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Alexander JM, Stark BC. Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the inner speech, with emphasis on the role of incorporating clinical data. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 60:4785-4797. [PMID: 39015943 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Neuroscience has largely conceptualized inner speech, sometimes called covert speech, as being a part of the language system, namely, a precursor to overt speech and/or speech without the motor component (impoverished motor speech). Yet interdisciplinary work has strongly suggested that inner speech is multidimensional and situated within the language system as well as in more domain general systems. By leveraging evidence from philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience and cognitive science, we argue that neuroscience can gain a more comprehensive understanding of inner speech processes. We will summarize the existing knowledge on the traditional approach to understanding the neuroscience of inner speech, which is squarely through the language system, before discussing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the cognitive, linguistic and neural substrates/mechanisms that may be involved in inner speech. Given our own interests in inner speech after brain injury, we finish by discussing the theoretical and clinical benefits of researching inner speech in aphasia through an interdisciplinary lens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julianne M Alexander
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Brielle C Stark
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
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Alexander JM, Hedrick T, Stark BC. Inner speech in the daily lives of people with aphasia. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1335425. [PMID: 38577124 PMCID: PMC10991845 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1335425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction This exploratory, preliminary, feasibility study evaluated the extent to which adults with chronic aphasia (N = 23) report experiencing inner speech in their daily lives by leveraging experience sampling and survey methodology. Methods The presence of inner speech was assessed at 30 time-points and themes of inner speech at three time-points, over the course of three weeks. The relationship of inner speech to aphasia severity, demographic information (age, sex, years post-stroke), and insight into language impairment was evaluated. Results There was low attrition (<8%) and high compliance (>94%) for the study procedures, and inner speech was experienced in most sampled instances (>78%). The most common themes of inner speech experience across the weeks were 'when remembering', 'to plan', and 'to motivate oneself'. There was no significant relationship identified between inner speech and aphasia severity, insight into language impairment, or demographic information. In conclusion, adults with aphasia tend to report experiencing inner speech often, with some shared themes (e.g., remembering, planning), and use inner speech to explore themes that are uncommon in young adults in other studies (e.g., to talk to themselves about health). Discussion High compliance and low attrition suggest design feasibility, and results emphasize the importance of collecting data in age-similar, non-brain-damaged peers as well as in adults with other neurogenic communication disorders to fully understand the experience and use of inner speech in daily life. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julianne M. Alexander
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Science, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
| | - Tessa Hedrick
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Science, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
| | - Brielle C. Stark
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Science, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
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Fernyhough C, Borghi AM. Inner speech as language process and cognitive tool. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:1180-1193. [PMID: 37770286 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Many people report a form of internal language known as inner speech (IS). This review examines recent growth of research interest in the phenomenon, which has broadly supported a theoretical model in which IS is a functional language process that can confer benefits for cognition in a range of domains. A key insight to have emerged in recent years is that IS is an embodied experience characterized by varied subjective qualities, which can be usefully modeled in artificial systems and whose neural signals have the potential to be decoded through advancing brain-computer interface technologies. Challenges for future research include understanding individual differences in IS and mapping form to function across IS subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Fernyhough
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Research into Inner Experience, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
| | - Anna M Borghi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome and Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Italian National Research Council, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Viacheslav I, Vartanov A, Bueva A, Bronov O. The emotional component of inner speech: A pilot exploratory fMRI study. Brain Cogn 2023; 165:105939. [PMID: 36549191 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2022.105939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Inner speech is one of the most important human cognitive processes. Nevertheless, until now, many aspects of inner speech, particularly the emotional characteristics of inner speech, remain poorly understood. The main objectives of our study are to identify the neural substrate for the emotional (prosodic) dimension of inner speech and brain structures that control the suppression of expression in inner speech. To achieve these goals, a pilot exploratory fMRI study was carried out on 33 people. The subjects listened to pre-recorded phrases or individual words pronounced with different emotional connotations, after which they were internally spoken with the same emotion or with suppression of expression (neutral). The results show that there is an emotional component in inner speech, which is encoded by similar structures as in spoken speech. The unique role of the caudate nuclei in the suppression of expression in the inner speech was also shown.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Oleg Bronov
- Federal State Budgetary Institution "National Medical and Surgical Center named after N.I. Pirogov", Russia
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Bergouignan L, Paz-Alonso PM. Simulating the situated-self drives hippocampo-cortical engagement during inner narration of events. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:5716-5731. [PMID: 35275987 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
