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Barker MS, Ceslis A, Argall R, McCombe P, Henderson RD, Robinson GA. Verbal and nonverbal fluency in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neuropsychol 2024; 18:265-285. [PMID: 37997256 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12354] [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: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multi-system disorder that commonly affects cognition and behaviour. Verbal fluency impairments are consistently reported in ALS patients, and we aimed to investigate whether this deficit extends beyond the verbal domain. We further aimed to determine whether deficits are underpinned by a primary intrinsic response generation impairment (i.e., a global reduction across tasks), potentially related to apathy, or an inability to maintain responding over time (i.e., a 'drop off' pattern). Twenty-two ALS patients and 21 demographically-matched controls completed verbal and nonverbal fluency tasks (phonemic/semantic word fluency, design fluency, gesture fluency and ideational fluency), requiring the generation of responses over a specified time period. Fluency performance was analysed in terms of the overall number of novel items produced, as well as the number of items produced in the first 'initiation' and the remaining 'maintenance' time periods. ALS patients' overall performance was not globally reduced across tasks. Patients were impaired only on meaningful gesture fluency, which requires the generation of gestures that communicate meaning (e.g., waving). On phonemic fluency, ALS patients showed a 'drop off' pattern of performance, where they had difficulty maintaining responding over time, but this pattern was not evident on the other fluency tasks. Apathy did not appear to be related to fluency performance. The selective meaningful gesture fluency deficit, in the context of preserved meaningless gesture fluency, highlights that the retrieval of action knowledge may be weakened in early ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan S Barker
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Amelia Ceslis
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Neuropsychology and Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Rosemary Argall
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Neuropsychology and Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Pamela McCombe
- Neuropsychology and Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Robert D Henderson
- Neuropsychology and Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Wesley Medical Research, The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Gail A Robinson
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Neuropsychology and Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
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2
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Tahedl M, Tan EL, Chipika RH, Lope J, Hengeveld JC, Doherty MA, McLaughlin RL, Hardiman O, Hutchinson S, McKenna MC, Bede P. The involvement of language-associated networks, tracts, and cortical regions in frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Structural and functional alterations. Brain Behav 2023; 13:e3250. [PMID: 37694825 PMCID: PMC10636407 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Language deficits are cardinal manifestations of some frontotemporal dementia (FTD) phenotypes and also increasingly recognized in sporadic and familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). They have considerable social and quality-of-life implications, and adaptive strategies are challenging to implement. While the neuropsychological profiles of ALS-FTD phenotypes are well characterized, the neuronal underpinnings of language deficits are less well studied. METHODS A multiparametric, quantitative neuroimaging study was conducted to characterize the involvement of language-associated networks, tracts, and cortical regions with a panel of structural, diffusivity, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics. Seven study groups were evaluated along the ALS-FTD spectrum: healthy controls (HC), individuals with ALS without cognitive impairment (ALSnci), C9orf72-negative ALS-FTD, C9orf72-positive ALS-FTD, behavioral-variant FTD (bvFTD), nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), and semantic variant PPA (svPPA). The integrity of the Broca's area, Wernicke's area, frontal aslant tract (FAT), arcuate fascicle (AF), inferior occipitofrontal fascicle (IFO), inferior longitudinal fascicle (ILF), superior longitudinal fascicle (SLF), and uncinate fascicle (UF) was quantitatively evaluated. The functional connectivity (FC) between Broca's and Wernicke' areas and FC along the FAT was also specifically assessed. RESULTS Patients with nfvPPA and svPPA exhibit distinctive patterns of gray and white matter degeneration in language-associated brain regions. Individuals with bvFTD exhibit Broca's area, right FAT, right IFO, and UF degeneration. The ALSnci group exhibits Broca's area atrophy and decreased FC along the FAT. Both ALS-FTD cohorts, irrespective of C9orf72 status, show bilateral FAT, AF, and IFO pathology. Interestingly, only C9orf72-negative ALS-FTD patients exhibit bilateral uncinate and right ILF involvement, while C9orf72-positive ALS-FTD patients do not. CONCLUSIONS Language-associated tracts and networks are not only affected in language-variant FTD phenotypes but also in ALS and bvFTD. Language domains should be routinely assessed in ALS irrespective of the genotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Tahedl
- Computational Neuroimaging Group (CNG), School of MedicineTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Ee Ling Tan
- Computational Neuroimaging Group (CNG), School of MedicineTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | | | - Jasmin Lope
- Computational Neuroimaging Group (CNG), School of MedicineTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | | | - Mark A. Doherty
- Smurfit Institute of GeneticsTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | | | - Orla Hardiman
- Computational Neuroimaging Group (CNG), School of MedicineTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | | | - Mary Clare McKenna
- Computational Neuroimaging Group (CNG), School of MedicineTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
- Department of NeurologySt James's HospitalDublinIreland
| | - Peter Bede
- Computational Neuroimaging Group (CNG), School of MedicineTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
- Department of NeurologySt James's HospitalDublinIreland
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Vannuscorps G, Caramazza A. Effector-specific motor simulation supplements core action recognition processes in adverse conditions. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad046. [PMID: 37688518 PMCID: PMC10576201 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Observing other people acting activates imitative motor plans in the observer. Whether, and if so when and how, such 'effector-specific motor simulation' contributes to action recognition remains unclear. We report that individuals born without upper limbs (IDs)-who cannot covertly imitate upper-limb movements-are significantly less accurate at recognizing degraded (but not intact) upper-limb than lower-limb actions (i.e. point-light animations). This finding emphasizes the need to reframe the current controversy regarding the role of effector-specific motor simulation in action recognition: instead of focusing on the dichotomy between motor and non-motor theories, the field would benefit from new hypotheses specifying when and how effector-specific motor simulation may supplement core action recognition processes to accommodate the full variety of action stimuli that humans can recognize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vannuscorps
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53, Brussels 1200, Belgium
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Kirkland Street 33, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alfonso Caramazza
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Kirkland Street 33, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- CIMEC (Center for Mind-Brain Sciences), University of Trento, Via delle Regole 101, Mattarello TN 38123, Italy
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4
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Ghaderi S, Fatehi F, Kalra S, Batouli SAH. MRI biomarkers for memory-related impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2023:1-17. [PMID: 37469125 DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2023.2236651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with cognitive and behavioral impairments and motor symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers have been investigated as potential tools for detecting and monitoring memory-related impairment in ALS. Our objective was to examine the importance of identifying MRI biomarkers for memory-related impairment in ALS, motor neuron disease (MND), and ALS frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (ALS-FTD) patients. Methods: PubMed and Scopus databases were searched. Keywords covering magnetic resonance imaging, ALS, MND, and memory impairments were searched. There were a total of 25 studies included in our work here. Results: The structural MRI (sMRI) studies reported gray matter (GM) atrophy in the regions associated with memory processing, such as the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus (PhG), in ALS patients. The diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies showed white matter (WM) alterations in the corticospinal tract (CST) and other tracts that are related to motor and extra-motor functions, and these alterations were associated with memory and executive function impairments in ALS. The functional MRI (fMRI) studies also demonstrated an altered activation in the prefrontal cortex, limbic system, and other brain regions involved in memory and emotional processing in ALS patients. Conclusion: MRI biomarkers show promise in uncovering the neural mechanisms of memory-related impairment in ALS. Nonetheless, addressing challenges such as sample sizes, imaging protocols, and longitudinal studies is crucial for future research. Ultimately, MRI biomarkers have the potential to be a tool for detecting and monitoring memory-related impairments in ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadegh Ghaderi
- Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Neurology Department, Neuromuscular Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farzad Fatehi
- Neurology Department, Neuromuscular Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sanjay Kalra
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Seyed Amir Hossein Batouli
- Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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5
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McKenna MC, Lope J, Bede P, Tan EL. Thalamic pathology in frontotemporal dementia: Predilection for specific nuclei, phenotype-specific signatures, clinical correlates, and practical relevance. Brain Behav 2023; 13:e2881. [PMID: 36609810 PMCID: PMC9927864 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) phenotypes are classically associated with distinctive cortical atrophy patterns and regional hypometabolism. However, the spectrum of cognitive and behavioral manifestations in FTD arises from multisynaptic network dysfunction. The thalamus is a key hub of several corticobasal and corticocortical circuits. The main circuits relayed via the thalamic nuclei include the dorsolateral prefrontal circuit, the anterior cingulate circuit, and the orbitofrontal circuit. METHODS In this paper, we have reviewed evidence for thalamic pathology in FTD based on radiological and postmortem studies. Original research papers were systematically reviewed for preferential involvement of specific thalamic regions, for phenotype-associated thalamic disease burden patterns, characteristic longitudinal changes, and genotype-associated thalamic signatures. Moreover, evidence for presymptomatic thalamic pathology was also reviewed. Identified papers were systematically scrutinized for imaging methods, cohort sizes, clinical profiles, clinicoradiological associations, and main anatomical findings. The findings of individual research papers were amalgamated for consensus observations and their study designs further evaluated for stereotyped shortcomings. Based on the limitations of existing studies and conflicting reports in low-incidence FTD variants, we sought to outline future research directions and pressing research priorities. RESULTS FTD is associated with focal thalamic degeneration. Phenotype-specific thalamic traits mirror established cortical vulnerability patterns. Thalamic nuclei mediating behavioral and language functions are preferentially involved. Given the compelling evidence for considerable thalamic disease burden early in the course of most FTD subtypes, we also reflect on the practical relevance, diagnostic role, prognostic significance, and monitoring potential of thalamic metrics in FTD. CONCLUSIONS Cardinal manifestations of FTD phenotypes are likely to stem from thalamocortical circuitry dysfunction and are not exclusively driven by focal cortical changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Clare McKenna
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,Department of Neurology, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jasmin Lope
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Peter Bede
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,Department of Neurology, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ee Ling Tan
