Neuroscience 2005 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 128.3 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | The anatomy of category-specific naming in neurodegenerative diseases. |
| Authors: |
Brambati, S. M.*1,2
; Mayers, D.1
; Amici, S.1
; Wilson, A.1
; Rankin, K. P.1
; Adams, D.1
; Miller, B. L.1
; Gorno-Tempini, M.1
1Dept. of Neurology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA 2Italy, 350 Parnassus Avenue, Suite 502, 94121, |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
Cognition and Behavior - Human Cognition, Behavior, and Anatomy -- Language |
| Session: |
128. Language I Slide |
| Presentation Time: | Sunday, November 13, 2005 8:30 AM-8:45 AM |
| Location: | Washington Convention Center - Room 144A |
| Keywords: |
Neuropsychological studies suggest that knowledge about living and non-living objects is processed in different brain regions. However, most functional neuroimaging studies of category-specificity have implicated inconsistent areas. Here, we used the Voxel Based Morphometry technique implemented in SPM2, to investigate the anatomical organization of semantic knowledge. We correlated accuracy in naming living and man-made objects with MRI gray matter volumes in a group of patients with neurodegenerative disease. T1-weighted MRI scans were obtained from 152 subjects (mean age 65.3± 9.9) evaluated at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. Forty patients met clinical criteria for primary progressive aphasia; 77 did not show prominent language symptoms (AD, FTD, CBD, PSP, MCI, DLB), and 35 were healthy controls. All participants named 64 line drawings (Snodgrass & Vanderwart, 1980) including four living (fruits, birds, domestic and foreign animals) and four man-made (vehicles, tools, small and large household items) subcategories. Age, gender and total gray matter volumes were entered into the model as nuisance variables. The results showed a significant (p<0.05 corrected) positive correlation between gray matter volumes in the medial portion of the right anterior temporal pole with naming scores for living items and in the left posterior superior and middle temporal gyri with naming scores for man-made objects. The living items used in this study are characterized by overlapping visual semantic features (Garrard, 2001), suggesting a role of the anterior temporal lobe in identifying specific exemplars within categories of items that share visual features (Gorno-Tempini, 1998). On the other hand, man-made items are mostly characterized by action-related semantic features (Garrard, 2001), indicating a role of the left posterior superior and middle temporal gyri in action knowledge (Martin, 1995).
Supported by NIA, State of California, NINDS
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2005 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience, 2005. Online.
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