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Querella P, Attout L, Fias W, Majerus S. From long-term to short-term: Distinct neural networks underlying semantic knowledge and its recruitment in working memory. Neuropsychologia 2024:108949. [PMID: 38971371 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
Although numerous studies suggest that working memory (WM) and semantic long-term knowledge interact, the nature and underlying neural mechanisms of this intervention remain poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study investigated the extent to which neural markers of semantic knowledge in long-term memory (LTM) are activated during the WM maintenance stage in 32 young adults. First, the multivariate neural patterns associated with four semantic categories were determined via an implicit semantic activation task. Next, the participants maintained words - the names of the four semantic categories implicitly activated in the first task - in a verbal WM task. Multi-voxel pattern analyses showed reliable neural decoding of the four semantic categories in the implicit semantic activation and the verbal WM tasks. Critically, however, no between-task classification of semantic categories was observed. Searchlight analyses showed that for the WM task, semantic category information could be decoded in anterior temporal areas associated with abstract semantic category knowledge. In the implicit semantic activation task, semantic category information was decoded in superior temporal, occipital and frontal cortices associated with domain-specific semantic feature representations. These results indicate that item-level semantic activation during verbal WM involves shallow rather than deep semantic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Querella
- Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium.
| | - Lucie Attout
- Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium; National Fund for Scientific Research, Belgium, Department of Psychology, Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Place des Orateurs 1 (B33), 4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - Wim Fias
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Steve Majerus
- Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium; National Fund for Scientific Research, Belgium, Department of Psychology, Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Place des Orateurs 1 (B33), 4000 Liège, Belgium
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2
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Ulep MG, Liénard P. Free-listing and Semantic Knowledge: A Tool for Detecting Alzheimer Disease? Cogn Behav Neurol 2024:00146965-990000000-00068. [PMID: 38899852 DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0000000000000370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impairment in semantic knowledge contributes to Alzheimer disease (AD)-related decline. However, the particulars of the impact AD has on specific domains of knowledge remain debatable. OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of AD on specific semantic categories that are integral to daily functions-living things and man-made objects. METHOD We administered a free-listing task (written version) to 19 individuals with AD and 15 cognitively normal older adults and assessed the task's relationship with other cognitive and functional tests in clinical use. We compared the contents of the lists of salient concepts generated by the AD and control groups. RESULTS Group membership (AD or control), after controlling for age, sex, formal education, and an estimate of premorbid intellectual ability, predicted the groups' performance on the free-listing task across two categories. Functional status was inversely related to performance on the free-listing task, holding demographic variables constant. Based on a comparison of the contents of the free lists that were generated by the two groups, it was possible to conclude that, in individuals with AD, conceptual knowledge central to the respective categories was well preserved, whereas the peripheral conceptual material showed evidence of degradation. CONCLUSION The free-listing task, which is an easy-to-administer and cost-effective tool, could aid in the preliminary detection of semantic knowledge dysfunction, revealing concepts that are better preserved and, possibly, the characterization of AD. Cognitive assessment tools that can be applied across cultures are needed, and the free-listing task has the potential to address this gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maileen G Ulep
- Cognitive Disorders Clinic, Cleveland Clinic Nevada, Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
| | - Pierre Liénard
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
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3
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Mazurchuk S, Fernandino L, Tong JQ, Conant LL, Binder JR. The neural representation of body part concepts. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae213. [PMID: 38863113 PMCID: PMC11166504 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies provide evidence for a degree of category-related organization of conceptual knowledge in the brain. Some of this evidence indicates that body part concepts are distinctly represented from other categories; yet, the neural correlates and mechanisms underlying these dissociations are unclear. We expand on the limited prior data by measuring functional magnetic resonance imaging responses induced by body part words and performing a series of analyses investigating the cortical representation of this semantic category. Across voxel-level contrasts, pattern classification, representational similarity analysis, and vertex-wise encoding analyses, we find converging evidence that the posterior middle temporal gyrus, the supramarginal gyrus, and the ventral premotor cortex in the left hemisphere play important roles in the preferential representation of this category compared to other concrete objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Mazurchuk
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
- Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
| | - Leonardo Fernandino
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
| | - Jia-Qing Tong
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
- Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
| | - Lisa L Conant
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
| | - Jeffrey R Binder
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
- Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
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4
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Aiello EN, Pucci V, Diana L, Corvaglia A, Niang A, Mattiello S, Preti AN, Durante G, Ravelli A, Consonni L, Guerra C, Ponti AD, Sangalli G, Difonzo T, Scarano S, Perucca L, Zago S, Appollonio I, Mondini S, Bolognini N. The Telephone Language Screener (TLS): standardization of a novel telephone-based screening test for language impairment. Neurol Sci 2024; 45:1989-2001. [PMID: 38010584 PMCID: PMC11021315 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-023-07149-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed at developing and standardizing the Telephone Language Screener (TLS), a novel, disease-nonspecific, telephone-based screening test for language disorders. METHODS The TLS was developed in strict pursuance to the current psycholinguistic standards. It comprises nine tasks assessing phonological, lexical-semantic and morpho-syntactic components, as well as an extra Backward Digit Span task. The TLS was administered to 480 healthy participants (HPs), along with the Telephone-based Semantic Verbal Fluency (t-SVF) test and a Telephone-based Composite Language Index (TBCLI), as well as to 37 cerebrovascular/neurodegenerative patients-who also underwent the language subscale of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-L). An HP subsample was also administered an in-person language battery. Construct validity, factorial structure, internal consistency, test-retest and inter-rater reliability were tested. Norms were derived via Equivalent Scores. The capability of the TLS to discriminate patients from HPs and to identify, among the patient cohort, those with a defective TICS-L, was also examined. RESULTS The TLS was underpinned by a mono-component structure and converged with the t-SVF (p < .001), the TBCLI (p < .001) and the in-person language battery (p = .002). It was internally consistent (McDonald's ω = 0.67) and reliable between raters (ICC = 0.99) and at retest (ICC = 0.83). Age and education, but not sex, were predictors of TLS scores. The TLS optimally discriminated patients from HPs (AUC = 0.80) and successfully identified patients with an impaired TICS-L (AUC = 0.92). In patients, the TLS converged with TICS-L scores (p = 0.016). DISCUSSION The TLS is a valid, reliable, normed and clinically feasible telephone-based screener for language impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edoardo Nicolò Aiello
- PhD Program in Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy.