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Giacobbe C, Raimo S, Cropano M, Santangelo G. Neural correlates of embodied action language processing: a systematic review and meta-analytic study. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:2353-2374. [PMID: 35754077 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00680-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The neural correlates of action language processing are still debated within embodied cognition research and little is known about the flexible involvement of modality-specific pre-motor system and multimodal high-level temporo-parietal regions as a function of explicit and implicit tasks. A systematic review and the Activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses on functional neuroimaging studies were performed to identify neural correlates of action language processing activated during explicit and implicit tasks. The contrast ALE meta-analysis revealed activation of modality-specific premotor area and inferior frontal areas during explicit action language tasks while a greater activation of posterior temporo-occipital areas emerged for implicit tasks. The conjunction analysis revealed overlap in the temporo-parietal multimodal high-level regions for both types of tasks. Functional specialization of the middle temporal gyrus was found where the more posterior-occipital part resulted activated during implicit action language tasks whereas the antero-lateral part was involved in explicit tasks. Our findings were discussed within a conceptual flexibility perspective about the involvement of both the modality-specific and multimodal brain system during action language processing depending on different types of tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Giacobbe
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - Simona Raimo
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
| | - Maria Cropano
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - Gabriella Santangelo
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy
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7
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Embodied cognition in neurodegenerative disorders: What do we know so far? A narrative review focusing on the mirror neuron system and clinical applications. J Clin Neurosci 2022; 98:66-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2022.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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8
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Borelli E, Butera C, Katirai A, Adams TCE, Aziz-Zadeh L. Impact of motor stroke on novel and conventional action metaphor comprehension. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 226:105081. [PMID: 35051790 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies indicate that damage to motor brain regions impacts comprehension of literal action-related language. However, whether such damage also impacts comprehension of action-metaphors remains unknown. Such a finding would support the notion that metaphors are grounded in sensorimotor representations. Here we tested this hypothesis by comparing comprehension of novel, conventional, and frozen action and non-action metaphors in 14 right-handed adults with right-sided mild to moderate paresis following left hemisphere motor stroke and 23 neurotypical participants. Consistent with our hypothesis, results indicated that only in the stroke group, accuracy for action metaphors was significantly lower than for non-action metaphors. Further, in the stroke group, accuracy was significantly worse in the following pattern: novel < conventional < frozen action metaphors. These results strongly support the notion that motor-related brain regions are important not only for literal action-related language comprehension, but also for action-related metaphor comprehension, especially for less familiar metaphors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Borelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Christiana Butera
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Andrew Katirai
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Thomas C E Adams
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lisa Aziz-Zadeh
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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9
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Shebani Z, Nestor PJ, Pulvermüller F. What's "up"? Impaired Spatial Preposition Processing in Posterior Cortical Atrophy. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:731104. [PMID: 34924976 PMCID: PMC8671304 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.731104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study seeks to confirm whether lesions in posterior regions of the brain involved in visuo-spatial processing are of functional relevance to the processing of words with spatial meaning. We investigated whether patients with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), an atypical form of Alzheimer’s Disease which predominantly affects parieto-occipital brain regions, is associated with deficits in working memory for spatial prepositions. Case series of patients with PCA and matched healthy controls performed tests of immediate and delayed serial recall on words from three lexico-semantic word categories: number words (twelve), spatial prepositions (behind) and function words (e.g., shall). The three word categories were closely matched for a number of psycholinguistic and semantic variables including length, bi-/tri-gram frequency, word frequency, valence and arousal. Relative to controls, memory performance of PCA patients on short word lists was significantly impaired on spatial prepositions in the delayed serial recall task. These results suggest that lesions in posterior parieto-occipital regions specifically impair the processing of spatial prepositions. Our findings point to a pertinent role of posterior cortical regions in the semantic processing of words with spatial meaning and provide strong support for modality-specific semantic theories that recognize the necessary contributions of sensorimotor regions to conceptual semantic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zubaida Shebani
- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Psychology Department, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
| | - Peter J Nestor
- QLD Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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10
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Tahedl M, Murad A, Lope J, Hardiman O, Bede P. Evaluation and categorisation of individual patients based on white matter profiles: Single-patient diffusion data interpretation in neurodegeneration. J Neurol Sci 2021; 428:117584. [PMID: 34315000 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2021.117584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The majority of radiology studies in neurodegenerative conditions infer group-level imaging traits from group comparisons. While this strategy is helpful to define phenotype-specific imaging signatures for academic use, the meaningful interpretation of single scans of individual subjects is more important in everyday clinical practice. Accordingly, we present a computational method to evaluate individual subject diffusion tensor data to highlight white matter integrity alterations. Fifty white matter tracts were quantitatively evaluated in 132 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with respect to normative values from 100 healthy subjects. Fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity alterations were assessed individually in each patient. The approach was validated against standard tract-based spatial statistics and further scrutinised by the assessment of 78 additional data sets with a blinded diagnosis. Our z-score-based approach readily detected white matter degeneration in individual ALS patients and helped to categorise single subjects with a 'blinded diagnosis' as likely 'ALS' or 'control'. The group-level inferences from the z-score-based approach were analogous to the standard TBSS output maps. The benefit of the z-score-based strategy is that it enables the interpretation of single DTI datasets as well as the comparison of study groups. Outputs can be summarised either visually by highlighting the affected tracts, or, listing the affected tracts in a text file with reference to normative data, making it particularly useful for clinical applications. While individual diffusion data cannot be visually appraised, our approach provides a viable framework for single-subject imaging data interpretation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Tahedl
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Institute for Psychology, University of Regensburg, Germany
| | - Aizuri Murad
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jasmin Lope
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Orla Hardiman
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Peter Bede
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
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11
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Naro A, Maggio MG, Latella D, La Rosa G, Sciarrone F, Manuli A, Calabrò RS. Does embodied cognition allow a better management of neurological diseases? A review on the link between cognitive language processing and motor function. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-ADULT 2021; 29:1646-1657. [PMID: 33683162 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2021.1890595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Embodied cognition (EC) refers to the interplay occurring in thinking among individual's sensorimotor capacities (i.e., the ability of the body to respond to its senses with movement), the body itself, and the environment. The aim of the present narrative review is to provide an overall understanding of whether and how motor training could lead to language recovery, consistently with EC theories (action-perception cycle, mirror neuron systems -MNS-, and embodied semantics). We therefore reviewed the works dealing with EC in terms of the link between language processing, mirror neuron system (MNS), and motor function, evaluating the potential clinical implications for better managing neurological deficits. Connections between body and mind were found, as body states influence cognitive functions, such as perception and reasoning, as well as language processing, especially in neurological disorders. In fact, abnormalities in "embodied language" were found in movement disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, negatively affecting patients' rehabilitation outcomes. Understanding the link between language processing and motor outcomes is fundamental in the rehabilitation field, given that EC can be targeted to improve patients' functional recovery and quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Naro
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, Messina, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Maggio
- Studio di Psicoterapia Relazionale e Riabilitazione Cognitiva, Messina, Italy
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12
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Ceslis A, Argall R, Henderson RD, McCombe PA, Robinson GA. The spectrum of language impairments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Cortex 2020; 132:349-360. [PMID: 33031977 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Language disorders are increasingly recognised in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), supporting the view of ALS as a multi-system disorder, impacting cognitive and motor function. However, the language impairments are heterogeneous and recent focus has been on determining the language profile across the ALS spectrum with little focus on spontaneous speech. The current study systematically investigated a wide range of language abilities in an unselected ALS sample (N = 22), including spontaneous speech. We analysed the ALS patients' performance as a group, compared to age-, education- and IQ-matched healthy controls (N = 21), and as a case series to identify dementia and specific language profiles. The ALS group was impaired on measures of spontaneous speech, word fluency and action naming. By contrast, object naming, semantic memory (object and actions), sentence comprehension and repetition (word and sentences) were comparable to healthy controls. In line with recent suggestions, our ALS patients' action naming (but not action semantic) deficit does not support the notion that action processing may be selectively impaired in ALS. The case series demonstrated that 14% of patients had probable dementia, 31% showed significant cognitive and/or language impairment and 55% were unimpaired, consistent with the spectrum of cognitive and language impairments reported in the literature. In addition, 36% of ALS patients produced significantly fewer words per minute on a spontaneous speech task than the control group, with this difference remaining when the ALS patients with frontotemporal dementia were excluded from the analysis. This pattern was observed across the ALS spectrum and in both limb and bulbar onset patients. The pattern of performance observed in the present study suggests that spontaneous speech is reduced across the ALS spectrum even in those with intact core language abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amelia Ceslis
- Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - Rosemary Argall
- Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Heston, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - Robert D Henderson
- Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Heston, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston, Brisbane, Australia; Wesley Medical Research, The Wesley Hospital, Auchenflower, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Pamela A McCombe
- Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Heston, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston, Brisbane, Australia; Wesley Medical Research, The Wesley Hospital, Auchenflower, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Gail A Robinson
- Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Heston, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia.
