1
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Herbert C. Brain-computer interfaces and human factors: the role of language and cultural differences-Still a missing gap? Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1305445. [PMID: 38665897 PMCID: PMC11043545 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1305445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) aim at the non-invasive investigation of brain activity for supporting communication and interaction of the users with their environment by means of brain-machine assisted technologies. Despite technological progress and promising research aimed at understanding the influence of human factors on BCI effectiveness, some topics still remain unexplored. The aim of this article is to discuss why it is important to consider the language of the user, its embodied grounding in perception, action and emotions, and its interaction with cultural differences in information processing in future BCI research. Based on evidence from recent studies, it is proposed that detection of language abilities and language training are two main topics of enquiry of future BCI studies to extend communication among vulnerable and healthy BCI users from bench to bedside and real world applications. In addition, cultural differences shape perception, actions, cognition, language and emotions subjectively, behaviorally as well as neuronally. Therefore, BCI applications should consider cultural differences in information processing to develop culture- and language-sensitive BCI applications for different user groups and BCIs, and investigate the linguistic and cultural contexts in which the BCI will be used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia Herbert
- Applied Emotion and Motivation Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
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2
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Woodrow-Hill C, Gowen E, Vogt S, Edmonds E, Poliakoff E. Stimulus specificity in combined action observation and motor imagery of typing. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024:17470218241241502. [PMID: 38482583 DOI: 10.1177/17470218241241502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Combined action observation and motor imagery (AO + MI) can improve movement execution (ME) in healthy adults and certain patient populations. However, it is unclear how the specificity of the observation component during AO + MI influences ME. As generalised observation could result in more flexible AO + MI rehabilitation programmes, this study investigated whether observing typing of target words (specific condition) or non-matching words (general condition) during AO + MI would have different effects on keyboard typing in healthy young adults. In Experiment 1, 51 students imagined typing a target word while watching typing videos that were either specific to the target word or general. There were no differences in typing execution between AO + MI conditions, though participants typed more slowly after both AO + MI conditions compared with no observation or imagery. Experiment 2 repeated Experiment 1 in 20 students, but with a faster stimulus speed in the AO + MI conditions and increased cognitive difficulty in the control condition. The results showed that the slowed typing after AO + MI was likely due to a strong influence of task-switching between imagery and execution, as well as an automatic imitation effect. Both experiments demonstrate that general and specific AO + MI comparably affect ME. In addition, slower ME following both AO + MI and a challenging cognitive task provides support for the motor-cognitive model of MI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Woodrow-Hill
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Emma Gowen
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Stefan Vogt
- Psychology Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Eve Edmonds
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Ellen Poliakoff
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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3
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Marrero H, Yagual SN, Lemus A, García-Marco E, Díaz JM, Gámez E, Urrutia M, Beltrán D. Social approach and avoidance in language: N400-like ERP negativity indexes congruency and theta rhythms the conflict. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1300-1309. [PMID: 35368078 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Motivational congruency has been examined using tasks where participants perform approach or avoidance movements towards socially positive or negative faces. Language is tightly intertwined with interpersonal cognition. Thus, similar situations could be represented by means of language in interpersonal contexts: adjectives furnish valence to people (e.g. someone is cordial or arrogant), and attitudinal verbs define direction to relationship-actions: approach-avoidance (e.g. accept vs. reject). In an Electroencephalography (EEG) study, 40 participants were presented with sentences where a character was valenced (e.g. "Arthur is cordial/arrogant") before being the target of a relationship-actions ("Grisela welcomed/ignored Arthur at the party"). We analyzed both Event-related potential (ERP) amplitude and time-frequency power in response to the attitudinal verb. For ERP amplitudes, we found a significant cluster between 280 and 370 ms, covering part of the development of a N400-like ERP component. This cluster reflects an interaction driven by congruency between motivational direction and target valence. Likewise, time-frequency power analysis revealed an enhancement of theta rhythms under incongruent conditions, most likely indexing conflict processing. Results support that relationship-actions are represented as approach and avoidance and thus involve conflict processing and resolution of incongruent situations. Implications for the interweaving of affective language and social cognition within Embodiment Simulation Theory are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hipólito Marrero
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Sara Nila Yagual
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y de la Salud, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena (UPSE), La Libertad Santa Elena, Provincia de Santa Elena EC240250, Ecuador
| | - Alejandro Lemus
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Enrique García-Marco
- Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Social y Organizacional, Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Facultad de Ciencias de La Salud, Universidad Europea de Canarias, 38300 La Orotava, Spain
| | - Jose Miguel Díaz
- Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Social y Organizacional, Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Elena Gámez
- Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Social y Organizacional, Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Mabel Urrutia
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Concepción, Victor Lamas, Concepción 1290, Chile
| | - David Beltrán
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias. Universidad de La Laguna, 38071 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Básica I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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4
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Visani E, Garofalo G, Rossi Sebastiano D, Duran D, Craighero L, Riggio L, Buccino G. Grasping the semantic of actions: a combined behavioral and MEG study. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:1008995. [PMID: 36583012 PMCID: PMC9792482 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1008995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