We often use inner narration when thinking about past and future events. The present paradigm explicitly addresses the influence of the language used in inner narration on the hippocampus-dependent event construction process. We assessed the language context effect during the inner narration of different event types: past, future, daydream, and self-unrelated fictitious events. The language context was assessed via a fluent bilingual population who used inner narration, either in their first language (L1) or second language (L2). Not all inner narration of events elicited hippocampo-cortical activity. In fact, only the angular gyrus and precuneus-retrosplenial cortex were activated by inner narration across all event types. More precisely, only inner narration of events which entailed the simulation of bodily self-location in space (whether or not they were time-marked: past, future, daydream) depended on the hippocampo-cortical system, while inner narration of events that did not entail bodily self-location (self-unrelated fictitious) did not. The language context of the narration influenced the bilinguals' hippocampo-cortical system by enhancing the co-activation of semantic areas with the hippocampus for inner narration of events in the L2. Overall, this study highlights 2 important characteristics of hippocampo-cortical-dependent inner narration of events: The core episodic hippocampal system is activated for inner narration of events simulating self-location in space (regardless of time-marking), and the inner language used for narration (L1 or L2) mediates hippocampal functional connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loretxu Bergouignan
- BCBL - Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Mikeletegi Pasealekua 69, 20009 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
| | - Pedro M Paz-Alonso
- BCBL - Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Mikeletegi Pasealekua 69, 20009 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain.,IKERBASQUE - Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbo, Bizkaia, Spain
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Baron LS, Arbel Y. Inner Speech and Executive Function in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Implications for Assessment and Intervention. PERSPECTIVES OF THE ASHA SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 2022; 7:1645-1659. [PMID: 38957614 PMCID: PMC11218747 DOI: 10.1044/2022_persp-22-00042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Purpose Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) also have difficulty with executive function. The presence of co-occurring deficits in language and executive function can obscure assessment results and lead to the implementation of ineffective interventions. It is also the case that inner speech, or the use of self-directed language to guide thought and action, often mediates performance on executive function tasks. The aims of this tutorial are to (a) summarize what is known about how inner speech affects executive function performance in typical populations and children with DLD and (b) highlight potential implications for clinical practice and directions for future research. We provide a brief background on inner speech, including theoretical frameworks, typical development, and measurement approaches. We then summarize research on inner speech and executive function involving typical adults and children, followed by a description of the few studies involving children with DLD. Conclusions Work with typical adults and children has concluded that inner speech operates as a self-cueing device to support understanding of task rules, sequencing of task order, and maintenance of task goals. Work involving children with DLD suggests that their inner speech is less mature, less relevant, and less effective overall when completing executive function tasks. However, very few studies have examined the relations between inner speech and executive function in children with DLD. It is important for speech-language pathologists to understand the potential role of inner speech during executive function tasks, given how often these skills are utilized during everyday activities. Although more research is needed, speech-language pathologists are in a unique position to support both language and executive function goals for children with DLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren S. Baron
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA
| | - Yael Arbel
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA
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Kompa NA, Mueller JL. Inner speech as a cognitive tool—or what is the point of talking to oneself? PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2022.2112164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nikola A. Kompa
- Institute of Philosophy, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
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Van Overwalle F, Manto M, Cattaneo Z, Clausi S, Ferrari C, Gabrieli JDE, Guell X, Heleven E, Lupo M, Ma Q, Michelutti M, Olivito G, Pu M, Rice LC, Schmahmann JD, Siciliano L, Sokolov AA, Stoodley CJ, van Dun K, Vandervert L, Leggio M. Consensus Paper: Cerebellum and Social Cognition. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2020; 19:833-868. [PMID: 32632709 PMCID: PMC7588399 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-020-01155-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 196] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The traditional view on the cerebellum is that it controls motor behavior. Although recent work has revealed that the cerebellum supports also nonmotor functions such as cognition and affect, only during the last 5 years it has become evident that the cerebellum also plays an important social role. This role is evident in social cognition based on interpreting goal-directed actions through the movements of individuals (social "mirroring") which is very close to its original role in motor learning, as well as in social understanding of other individuals' mental state, such as their intentions, beliefs, past behaviors, future aspirations, and personality traits (social "mentalizing"). Most of this mentalizing role is supported by the posterior cerebellum (e.g., Crus I and II). The most dominant hypothesis is that the cerebellum assists in learning and understanding social action sequences, and so facilitates social cognition by supporting optimal predictions about imminent or future social interaction and cooperation. This consensus paper brings together experts from different fields to discuss recent efforts in understanding the role of the cerebellum in social cognition, and the understanding of social behaviors and mental states by others, its effect on clinical impairments such as cerebellar ataxia and autism spectrum disorder, and how the cerebellum can become a potential target for noninvasive brain stimulation as a therapeutic intervention. We report on the most recent empirical findings and techniques for understanding and manipulating cerebellar circuits in humans. Cerebellar circuitry appears now as a key structure to elucidate social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Van Overwalle
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mario Manto
- Mediathèque Jean Jacquy, Service de Neurologie, CHU-Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium
- Service des Neurosciences, Université de Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Silvia Clausi
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - John D. E. Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
| | - Xavier Guell
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
- Ataxia Unit, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology Unit, Laboratory for Neuroanatomy and Cerebellar Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