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13
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Bidet-Ildei C, Beauprez SA, Badets A. A review of literature on the link between action observation and action language: advancing a shared semantic theory. NEW IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2019.100777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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14
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Nevler N, Ash S, McMillan C, Elman L, McCluskey L, Irwin DJ, Cho S, Liberman M, Grossman M. Automated analysis of natural speech in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis spectrum disorders. Neurology 2020; 95:e1629-e1639. [PMID: 32675077 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000010366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We implemented automated methods to analyze speech and evaluate the hypothesis that cognitive and motor factors impair prosody in partially distinct ways in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). METHODS We recruited 213 participants, including 67 with ALS (44 with motor ALS, 23 with ALS and frontotemporal degeneration [FTD]), 33 healthy controls, and neurodegenerative reference groups with behavioral variant FTD (n = 90) and nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (n = 23). Digitized, semistructured speech samples obtained from picture descriptions were automatically segmented with a Speech Activity Detector; continuous speech segments were pitch-tracked; and duration measures for speech and silent pause segments were extracted. Acoustic measures were calculated, including fundamental frequency (f0) range, mean speech and pause segment durations, total speech duration, and pause rate (pause count per minute of speech). Group comparisons related performance on acoustic measures to clinical scales of cognitive and motor impairments and explored MRI cortical thinning in ALS and ALS-FTD. RESULTS The f0 range was significantly impaired in ALS spectrum disorders and was related to bulbar motor disease, and regression analyses related this to cortical thickness in primary motor cortex and perisylvian regions. Impaired speech and pause duration measures were related to the degree of cognitive impairment in ALS spectrum disorders, and regressions related duration measures to bilateral frontal opercula and left anterior insula. CONCLUSION Automated analyses of acoustic speech properties dissociate motor and cognitive components of speech deficits in ALS spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Nevler
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
| | - Sharon Ash
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Corey McMillan
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Lauren Elman
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Leo McCluskey
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - David J Irwin
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Sunghye Cho
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Mark Liberman
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Murray Grossman
- From the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (N.N., S.A., C.M., D.J.I., M.G.), Department of Neurology (N.N., S.A., C.M., L.E., L.M., D.J.I., M.G.), and Linguistic Data Consortium (S.C., M.L.), Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
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15
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Kuhnke P, Kiefer M, Hartwigsen G. Task-Dependent Recruitment of Modality-Specific and Multimodal Regions during Conceptual Processing. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:3938-3959. [PMID: 32219378 PMCID: PMC7264643 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Conceptual knowledge is central to cognitive abilities such as word comprehension. Previous neuroimaging evidence indicates that concepts are at least partly composed of perceptual and motor features that are represented in the same modality-specific brain regions involved in actual perception and action. However, it is unclear to what extent the retrieval of perceptual-motor features and the resulting engagement of modality-specific regions depend on the concurrent task. To address this issue, we measured brain activity in 40 young and healthy participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging, while they performed three different tasks-lexical decision, sound judgment, and action judgment-on words that independently varied in their association with sounds and actions. We found neural activation for sound and action features of concepts selectively when they were task-relevant in brain regions also activated during auditory and motor tasks, respectively, as well as in higher-level, multimodal regions which were recruited during both sound and action feature retrieval. For the first time, we show that not only modality-specific perceptual-motor areas but also multimodal regions are engaged in conceptual processing in a flexible, task-dependent fashion, responding selectively to task-relevant conceptual features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Kuhnke
- Lise Meitner Research Group ‘Cognition and Plasticity’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neuropsychology, Research Group ‘Modulation of Language Networks’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075 Ulm, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group ‘Cognition and Plasticity’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neuropsychology, Research Group ‘Modulation of Language Networks’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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16
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Riccardi N, Yourganov G, Rorden C, Fridriksson J, Desai R. Degradation of Praxis Brain Networks and Impaired Comprehension of Manipulable Nouns in Stroke. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:467-483. [PMID: 31682566 PMCID: PMC10274171 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Distributed brain systems contribute to representation of semantic knowledge. Whether sensory and motor systems of the brain are causally involved in representing conceptual knowledge is an especially controversial question. Here, we tested 57 chronic left-hemisphere stroke patients using a semantic similarity judgment task consisting of manipulable and nonmanipulable nouns. Three complementary methods were used to assess the neuroanatomical correlates of semantic processing: voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping, resting-state functional connectivity, and gray matter fractional anisotropy. The three measures provided converging evidence that injury to the brain networks required for action observation, execution, planning, and visuomotor coordination are associated with specific deficits in manipulable noun comprehension relative to nonmanipulable items. Damage or disrupted connectivity of areas such as the middle posterior temporal gyrus, anterior inferior parietal lobe, and premotor cortex was related specifically to the impairment of manipulable noun comprehension. These results suggest that praxis brain networks contribute especially to the comprehension of manipulable object nouns.
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17
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Vannuscorps G, Caramazza A. Conceptual processing of action verbs with and without motor representations. Cogn Neuropsychol 2020; 36:301-312. [DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1732319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vannuscorps
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Alfonso Caramazza
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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18
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Luo C, Hu N, Xiao Y, Zhang W, Gong Q, Lui S. Comparison of Gray Matter Atrophy in Behavioral Variant Frontal Temporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:14. [PMID: 32116647 PMCID: PMC7026505 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: There is growing evidence supporting behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as extreme points of a disease spectrum. The aim of this study was to delineate the common and different patterns of gray matter atrophy associated with bvFTD and with ALS by pooling together the results of previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies. Methods: We retrieved VBM studies that investigated gray matter atrophy in bvFTD patients vs. controls and in ALS patients vs. controls. Stereotactic data were extracted from those studies and subsequently tested for convergence and differences using activation likelihood estimation (ALE). A behavioral analysis using the BrainMap database was performed to assess the functional roles of the regions affected by bvFTD and/or ALS. Results: Our study demonstrated a convergence of gray matter atrophy in the frontolimbic structures that involve the bilateral anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex. Comparing the pattern of GM atrophy in bvFTD and ALS patients revealed greater atrophy in the frontomedial cortex, bilateral caudate, left anterior insula, and right thalamus in those with bvFTD and a higher degree of atrophy in the right motor cortex of those with ALS. Behavioral analysis revealed that the pattern of the affected regions contributed to the dysfunction of emotional and cognitive processing in bvFTD patients and the dysfunction of motor execution in ALS patients. Conclusion: Our results revealed a shared neural basis between bvFTD and ALS subjects, as well as a specific and distinct neural signature that underpinned the clinical manifestations of those two diseases. Those findings outlined the role of the frontomedial-caudate circuit in the development of bvFTD-like deficits in ALS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunyan Luo
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Na Hu
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuan Xiao
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Wenjing Zhang
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Su Lui
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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19
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Farina E, Borgnis F, Pozzo T. Mirror neurons and their relationship with neurodegenerative disorders. J Neurosci Res 2020; 98:1070-1094. [DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thierry Pozzo
- INSERM UMR1093‐CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche‐Comté Dijon France
- IT@UniFe Center for Translational Neurophysiology Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Ferrara Italy
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20
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Riccardi N, Yourganov G, Rorden C, Fridriksson J, Desai RH. Dissociating action and abstract verb comprehension post-stroke. Cortex 2019; 120:131-146. [PMID: 31302507 PMCID: PMC6825884 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The neural bases of action and abstract concept representations remain a topic of debate. While several lines of research provide evidence for grounding of action-related conceptual content into sensory-motor systems, results of traditional lesion-deficit studies have been somewhat inconsistent. Further, few studies have directly compared the neural substrates of action and relatively abstract verb comprehension post-stroke. Here, we investigated the impact of the disruption of two neural networks on comprehension of action and relatively abstract verbs in 48 unilateral left-hemisphere stroke patients using two methodologies: 1) lesion-deficit association and 2) resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses. Disruption of RSFC between the left inferior frontal gyrus and right hemisphere primary and secondary sensory-motor areas predicted greater relative impairment of action semantics. Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping revealed that damage to frontal white matter, extending towards the inferior frontal gyrus, also predicted greater relative impairment of action semantics. On the other hand, damage to the left anterior middle temporal gyrus significantly impaired the more abstract category relative to action. These findings support the view that action and non-action/abstract semantic processing rely on partially dissociable brain networks, with action concepts relying more heavily on sensory-motor areas. The results also have wider implications for lesion-deficit association studies and show how the contralateral hemisphere can play a compensatory role following unilateral stroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Riccardi
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Grigori Yourganov
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Chris Rorden
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Julius Fridriksson
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Rutvik H Desai
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA; Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
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21
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Pérez M, Amayra I, Martínez O, Lázaro E, López-Paz JF, García M, Berrocoso S, Al-Rashaida M, Rodríguez Bermejo AA, Luna PM, Varona Franco L. Signal-detection analysis of the WMS faces subtest: Results in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-ADULT 2019; 28:607-613. [PMID: 31612730 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2019.1676243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
About 30% of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suffer from cognitive impairment and 10-15% suffer from frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Due to the patients' reduced motor function, a neuropsychological assessment with a low motor demand can be an advantage when evaluating patients, aiding its application. The present work has studied the usefulness of the Faces subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale in 42 patients with ALS and 42 healthy volunteers applying Holdnack's Two-High Threshold model. The ALS group performed significantly worse in immediate and delayed discriminability. With respect to the presence of cognitive impairment, it seemed to be independent of the indexes proposed by Holdnack and Delis. On the other hand, motor problems were associated with delayed recognition while behavior alterations were linked to problems with delayed discriminability. ALS patients do not express differences in the bias index, in line with other types of previously studied pathologies.