| | - Veronica Pucci
- Dipartimento di Filosofia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (FISPPA), University of Padova, SociologiaPadua, Italy
- Human Inspired Technology Research Centre (HIT), University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Diana
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessia Corvaglia
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "Luigi Sacco", University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Aida Niang
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Mattiello
- Dipartimento di Filosofia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (FISPPA), University of Padova, SociologiaPadua, Italy
| | - Alice Naomi Preti
- PhD Program in Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Giorgia Durante
- Dipartimento di Filosofia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (FISPPA), University of Padova, SociologiaPadua, Italy
| | - Adele Ravelli
- Dipartimento di Filosofia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (FISPPA), University of Padova, SociologiaPadua, Italy
| | - Lucia Consonni
- Dipartimento di Filosofia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (FISPPA), University of Padova, SociologiaPadua, Italy
| | - Carolina Guerra
- Dipartimento di Filosofia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (FISPPA), University of Padova, SociologiaPadua, Italy
| | - Adriana Delli Ponti
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Gaia Sangalli
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
| | - Teresa Difonzo
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano Scarano
- Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Perucca
- Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano Zago
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Ildebrando Appollonio
- Neurology Section, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Sara Mondini
- Dipartimento di Filosofia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (FISPPA), University of Padova, SociologiaPadua, Italy
- Human Inspired Technology Research Centre (HIT), University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Nadia Bolognini
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
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5
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Shoham A, Grosbard ID, Patashnik O, Cohen-Or D, Yovel G. Using deep neural networks to disentangle visual and semantic information in human perception and memory. Nat Hum Behav 2024:10.1038/s41562-024-01816-9. [PMID: 38332339 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01816-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Mental representations of familiar categories are composed of visual and semantic information. Disentangling the contributions of visual and semantic information in humans is challenging because they are intermixed in mental representations. Deep neural networks that are trained either on images or on text or by pairing images and text enable us now to disentangle human mental representations into their visual, visual-semantic and semantic components. Here we used these deep neural networks to uncover the content of human mental representations of familiar faces and objects when they are viewed or recalled from memory. The results show a larger visual than semantic contribution when images are viewed and a reversed pattern when they are recalled. We further reveal a previously unknown unique contribution of an integrated visual-semantic representation in both perception and memory. We propose a new framework in which visual and semantic information contribute independently and interactively to mental representations in perception and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adva Shoham
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
| | - Idan Daniel Grosbard
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Or Patashnik
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Daniel Cohen-Or
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Galit Yovel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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6
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Jebahi F, Abou Jaoude R, Daaboul H, El Achkar R, Jacobs MM. Preliminary normative data for 12 categories using semantic verbal fluency: The role of animacy. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023; 30:680-685. [PMID: 34470556 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2021.1971981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Verbal fluency tasks are a common part of neuropsychological batteries and are frequently used in clinical and research practices to support the diagnosis of neurological impairments. Semantic verbal fluency is most frequently examined using only the category of animals. Little is known about the differences other semantic categories may present on semantic verbal fluency performance. The purpose of this study was to establish preliminary categorical normative data across twelve categories comprising of different animate and inanimate categories using semantic verbal fluency in neurotypical Lebanese-speaking adults and to determine the impact of category affiliation (animacy) on semantic verbal fluency performance. The task was administered to seventy female and male adults aged between 19 and 79 years having different educational levels. Participants generated the greatest number of exemplars for the category of body parts. Participants then produced exemplars in the following decreasing order: animals, vegetables, fruits, clothes, kitchen utensils, naturals, electronics, furniture, means of transportation, tools, and accessories. The animate categories were associated with the greatest number of exemplars compared to the inanimate. Clustering strategy might have been reinforced by the shared properties of animates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatima Jebahi
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
- Department of Speech Therapy, Lebanese University, Fanar, Lebanon
- Fulbright Association, Washington, USA
| | | | - Hadi Daaboul
- Department of Speech Therapy, Lebanese University, Fanar, Lebanon
- Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Rhea El Achkar
- Department of Speech Therapy, Lebanese University, Fanar, Lebanon
| | - Molly M Jacobs
- Department of Health Services and Information Management, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
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7
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Rabini G, Ubaldi S, Fairhall SL. Task-based activation and resting-state connectivity predict individual differences in semantic capacity for complex semantic knowledge. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1020. [PMID: 37813935 PMCID: PMC10562439 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05400-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Our ability to know and access complex factual information has far reaching effects, influencing our scholastic, professional and social lives. Here we employ functional MRI to assess the relationship between individual differences in semantic aptitude in the task-based activation and resting-state functional connectivity. Using psychometric and behavioural measures, we quantified the semantic and executive aptitude of individuals and had them perform a general-knowledge semantic-retrieval task (N = 41) and recorded resting-state data (N = 43). During the semantic-retrieval task, participants accessed general-knowledge facts drawn from four different knowledge-domains (people, places, objects and 'scholastic'). Individuals with greater executive capacity more strongly recruit anterior sections of prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the precuneus, and individuals with lower semantic capacity more strongly activate a posterior section of the dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC). The role of these regions in semantic processing was validated by analysis of independent resting-state data, where increased connectivity between a left anterior PFC and the precuneus predict higher semantic aptitude, and increased connectivity between left anterior PFC and posterior dmPFC predict lower semantic aptitude. Results suggest that coordination between core semantic regions in the precuneus and anterior prefrontal regions associated with executive processes support greater semantic aptitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Rabini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
| | - Silvia Ubaldi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Scott L Fairhall
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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8
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Almeida J, Fracasso A, Kristensen S, Valério D, Bergström F, Chakravarthi R, Tal Z, Walbrin J. Neural and behavioral signatures of the multidimensionality of manipulable object processing. Commun Biol 2023; 6:940. [PMID: 37709924 PMCID: PMC10502059 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05323-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how we recognize objects requires unravelling the variables that govern the way we think about objects and the neural organization of object representations. A tenable hypothesis is that the organization of object knowledge follows key object-related dimensions. Here, we explored, behaviorally and neurally, the multidimensionality of object processing. We focused on within-domain object information as a proxy for the decisions we typically engage in our daily lives - e.g., identifying a hammer in the context of other tools. We extracted object-related dimensions from subjective human judgments on a set of manipulable objects. We show that the extracted dimensions are cognitively interpretable and relevant - i.e., participants are able to consistently label them, and these dimensions can guide object categorization; and are important for the neural organization of knowledge - i.e., they predict neural signals elicited by manipulable objects. This shows that multidimensionality is a hallmark of the organization of manipulable object knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Alessio Fracasso
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Stephanie Kristensen
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniela Valério
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Fredrik Bergström
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Zohar Tal
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Jonathan Walbrin
- Proaction Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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9
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Ambroziak KB, Bofill MA, Azañón E, Longo MR. Perceptual aftereffects of adiposity transfer from hands to whole bodies. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:2371-2379. [PMID: 37620437 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06686-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Adaptation aftereffects for features such as identity and gender have been shown to transfer between faces and bodies, and faces and body parts, i.e. hands. However, no studies have investigated transfer of adaptation aftereffects between whole bodies and body parts. The present study investigated whether visual adaptation aftereffects transfer between hands and whole bodies in the context of adiposity judgements (i.e. how thin or fat a body is). On each trial, participants had to decide whether the body they saw was thinner or fatter than average. Participants performed the task before and after exposure to a thin/fat hand. Consistent with body adaptation studies, after exposure to a slim hand participants judged subsequently presented bodies to be fatter than after adaptation to a fat hand. These results suggest that there may be links between visual representations of body adiposity for whole bodies and body parts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaudia B Ambroziak
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
| | - Marina Araujo Bofill
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Elena Azañón
- Institute of Psychology, Otto-Von-Guericke University, Universitätsplatz 2, 39016, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Behavioral Neurology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Brenneckestraße 6, 39118, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Matthew R Longo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
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10
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Czypionka A, Kharaman M, Eulitz C. Wolf-hound vs. sled-dog: neurolinguistic evidence for semantic decomposition in the recognition of German noun-noun compounds. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1173352. [PMID: 37663335 PMCID: PMC10470010 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1173352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Animacy is an intrinsic semantic property of words referring to living things. A long line of evidence shows that words with animate referents require lower processing costs during word recognition than words with inanimate referents, leading among others to a decreased N400 amplitude in reaction to animate relative to inanimate objects. In the current study, we use this animacy effect to provide evidence for access to the semantic properties of constituents in German noun-noun compounds. While morphological decomposition of noun-noun compounds is well-researched and illustrated by the robust influence of lexical constituent properties like constituent length and frequency, findings for semantic decomposition are less clear in the current literature. By manipulating the animacy of compound modifiers and heads, we are able to manipulate the relative ease of lexical access strictly due to intrinsic semantic properties of the constituents. Our results show additive effects of constituent animacy, with a higher number of animate constituents leading to gradually attenuated N400 amplitudes. We discuss the implications of our findings for current models of complex word recognition, as well as stimulus construction practices in psycho-and neurolinguistic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Czypionka
- Department of Linguistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Mariya Kharaman
- Department of Linguistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Carsten Eulitz
- Department of Linguistics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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11
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Bonnì S, Borghi I, Maiella M, Casula EP, Koch G, Caltagirone C, Gainotti G. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Effects on the Neural Substrate of Conceptual Representations. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1037. [PMID: 37508969 PMCID: PMC10376965 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13071037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to shed light on the neural substrate of conceptual representations starting from the construct of higher-order convergence zones and trying to evaluate the unitary or non-unitary nature of this construct. We used the 'Thematic and Taxonomic Semantic (TTS) task' to investigate (a) the neural substrate of stimuli belonging to biological and artifact categories, (b) the format of stimuli presentation, i.e., verbal or pictorial, and (c) the relation between stimuli, i.e., categorial or contextual. We administered anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to different brain structures during the execution of the TTS task. Twenty healthy participants were enrolled and divided into two groups, one investigating the role of the anterior temporal lobes (ATL) and the other the temporo-parietal junctions (TPJ). Each participant underwent three sessions of stimulation to facilitate a control condition and to investigate the role of both hemispheres. Results showed that ATL stimulation influenced all conceptual representations in relation to the format of presentation (i.e., left-verbal and right-pictorial). Moreover, ATL stimulation modulated living categories and taxonomic relations specifically, whereas TPJ stimulation did not influence semantic task performances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Bonnì
