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Stockert A, Hormig-Rauber S, Wawrzyniak M, Klingbeil J, Schneider HR, Pirlich M, Schob S, Hoffmann KT, Saur D. Involvement of Thalamocortical Networks in Patients With Poststroke Thalamic Aphasia. Neurology 2023; 100:e485-e496. [PMID: 36302664 PMCID: PMC9931083 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000201488] [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: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Theories assume that thalamic stroke may cause aphasia because of dysfunction in connected cortical networks. This takes into account that brain functions are organized in distributed networks, and in turn, localized damage may result in a network disorder such as thalamic aphasia. With this study, we investigate whether the integration of the thalamus into specific thalamocortical networks underlies symptoms after thalamic stroke. We hypothesize that thalamic lesions in patients with language impairments are functionally connected to cortical networks for language and cognition. METHODS We combined nonparametric lesion mapping methods in a retrospective cohort of patients with acute or subacute first-ever thalamic stroke. A relationship between lesion location and language impairments was assessed using nonparametric voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. This method reveals regions more frequently damaged in patients with compared with those without a symptom of interest. To test whether these symptoms are linked to a common thalamocortical network, we additionally performed lesion-network-symptom mapping. This method uses normative connectome data from resting-state fMRI of healthy participants (n = 65) for functional connectivity analyses, with lesion sites serving as seeds. Resulting lesion-dependent network connectivity of patients with language impairments was compared with those with motor and sensory deficits as baseline. RESULTS A total of 101 patients (mean [SD] age 64.1 [14.6] years, 57 left, 42 right, and 2 bilateral lesions) were included in the study. Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping showed an association of language impairments with damage to left mediodorsal thalamic nucleus lesions. Lesion-network-symptom mapping revealed that language compared with sensory deficits were associated with higher normative lesion-dependent network connectivity to left frontotemporal language networks and bilateral prefrontal, insulo-opercular, midline cingular, and parietal domain-general networks. Lesions related to motor and sensory deficits showed higher lesion-dependent network connectivity within the sensorimotor network spanning prefrontal, precentral, and postcentral cortices. DISCUSSION Thalamic aphasia relates to lesions in the left mediodorsal thalamic nucleus and to functionally connected left cortical language and bilateral cortical networks for cognitive control. This suggests that dysfunction in thalamocortical networks contributes to thalamic aphasia. We propose that inefficient integration between otherwise undamaged domain-general and language networks may cause thalamic aphasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anika Stockert
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Sophia Hormig-Rauber
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Max Wawrzyniak
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Julian Klingbeil
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hans Ralf Schneider
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mandy Pirlich
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefan Schob
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Karl-Titus Hoffmann
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dorothee Saur
- From the Language and Aphasia Laboratory (A.S., S.H.-R., M.W., J.K., H.R.S., M.P., D.S.), Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (S.S.), Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, University Hospital Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany; and Department of Neuroradiology (K.-T.H.), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
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Anderson EJ, Midgley KJ, Holcomb PJ, Riès SK. Taxonomic and thematic semantic relationships in picture naming as revealed by Laplacian-transformed event-related potentials. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14091. [PMID: 35554943 PMCID: PMC9788343 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Semantically related concepts co-activate when we speak. Prior research reported both behavioral interference and facilitation due to co-activation during picture naming. Different word relationships may account for some of this discrepancy. Taxonomically related words (e.g., WOLF-DOG) have been associated with semantic interference; thematically related words (e.g., BONE-DOG) have been associated with facilitation. Although these different semantic relationships have been associated with opposite behavioral outcomes, electrophysiological studies have found inconsistent effects on event-related potentials. We conducted a picture-word interference electroencephalography experiment to examine word retrieval dynamics in these different semantic relationships. Importantly, we used traditional monopolar analysis as well as Laplacian transformation allowing us to examine spatially deblurred event-related components. Both analyses revealed greater negativity (150-250 ms) for unrelated than related taxonomic pairs, though more restricted in space for thematic pairs. Critically, Laplacian analyses revealed a larger negative-going component in the 300 to 500 ms time window in taxonomically related versus unrelated pairs which were restricted to a left frontal recording site. In parallel, an opposite effect was found in the same time window but localized to a left parietal site. Finding these opposite effects in the same time window was feasible thanks to the use of the Laplacian transformation and suggests that frontal control processes are concurrently engaged with cascading effects of the spread of activation through semantically related representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth J. Anderson
- Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative DisordersSan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA,Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative DisordersUniversity of California San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Phillip J. Holcomb
- Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Stephanie K. Riès
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing SciencesSan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
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Wang Q, Wu X, Ji Y, Yan G, Wu J. Second Language Proficiency Modulates the Dependency of Bilingual Language Control on Domain-General Cognitive Control. Front Psychol 2022; 13:810573. [PMID: 35222198 PMCID: PMC8866303 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.810573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control has been a hot topic in the research field of bilingualism. Previous studies mostly examined the correlation between performances of bilinguals in language control tasks and that in domain-general cognitive control tasks and came to the conclusions that they overlap, partially overlap, or are qualitatively different. These contradictory conclusions are possibly due to the neglect of the moderating effect of second language (L2) proficiency, that is, the relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control might vary with the L2 proficiency of bilinguals. To examine this hypothesis, we recruited 36 unbalanced Chinese-English bilinguals to perform the Simon task (to assess domain-general cognitive control), Oxford Placement Test (to assess L2 proficiency), and picture naming tasks in single-and dual-language contexts (to evoke local and global language control). We find that Simon scores positively predicted switching costs in bilinguals with low L2 proficiency, but not in bilinguals with high L2 proficiency. Furthermore, Simon scores positively predicted mixing costs in bilinguals with high L2 proficiency, but not in bilinguals with low L2 proficiency. These results verify the moderating effect of L2 proficiency on the relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control, that is, bilinguals with more proficient L2 rely on domain-general cognitive control less for local language control and more for global language control. This may imply a shift from local to global for the dependency of bilingual language control on domain-general cognitive control during the L2 development of bilinguals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiping Wang