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22
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Barulli MR, Piccininni M, Di Dio C, Musarò C, Grasso A, Tursi M, Iurillo A, Lozupone M, Capozzo R, Tortelli R, Simone IL, Panza F, Logroscino G. Episodic memory and learning rates in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis without dementia. Cortex 2019; 117:257-265. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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23
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Akinina Y, Dragoy O, Ivanova MV, Iskra EV, Soloukhina OA, Petryshevsky AG, Fedinа ON, Turken AU, Shklovsky VM, Dronkers NF. Grey and white matter substrates of action naming. Neuropsychologia 2019; 131:249-265. [PMID: 31129278 PMCID: PMC6650369 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Despite a persistent interest in verb processing, data on the neural underpinnings of verb retrieval are fragmentary. The present study is the first to analyze the contributions of both grey and white matter damage affecting verb retrieval through action naming in stroke. We used voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) with an action naming task in 40 left-hemisphere stroke patients. Within the grey matter, we revealed the critical involvement of the left precentral and inferior frontal gyri, insula, and parts of basal ganglia. An overlay of white matter tract probability masks on the VLSM lesion map revealed involvement of left-hemisphere long and short association tracts with terminations in the frontal areas; and several projection tracts. The involvement of these structures is interpreted in the light of existing picture naming models, semantic control processes, and the embodiment cognition framework. Our results stress the importance of both cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical networks of language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Akinina
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Center for Language and Brain, 21/4 Staraya Basmannaya Street, Office 510, 105066, Moscow, Russia; University of Groningen, Graduate School for the Humanities, P.O. Box 716, NL-9700, AS Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - O Dragoy
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Center for Language and Brain, 21/4 Staraya Basmannaya Street, Office 510, 105066, Moscow, Russia; Federal Center for Cerebrovascular Pathology and Stroke, Department of Medical Rehabilitation, 1/10 Ostrovityanova Street, 117342, Moscow, Russia
| | - M V Ivanova
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Center for Language and Brain, 21/4 Staraya Basmannaya Street, Office 510, 105066, Moscow, Russia; University of California, Berkeley, Dept. of Psychology, 2121 Berkeley Way, 94704, Berkeley, CA, USA; Center for Aphasia and Related Disorders, VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Road 126R, 94553, Martinez, CA, USA
| | - E V Iskra
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Center for Language and Brain, 21/4 Staraya Basmannaya Street, Office 510, 105066, Moscow, Russia; Center for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation, 20 Nikoloyamskaya Street, 109240, Moscow, Russia
| | - O A Soloukhina
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Center for Language and Brain, 21/4 Staraya Basmannaya Street, Office 510, 105066, Moscow, Russia
| | - A G Petryshevsky
- Center for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation, 20 Nikoloyamskaya Street, 109240, Moscow, Russia
| | - O N Fedinа
- Center for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation, 20 Nikoloyamskaya Street, 109240, Moscow, Russia; Medicine and Nuclear Technology Ltd., 1/133 Akademika Kurchatova Street, 123182, Moscow, Russia
| | - A U Turken
- Center for Aphasia and Related Disorders, VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Road 126R, 94553, Martinez, CA, USA
| | - V M Shklovsky
- Center for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation, 20 Nikoloyamskaya Street, 109240, Moscow, Russia
| | - N F Dronkers
- University of California, Berkeley, Dept. of Psychology, 2121 Berkeley Way, 94704, Berkeley, CA, USA; Center for Aphasia and Related Disorders, VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Road 126R, 94553, Martinez, CA, USA; University of California, Davis, Dept. of Neurology, Sacramento, CA, USA
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24
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Connectivity-based characterisation of subcortical grey matter pathology in frontotemporal dementia and ALS: a multimodal neuroimaging study. Brain Imaging Behav 2019; 12:1696-1707. [PMID: 29423814 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-018-9837-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) phenotypes have distinctive and well-established cortical signatures, but their subcortical grey matter profiles are poorly characterised. The comprehensive characterisation of striatal and thalamic pathology along the ALS-FTD spectrum is particularly timely, as dysfunction of frontostriatal and cortico-thalamic networks contribute to phenotype-defining cognitive, behavioral, and motor deficits. Ten patients with behavioral-variant FTD, 11 patients with non-fluent-variant primary progressive aphasia, 5 patients with semantic-variant primary progressive aphasia, 14 ALS-FTD patients with C9orf72 hexanucleotide expansions, 12 ALS-FTD patients without hexanucleotide repeats, 36 ALS patients without cognitive impairment and 50 healthy controls were included in a prospective neuroimaging study. Striatal, thalamic, hippocampal and amygdala pathology was evaluated using volume measurements, density analyses and connectivity-based segmentation. Significant volume reductions were identified in the thalamus and putamen of non-fluent-variant PPA patients. Marked nucleus accumbens and hippocampal atrophy was observed in the behavioral-variant FTD cohort. Semantic-variant PPA patients only exhibited volumetric changes in the left hippocampus. C9-positive ALS-FTD patients showed preferential density reductions in thalamic sub-regions connected to motor and sensory cortical areas. C9-negative ALS-FTD patients exhibited striatal pathology in sub-regions projecting to rostral-motor and executive cortical areas. The bulk of striatal and thalamic pathology in non-fluent-variant PPA patients was identified in foci projecting to motor areas. Subcortical density alterations in svPPA patients were limited to basal ganglia regions with parietal projections. Striatal and thalamic changes in FTD exhibit selective, network-defined vulnerability patterns mirroring cortical pathology. Multi-modal cortico-basal imaging analyses confirm that the subcortical grey matter profiles of FTD phenotypes are just as distinct as their cortical signatures. Our findings support emerging concepts of network-wise degeneration, preferential circuit vulnerability and disease propagation along connectivity patterns.
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25
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Reilly M, Howerton O, Desai RH. Time-Course of Motor Involvement in Literal and Metaphoric Action Sentence Processing: A TMS Study. Front Psychol 2019; 10:371. [PMID: 30863346 PMCID: PMC6399124 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
There is evidence that the motor cortex is involved in reading sentences containing an action verb ("The spike was hammered into the ground") as well as metaphoric sentences ("The army was hammered in the battle"). Verbs such as 'hammered' may be homonyms, with separate meanings belonging to the literal action and metaphoric action, or they may be polysemous, with the metaphoric sense grounded in the literal sense. We investigated the time course of the effects of single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to primary motor cortex on literal and metaphoric sentence comprehension. Stimulation 300 ms post-verb presentation impaired comprehension of both literal and metaphoric sentences, supporting a causal role of sensory-motor areas in comprehension. Results suggest that the literal meaning of an action verb remains activated during metaphor comprehension, even after the temporal window of homonym disambiguation. This suggests that such verbs are polysemous, and both senses are related and grounded in motor cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Reilly
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Olivia Howerton
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Rutvik H. Desai
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
- Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
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26
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Ye S, Rosenbohm A, Böhm S, Uttner I, Ji Y, Ludolph AC, Lulé D, Fan D. Cognitive and behavioral impairments in German and Chinese ALS populations - a post-hoc comparison of national study data. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2018; 20:28-36. [PMID: 30472897 DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2018.1542535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to clarify whether differences between German and Chinese studies using the standardized Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS), might be explained by differences in translated versions of ECAS, by patient demographic or clinical characteristics or by population-specific factors. Comparisons were performed on data from two previous studies in Germany and China. We found except for spelling task (p = 0.05), no differences between control groups of two countries were detected after adjusting for demographics. In contrast, differences were observed in scores on total ECAS, ALS-specific function such as different executive functions (all p < 0.01) and language (p = 0.02), even after correcting for demographic and clinical variables. Chinese ALS cohort performed worse in executive subfunction scores for sentence completion, alternation, social cognition, digit span and language comprehension; they performed better in spelling. Chinese ALS cohort more frequently exhibited disinhibition (p = 0.02), whereas German cohort more frequently exhibited loss of sympathy (p = 0.01) and stereotyped behavior (p = 0.03). Chinese and German ALS cohorts showed a distinctly different pattern in executive and language function. Most of the differences might be related to distinct differences between populations as only spelling might be affected by different language versions of ECAS. Socio-cultural factors might explain behavioral profile differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Ye
- a Department of Neurology , Peking University Third Hospital , Beijing , China
| | | | - Sarah Böhm
- b Department of Neurology , University of Ulm , Ulm , Germany
| | - Ingo Uttner
- b Department of Neurology , University of Ulm , Ulm , Germany
| | - Ying Ji
- a Department of Neurology , Peking University Third Hospital , Beijing , China
| | | | - Dorothée Lulé
- b Department of Neurology , University of Ulm , Ulm , Germany
| | - Dongsheng Fan
- a Department of Neurology , Peking University Third Hospital , Beijing , China.,c Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health & Commission , Peking University , Beijing , China
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27
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Christidi F, Karavasilis E, Rentzos M, Kelekis N, Evdokimidis I, Bede P. Clinical and Radiological Markers of Extra-Motor Deficits in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Front Neurol 2018; 9:1005. [PMID: 30524366 PMCID: PMC6262087 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.01005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is now universally recognized as a complex multisystem disorder with considerable extra-motor involvement. The neuropsychological manifestations of frontotemporal, parietal, and basal ganglia involvement in ALS have important implications for compliance with assistive devices, survival, participation in clinical trials, caregiver burden, and the management of individual care needs. Recent advances in neuroimaging have been instrumental in characterizing the biological substrate of heterogeneous cognitive and behavioral deficits in ALS. In this review we discuss the clinical and radiological aspects of cognitive and behavioral impairment in ALS focusing on the recognition, assessment, and monitoring of these symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Foteini Christidi
- First Department of Neurology, Aeginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Efstratios Karavasilis
- Second Department of Radiology, University General Hospital Attikon, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Michail Rentzos
- First Department of Neurology, Aeginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos Kelekis
- Second Department of Radiology, University General Hospital Attikon, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Ioannis Evdokimidis
- First Department of Neurology, Aeginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Peter Bede
- Computational Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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28