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit, Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Borghi
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit, Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Section of Human Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Michele Maiella
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit, Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Elias Paolo Casula
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit, Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Giacomo Koch
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit, Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Section of Human Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Guido Gainotti
- Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Institute of Neurology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, 00168 Rome, Italy
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12
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Xu Y, Vignali L, Sigismondi F, Crepaldi D, Bottini R, Collignon O. Similar object shape representation encoded in the inferolateral occipitotemporal cortex of sighted and early blind people. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3001930. [PMID: 37490508 PMCID: PMC10368275 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
We can sense an object's shape by vision or touch. Previous studies suggested that the inferolateral occipitotemporal cortex (ILOTC) implements supramodal shape representations as it responds more to seeing or touching objects than shapeless textures. However, such activation in the anterior portion of the ventral visual pathway could be due to the conceptual representation of an object or visual imagery triggered by touching an object. We addressed these possibilities by directly comparing shape and conceptual representations of objects in early blind (who lack visual experience/imagery) and sighted participants. We found that bilateral ILOTC in both groups showed stronger activation during a shape verification task than during a conceptual verification task made on the names of the same manmade objects. Moreover, the distributed activity in the ILOTC encoded shape similarity but not conceptual association among objects. Besides the ILOTC, we also found shape representation in both groups' bilateral ventral premotor cortices and intraparietal sulcus (IPS), a frontoparietal circuit relating to object grasping and haptic processing. In contrast, the conceptual verification task activated both groups' left perisylvian brain network relating to language processing and, interestingly, the cuneus in early blind participants only. The ILOTC had stronger functional connectivity to the frontoparietal circuit than to the left perisylvian network, forming a modular structure specialized in shape representation. Our results conclusively support that the ILOTC selectively implements shape representation independently of visual experience, and this unique functionality likely comes from its privileged connection to the frontoparietal haptic circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangwen Xu
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Vignali
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Davide Crepaldi
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Roberto Bottini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Olivier Collignon
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY) and Institute of NeuroScience (IoNS), University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- School of Health Sciences, HES-SO Valais-Wallis, The Sense Innovation and Research Center, Lausanne and Sion, Switzerland
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13
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Ding J, Liang P, Guo X, Yang Y. The influence of conceptual concreteness on the reading acquisition and integration of novel words into semantic memory via thematic relations. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1132039. [PMID: 37251046 PMCID: PMC10211391 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1132039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Plenty of studies have been conducted to reveal neurocognitive underpinnings of conceptual representation. Compared with that of concrete concepts, the neurocognitive correlates of abstract concepts remain elusive. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of conceptual concreteness on the reading acquisition and integration of novel words into semantic memory. We constructed two-sentence contexts in which two-character pseudowords were embedded as novel words. Participants read the contexts to infer the meaning of novel words which were either concrete or abstract, and then performed a lexical decision task and a cued-recall memory task. In lexical decision task, primed by the learned novel words, their corresponding concepts, thematically related or unrelated words as well as unlearned pseudowords were judged whether they were words or not. In memory task, participants were presented with the novel words and asked to write down their meaning. The contextual reading and memory test can demonstrate the modulation of conceptual concreteness on novel word learning and the lexical decision task can reveal whether concrete and abstract novel words are integrated into semantic memory similarly or not. During contextual reading, abstract novel words presented for the first time elicited a larger N400 than concrete ones. In memory task, the meaning of concrete novel words was recollected better than abstract novel words. These results indicate that abstract novel words are more difficult to acquire during contextual reading, and to retain afterwards. For lexical decision task behavioral and ERPs were graded, with the longest reaction time, the lowest accuracy and the largest N400s for the unrelated words, then the thematically related words and finally the corresponding concepts of the novel words, regardless of conceptual concreteness. The results suggest that both concrete and abstract novel words can be integrated into semantic memory via thematic relations. These findings are discussed in terms of differential representational framework which posits that concrete words connect with each other via semantic similarities, and abstract ones via thematic relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Ding
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Panpan Liang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyu Guo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yufang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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14
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Wright LM, De Marco M, Venneri A. Current Understanding of Verbal Fluency in Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence to Date. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2023; 16:1691-1705. [PMID: 37179686 PMCID: PMC10167999 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s284645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Since their development, verbal fluency tests (VFTs) have been used extensively throughout research and in clinical settings to assess a variety of cognitive functions in diverse populations. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), these tasks have proven particularly valuable in identifying the earliest forms of cognitive decline in semantic processing and have been shown to relate specifically to brain regions associated with the initial stages of pathological change. In recent years, researchers have developed more nuanced techniques to evaluate verbal fluency performance, extracting a wide range of cognitive metrics from these simple neuropsychological tests. Such novel techniques allow for a more detailed exploration of the cognitive processes underlying successful task performance beyond the raw test score. The versatility of VFTs and the richness of data they may provide, in light of their low cost and speed of administration, therefore, highlight their potential value both in future research as outcome measures for clinical trials and in a clinical setting as a screening measure for early detection of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Wright
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Matteo De Marco
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, UK
| | - Annalena Venneri
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, UK
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
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15
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Valério D, Hussain A, Almeida J. Semantic feature production norms for manipulable objects. Cogn Neuropsychol 2023; 40:167-185. [PMID: 38006205 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2023.2279185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Feature generation tasks and feature databases are important for understanding how knowledge is organized in semantic memory, as they reflect not only the kinds of information that individuals hold about objects but also how objects are conceptually represented. Traditionally, semantic norms focus on a variety of object categories and, as a result, have a small number of concepts per semantic category. Here, our main goal is to create a more fine-grained feature database exclusively for one category of objects-manipulable objects. This database contributes to the understanding of within-category, content-specific processing. To achieve this, we asked 130 participants to freely generate features for 80 manipulable objects and another group of 32 participants to generate action features for the same objects. We then compared our databases with other published semantic norms and found high similarity between them. In our databases, we calculated the similarity between objects in terms of visual, functional, encyclopaedic, and action feature types using Spearman correlation, Baker's gamma index, and cophenetic correlation. We discovered that objects were grouped in a distinctive and meaningful way according to feature type. Finally, we tested the validity of our databases by asking three groups of participants to perform a feature verification experiment while manipulating production frequency. Our results demonstrate that participants can recognize and associate the features of our databases with specific manipulable objects. Participants were faster to verify high-frequency features than low-frequency features. Overall, our data provide important insights into how we process manipulable objects and can be used to further inform cognitive and neural theories of object processing and identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Valério
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Akbar Hussain
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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16
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Usami K, Matsumoto R, Korzeniewska A, Shimotake A, Matsuhashi M, Nakae T, Kikuchi T, Yoshida K, Kunieda T, Takahashi R, Crone NE, Ikeda A. The dynamics of cortical interactions in visual recognition of object category: living versus nonliving. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:5740-5750. [PMID: 36408645 PMCID: PMC10152084 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Noninvasive brain imaging studies have shown that higher visual processing of objects occurs in neural populations that are separable along broad semantic categories, particularly living versus nonliving objects. However, because of their limited temporal resolution, these studies have not been able to determine whether broad semantic categories are also reflected in the dynamics of neural interactions within cortical networks. We investigated the time course of neural propagation among cortical areas activated during object naming in 12 patients implanted with subdural electrode grids prior to epilepsy surgery, with a special focus on the visual recognition phase of the task. Analysis of event-related causality revealed significantly stronger neural propagation among sites within ventral temporal lobe (VTL) at early latencies, around 250 ms, for living objects compared to nonliving objects. Differences in other features, including familiarity, visual complexity, and age of acquisition, did not significantly change the patterns of neural propagation. Our findings suggest that the visual processing of living objects relies on stronger causal interactions among sites within VTL, perhaps reflecting greater integration of visual feature processing. In turn, this may help explain the fragility of naming living objects in neurological diseases affecting VTL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyohide Usami
- Department of Epilepsy, Movement Disorders and Physiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Riki Matsumoto
- Division of Neurology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe 650-0017, Japan
| | - Anna Korzeniewska
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, MD 21287, United States
| | - Akihiro Shimotake
- Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Masao Matsuhashi
- Department of Epilepsy, Movement Disorders and Physiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Takuro Nakae
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shiga General Hospital, Moriyama 524-8524, Japan
| | - Takayuki Kikuchi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Kazumichi Yoshida
- Department of Neurosurgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Takeharu Kunieda
- Department of Neurosurgery, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon 791-0295, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Takahashi
- Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Nathan E Crone
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, MD 21287, United States
| | - Akio Ikeda
- Department of Epilepsy, Movement Disorders and Physiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
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17
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Banks B, Connell L. Category production norms for 117 concrete and abstract categories. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:1292-1313. [PMID: 35650380 PMCID: PMC10126059 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01787-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We present a database of category production (aka semantic fluency) norms collected in the UK for 117 categories (67 concrete and 50 abstract). Participants verbally named as many category members as possible within 60 seconds, resulting in a large variety of over 2000 generated member concepts. The norms feature common measures of category production (production frequency, mean ordinal rank, first-rank frequency), as well as response times for all first-named category members, and typicality ratings collected from a separate participant sample. We provide two versions of the dataset: a referential version that groups together responses that relate to the same referent (e.g., hippo, hippopotamus) and a full version that retains all original responses to enable future lexical analysis. Correlational analyses with previous norms from the USA and UK demonstrate both consistencies and differences in English-language norms over time and between geographical regions. Further exploration of the norms reveals a number of structural and psycholinguistic differences between abstract and concrete categories. The data and analyses will be of use in the fields of cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, psycholinguistics, and cognitive modelling, and to any researchers interested in semantic category structure. All data, including original participant recordings, are available at https://osf.io/jgcu6/ .
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Affiliation(s)
- Briony Banks
- Department of Psychology, Fylde College, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YF, UK.
| | - Louise Connell
- Department of Psychology, Fylde College, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YF, UK.
- Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland.
