gunawardena D, Cook PA, Morgan B, Siderowf A, Hurtig HI, Stern MB, Grossman M. Impairment of script comprehension in Lewy body spectrum disorders. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2013; 125:330-343. [PMID: 23566691 PMCID: PMC3940934 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2013.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2010] [Revised: 12/08/2012] [Accepted: 02/04/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A disabling impairment of higher-order language function can be seen in patients with Lewy body spectrum disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We focus on script comprehension in patients with Lewy body spectrum disorders. While scripts unfold sequentially, constituent events are thought to contain an internal organization. Executive dysfunction in patients with Lewy body spectrum disorders may interfere with comprehension of this internal structure. We examined 42 patients (30 non-demented PD and 12 mildly demented PDD/DLB patients) and 12 healthy seniors. We presented 22 scripts (e.g., "going fishing"), each consisting of six events. Pilot data from young controls provided the basis for organizing associated events into clusters and arranging them hierarchically into scripts. We measured accuracy and latency to judge the order of adjacent events in the same cluster versus adjacent events in different clusters. PDD/DLB patients were less accurate in their ordering judgments than PD patients and controls. Healthy seniors and PD patients were significantly faster to judge correctly the order of highly associated within-cluster event pairs relative to less closely associated different-cluster event pairs, while PDD/DLB patients did not consistently distinguish between these event-pair types. This relative insensitivity to the clustered-hierarchical organization of events was related to executive impairment and to frontal atrophy as measured by volumetric MRI. These findings extend prior work on script processing to patients with Lewy body spectrum disorders and highlight the potential impact of frontal/executive dysfunction on the daily lives of affected patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel G Gross
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Syntax in a pianist's hand: ERP signatures of “embodied” syntax processing in music. Cortex 2013; 49:1325-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2011] [Revised: 04/02/2012] [Accepted: 06/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
12
|
Wurm MF, Schubotz RI. Squeezing lemons in the bathroom: Contextual information modulates action recognition. Neuroimage 2012; 59:1551-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2011] [Revised: 08/10/2011] [Accepted: 08/11/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
|
13
|
Farag C, Troiani V, Bonner M, Powers C, Avants B, Gee J, Grossman M. Hierarchical organization of scripts: converging evidence from FMRI and frontotemporal degeneration. Cereb Cortex 2010; 20:2453-63. [PMID: 20071459 PMCID: PMC2936800 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhp313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study examined the organization of complex familiar activities, known as "scripts" (e.g., "going fishing"). We assessed whether events in a script are processed in a linear-sequential manner or clustered-hierarchical manner, and we evaluated the neural basis for this processing capacity. Converging evidence was obtained from functional neuroimaging in healthy young adults and from behavioral and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in patients with focal neurodegenerative disease. In both studies, participants judged the order of consecutive event pairs taken from a script. Event pairs either were clustered together within a script or were from different clusters within the script. Controls judged events more accurately and quickly if taken from the same cluster within a script compared with different clusters, even though all event pairs were consecutive, consistent with the hierarchical organization of a script. Functional magnetic resonance imaging associated this with bilateral inferior frontal activation. Patients with progressive nonfluent aphasia or behavior-variant frontotemporal dementia did not distinguish between event pairs from the same cluster or from different clusters within a script. Structural MRI associated this deficit with significant frontal cortical atrophy. Our findings suggest that frontal cortex contributes to clustering events during script comprehension, underlining the role of frontal cortex in the hierarchical organization of a script.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christine Farag
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Vanessa Troiani
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Michael Bonner
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Chivon Powers
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Brian Avants
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - James Gee
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Murray Grossman
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Reilly J, Rodriguez AD, Peelle JE, Grossman M. Frontal lobe damage impairs process and content in semantic memory: evidence from category-specific effects in progressive non-fluent aphasia. Cortex 2010; 47:645-58. [PMID: 20576258 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2009] [Revised: 01/31/2010] [Accepted: 05/15/2010] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Portions of left inferior frontal cortex have been linked to semantic memory both in terms of the content of conceptual representation (e.g., motor aspects in an embodied semantics framework) and the cognitive processes used to access these representations (e.g., response selection). Progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by progressive atrophy of left inferior frontal cortex. PNFA can, therefore, provide a lesion model for examining the impact of frontal lobe damage on semantic processing and content. In the current study we examined picture naming in a cohort of PNFA patients across a variety of semantic categories. An embodied approach to semantic memory holds that sensorimotor features such as self-initiated action may assume differential importance for the representation of manufactured artifacts (e.g., naming hand tools). Embodiment theories might therefore predict that patients with frontal damage would be differentially impaired on manufactured artifacts relative to natural kinds, and this prediction was borne out. We also examined patterns of naming errors across a wide range of semantic categories and found that naming error distributions were heterogeneous. Although PNFA patients performed worse overall on naming manufactured artifacts, there was no reliable relationship between anomia and manipulability across semantic categories. These results add to a growing body of research arguing against a purely sensorimotor account of semantic memory, suggesting instead a more nuanced balance of process and content in how the brain represents conceptual knowledge.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Reilly