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Woolley SC, Rush BK. Considerations for Clinical Neuropsychological Evaluation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2018; 32:906-916. [PMID: 29028904 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acx089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The clinical neuropsychologist has the opportunity to be uniquely involved in the evaluation and treatment of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We review the current literature that defines cognitive and behavioral symptoms in ALS, including current knowledge of the neuropathological and genetic underpinning for these symptoms. There are unique considerations for clinical neuropsychological evaluation and clinical research in ALS and we highlight these in this review. Specifically, we shed light on special factors that contribute to our understanding of cognitive and behavioral impairment in ALS, including co-morbid symptoms, differential diagnosis, and considerations for longitudinal tracking of phenotypes. We discuss the rationale for proposing a specific approach to such as cognitive screening, test selection, response modality consideration, and test-retest intervals. With this didactic overview, the clinical neuropsychologist has the potential to learn more about the heterogeneous presentation of motor and neuropsychological symptoms in ALS. Furthermore, the reader has the opportunity to understand what it takes to develop a valid assessment approach particularly when the phenotype of ALS remains undefined in some regards. This clinical practice review sets the stage for the clinical neuropsychologist to further contribute to our clinical and scientific understanding of ALS and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Beth K Rush
- Mayo Clinic Florida, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
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29
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Consonni M, Contarino VE, Catricalà E, Dalla Bella E, Pensato V, Gellera C, Lauria G, Cappa SF. Cortical markers of cognitive syndromes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 19:675-682. [PMID: 30023173 PMCID: PMC6046611 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2017] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can be associated with a spectrum of cognitive and behavioural symptoms, but the related patterns of focal cortical atrophy in non-demented ALS patients remain largely unknown. We enrolled 48 non-demented ALS patients and 26 healthy controls for a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment and a magnetic resonance exam. Behavioural and cognitive impairment was defined on the basis of a data-driven multi-domain approach in 21 ALS patients. Averaged cortical thickness of 74 bilateral brain regions was used as a measure of cortical atrophy. Cortical thinning in a fronto-parietal network, suggesting a disease-specific pattern of neurodegeneration, was present in all patients, independent of cognitive and behavioural status. Between-group and correlational analyses revealed that inferior frontal, temporal, cingular and insular thinning are markers for cognitive and behavioural deficits, with language impairment mainly related to left temporal pole and insular involvement. These specific correlates support the concept of a spectrum of deficits, with an overlap between the ALS cognitive phenotypes and the syndromes of frontotemporal dementia. Language, social cognition and executive dysfunctions are frequent symptoms in ALS. Fronto-parietal cortical thinning is present in non-demented ALS patients. Temporal, cingular and insular thinning are markers for cognitive impairment in ALS. Left temporal pole and insular thinning is linked to language impairment in ALS.
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Key Words
- ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- ALSbi, ALS with mild behavioural impairment
- ALSci, ALS with mild cognitive impairment
- ALScn, cognitively-normal ALS
- ALSimp, ALS with cognitive and/or behavioural impairment
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- C9+ ALS, ALS harbouring C9orf72 repeat expansion
- C9– ALS, ALS without C9orf repeat expansion
- CT, cortical thickness
- Cognitive impairment
- Cognitive profiles
- Cortical thickness
- FTD, frontotemporal dementia
- GM, grey matter
- HC, healthy control
- MD, multi-domain
- Temporal lobe
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Consonni
- 3rd Neurology Unit and Motor Neuron Diseases Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy.
| | - Valeria E Contarino
- Neuroradiology Unit, IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Eleonora Catricalà
- Institute for Advanced Study-IUSS Pavia, Palazzo del Broletto e Piazza Vittoria 15, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Eleonora Dalla Bella
- 3rd Neurology Unit and Motor Neuron Diseases Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Viviana Pensato
- Genetics of Neurodegenerative and Metabolic Diseases Unit and Motor Neuron Diseases Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, IRCCS Foundation 'Carlo Besta' Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Cinzia Gellera
- Genetics of Neurodegenerative and Metabolic Diseases Unit and Motor Neuron Diseases Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, IRCCS Foundation 'Carlo Besta' Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Lauria
- 3rd Neurology Unit and Motor Neuron Diseases Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "Luigi Sacco", University of Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano F Cappa
- Institute for Advanced Study-IUSS Pavia, Palazzo del Broletto e Piazza Vittoria 15, 27100 Pavia, Italy; IRCCS S. Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, via Pilastroni 4, 25125 Brescia, Italy
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30
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Pinto-Grau M, Hardiman O, Pender N. The Study of Language in the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Frontotemporal Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review of Findings and New Perspectives. Neuropsychol Rev 2018; 28:251-268. [DOI: 10.1007/s11065-018-9375-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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31
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Cognitive phenotypes of sequential staging in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Cortex 2018; 101:163-171. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Revised: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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32
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Zhang Y, Wang K, Yue C, Mo N, Wu D, Wen X, Qiu J. The motor features of action verbs: fMRI evidence using picture naming. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2018; 179:22-32. [PMID: 29501856 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 12/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The processing disadvantage of verbs compared to nouns and the greater vulnerability of verbs in brain damage have been ascribed to greater processing demands of morpho-syntactical or/and semantic properties for verbs, or/and visual complexity in picture-naming studies. Using picture naming, the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined the neural substrates underlying the semantic distinction between nouns and verbs. Under forced (externally-elicited) or free (internally-motivated) conditions, participants named a set of pictorial stimuli as objects or actions performed on/with the objects in Chinese. Use of a language with impoverished inflectional morphology (i.e., Chinese) and the same set of pictures for naming objects and actions allows for the control of both morpho-syntactical and visual confounds. The results revealed specific neural correlates for action verbs in the cortical-subcortical motor system, irrespective of the naming conditions. Plausible accounts for the motor aspects of action-verb processing were interpreted basically on a semantic basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Zhang
- School of Foreign Languages, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing 401120, China; College of International Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Center for Legal Language, Culture and Translation Studies, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing 401120, China
| | - Kangcheng Wang
- School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Chang Yue
- School of Foreign Languages, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing 401120, China
| | - Nina Mo
- Research Center for Language, Cognition and Language Application, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Deping Wu
- Graduate School, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing 400031, China
| | - Xu Wen
- College of International Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
| | - Jiang Qiu
- School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
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Moseley RL, Pulvermüller F. What can autism teach us about the role of sensorimotor systems in higher cognition? New clues from studies on language, action semantics, and abstract emotional concept processing. Cortex 2018; 100:149-190. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 05/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Abstract
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) refers to a disorder of declining language associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal degeneration and Alzheimer disease. Variants of PPA are important to recognize from a medical perspective because these syndromes are clinical markers suggesting specific underlying pathology. In this review, I discuss linguistic aspects of PPA syndromes that may prove informative for parsing our language mechanism and identifying the neural representation of fundamental elements of language. I focus on the representation of word meaning in a discussion of semantic variant PPA, grammatical comprehension and expression in a discussion of nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA, the supporting role of short-term memory in a discussion of logopenic variant PPA, and components of language associated with discourse in a discussion of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. PPA provides a novel perspective that uniquely addresses facets of language and its disorders while complementing traditional aphasia syndromes that follow stroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murray Grossman
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center and Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
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35
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Cousins KAQ, Ash S, Grossman M. Production of verbs related to body movement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's Disease (PD). Cortex 2017; 100:127-139. [PMID: 28969902 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Theories of grounded cognition propose that action verb knowledge relies in part on motor processing regions, including premotor cortex. Accordingly, impaired action verb knowledge in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) is thought to be due to motor system degeneration. Upper motor neuron disease in ALS degrades the motor cortex and related pyramidal motor system, while disease in PD is centered in the basal ganglia and can spread to frontostriatal areas that are important to language functioning. These anatomical distinctions in disease may yield subtle differences in the action verb impairment between patient groups. Here we compare verbs where the body is the agent of the action to verbs where the body is the theme. To examine the role of motor functioning in body verb production, we split patient groups into patients with high motor impairment (HMI) and those with low motor impairment (LMI), using disease-specific measures of motor impairment. Regression analyses assessed how verb production in ALS and PD was related to motor system atrophy. We find a dissociation between agent- and theme-body verbs in ALS: ALS HMI were impaired for agent body verbs but not theme verbs, compared to ALS LMI. This dissociation was not present in PD patients, who instead show depressed production for all body verbs. Although patients with cognitive impairment were excluded from this study, cognitive performance significantly correlated with the production of theme verbs in ALS and cognitive/stative verbs in PD. Finally, regression analyses related the agent-theme dissociation in ALS to grey matter atrophy of premotor cortex. These findings support the view that motor dysfunction and disease in premotor cortex contributes to the agent body verb deficit in ALS, and begin to identify some distinct characteristics of impairment for verbs in ALS and PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katheryn A Q Cousins
- Department of Neurology and Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
| | - Sharon Ash
- Department of Neurology and Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Murray Grossman
- Department of Neurology and Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
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36
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Abstract