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18
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Banks B, Connell L. Multi-dimensional sensorimotor grounding of concrete and abstract categories. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210366. [PMID: 36571121 PMCID: PMC9791484 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic categories, and the concepts belonging to them, have commonly been defined by their relative concreteness, that is, their reliance on perception. However, sensorimotor grounding must be regarded as going beyond the basic five senses and incorporate a multi-dimensional variety of perceptual and action experience. We present a series of exploratory analyses examining the sensorimotor grounding of participant-produced member concepts for 117 categories, spanning concrete (e.g. animal and furniture) and highly abstract (e.g. unit of time and science) categories. We found that both concrete and abstract categories are strongly grounded in multi-dimensional sensorimotor experience. Both domains were dominated by vision and, to a lesser extent, head movements, but concrete categories were more grounded in touch and hand-arm action, while abstract categories were more grounded in hearing and interoception. Importantly, this pattern of grounding was not uniform, and subdomains of concrete (e.g. ingestibles, animates, natural categories and artefacts) and abstract (e.g. internal, social and non-social) categories were grounded in different profiles of sensorimotor experience. Overall, these findings suggest that the distinction between abstract and concrete categories is not as clearcut as ontological assumptions might suggest, and that the strength and diversity of sensorimotor grounding in abstract categories must not be underestimated. This article is part of the theme issue 'Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briony Banks
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Fylde College, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK
| | - Louise Connell
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Fylde College, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK.,Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
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19
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Banco E, Veronelli L, Briguglio M, Luzzatti C, Vallar G. The Semantic Association Test (SAT): normative data from healthy Italian participants and a validation study in aphasic patients. Neurol Sci 2022; 44:1575-1586. [PMID: 36572752 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06543-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The Semantic Association Test assesses several aspects of Semantic Memory (Categorical, Encyclopedic, Functional, and Visual Encyclopedic associations: CAs, EAs, FAs and VEAs), using a picture-to-picture matching paradigm. Normative data were collected from a group of 329 healthy participants (178 females) with mean 51.1 (range 20-90) years of age and mean 11.89 (range 5-19) years of education. Raw scores of healthy participants, pre-calculated correction factors for age and educational level, and Equivalent Scores are provided. The SAT was validated in a sample of 139 left brain-damaged persons with aphasia (PWA). Both groups (healthy participants and PWA) scored worse in the CA and EA conditions. The performance of the PWA group was overall defective, and global aphasics scored worse than persons with other types of aphasia. However, several PWA did not show impairments in the SAT. Dissociations were also found, with individual PWA showing defective performance confined to a single category. These results present the SAT as a tool that is useful to detect impairments of visual Semantic Memory, providing normative data from healthy participants and a validation study in PWA.
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20
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Nickels L, Lampe LF, Mason C, Hameau S. Investigating the influence of semantic factors on word retrieval: Reservations, results and recommendations. Cogn Neuropsychol 2022; 39:113-154. [PMID: 35972430 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2022.2109958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
There is consensus that word retrieval starts with activation of semantic representations. However, in adults without language impairment, relatively little attention has been paid to the effects of the semantic attributes of to-be-retrieved words. This paper, therefore, addresses the question of which item-inherent semantic factors influence word retrieval. Specifically, it reviews the literature on a selection of these factors: imageability, concreteness, number of semantic features, typicality, intercorrelational density, featural distinctiveness, concept distinctiveness, animacy, semantic neighbourhood density, semantic similarity, operativity, valence, and arousal. It highlights several methodological challenges in this field, and has a focus on the insights from studies with people with aphasia where the effects of these variables are more prevalent. The paper concludes that further research simultaneously examining the effects of different semantic factors that are likely to affect lexical co-activation, and the interaction of these variables, would be fruitful, as would suitably scaled computational modelling of these effects in unimpaired language processing and in language impairment. Such research would enable the refinement of theories of semantic processing and word production, and potentially have implications for diagnosis and treatment of semantic and lexical impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsey Nickels
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Macquarie Centre for Reading, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Leonie F Lampe
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Catherine Mason
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Macquarie Centre for Reading, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Solène Hameau
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Macquarie Centre for Reading, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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21
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Analyzing the structure of animacy: Exploring relationships among six new animacy and 15 existing normative dimensions for 1,200 concrete nouns. Mem Cognit 2022; 50:997-1012. [PMID: 35088295 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-021-01266-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Animacy is an important word variable (especially for episodic memory), yet no norms exist in the literature. We present a complete, usable normative data set of 1,200 relatively concrete nouns normed on 15 existing dimensions (concreteness, familiarity, imagery, availability, valence, arousal, dominance, age of acquisition, length, orthographic neighborhood, phonographic neighborhood, number of syllables, and subtitle frequency/contextual diversity) and six new animacy dimensions (a general living/non-living scale, ability to think, ability to reproduce, similarity to a person, goal-directedness, and movement likelihood). Principal component analysis of these 21 dimensions revealed that animacy scales were conceptually different from extant word variables. Further, factor analysis of the six new scales revealed these animacy norms may be separable into two dimensions: a "Mental" component related to animates' ability to think and have goals, and a "Physical" component related to animates' general resemblance to living things. These data provide useful theoretical insight into the structure of the animacy dimension, an important factor in many cognitive processes. The norms are accessible at https://osf.io/4t3cu .
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22
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Mahon BZ. Domain-specific connectivity drives the organization of object knowledge in the brain. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 187:221-244. [PMID: 35964974 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823493-8.00028-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The goal of this chapter is to review neuropsychological and functional MRI findings that inform a theory of the causes of functional specialization for semantic categories within occipito-temporal cortex-the ventral visual processing pathway. The occipito-temporal pathway supports visual object processing and recognition. The theoretical framework that drives this review considers visual object recognition through the lens of how "downstream" systems interact with the outputs of visual recognition processes. Those downstream processes include conceptual interpretation, grasping and object use, navigating and orienting in an environment, physical reasoning about the world, and inferring future actions and the inner mental states of agents. The core argument of this chapter is that innately constrained connectivity between occipito-temporal areas and other regions of the brain is the basis for the emergence of neural specificity for a limited number of semantic domains in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradford Z Mahon
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
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23
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Wang X, Li G, Zhao G, Li Y, Wang B, Lin CP, Liu X, Bi Y. Social and emotion dimensional organizations in the abstract semantic space: the neuropsychological evidence. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23572. [PMID: 34876617 PMCID: PMC8651696 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02824-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
An essential aspect of human cognition is supported by a rich reservoir of abstract concepts without tangible external referents (e.g., “honor”, “relationship”, “direction”). While decades of research showed that the neural organization of conceptual knowledge referring to concrete words respects domains of evolutionary salience and sensorimotor attributes, the organization principles of abstract word meanings are poorly understood. Here, we provide neuropsychological evidence for a domain (sociality) and attribute (emotion) structure in abstract word processing. Testing 34 brain-damaged patients on a word-semantic judgment task, we observed double dissociations between social and nonsocial words and a single dissociation of sparing of emotional (relative to non-emotional) words. The lesion profiles of patients with specific dissociations suggest potential neural correlates positively or negatively associated with each dimension. These results unravel a general domain-attribute architecture of word meanings and highlight the roles of the social domain and the emotional attribute in the non-object semantic space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaosha Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Guochao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Gang Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Yunqian Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Bijun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ching-Po Lin
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.,Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinrui Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
| | - Yanchao Bi
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. .,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. .,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
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24
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Kurimoto M, Yamamoto H. The left anterior temporal lobe is essential for retrieving people’s names: A case and a literature review on the contemporary models of language organization. INTERDISCIPLINARY NEUROSURGERY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.inat.2021.101275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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25
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Banks B, Wingfield C, Connell L. Linguistic Distributional Knowledge and Sensorimotor Grounding both Contribute to Semantic Category Production. Cogn Sci 2021; 45:e13055. [PMID: 34647346 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The human conceptual system comprises simulated information of sensorimotor experience and linguistic distributional information of how words are used in language. Moreover, the linguistic shortcut hypothesis predicts that people will use computationally cheaper linguistic distributional information where it is sufficient to inform a task response. In a pre-registered category production study, we asked participants to verbally name members of concrete and abstract categories and tested whether performance could be predicted by a novel measure of sensorimotor similarity (based on an 11-dimensional representation of sensorimotor strength) and linguistic proximity (based on word co-occurrence derived from a large corpus). As predicted, both measures predicted the order and frequency of category production but, critically, linguistic proximity had an effect above and beyond sensorimotor similarity. A follow-up study using typicality ratings as an additional predictor found that typicality was often the strongest predictor of category production variables, but it did not subsume sensorimotor and linguistic effects. Finally, we created a novel, fully grounded computational model of conceptual activation during category production, which best approximated typical human performance when conceptual activation was allowed to spread indirectly between concepts, and when candidate category members came from both sensorimotor and linguistic distributional representations. Critically, model performance was indistinguishable from typical human performance. Results support the linguistic shortcut hypothesis in semantic processing and provide strong evidence that both linguistic and grounded representations are inherent to the functioning of the conceptual system. All materials, data, and code are available at https://osf.io/vaq56/.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Louise Connell