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Bicho E, Louro L, Erlhagen W. Integrating verbal and nonverbal communication in a dynamic neural field architecture for human-robot interaction. Front Neurorobot 2010; 4. [PMID: 20725504 PMCID: PMC2901089 DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2010.00005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2009] [Accepted: 04/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
How do humans coordinate their intentions, goals and motor behaviors when performing joint action tasks? Recent experimental evidence suggests that resonance processes in the observer's motor system are crucially involved in our ability to understand actions of others’, to infer their goals and even to comprehend their action-related language. In this paper, we present a control architecture for human–robot collaboration that exploits this close perception-action linkage as a means to achieve more natural and efficient communication grounded in sensorimotor experiences. The architecture is formalized by a coupled system of dynamic neural fields representing a distributed network of neural populations that encode in their activation patterns goals, actions and shared task knowledge. We validate the verbal and nonverbal communication skills of the robot in a joint assembly task in which the human–robot team has to construct toy objects from their components. The experiments focus on the robot's capacity to anticipate the user's needs and to detect and communicate unexpected events that may occur during joint task execution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Estela Bicho
- Department of Industrial Electronics, University of Minho Guimarães, Portugal
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
|
17
|
Molecular mapping of movement-associated areas in the avian brain: a motor theory for vocal learning origin. PLoS One 2008; 3:e1768. [PMID: 18335043 PMCID: PMC2258151 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 191] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2007] [Accepted: 02/03/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal learning is a critical behavioral substrate for spoken human language. It is a rare trait found in three distantly related groups of birds-songbirds, hummingbirds, and parrots. These avian groups have remarkably similar systems of cerebral vocal nuclei for the control of learned vocalizations that are not found in their more closely related vocal non-learning relatives. These findings led to the hypothesis that brain pathways for vocal learning in different groups evolved independently from a common ancestor but under pre-existing constraints. Here, we suggest one constraint, a pre-existing system for movement control. Using behavioral molecular mapping, we discovered that in songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds, all cerebral vocal learning nuclei are adjacent to discrete brain areas active during limb and body movements. Similar to the relationships between vocal nuclei activation and singing, activation in the adjacent areas correlated with the amount of movement performed and was independent of auditory and visual input. These same movement-associated brain areas were also present in female songbirds that do not learn vocalizations and have atrophied cerebral vocal nuclei, and in ring doves that are vocal non-learners and do not have cerebral vocal nuclei. A compilation of previous neural tracing experiments in songbirds suggests that the movement-associated areas are connected in a network that is in parallel with the adjacent vocal learning system. This study is the first global mapping that we are aware for movement-associated areas of the avian cerebrum and it indicates that brain systems that control vocal learning in distantly related birds are directly adjacent to brain systems involved in movement control. Based upon these findings, we propose a motor theory for the origin of vocal learning, this being that the brain areas specialized for vocal learning in vocal learners evolved as a specialization of a pre-existing motor pathway that controls movement.
Collapse
|
18
|
Willems RM, Hagoort P. Neural evidence for the interplay between language, gesture, and action: a review. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2007; 101:278-89. [PMID: 17416411 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2007.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 189] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2006] [Revised: 02/20/2007] [Accepted: 03/04/2007] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Co-speech gestures embody a form of manual action that is tightly coupled to the language system. As such, the co-occurrence of speech and co-speech gestures is an excellent example of the interplay between language and action. There are, however, other ways in which language and action can be thought of as closely related. In this paper we will give an overview of studies in cognitive neuroscience that examine the neural underpinnings of links between language and action. Topics include neurocognitive studies of motor representations of speech sounds, action-related language, sign language and co-speech gestures. It will be concluded that there is strong evidence on the interaction between speech and gestures in the brain. This interaction however shares general properties with other domains in which there is interplay between language and action.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roel M Willems
- F. C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | | |
Collapse
|
19
|
|