| | - Elien Heleven
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Michela Lupo
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Qianying Ma
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marco Michelutti
- Service de Neurologie & Neuroscape@NeuroTech Platform, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Service de Neurologie Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Giusy Olivito
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Min Pu
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Laura C. Rice
- Department of Psychology and Department of Neuroscience, American University, Washington, DC USA
| | - Jeremy D. Schmahmann
- Ataxia Unit, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology Unit, Laboratory for Neuroanatomy and Cerebellar Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
| | - Libera Siciliano
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Arseny A. Sokolov
- Service de Neurologie & Neuroscape@NeuroTech Platform, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Service de Neurologie Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, University Neurorehabilitation, University Hospital Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London (UCL), London, UK
- Neuroscape Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA USA
| | - Catherine J. Stoodley
- Department of Psychology and Department of Neuroscience, American University, Washington, DC USA
| | - Kim van Dun
- Neurologic Rehabilitation Research, Rehabilitation Research Institute (REVAL), Hasselt University, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Larry Vandervert
- American Nonlinear Systems, 1529 W. Courtland Avenue, Spokane, WA 99205-2608 USA
| | - Maria Leggio
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Vandervert L. The prominent role of the cerebellum in the social learning of the phonological loop in working memory: How language was adaptively built from cerebellar inner speech required during stone-tool making. AIMS Neurosci 2020; 7:333-343. [PMID: 32995491 PMCID: PMC7519967 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2020020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on advances in cerebellum research as to its cognitive, social, and language contributions to working memory, the purpose of this article is to describe new support for the prominent involvement of cerebellar internal models in the adaptive selection of language. Within this context it has been proposed that (1) cerebellar internal models of inner speech during stone-tool making accelerated the adaptive evolution of new cause-and-effect sequences of precision stone-tool knapping requirements, and (2) that these evolving cerebellar internal models coded (i.e., learned in corticonuclear microcomplexes) such cause-and-effect sequences as phonological counterparts and, these, when sent to the cerebral cortex, became new phonological working memory. This article describes newer supportive research findings on (1) the cerebellum's role in silent speech in working memory, and (2) recent findings on genetic aspects (FOXP2) of the role of silent speech in language evolution. It is concluded that within overall cerebro-cerebellar evolution, without the evolution of cerebellar coding of stone-tool making sequences of primitive working memory (beginning approximately 1.7 million years ago) language would not have evolved in the subsequent evolution of Homo sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larry Vandervert
- American Nonlinear Systems, 1529 W. Courtland Ave. Spokane, WA 99205, USA
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Sierpowska J, León-Cabrera P, Camins À, Juncadella M, Gabarrós A, Rodríguez-Fornells A. The black box of global aphasia: Neuroanatomical underpinnings of remission from acute global aphasia with preserved inner language function. Cortex 2020; 130:340-350. [PMID: 32731197 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 04/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We studied an unusual case of global aphasia (GA) occurring after brain tumor removal and remitting one-month after surgery. After recovering, the patient reported on her experience during the episode, which suggested a partial preservation of language abilities (such as semantic processing) and the presence of inner speech (IS) despite a failure in overt speech production. Thus, we explored the role of IS and preserved language functions in the acute phase and investigated the neuroanatomical underpinnings of this severe breakdown in language processing. METHOD A neuropsychological and language assessment tapping into language production, comprehension, attention and working memory was carried out both before and three months after surgery. In the acute stage a simplified protocol was tailored to assess the limited language abilities and further explore patient's performance on different semantic tasks. The neuroanatomical dimension of these abrupt changes was provided by perioperative structural neuroimaging. RESULTS Language and neuropsychological performance were normal/close to normal both before and three months after surgery. In the acute stage, the patient presented severe difficulties with comprehension, production and repetition, whereas she was able to correctly perform tasks that requested conceptual analysis and non-verbal operations. After recovering, the patient reported that she had been able to internally formulate her thoughts despite her overt phonological errors during the episode. Structural neuroimaging revealed that an extra-axial blood collection affected the middle frontal areas during the acute stage and that the white matter circuitry was left-lateralized before surgery. CONCLUSIONS We deemed that the global aphasia episode was produced by a combination of the post-operative extra-axial blood collection directly impacting left middle frontal areas and a left-lateralization of the arcuate and/or uncinated fasciculi before surgery. Additionally, we advocate for a comprehensive evaluation of linguistic function that includes the assessment of IS and non-expressive language functions in similar cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Sierpowska
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Medical Psychology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group [Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute - IDIBELL], Barcelona, Spain; Dept. of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Campus Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Patricia León-Cabrera
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group [Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute - IDIBELL], Barcelona, Spain; Dept. of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Campus Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Àngels Camins
- Institut de Diagnostic per la Imatge, Centre Bellvitge, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Andreu Gabarrós
- Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge (HUB), Neurosurgery Section, Campus Bellvitge, University of Barcelona - IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antoni Rodríguez-Fornells
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group [Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute - IDIBELL], Barcelona, Spain; Dept. of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Campus Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
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