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University.,Department of Psychology, Maynooth University
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26
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Seijdel N, Scholte HS, de Haan EHF. Visual features drive the category-specific impairments on categorization tasks in a patient with object agnosia. Neuropsychologia 2021; 161:108017. [PMID: 34487736 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Object and scene recognition both require mapping of incoming sensory information to existing conceptual knowledge about the world. A notable finding in brain-damaged patients is that they may show differentially impaired performance for specific categories, such as for "living exemplars". While numerous patients with category-specific impairments have been reported, the explanations for these deficits remain controversial. In the current study, we investigate the ability of a brain injured patient with a well-established category-specific impairment of semantic memory to perform two categorization experiments: 'natural' vs. 'manmade' scenes (experiment 1) and objects (experiment 2). Our findings show that the pattern of categorical impairment does not respect the natural versus manmade distinction. This suggests that the impairments may be better explained by differences in visual features, rather than by category membership. Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNNs) as 'artificial animal models' we further explored this idea. Results indicated that DCNNs with 'lesions' in higher order layers showed similar response patterns, with decreased relative performance for manmade scenes (experiment 1) and natural objects (experiment 2), even though they have no semantic category knowledge, apart from a mapping between pictures and labels. Collectively, these results suggest that the direction of category-effects to a large extent depends, at least in MS' case, on the degree of perceptual differentiation called for, and not semantic knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noor Seijdel
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC) Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - H Steven Scholte
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC) Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Edward H F de Haan
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC) Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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27
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Mazzuca C, Fini C, Michalland AH, Falcinelli I, Da Rold F, Tummolini L, Borghi AM. From Affordances to Abstract Words: The Flexibility of Sensorimotor Grounding. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1304. [PMID: 34679369 PMCID: PMC8534254 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The sensorimotor system plays a critical role in several cognitive processes. Here, we review recent studies documenting this interplay at different levels. First, we concentrate on studies that have shown how the sensorimotor system is flexibly involved in interactions with objects. We report evidence demonstrating how social context and situations influence affordance activation, and then focus on tactile and kinesthetic components in body-object interactions. Then, we turn to word use, and review studies that have shown that not only concrete words, but also abstract words are grounded in the sensorimotor system. We report evidence that abstract concepts activate the mouth effector more than concrete concepts, and discuss this effect in light of studies on adults, children, and infants. Finally, we pinpoint possible sensorimotor mechanisms at play in the acquisition and use of abstract concepts. Overall, we show that the involvement of the sensorimotor system is flexibly modulated by context, and that its role can be integrated and flanked by that of other systems such as the linguistic system. We suggest that to unravel the role of the sensorimotor system in cognition, future research should fully explore the complexity of this intricate, and sometimes slippery, relation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Mazzuca
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Chiara Fini
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Arthur Henri Michalland
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Department of Psychology, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier, EPSYLON EA 4556, 34199 Montpellier, France
| | - Ilenia Falcinelli
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Federico Da Rold
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Luca Tummolini
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Anna M. Borghi
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
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28
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Cardona JF, Grisales-Cardenas JS, Trujillo-Llano C, Diazgranados JA, Urquina HF, Cardona S, Torres A, Torres LA, Gonzalez LM, Jaramillo T, Cediel J, Oñate-Cadena N, Mateus-Ferro G, Marmolejo-Ramos F. Semantic Memory and Lexical Availability in Parkinson's Disease: A Statistical Learning Study. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:697065. [PMID: 34393760 PMCID: PMC8361833 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.697065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a progressive impairment in motor and cognitive functions. Although semantic fluency deficits have been described in PD, more specific semantic memory (SM) and lexical availability (LA) domains have not been previously addressed. Here, we aimed to characterize the cognitive performance of PD patients in a set of SM and LA measures and determine the smallest set of neuropsychological (lexical, semantic, or executive) variables that most accurately classify groups. Thirty early-stage non-demented PD patients (age 35–75, 10 females) and thirty healthy controls (age 36–76, 12 females) were assessed via general cognitive, SM [three subtests of the CaGi battery including living (i.e., elephant) and non-living things (i.e., fork)], and LA (eliciting words from 10 semantic categories related to everyday life) measures. Results showed that PD patients performed lower than controls in two SM global scores (picture naming and naming in response to an oral description). This impairment was particularly pronounced in the non-living things subscale. Also, the number of words in the LA measure was inferior in PD patients than controls, in both larger and smaller semantic fields, showing a more inadequate recall strategy. Notably, the classification algorithms indicated that the SM task had high classification accuracy. In particular, the denomination of non-living things had a classification accuracy of ∼80%. These results suggest that frontostriatal deterioration in PD leads to search strategy deficits in SF and the potential disruption in semantic categorization. These findings are consistent with the embodied view of cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan F Cardona
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Johan S Grisales-Cardenas
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Catalina Trujillo-Llano
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Jesús A Diazgranados
- Centro Médico de Atención Neurológica "Neurólogos de Occidente", Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Hugo F Urquina
- Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Sebastián Cardona
- Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Alejandra Torres
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Liliana A Torres
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Lina M Gonzalez
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Tania Jaramillo
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | - Judith Cediel
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencia Clínica y Comportamental (CINCCO), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
| | | | - Geral Mateus-Ferro
- Departamento de Lenguas, Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos
- Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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29
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Catricalà E, Conca F, Borsa VM, Cotelli M, Manenti R, Gobbi E, Binetti G, Cotta Ramusino M, Perini G, Costa A, Rusconi ML, Cappa SF. Different types of abstract concepts: evidence from two neurodegenerative patients. Neurocase 2021; 27:270-280. [PMID: 34058940 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2021.1931345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The observation of neurological patients showing selective impairments for specific conceptual categories contributed in the development of semantic memory theories. Here, we studied two patients (P01, P02), affected, respectively, by the semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (sv-PPA) and Cortico-Basal Syndrome (CBS). An implicit lexical decision task, including concrete (animals, tools) and abstract (emotions, social, quantity) concepts, was administered to patients and healthy controls.P01 and P02 showed an abolished priming effect for social and quantity-related concepts, respectively. This double dissociation suggests a role of different brain areas in representing specific abstract categories, giving insights for current semantic memory theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Catricalà
- Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| | - F Conca
- Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy
| | - V M Borsa
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, Università Degli Studi Di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - M Cotelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - R Manenti
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - E Gobbi
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - G Binetti
- MAC Memory Clinic and Molecular Markers Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - M Cotta Ramusino
- IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavior, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - G Perini
- IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavior, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - A Costa
- IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavior, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - M L Rusconi
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, Università Degli Studi Di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - S F Cappa
- Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy
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30
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Valério D, Santana I, Aguiar de Sousa D, Schu G, Leal G, Pavão Martins I, Almeida J. Knowing how to do it or doing it? A double dissociation between tool-gesture production and tool-gesture knowledge. Cortex 2021; 141:449-464. [PMID: 34147827 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Deciding how to manipulate an object to fulfill a goal requires accessing different types of object-related information. How these different types of information are integrated and represented in the brain is still an open question. Here, we focus on examining two types of object-related information-tool-gesture knowledge (i.e., how to manipulate an object), and tool-gesture production (i.e., the actual manipulation of an object). We show a double dissociation between tool-gesture knowledge and tool-gesture production: Patient FP presents problems in pantomiming tool use in the context of a spared ability to perform judgments about an object's manipulation, whereas Patient LS can pantomime tool use, but is impaired at performing manipulation judgments. Moreover, we compared the location of the lesions in FP and LS with those sustained by two classic ideomotor apraxic patients (IMA), using a cortical thickness approach. Patient FP presented lesions in common with our classic IMA that included the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and specifically the supramarginal gyrus, the left parietal operculum, the left premotor cortex and the left inferior frontal gyrus, whereas Patient LS and our classic IMA patients presented common lesions in regions of the superior parietal lobule (SPL), motor areas (as primary somatosensory cortex, premotor cortex and primary motor cortex), and frontal areas. Our results show that tool-gesture production and tool-gesture knowledge can be behaviorally and neurally doubly dissociated and put strong constraints on extant theories of action and object recognition and use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Valério
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal; CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Isabel Santana
- Neurology Department and Dementia Clinic, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | | | - Guilherme Schu
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal; CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Gabriela Leal
- Language Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Isabel Pavão Martins
- Neurology Department, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal; Language Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal; CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
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31