We live our lives surrounded by symbols (e.g., road signs, logos, but especially words and numbers), and throughout our life we use them to evoke, communicate and reflect upon ideas and things that are not currently present to our senses. Symbols are represented in our brains at different levels of complexity: at the first and most simple level, as physical entities, in the corresponding primary and secondary sensory cortices. The crucial property of symbols, however, is that, despite the simplicity of their surface forms, they have the power of evoking higher order multifaceted representations that are implemented in distributed neural networks spanning a large portion of the cortex. The rich internal states that reflect our knowledge of the meaning of symbols are what we call semantic representations. In this review paper, we summarize our current knowledge of both the cognitive and neural substrates of semantic representations, focusing on concrete words (i.e., nouns or verbs referring to concrete objects and actions), which, together with numbers, are the most-studied and well defined classes of symbols. Following a systematic descriptive approach, we will organize this literature review around two key questions: what is the content of semantic representations? And, how are semantic representations implemented in the brain, in terms of localization and dynamics? While highlighting the main current opposing perspectives on these topics, we propose that a fruitful way to make substantial progress in this domain would be to adopt a geometrical view of semantic representations as points in high dimensional space, and to operationally partition the space of concrete word meaning into motor-perceptual and conceptual dimensions. By giving concrete examples of the kinds of research that can be done within this perspective, we illustrate how we believe this framework will foster theoretical speculations as well as empirical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Borghesani
- École Doctorale Cerveau-Cognition-Comportement, Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6, 75005 Paris, France; Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U992, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Manuela Piazza
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U992, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
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37
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Cosentino E, Baggio G, Kontinen J, Werning M. The Time-Course of Sentence Meaning Composition. N400 Effects of the Interaction between Context-Induced and Lexically Stored Affordances. Front Psychol 2017; 8:813. [PMID: 28603506 PMCID: PMC5445161 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Contemporary semantic theories can be classified along two dimensions: (i) the way and time-course in which contextual factors influence sentence truth-conditions; and (ii) whether and to what extent comprehension involves sensory, motor and emotional processes. In order to explore this theoretical space, our ERP study investigates the time-course of the interaction between the lexically specified telic component of a noun (the function of the object to which the noun refers to, e.g., a funnel is generally used to pour liquids into containers) and an ad-hoc affordance contextually induced by the situation described in the discourse. We found that, if preceded by a neutral discourse context, a verb incongruent with the noun's telic component as in “She uses the funnel to hang her coat” elicited an enhanced N400 compared to a congruent verb as in “She uses the funnel to pour water into a container.” However, if the situation introduced in the preceding discourse induced a new function for the object as an ad-hoc affordance (e.g., the funnel is glued to the wall and the agent wants to hang the coat), we observed a crossing-over regarding the direction of the N400 effect: comparing the ad-hoc affordance-inducing context with the neutral context, the N400 for the incongruent verb was significantly reduced, whereas the N400 for the congruent verb was significantly enhanced. We explain these results as a consequence of the incorporation of the contextually triggered ad-hoc affordance into the meaning of the noun. Combining these results with an analysis of semantic similarity values between test sentences and contexts, we argue that one possibility is that the incorporation of an ad-hoc affordance may be explained on the basis of the mental simulation of concurrent motor information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Cosentino
- Institute of Philosophy II, Ruhr University of BochumBochum, Germany
- *Correspondence: Erica Cosentino
| | - Giosuè Baggio
- Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheim, Norway
| | - Jarmo Kontinen
- Institute of Philosophy II, Ruhr University of BochumBochum, Germany
| | - Markus Werning
- Institute of Philosophy II, Ruhr University of BochumBochum, Germany
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38
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Strong MJ, Abrahams S, Goldstein LH, Woolley S, Mclaughlin P, Snowden J, Mioshi E, Roberts-South A, Benatar M, HortobáGyi T, Rosenfeld J, Silani V, Ince PG, Turner MR. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - frontotemporal spectrum disorder (ALS-FTSD): Revised diagnostic criteria. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2017; 18:153-174. [PMID: 28054827 DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2016.1267768.amyotrophic] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
This article presents the revised consensus criteria for the diagnosis of frontotemporal dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) based on an international research workshop on frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and ALS held in London, Canada in June 2015. Since the publication of the Strong criteria, there have been considerable advances in the understanding of the neuropsychological profile of patients with ALS. Not only is the breadth and depth of neuropsychological findings broader than previously recognised - - including deficits in social cognition and language - but mixed deficits may also occur. Evidence now shows that the neuropsychological deficits in ALS are extremely heterogeneous, affecting over 50% of persons with ALS. When present, these deficits significantly and adversely impact patient survival. It is the recognition of this clinical heterogeneity in association with neuroimaging, genetic and neuropathological advances that has led to the current re-conceptualisation that neuropsychological deficits in ALS fall along a spectrum. These revised consensus criteria expand upon those of 2009 and embrace the concept of the frontotemporal spectrum disorder of ALS (ALS-FTSD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Strong
- a Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry , London , Ontario , Canada
| | - Sharon Abrahams
- b Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences , Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh , UK
| | - Laura H Goldstein
- c King's College London, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience , London , UK
| | - Susan Woolley
- d Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research Centre, California Pacific Medical Centre , San Francisco , CA , USA
| | - Paula Mclaughlin
- e Western University , Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry , London , ON , Canada
| | - Julie Snowden
- f Greater Manchester Neuroscience Centre , Salford Royal NHS Trust and University of Manchester , Manchester , UK
| | - Eneida Mioshi
- g Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences , University of East Anglia , Norwich , UK
| | - Angie Roberts-South
- h Northwestern University , Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders , Evanston , IL , USA
| | - Michael Benatar
- i Department of Neurology , University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami , FL , USA
| | - Tibor HortobáGyi
- j Department of Neuropathology , Institute of Pathology, University of Debrecen , Debrecen , Hungary
| | - Jeffrey Rosenfeld
- k Department of Neurology , Loma Linda University School of Medicine , Loma Linda , CA , USA
| | - Vincenzo Silani
- l Department of Neurology and Laboratory Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation , 'Dino Ferrari' Centre, Università degli Studi di Milano , Milan , Italy
| | - Paul G Ince
- m Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience , The University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK , and
| | - Martin R Turner
- n Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences , University of Oxford , Oxford , UK
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39
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Strong MJ, Abrahams S, Goldstein LH, Woolley S, Mclaughlin P, Snowden J, Mioshi E, Roberts-South A, Benatar M, HortobáGyi T, Rosenfeld J, Silani V, Ince PG, Turner MR. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - frontotemporal spectrum disorder (ALS-FTSD): Revised diagnostic criteria. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2017; 18:153-174. [PMID: 28054827 PMCID: PMC7409990 DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2016.1267768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 557] [Impact Index Per Article: 79.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2016] [Revised: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This article presents the revised consensus criteria for the diagnosis of frontotemporal dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) based on an international research workshop on frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and ALS held in London, Canada in June 2015. Since the publication of the Strong criteria, there have been considerable advances in the understanding of the neuropsychological profile of patients with ALS. Not only is the breadth and depth of neuropsychological findings broader than previously recognised - - including deficits in social cognition and language - but mixed deficits may also occur. Evidence now shows that the neuropsychological deficits in ALS are extremely heterogeneous, affecting over 50% of persons with ALS. When present, these deficits significantly and adversely impact patient survival. It is the recognition of this clinical heterogeneity in association with neuroimaging, genetic and neuropathological advances that has led to the current re-conceptualisation that neuropsychological deficits in ALS fall along a spectrum. These revised consensus criteria expand upon those of 2009 and embrace the concept of the frontotemporal spectrum disorder of ALS (ALS-FTSD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Strong
- a Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry , London , Ontario , Canada
| | - Sharon Abrahams
- b Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences , Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh , UK
| | - Laura H Goldstein
- c King's College London, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience , London , UK
| | - Susan Woolley
- d Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research Centre, California Pacific Medical Centre , San Francisco , CA , USA
| | - Paula Mclaughlin
- e Western University , Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry , London , ON , Canada
| | - Julie Snowden
- f Greater Manchester Neuroscience Centre , Salford Royal NHS Trust and University of Manchester , Manchester , UK
| | - Eneida Mioshi
- g Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences , University of East Anglia , Norwich , UK
| | - Angie Roberts-South
- h Northwestern University , Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders , Evanston , IL , USA
| | - Michael Benatar
- i Department of Neurology , University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami , FL , USA
| | - Tibor HortobáGyi
- j Department of Neuropathology , Institute of Pathology, University of Debrecen , Debrecen , Hungary
| | - Jeffrey Rosenfeld
- k Department of Neurology , Loma Linda University School of Medicine , Loma Linda , CA , USA
| | - Vincenzo Silani
- l Department of Neurology and Laboratory Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation , 'Dino Ferrari' Centre, Università degli Studi di Milano , Milan , Italy
| | - Paul G Ince
- m Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience , The University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK , and
| | - Martin R Turner
- n Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences , University of Oxford , Oxford , UK
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40
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Mirabella G, Del Signore S, Lakens D, Averna R, Penge R, Capozzi F. Developmental Coordination Disorder Affects the Processing of Action-Related Verbs. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 10:661. [PMID: 28119585 PMCID: PMC5222863 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Processing action-language affects the planning and execution of motor acts, which suggests that the motor system might be involved in action-language understanding. However, this claim is hotly debated. For the first time, we compared the processing of action-verbs in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a disease that specifically affects the motor system, with children with a typical development (TD). We administered two versions of a go/no-go task in which verbs expressing either hand, foot or abstract actions were presented. We found that only when the semantic content of a verb has to be retrieved, TD children showed an increase in reaction times if the verb involved the same effector used to give the response. In contrast, DCD patients did not show any difference between verb categories irrespective of the task. These findings suggest that the pathological functioning of the motor system in individuals with DCD also affects language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Mirabella