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin Normal University, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Xinye Wu
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin Normal University, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Yannan Ji
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin Normal University, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Guoli Yan
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin Normal University, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Social Science Laboratory of Students' Mental Development and Learning, Tianjin, China
| | - Junjie Wu
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin Normal University, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Social Science Laboratory of Students' Mental Development and Learning, Tianjin, China
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Zhu JD, Blanco-Elorrieta E, Sun Y, Szakay A, Sowman PF. Natural vs forced language switching: Free selection and consistent language use eliminate significant performance costs and cognitive demands in the brain. Neuroimage 2021; 247:118797. [PMID: 34896585 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Bilinguals are known to switch language spontaneously in everyday conversations, even if there are no external requirements to do so. However, in the laboratory setting, language control is often investigated using forced switching tasks, which result in significant performance costs. The present study assessed whether switching would be less costly when performed in a more natural fashion, and what factors might account for this. Mandarin-English bilinguals engaged in language switching under three different contexts with varied task demands. We examined two factors which may be characteristic of natural switching: (i) freedom of language selection; (ii) consistency of language used to name each item. Participants' brain activities were recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG), along with behavioural measures of reaction speed and accuracy. The natural context (with both free selection and consistent language use for each item) produced better performance overall, showing reduced mixing cost and no significant switch cost. The neural effect of language mixing was also reversed in this context, suggesting that freely mixing two languages was easier than staying in a single language. Further, while switching in the forced context elicited increased brain activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus, this switch effect disappeared when the language used to name each item was consistent. Together, these findings demonstrate that the two factors above conjointly contribute to eliminating significant performance costs and cognitive demands associated with language switching and mixing. Such evidence aligns with lexical selection models which do not assume bilingual production to be inherently effortful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judy D Zhu
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
| | | | - Yanan Sun
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Anita Szakay
- Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Paul F Sowman
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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Blanco-Elorrieta E, Caramazza A. On the Need for Theoretically Guided Approaches to Possible Bilingual Advantages: An Evaluation of the Potential Loci in the Language and Executive Control Systems. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2021; 2:452-463. [PMID: 37214630 PMCID: PMC10158579 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Whether a cognitive advantage exists for bilingual individuals has been the source of heated debate in the last decade. While empirical evidence putatively in favor of or against this alleged advantage has been frequently discussed, the potential sources of enhanced cognitive control in bilinguals have only been broadly declared, with no mechanistic elaboration of where, why, and how this purported link between bilingualism and enhanced language control develops, and how this enhancement transfers to, and subsequently improves, general executive function. Here, we evaluate different potential sources for a bilingual advantage and develop the assumptions one would have to make about the language processing system to be consistent with each of these notions. Subsequently, we delineate the limitations in the generalizations from language to overall executive function, and characterize where these advantages could be identified if there were to be any. Ultimately, we conclude that in order to make significant progress in this area, it is necessary to look for advantages in theoretically motivated areas, and that in the absence of clear theories as to the source, transfer, and target processes that could lead to potential advantages, an inconsistent body of results will follow, making the whole pursuit of a bilingual advantage moot.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alfonso Caramazza
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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Declerck M, Meade G, Midgley KJ, Holcomb PJ, Roelofs A, Emmorey K. Language control in bimodal bilinguals: Evidence from ERPs. Neuropsychologia 2021; 161:108019. [PMID: 34487737 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108019] [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] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
It is currently unclear to what degree language control, which minimizes non-target language interference and increases the probability of selecting target-language words, is similar for sign-speech (bimodal) bilinguals and spoken language (unimodal) bilinguals. To further investigate the nature of language control processes in bimodal bilinguals, we conducted the first event-related potential (ERP) language switching study with hearing American Sign Language (ASL)-English bilinguals. The results showed a pattern that has not been observed in any unimodal language switching study: a switch-related positivity over anterior sites and a switch-related negativity over posterior sites during ASL production in both early and late time windows. No such pattern was found during English production. We interpret these results as evidence that bimodal bilinguals uniquely engage language control at the level of output modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Declerck
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, USA; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands; Linguistics and Literary Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Gabriela Meade
- Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders, San Diego State University & University of California, San Diego, USA
| | | | - Phillip J Holcomb
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, USA
| | - Ardi Roelofs
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Karen Emmorey
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, USA.
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