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Argiris G, Rumiati RI, Crepaldi D. No fruits without color: Cross-modal priming and EEG reveal different roles for different features across semantic categories. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0234219. [PMID: 33852575 PMCID: PMC8046255 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Category-specific impairments witnessed in patients with semantic deficits have broadly dissociated into natural and artificial kinds. However, how the category of food (more specifically, fruits and vegetables) fits into this distinction has been difficult to interpret, given a pattern of deficit that has inconsistently mapped onto either kind, despite its intuitive membership to the natural domain. The present study explores the effects of a manipulation of a visual sensory (i.e., color) or functional (i.e., orientation) feature on the consequential semantic processing of fruits and vegetables (and tools, by comparison), first at the behavioral and then at the neural level. The categorization of natural (i.e., fruits/vegetables) and artificial (i.e., utensils) entities was investigated via cross-modal priming. Reaction time analysis indicated a reduction in priming for color-modified natural entities and orientation-modified artificial entities. Standard event-related potentials (ERP) analysis was performed, in addition to linear classification. For natural entities, a N400 effect at central channel sites was observed for the color-modified condition compared relative to normal and orientation conditions, with this difference confirmed by classification analysis. Conversely, there was no significant difference between conditions for the artificial category in either analysis. These findings provide strong evidence that color is an integral property to the categorization of fruits/vegetables, thus substantiating the claim that feature-based processing guides as a function of semantic category.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Davide Crepaldi
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
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32
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Villani C, D'Ascenzo S, Borghi AM, Roversi C, Benassi M, Lugli L. Is justice grounded? How expertise shapes conceptual representation of institutional concepts. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:2434-2450. [PMID: 33677705 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01492-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Using abstract concepts is a hallmark of human cognition. While multiple kinds of abstract concepts exist, they so far have been conceived as a unitary kind in opposition to concrete ones. Here, we focus on Institutional concepts, like justice or norm, investigating their fine-grained differences with respect to other kinds of abstract and concrete concepts, and exploring whether their representation varies according to individual proficiency. Specifically, we asked experts and non-experts in the legal field to evaluate four kinds of concepts (i.e., institutional, theoretical, food, artefact) on 16 dimensions: abstractness-concreteness; imageability; contextual availability; familiarity; age of acquisition; modality of acquisition; social valence; social metacognition; arousal; valence; interoception; metacognition; perceptual modality strength; body-object interaction; mouth and hand involvement. Results showed that Institutional concepts rely more than other categories on linguistic/social and inner experiences and are primarily characterized by positive valence. In addition, a more subtle characterization of the institutional domain emerged: Pure-institutional concepts (e.g., parliament) were perceived as more similar to technical tools, while Meta-institutional concepts (e.g., validity) were characterized mainly by abstract components. Importantly, for what concerns individual proficiency, we found that the level of expertise affects conceptual representation. Only law-experts associated Institutional concepts with exteroceptive and emotional experiences, showing also a more grounded and situated representation of the two types of institutional concepts. Overall, our finding highlights the richness and flexibility of abstract concepts and suggests that they differ in the degree of embodiment and grounding. Implications of the results for current theories of conceptual representation and social institutions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Villani
- Department of Philosophy and Communication, University of Bologna, Via Azzo Gardino, 23, 40122, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Stefania D'Ascenzo
- Department of Philosophy and Communication, University of Bologna, Via Azzo Gardino, 23, 40122, Bologna, Italy
| | - Anna M Borghi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Italian National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Corrado Roversi
- Department of Legal Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Luisa Lugli
- Department of Philosophy and Communication, University of Bologna, Via Azzo Gardino, 23, 40122, Bologna, Italy
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33
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Macoir J, Chagnon A, Hudon C, Lavoie M, Wilson MA. TDQ-30-A New Color Picture-Naming Test for the Diagnostic of Mild Anomia: Validation and Normative Data in Quebec French Adults and Elderly. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 36:267-280. [PMID: 31792492 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acz048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A reduction in lexical access is observed in normal aging and a few studies also showed that this ability is affected in individuals with subjective cognitive decline. Lexical access is also affected very early in mild cognitive impairment as well as in major neurocognitive disorders. The detection of word-finding difficulties in the earliest stages of pathological aging is particularly difficult because symptoms are often subtle or mild. Therefore, mild anomia is underdiagnosed, mainly due to the lack of sensitivity of naming tests. In this article, we present the TDQ-30, a new picture-naming test designed to detect mild word-finding deficits in adults and elderly people. METHOD The article comprises three studies aiming at the development of the test (Study 1), the establishment of its validity and reliability (Study 2), and finally, the production of normative data for French-speaking adults and elderly people from Quebec (Study 3). RESULTS The results showed that the TDQ-30 has good convergent validity. Also, the TDQ-30 distinguished the performance of healthy controls from those of participants with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and post-stroke aphasia. This suggests good discriminant validity. Finally, this study provides normative data computed from a study sample composed of 227 participants aged 50 years and over. CONCLUSIONS The TDQ-30 has the potential to become a valuable picture-naming test for the diagnosis of mild anomia associated with pathological aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joël Macoir
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada.,Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Andréanne Chagnon
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Carol Hudon
- Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada.,École de psychologie, Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Monica Lavoie
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada.,Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada
| | - Maximiliano A Wilson
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec (QC), Canada.,Centre de recherche CERVO - Brain Research Centre, G1J 2G3, Québec (QC), Canada
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34
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de Almeida RG, Mobayyen F, Antal C, Kehayia E, Nair VP, Schwartz G. Category-specific verb-semantic deficits in Alzheimer's disease: Evidence from static and dynamic action naming. Cogn Neuropsychol 2021; 38:1-26. [PMID: 33455543 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1858772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the representation and breakdown of verb knowledge employing different syntactic and semantic classes of verbs in a group of individuals with probable Alzheimer's Disease (pAD). In an action naming task with coloured photographs (Fiez & Tranel, 1997. Standardized stimuli and procedures for investigating the retrieval of lexical and conceptual knowledge for action. Memory and Cognition, 25(4), 543-569. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03201129), pAD individuals were impaired for naming actions compared to objects. Verb tense was also affected, with simple-past (e.g., chopped) being more difficult to name than the gerundial form (e.g., chopping). Employing action-naming with short movies depicting events and states, we contrasted three verb classes based on their hypothetical structural and semantic/conceptual properties: argument structure, thematic structure, and conceptual templates. The three classes were: causatives (peel), verbs of perception (hear), and verbs of motion (run) Overall, results suggest that individuals with pAD are selectively impaired for verb tense and thematic assignment, but not conceptual-template complexity. Methodologically, we also show that dynamic scenes are more ecologically valid than static scenes to probe verb knowledge in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto G de Almeida
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.,Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of greater Montreal--Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Laval, Canada
| | | | - Caitlyn Antal
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Eva Kehayia
- School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.,Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of greater Montreal--Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Laval, Canada
| | - Vasavan P Nair
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - George Schwartz
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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35
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Souza C, Garrido MV, Carmo JC. A Systematic Review of Normative Studies Using Images of Common Objects. Front Psychol 2021; 11:573314. [PMID: 33424684 PMCID: PMC7793811 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.573314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Common objects comprise living and non-living things people interact with in their daily-lives. Images depicting common objects are extensively used in different fields of research and intervention, such as linguistics, psychology, and education. Nevertheless, their adequate use requires the consideration of several factors (e.g., item-differences, cultural-context and confounding correlated variables), and careful validation procedures. The current study presents a systematic review of the available published norms for images of common objects. A systematic search using PRISMA guidelines indicated that despite their extensive use, the production of norms for such stimuli with adult populations is quite limited (N = 55), particularly for more ecological images, such as photos (N = 14). Among the several dimensions in which the items were assessed, the most commonly referred in our sample were familiarity, visual complexity and name agreement, illustrating some consistency across the reported dimensions while also indicating the limited examination of other potentially relevant dimensions for image processing. The lack of normative studies simultaneously examining affective, perceptive and semantic dimensions was also documented. The number of such normative studies has been increasing in the last years and published in relevant peer-reviewed journals. Moreover, their datasets and norms have been complying with current open science practices. Nevertheless, they are still scarcely cited and replicated in different linguistic and cultural contexts. The current study brings important theoretical contributions by characterizing images of common objects stimuli and their culturally-based norms while highlighting several important features that are likely to be relevant for future stimuli selection and evaluative procedures. The systematic scrutiny of these normative studies is likely to stimulate the production of new, robust and contextually-relevant normative datasets and to provide tools for enhancing the quality of future research and intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiane Souza
- Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Cis-IUL, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Joana C Carmo
- Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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36
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Gerlach C, Robotham RJ. Object recognition and visual object agnosia. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 178:155-173. [PMID: 33832675 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821377-3.00008-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The term visual agnosia is used to refer to recognition disorders that are confined to the visual modality, that are not due to an impairment in sensory functions, and that cannot be explained by other cognitive deficits or by general reduction in intellectual ability. Here, we describe the different types of visual agnosia that have been reported (form agnosia, integrative agnosia, associative agnosia, transformational and orientation agnosia as well as category-specific impairments such as pure alexia and prosopagnosia) and how they relate to the current understanding of visual object recognition. Together with related disorders such as simultanagnosia, texture agnosia, aphantasia, and optic aphasia, these visual perceptual impairments can have severe consequences for those affected. We suggest how in-depth assessment can be carried out to determine the type and the extent of these impairments. In the context of clinical assessment, a step-by-step approach reflecting a posterior to anterior gradient in visual object recognition, from more perceptual to more memory-related processes, is suggested. Individually tailored interventions targeting the identified impairments can be initiated based on the results of the assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Gerlach