- Department of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, University of Rome "Sapienza"Rome, Italy; IRCCS Neuromed HospitalPozzilli, Italy
| | - Sara Del Signore
- Department of Pediatrics and Neuropsichiatry of Children and Adolescents, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy
| | - Daniel Lakens
- School of Innovation Sciences, Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven Netherlands
| | - Roberto Averna
- Department of Pediatrics and Neuropsichiatry of Children and Adolescents, University of Rome "Sapienza"Rome, Italy; IRCCS Children Hospital Bambino GesùRome, Italy
| | - Roberta Penge
- Department of Pediatrics and Neuropsichiatry of Children and Adolescents, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Capozzi
- Department of Pediatrics and Neuropsichiatry of Children and Adolescents, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy
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Flaherty C, Kraft J, Brothers A, Harrison M, Legro R, Manni A, Yang C, Simmons Z. The relationship between oestrogen and executive functioning in ALS females with emerging Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) supports a neuroendocrine model of FTLD attenuation. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2016; 18:74-85. [DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2016.1249487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Flaherty
- Department of Neurology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA,
| | - J. Kraft
- Department of Psychology, Penn State University, Middletown, PA, USA,
| | - A. Brothers
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA,
| | - M. Harrison
- Department of Psychology, Penn State University, Middletown, PA, USA,
| | - R.S. Legro
- Department of OB/GYN, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA,
| | - A. Manni
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA, and
| | - C. Yang
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Z. Simmons
- Department of Neurology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA,
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Alshikho MJ, Zürcher NR, Loggia ML, Cernasov P, Chonde DB, Izquierdo Garcia D, Yasek JE, Akeju O, Catana C, Rosen BR, Cudkowicz ME, Hooker JM, Atassi N. Glial activation colocalizes with structural abnormalities in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurology 2016; 87:2554-2561. [PMID: 27837005 PMCID: PMC5207001 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000003427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2016] [Accepted: 08/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to evaluate brain structural abnormalities in relation to glial activation in the same cohort of participants. Methods: Ten individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 10 matched healthy controls underwent brain imaging using integrated MR/PET and the radioligand [11C]-PBR28. Diagnosis history and clinical assessments including Upper Motor Neuron Burden Scale (UMNB) were obtained from patients with ALS. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses including tract-based spatial statistics and tractography were applied. DTI metrics including fractional anisotropy (FA) and diffusivities (mean, axial, and radial) were measured in regions of interest. Cortical thickness was assessed using surface-based analysis. The locations of structural changes, measured by DTI and the areas of cortical thinning, were compared to regional glial activation measured by relative [11C]-PBR28 uptake. Results: In this cohort of individuals with ALS, reduced FA and cortical thinning colocalized with regions demonstrating higher radioligand binding. [11C]-PBR28 binding in the left motor cortex was correlated with FA (r = −0.68, p < 0.05) and cortical thickness (r = −0.75, p < 0.05). UMNB was correlated with glial activation (r = +0.75, p < 0.05), FA (r = −0.77, p < 0.05), and cortical thickness (r = −0.75, p < 0.05) in the motor cortex. Conclusions: Increased uptake of the glial marker [11C]-PBR28 colocalizes with changes in FA and cortical thinning. This suggests a link between disease mechanisms (gliosis and inflammation) and structural changes (cortical thinning and white and gray matter changes). In this multimodal neuroimaging work, we provide an in vivo model to investigate the pathogenesis of ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad J Alshikho
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Nicole R Zürcher
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Marco L Loggia
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Paul Cernasov
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Daniel B Chonde
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - David Izquierdo Garcia
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Julia E Yasek
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Oluwaseun Akeju
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Ciprian Catana
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Bruce R Rosen
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Merit E Cudkowicz
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown
| | - Jacob M Hooker
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown.
| | - Nazem Atassi
- From A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology (M.J.A., N.R.Z., M.L.L., D.B.C., D.I.G., C.C., B.R.R., J.M.H.), Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Department of Neurology (M.J.A., P.C., J.E.Y., M.E.C., N.A.), and Department of Anesthesiology (O.A.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown.
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Baggio G, Granello G, Verriello L, Eleopra R. Formal Semantics in the Neurology Clinic: Atypical Understanding of Aspectual Coercion in ALS Patients. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1733. [PMID: 27867369 PMCID: PMC5095610 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2016] [Accepted: 10/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of the motor system with subtle adverse effects on cognition. It is still unclear whether ALS also affects language and semantics, and if so, what aspects and processes exactly. We investigated how ALS patients understand verb phrases modified by temporal preposition phrases, e.g., "To watch TV for half an hour." Interpretation here requires operations such as aspectual coercion that add or delete elements from event structures, depending on temporal modifiers, and constraints on coercion, which make combinations with certain modifiers not viable. Using a theoretically-motivated experimental design, we observed that acceptance rates for aspectual coercion were abnormally high in ALS patients. The effect was largest for the more complex cases of coercion: not those that involve enrichment of event structures ("To switch on the TV in half an hour," where a number of failed attempts must be included in the interpretation) but those that, if applied, would result in deletion of event structure elements ("To repair the TV for half an hour"). Our experimental results are consistent with a deficit of constraints on coercion, and not with impaired semantic processes or representations, in line with recent studies suggesting that verb semantics is largely spared in ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giosuè Baggio
- Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheim, Norway
| | - Giulia Granello
- Neurology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Ospedali RiunitiTrieste, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Verriello
- Neurology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Santa Maria della MisericordiaUdine, Italy
| | - Roberto Eleopra
- Neurology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Santa Maria della MisericordiaUdine, Italy
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Vannuscorps G, Dricot L, Pillon A. Persistent sparing of action conceptual processing in spite of increasing disorders of action production: A case against motor embodiment of action concepts. Cogn Neuropsychol 2016; 33:191-219. [PMID: 27414396 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2016.1186615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we addressed the issue of whether the brain sensorimotor circuitry that controls action production is causally involved in representing and processing action-related concepts. We examined the three-year pattern of evolution of brain atrophy, action production disorders, and action-related concept processing in a patient (J.R.) diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration. During the period of investigation, J.R. presented with increasing action production disorders resulting from increasing bilateral atrophy in cortical and subcortical regions involved in the sensorimotor control of actions (notably, the superior parietal cortex, the primary motor and premotor cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the basal ganglia). In contrast, the patient's performance in processing action-related concepts remained intact during the same period. This finding indicated that action concept processing hinges on cognitive and neural resources that are mostly distinct from those underlying the sensorimotor control of actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vannuscorps
- a Institute of Psychological Sciences , Université catholique de Louvain , Louvain-la-Neuve , Belgium.,b Institute of Neuroscience , Université catholique de Louvain , Bruxelles , Belgium.,c Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique-FNRS , Bruxelles , Belgium
| | - Laurence Dricot
- b Institute of Neuroscience , Université catholique de Louvain , Bruxelles , Belgium
| | - Agnesa Pillon
- a Institute of Psychological Sciences , Université catholique de Louvain , Louvain-la-Neuve , Belgium.,b Institute of Neuroscience , Université catholique de Louvain , Bruxelles , Belgium.,c Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique-FNRS , Bruxelles , Belgium
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45
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Bede P, Iyer PM, Schuster C, Elamin M, Mclaughlin RL, Kenna K, Hardiman O. The selective anatomical vulnerability of ALS: 'disease-defining' and 'disease-defying' brain regions. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2016; 17:561-570. [PMID: 27087114 DOI: 10.3109/21678421.2016.1173702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A large multiparametric MRI study has been undertaken to evaluate anatomical patterns of basal ganglia, white matter and cortical grey matter involvement in ALS. Unaffected brain regions are mapped in patients with significant disability. Multiple white matter diffusivity measures, cortical grey matter density alterations, basal ganglia volumes and subcortical grey matter atrophy patterns are evaluated. Results demonstrated a strikingly selective anatomical vulnerability pattern in ALS that preferentially affects specific grey matter structures, commissural white matter tracts and basal ganglia regions, suggestive of networkwise neurodegeneration in ALS. In conclusion, ALS pathology exhibits predilection for selective and inter-connected anatomical sites that can be comprehensively characterized in vivo by multiparametric neuroimaging. The systematic characterization of unaffected brain regions in ALS has implications for the development of classifier analyses and elucidation of disease biology. The involvement and sparing of contiguous brain regions raises important pathophysiological, phylogenetic and ontogenetic questions regarding ALS pathogenesis and disease spread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Bede
- a Quantitative Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology , Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Ireland
| | - Parameswaran M Iyer
- a Quantitative Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology , Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Ireland
| | - Christina Schuster
- a Quantitative Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology , Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Ireland
| | - Marwa Elamin
- a Quantitative Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology , Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Ireland
| | - Russell L Mclaughlin
- a Quantitative Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology , Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Ireland
| | - Kevin Kenna
- a Quantitative Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology , Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Ireland
| | - Orla Hardiman
- a Quantitative Neuroimaging Group, Academic Unit of Neurology , Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Ireland
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46