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
| | - Ro Julia Robotham
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Flurie M, Ungrady M, Reilly J. Evaluating a Maintenance-Based Treatment Approach to Preventing Lexical Dropout in Progressive Anomia. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2020; 63:4082-4095. [PMID: 33181044 PMCID: PMC8608146 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and the amnestic variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are neurodegenerative conditions characterized by a profound loss of functional communication abilities. Communicative impairment in AD and PPA is especially apparent in the domain of naming common objects and familiar faces. We evaluated the effectiveness of a language intervention targeting maintenance of an individualized core vocabulary in a longitudinal cohort of older adults experiencing either PPA or AD. Method PPA (n = 9) and AD (n = 1) patients were administered a semantically based language treatment for up to 2 years. Patients repeatedly named and generated semantic features for a personalized lexicon consisting of 100 words. We evaluated naming accuracy and off-line neuropsychological measures at four successive timepoints. Naming accuracy was assessed in patients (n = 7) who completed at least three recurrent evaluations. Off-line neuropsychological performance was assessed across timepoints in all patients. Results Patients demonstrated relative preservation of naming trained words relative to a steep decline for untrained (control) words. The greatest decrements were observed for naming people relative to objects. Conclusion These results suggest that consistent training of a finite set of words can protect a core lexicon composed of crucial target concepts (e.g., a spouse's name). We discuss potential benefits and clinical implications of maintenance-based approaches to promoting language functioning in the context of neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurice Flurie
- Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Molly Ungrady
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Jamie Reilly
- Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
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Lafraire J, Rioux C, Hamaoui J, Girgis H, Nguyen S, Thibaut JP. Food as a borderline domain of knowledge: The development of domain-specific inductive reasoning strategies in young children. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Tovar DA, Murray MM, Wallace MT. Selective Enhancement of Object Representations through Multisensory Integration. J Neurosci 2020; 40:5604-5615. [PMID: 32499378 PMCID: PMC7363464 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2139-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Objects are the fundamental building blocks of how we create a representation of the external world. One major distinction among objects is between those that are animate versus those that are inanimate. In addition, many objects are specified by more than a single sense, yet the nature by which multisensory objects are represented by the brain remains poorly understood. Using representational similarity analysis of male and female human EEG signals, we show enhanced encoding of audiovisual objects when compared with their corresponding visual and auditory objects. Surprisingly, we discovered that the often-found processing advantages for animate objects were not evident under multisensory conditions. This was due to a greater neural enhancement of inanimate objects-which are more weakly encoded under unisensory conditions. Further analysis showed that the selective enhancement of inanimate audiovisual objects corresponded with an increase in shared representations across brain areas, suggesting that the enhancement was mediated by multisensory integration. Moreover, a distance-to-bound analysis provided critical links between neural findings and behavior. Improvements in neural decoding at the individual exemplar level for audiovisual inanimate objects predicted reaction time differences between multisensory and unisensory presentations during a Go/No-Go animate categorization task. Links between neural activity and behavioral measures were most evident at intervals of 100-200 ms and 350-500 ms after stimulus presentation, corresponding to time periods associated with sensory evidence accumulation and decision-making, respectively. Collectively, these findings provide key insights into a fundamental process the brain uses to maximize the information it captures across sensory systems to perform object recognition.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our world is filled with ever-changing sensory information that we are able to seamlessly transform into a coherent and meaningful perceptual experience. We accomplish this feat by combining different stimulus features into objects. However, despite the fact that these features span multiple senses, little is known about how the brain combines the various forms of sensory information into object representations. Here, we used EEG and machine learning to study how the brain processes auditory, visual, and audiovisual objects. Surprisingly, we found that nonliving (i.e., inanimate) objects, which are more difficult to process with one sense alone, benefited the most from engaging multiple senses.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Tovar
- School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Micah M Murray
- The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV-UNIL), 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Sensory, Cognitive and Perceptual Neuroscience Section, Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM) of Lausanne and Geneva, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, Fondation Asile des aveugles and University of Lausanne, 1002 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Mark T Wallace
- School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
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Guest O, Caso A, Cooper RP. On Simulating Neural Damage in Connectionist Networks. COMPUTATIONAL BRAIN & BEHAVIOR 2020; 3:289-321. [PMID: 32766512 PMCID: PMC7381482 DOI: 10.1007/s42113-020-00081-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A key strength of connectionist modelling is its ability to simulate both intact cognition and the behavioural effects of neural damage. We survey the literature, showing that models have been damaged in a variety of ways, e.g. by removing connections, by adding noise to connection weights, by scaling weights, by removing units and by adding noise to unit activations. While these different implementations of damage have often been assumed to be behaviourally equivalent, some theorists have made aetiological claims that rest on nonequivalence. They suggest that related deficits with different aetiologies might be accounted for by different forms of damage within a single model. We present two case studies that explore the effects of different forms of damage in two influential connectionist models, each of which has been applied to explain neuropsychological deficits. Our results indicate that the effect of simulated damage can indeed be sensitive to the way in which damage is implemented, particularly when the environment comprises subsets of items that differ in their statistical properties, but such effects are sensitive to relatively subtle aspects of the model's training environment. We argue that, as a consequence, substantial methodological care is required if aetiological claims about simulated neural damage are to be justified, and conclude more generally that implementation assumptions, including those concerning simulated damage, must be fully explored when evaluating models of neurological deficits, both to avoid over-extending the explanatory power of specific implementations and to ensure that reported results are replicable. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL The online version of this article (10.1007/s42113-020-00081-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Guest
- Research Centre on Interactive Media, Smart Systems and Emerging Technologies — RISE, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Andrea Caso
- Center for Cognition, Computation and Modelling, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, London, UK
| | - Richard P. Cooper
- Center for Cognition, Computation and Modelling, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, London, UK
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[Neuropsychological disorders of memory]. DER NERVENARZT 2020; 91:543-552. [PMID: 32504250 DOI: 10.1007/s00115-020-00934-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
This article provides an introduction to the neuropsychology of human memory. The terms short-term memory, working memory, episodic memory, semantic and procedural memory are defined and the anatomical correlates of these various memory systems are presented. Additionally, a brief introduction to the methods for neuropsychological research on human memory is given together with advice on the neuropsychological diagnostics and therapy.
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Gainotti G. Representional and connectivity-based accounts of the cognitive consequences of atrophy of the right and left anterior temporal lobes. Cogn Neuropsychol 2020; 37:466-481. [PMID: 32174279 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1739011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
According to the original "hub-and-spoke" model of conceptual representations, the neural network for semantic memory requires a single convergence zone located in the anterior temporal lobes (ATLs). However, a more recent version of this model acknowledges that a graded specialization of the left and right ATLs might emerge as a consequence of their differential connectivity with language and sensory-motor regions. A recent influential paper maintained that both the format of semantic representations (representational account) and their differential connectivity (connectivity account) could contribute to the cognitive consequences of atrophy to the left versus the right ATL atrophy. That paper, however, also raised questions as to whether the distinction between representational and connectivity accounts is a meaningful question. I argue that an important theoretical difference exists between the representational and the connectivity-based models and that investigations, based on this difference, should allow to choose between these alternative accounts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guido Gainotti
- Institute of Neurology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.,Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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Cross Recruitment of Domain-Selective Cortical Representations Enables Flexible Semantic Knowledge. J Neurosci 2020; 40:3096-3103. [PMID: 32152199 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2224-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge about objects encompasses not only their prototypical features but also complex, atypical, semantic knowledge (e.g., "Pizza was invented in Naples"). This fMRI study of male and female human participants combines univariate and multivariate analyses to consider the cortical representation of this more complex semantic knowledge. Using the categories of food, people, and places, this study investigates whether access to spatially related geographic semantic knowledge (1) involves the same domain-selective neural representations involved in access to prototypical taste knowledge about food; and (2) elicits activation of neural representations classically linked to places when this geographic knowledge is accessed about food and people. In three experiments using word stimuli, domain-relevant and atypical conceptual access for the categories food, people, and places were assessed. Results uncover two principles of semantic representation: food-selective representations in the left insula continue to be recruited when prototypical taste knowledge is task-irrelevant and under conditions of high cognitive demand; access to geographic knowledge for food and people categories involves the additional recruitment of classically place-selective parahippocampal gyrus, retrosplenial complex, and transverse occipital sulcus. These findings underscore the importance of object category in the representation of a broad range of knowledge, while showing how the cross recruitment of specialized representations may endow the considerable flexibility of our complex semantic knowledge.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We know not only stereotypical things about objects (an apple is round, graspable, edible) but can also flexibly combine typical and atypical features to form complex concepts (the metaphorical role an apple plays in Judeo-Christian belief). In this fMRI study, we observe that, when atypical geographic knowledge is accessed about food dishes, domain-selective sensorimotor-related cortical representations continue to be recruited, but that regions classically associated with place perception are additionally engaged. This interplay between categorically driven representations, linked to the object being accessed, and the flexible recruitment of semantic stores linked to the content being accessed, provides a potential mechanism for the broad representational repertoire of our semantic system.
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A Case of Right Temporal Lobectomy for Brain Tumor With Selective Semantic Pictorial Disorder. Cogn Behav Neurol 2020; 33:52-62. [PMID: 32132403 DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0000000000000220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Disagreement exists regarding representational and connectionist interpretations of semantic knowledge subserved by the right versus left anterior temporal lobes (ATLs). These interpretations predict a different pattern of impairment in patients with a right unilateral ATL lesion. We conducted a neuropsychological study of a selective semantic pictorial defect exhibited by a 57-year-old man who had undergone a right temporal lobectomy due to the presence of a glioblastoma. The patient was given the Thematic and Taxonomic Semantic task, in which individuals must select, within triplets of words or pictures, the best associates of living or nonliving stimuli, related by thematic or taxonomic links, and presented in the verbal or pictorial modality. The selectivity of the defect was documented by a comparison between the results obtained by our patient and those obtained by healthy controls on living items and on pictures with a thematic relation. The selectivity of the defect was confirmed by a within-subject analysis of the results obtained on all of the task's triplets and those obtained on the stimuli representing living entities with a taxonomic relation. The selectivity of this semantic pictorial defect mainly concerning living entities is consistent with the representational account of semantic defects observed in our patient. In the present case report, a right temporal lobectomy resulted in a selective semantic pictorial defect with the qualitative features predicted by the representational account of semantic defects observed after a unilateral ATL lesion.
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Catricalà E, Conca F, Fertonani A, Miniussi C, Cappa SF. State-dependent TMS reveals the differential contribution of ATL and IPS to the representation of abstract concepts related to social and quantity knowledge. Cortex 2020; 123:30-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.09.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Santos MPF, Justi FRR, Buratto LG, Oliveira BSF, Jaeger A. Brazilian norms for the Bank of Standardized Stimuli (BOSS). PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224973. [PMID: 31710649 PMCID: PMC6844476 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Norms for visual stimuli are critical for designing reliable psychological and neuroscientific studies. However, such normative sets of stimuli are scarce for the Brazilian population. Here, we report norms for the Bank of Standardized Stimuli (BOSS) for Brazilian college students. Sixty-five Brazilian university students rated the initial normative set of BOSS images for familiarity and visual complexity, and produced a name for each object. Data analysis focused on comparing the present norms to prior BOSS norms (English-Canadian, French-Canadian, and Thai) across four normative dimensions: familiarity, visual complexity, modal name agreement, and H value, and considered these dimensions according to whether items pertained to living or non-living domains. Correlation analyses revealed that the present norms show strong similarities to prior BOSS norms, although objects were scored as more familiar in the Brazilian relative to all prior norms, especially relative to the Thai norms. In addition, familiarity was greater for living than for non-living items in the English- and French-Canadian norms, but such difference was absent in the Brazilian and Thai norms, suggesting that familiarity is more strongly affected by culture than by semantic domain. In sum, even when cultural differences are considered, the current study reveals that the images of the BOSS data set are in general well known for Brazilians, demonstrating that they can be useful for psychological and neuroscientific research in Brazil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus P. F. Santos
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Francis R. R. Justi
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Luciano G. Buratto
- Institute of Psychology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
| | - Bruno S. F. Oliveira
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Antônio Jaeger
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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van Dam WO, Almor A, Shinkareva SV, Kim J, Boiteau TW, Shay EA, Desai RH. Distinct neural mechanisms underlying conceptual knowledge of manner and instrument verbs. Neuropsychologia 2019; 133:107183. [PMID: 31493413 PMCID: PMC6817421 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Studies on the organization of conceptual knowledge have examined categories of concrete nouns extensively. Less is known about the neural basis of verb categories suggested by linguistic theories. We used functional MRI to examine the differences between manner verbs, which encode information about the manner of an action, versus instrument verbs, which encode information about an object as part of their meaning. Using both visual and verbal stimuli and a combination of univariate and multivariate pattern analyses, our results show that accessing conceptual representations of instrument class involves brain regions typically associated with complex action and object perception, including the anterior inferior parietal cortex and occipito-temporal cortex. On the other hand, accessing conceptual representations of the manner class involves regions that are commonly associated with the processing of visual and biological motion, in the posterior superior temporal sulcus. These findings support the idea that the semantics of manner and instrument verbs are supported by distinct neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wessel O van Dam
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, USA
| | - Amit Almor
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, USA; Linguistics Program, University of South Carolina, USA
| | - Svetlana V Shinkareva
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, USA
| | - Jongwan Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, USA
| | - Tim W Boiteau
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Shay
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, USA
| | - Rutvik H Desai
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, USA.
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How meaning unfolds in neural time: Embodied reactivations can precede multimodal semantic effects during language processing. Neuroimage 2019; 197:439-449. [PMID: 31059796 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on how the brain construes meaning during language use has prompted two conflicting accounts. According to the 'grounded view', word understanding involves quick reactivations of sensorimotor (embodied) experiences evoked by the stimuli, with simultaneous or later engagement of multimodal (conceptual) systems integrating information from various sensory streams. Contrariwise, for the 'symbolic view', this capacity depends crucially on multimodal operations, with embodied systems playing epiphenomenal roles after comprehension. To test these contradictory hypotheses, the present magnetoencephalography study assessed implicit semantic access to grammatically constrained action and non-action verbs (n = 100 per category) while measuring spatiotemporally precise signals from the primary motor cortex (M1, a core region subserving bodily movements) and the anterior temporal lobe (ATL, a putative multimodal semantic hub). Convergent evidence from sensor- and source-level analyses revealed that increased modulations for action verbs occurred earlier in M1 (∼130-190 ms) than in specific ATL hubs (∼250-410 ms). Moreover, machine-learning decoding showed that trial-by-trial classification peaks emerged faster in M1 (∼100-175 ms) than in the ATL (∼345-500 ms), with over 71% accuracy in both cases. Considering their latencies, these results challenge the 'symbolic view' and its implication that sensorimotor mechanisms play only secondary roles in semantic processing. Instead, our findings support the 'grounded view', showing that early semantic effects are critically driven by embodied reactivations and that these cannot be reduced to post-comprehension epiphenomena, even when words are individually classified. Briefly, our study offers non-trivial insights to constrain fine-grained models of language and understand how meaning unfolds in neural time.
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Moreno-Martínez FJ, Quaranta D, Gainotti G. What a pooled data study tells us about the relationships between gender and knowledge of semantic categories. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2019; 41:634-643. [PMID: 30995891 DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2019.1602111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Both the neuropsychological study of patients with category-specific semantic disorders (CSSD) and the experimental research on categorical processing in healthy subjects (HSs) have shown that men are mainly impaired with fruits and vegetables and women with animals and artifacts. Since this difference is more striking in patients with CSSD than in HSs, we hypothesized that the lack of power of some investigations conducted with HSs and the different methods used in studies conducted with HSs and patients with CSSD could explain some of these inconsistencies and that a study conducted with a very large number of HSs using visual naming tasks should strongly confirm the role of gender in categorical tasks. Methods: Picture naming data gathered during the last ten years with our category-specificity paradigm from a large number (702) of HSs were reanalyzed. Results: As predicted, men named significantly more animals and artifacts, while women named more plant life items. Discussion: These data confirm that, if different domains of knowledge are studied in a very large sample of HSs using a picture naming task equivalent to the naming tasks used in most anatomo-clinical studies on CSSD, then the gender effects are highly significant.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Davide Quaranta
- b Institute of Neurology , IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli & UCSC Catholic University , Rome , Italy
| | - Guido Gainotti
- b Institute of Neurology , IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli & UCSC Catholic University , Rome , Italy.,c Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology , IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy
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50
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Karst AT, Clapham ES. An examination of differential repetition priming effects for natural and man-made objects. The Journal of General Psychology 2019; 146:339-364. [PMID: 30946000 DOI: 10.1080/00221309.2019.1585322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
It has been theorized that differential cognitive resources may be involved in the processing of information pertaining to natural and man-made categories, commonly referred to as category specificity. The present study used four experiments to assess whether a natural priming advantage exists and, if so, whether color, texture, color diagnosticity, object complexity, and familiarity could account for the categorical difference. To do so, a repetition priming paradigm was used in which masked primes were briefly presented, and targets were categorized as natural or man-made. Across four experiments, a greater degree of priming was observed for natural as opposed to man-made stimuli. Examination of stimulus characteristics that could account for the differences revealed that the natural priming advantage was in part driven by color diagnosticity and familiarity. Results of this study support the notion that different cognitive resources represent and/or are involved in the processing of natural and man-made categories.
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