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Shen D, Cui L, Fang J, Cui B, Li D, Tai H. Voxel-Wise Meta-Analysis of Gray Matter Changes in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Front Aging Neurosci 2016; 8:64. [PMID: 27065078 PMCID: PMC4811926 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2015] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Increasing neuroimaging studies have revealed gray matter (GM) anomalies of several brain regions by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A voxel-wise meta-analysis was conducted to integrate the reported studies to determine the consistent GM alterations in ALS based on VBM methods. Methods: Ovid Medline, Pubmed, Emabase, and BrainMap database were searched for relevant studies.Data were extracted by two independent researchers. Voxel-wise meta-analysis was performed using the effect-size signed differential mapping (ES-SDM) software. Results: Twenty-nine VBM studies comprising 638 subjects with ALS and 622 healthy controls (HCs) met inclusion criteria.The global GM volumes of ALS patients were significantly decreased compared with those of HCs. GM reductions in patients were mainly located in the right precentral gyrus, the left Rolandic operculum, the left lenticular nucleus and the right anterior cingulate/paracingulate gyri. The right precentral gyrus and the left inferior frontal gyrus might be potential anatomical biomarkers to evaluate the severity of the disease, and longer disease duration was associated with more GM atrophy in the left frontal aslant tract and the right precentral gyrus in ALS patients. Conclusion: The results support that ALS is a complex degenerative disease involving multisystems besides the motor system.The mechanism of asymmetric atrophy of the motor cortex and the implication of Rolandic operculum involvement in ALS need to be further elucidated in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongchao Shen
- Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Liying Cui
- Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical SciencesBeijing, China; Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical SciencesBeijing, China
| | - Jia Fang
- Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Bo Cui
- Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Dawei Li
- Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Hongfei Tai
- Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China
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Kamminga J, Leslie FVC, Hsieh S, Caga J, Mioshi E, Hornberger M, Ballard KJ, Kiernan MC, Hodges JR, Burrell JR. Syntactic comprehension deficits across the FTD-ALS continuum. Neurobiol Aging 2016; 41:11-18. [PMID: 27103514 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
To establish the frequency, severity, relationship to bulbar symptoms, and neural correlates of syntactic comprehension deficits across the frontotemporal dementia-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FTD-ALS) disease spectrum. In total, 85 participants were included in the study; 20 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 15 FTD-ALS, 27 progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA), and 23 controls. Syntactic comprehension was evaluated in ALS, FTD-ALS, PNFA, and controls using the Test for Reception of Grammar. Voxel-based morphometry examined neuroanatomical correlates of performance. Syntactic comprehension deficits were detected in 25% of ALS (p = 0.011), 92.9% of FTD-ALS (p < 0.001), and 81.5% of PNFA (p < 0.001) patients. FTD-ALS was disproportionately impaired compared to PNFA. Impaired Test for Reception of Grammar performance was frequent in ALS with early bulbar involvement but did not correlate with bulbar impairment overall. Left peri-insular atrophy correlated with syntactic comprehension deficits. Syntactic comprehension deficits are frequent in FTD-ALS, more severe than in PNFA, and related to left peri-insular atrophy. A significant minority of ALS patients are impaired, but the relationship between bulbar symptoms and syntactic impairment is not understood.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Felicity V C Leslie
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia; University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Sharpley Hsieh
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jashelle Caga
- Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Eneida Mioshi
- Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Kirrie J Ballard
- Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Matthew C Kiernan
- Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - John R Hodges
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia; University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - James R Burrell
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia; University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
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48
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Agosta F, Ferraro PM, Riva N, Spinelli EG, Chiò A, Canu E, Valsasina P, Lunetta C, Iannaccone S, Copetti M, Prudente E, Comi G, Falini A, Filippi M. Structural brain correlates of cognitive and behavioral impairment in MND. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37:1614-26. [PMID: 26833930 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Revised: 12/23/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the structural correlates of cognitive and behavioral impairment in motor neuron diseases (MND) using multimodal MRI. METHODS One hundred one patients with sporadic MND (56 classic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 31 upper motor neuron phenotype, and 14 lower motor neuron phenotype) and 51 controls were enrolled. Patients were classified into MND with a pure motor syndrome (MND-motor) and with cognitive/behavioral symptoms (MND-plus). Cortical thickness measures and diffusion tensor (DT) metrics of white matter (WM) tracts were assessed. A random forest approach was used to explore the independent role of cortical and WM abnormalities in explaining major cognitive and behavioral symptoms. RESULTS There were 48 MND-motor and 53 MND-plus patients. Relative to controls, both patient groups showed a distributed cortical thinning of the bilateral precentral gyrus, insular and cingulate cortices, and frontotemporal regions. In all regions, there was a trend toward a more severe involvement in MND-plus cases, particularly in the temporal lobes. Both patient groups showed damage to the motor callosal fibers, which was more severe in MND-plus. MND-plus patients also showed a more severe involvement of the extra-motor WM tracts. The best predictors of executive and non-executive deficits and behavioral symptoms in MND were diffusivity abnormalities of the corpus callosum and frontotemporal tracts, including the uncinate, cingulum, and superior longitudinal fasciculi. CONCLUSIONS Cortical thinning and WM degeneration are highly associated with neuropsychological and behavioral symptoms in patients with MND. DT MRI metrics seem to be the most sensitive markers of extra-motor deficits within the MND spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Agosta
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Pilar M Ferraro
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Nilo Riva
- Department of Neurology, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Edoardo G Spinelli
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Department of Neurology, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Adriano Chiò
- 'Rita Levi Montalcini' Department of Neuroscience, ALS Center, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Elisa Canu
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Valsasina
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Sandro Iannaccone
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Copetti
- Biostatistics Unit, IRCCS-Ospedale Casa Sollievo Della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy
| | - Evelina Prudente
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Department of Neuroradiology and CERMAC, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Comi
- Department of Neurology, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Falini
- Serena Onlus Foundation, NEuroMuscular Omnicenter, Milan, Italy
| | - Massimo Filippi
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Department of Neurology, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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49
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Okada K, Rogalsky C, O'Grady L, Hanaumi L, Bellugi U, Corina D, Hickok G. An fMRI study of perception and action in deaf signers. Neuropsychologia 2016; 82:179-188. [PMID: 26796716 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2015] [Revised: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Since the discovery of mirror neurons, there has been a great deal of interest in understanding the relationship between perception and action, and the role of the human mirror system in language comprehension and production. Two questions have dominated research. One concerns the role of Broca's area in speech perception. The other concerns the role of the motor system more broadly in understanding action-related language. The current study investigates both of these questions in a way that bridges research on language with research on manual actions. We studied the neural basis of observing and executing American Sign Language (ASL) object and action signs. In an fMRI experiment, deaf signers produced signs depicting actions and objects as well as observed/comprehended signs of actions and objects. Different patterns of activation were found for observation and execution although with overlap in Broca's area, providing prima facie support for the claim that the motor system participates in language perception. In contrast, we found no evidence that action related signs differentially involved the motor system compared to object related signs. These findings are discussed in the context of lesion studies of sign language execution and observation. In this broader context, we conclude that the activation in Broca's area during ASL observation is not causally related to sign language understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayoko Okada
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Whittier College, Whittier, CA, United states; Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Corianne Rogalsky
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Lucinda O'Grady
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Leila Hanaumi
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Ursula Bellugi
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - David Corina
- Department of Linguistics, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Gregory Hickok
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.
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Vannuscorps G, Caramazza A. Typical action perception and interpretation without motor simulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:86-91. [PMID: 26699468 PMCID: PMC4711885 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1516978112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Every day, we interact with people synchronously, immediately understand what they are doing, and easily infer their mental state and the likely outcome of their actions from their kinematics. According to various motor simulation theories of perception, such efficient perceptual processing of others' actions cannot be achieved by visual analysis of the movements alone but requires a process of motor simulation--an unconscious, covert imitation of the observed movements. According to this hypothesis, individuals incapable of simulating observed movements in their motor system should have difficulty perceiving and interpreting observed actions. Contrary to this prediction, we found across eight sensitive experiments that individuals born with absent or severely shortened upper limbs (upper limb dysplasia), despite some variability, could perceive, anticipate, predict, comprehend, and memorize upper limb actions, which they cannot simulate, as efficiently as typically developed participants. We also found that, like the typically developed participants, the dysplasic participants systematically perceived the position of moving upper limbs slightly ahead of their real position but only when the anticipated position was not biomechanically awkward. Such anticipatory bias and its modulation by implicit knowledge of the body biomechanical constraints were previously considered as indexes of the crucial role of motor simulation in action perception. Our findings undermine this assumption and the theories that place the locus of action perception and comprehension in the motor system and invite a shift in the focus of future research to the question of how the visuo-perceptual system represents and processes observed body movements and actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vannuscorps
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, Università degli Studi di Trento, Mattarello, 38122, Italy; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; Institute of Psychological Sciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1348, Belgium
| | - Alfonso Caramazza
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, Università degli Studi di Trento, Mattarello, 38122, Italy; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
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