There is experimental evidence that the brain systems involved in action execution also play a role in action observation and understanding. Recently, it has been suggested that the sensorimotor system is also involved in language processing. Supporting results are slower response times and weaker motor-related MEG Beta band power suppression in semantic decision tasks on single action verbs labels when the stimulus and the motor response involve the same effector. Attenuated power suppression indicates decreased cortical excitability and consequent decreased readiness to act. The embodied approach forwards that the simultaneous involvement of the sensorimotor system in the processing of the linguistic content and in the planning of the response determines this language-motor interference effect. Here, in a combined behavioral and MEG study we investigated to what extent the processing of actions visually presented (i.e., pictures of actions) and verbally described (i.e., verbs in written words) share common neural mechanisms. The findings demonstrated that, whether an action is experienced visually or verbally, its processing engages the sensorimotor system in a comparable way. These results provide further support to the embodied view of semantic processing, suggesting that this process is independent from the modality of presentation of the stimulus, including language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Visani
- Bioengineering Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Division of Neuroscience, Universitity “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milan, Italy,IRCCS San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Dunja Duran
- Bioengineering Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Laila Craighero
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Lucia Riggio
- Unit of Neuroscience, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, Universitity “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milan, Italy,IRCCS San Raffaele, Milan, Italy,*Correspondence: Giovanni Buccino
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5
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Cioffi V, Mosca LL, Moretto E, Ragozzino O, Stanzione R, Bottone M, Maldonato NM, Muzii B, Sperandeo R. Computational Methods in Psychotherapy: A Scoping Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:12358. [PMID: 36231657 PMCID: PMC9565968 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191912358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The study of complex systems, such as the psychotherapeutic encounter, transcends the mechanistic and reductionist methods for describing linear processes and needs suitable approaches to describe probabilistic and scarcely predictable phenomena. OBJECTIVE The present study undertakes a scoping review of research on the computational methods in psychotherapy to gather new developments in this field and to better understand the phenomena occurring in psychotherapeutic interactions as well as in human interaction more generally. DESIGN Online databases were used to identify papers published 2011-2022, from which we selected 18 publications from different resources, selected according to criteria established in advance and described in the text. A flow chart and a summary table of the articles consulted have been created. RESULTS The majority of publications (44.4%) reported combined computational and experimental approaches, so we grouped the studies according to the types of computational methods used. All but one of the studies collected measured data. All the studies confirmed the usefulness of predictive and learning models in the study of complex variables such as those belonging to psychological, psychopathological and psychotherapeutic processes. CONCLUSIONS Research on computational methods will benefit from a careful selection of reference methods and standards. Therefore, this review represents an attempt to systematise the empirical literature on the applications of computational methods in psychotherapy research in order to offer clinicians an overview of the usefulness of these methods and the possibilities of their use in the various fields of application, highlighting their clinical implications, and ultimately attempting to identify potential opportunities for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Cioffi
- SiPGI–Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy
| | - Lucia Luciana Mosca
- SiPGI–Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy
| | - Enrico Moretto
- SiPGI–Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy
| | - Ottavio Ragozzino
- SiPGI–Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy
| | - Roberta Stanzione
- SiPGI–Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy
| | - Mario Bottone
- Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Nelson Mauro Maldonato
- Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Benedetta Muzii
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Raffaele Sperandeo
- SiPGI–Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy
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6
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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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7
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Miranda M, Campo CG, Birba A, Neely A, Hernandez FDT, Faure E, Costa GR, Ibáñez A, García A. An action-concept processing advantage in a patient with a double motor cortex. Brain Cogn 2022; 156:105831. [PMID: 34922210 PMCID: PMC9944406 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Patients with atrophy in motor brain regions exhibit selective deficits in processing action-related meanings, suggesting a link between movement conceptualization and the amount of regional tissue. Here we examine such a relation in a unique opposite model: a rare patient with a double cortex (due to subcortical band heterotopia) in primary/supplementary motor regions, and no double cortex in multimodal semantic regions. We measured behavioral performance in action- and object-concept processing as well and resting-state functional connectivity. Both dimensions involved comparisons with healthy controls. Results revealed preserved accuracy in action and object categories for the patient. However, unlike controls, the patient exhibited faster performance for action than object concepts, a difference that was uninfluenced by general cognitive abilities. Moreover, this pattern was accompanied by heightened functional connectivity between the bilateral primary motor cortices. This suggests that a functionally active double motor cortex may entail action-processing advantages. Our findings offer new constraints for models of action semantics and motor-region function at large.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Miranda
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional (INCyT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cecilia Gonzalez Campo
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustina Birba
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina,Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alejandra Neely
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Evelyng Faure
- Department of Radiology, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile,Advanced Epilepsy Center, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Rojas Costa
- Department of Radiology, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile,Advanced Epilepsy Center, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile,Health Innovation Center, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina,Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile,Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Adolfo García
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
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8
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Visani E, Sebastiano DR, Duran D, Garofalo G, Magliocco F, Silipo F, Buccino G. The Semantics of Natural Objects and Tools in the Brain: A Combined Behavioral and MEG Study. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12010097. [PMID: 35053840 PMCID: PMC8774003 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Current literature supports the notion that the recognition of objects, when visually presented, is sub-served by neural structures different from those responsible for the semantic processing of their nouns. However, embodiment foresees that processing observed objects and their verbal labels should share similar neural mechanisms. In a combined behavioral and MEG study, we compared the modulation of motor responses and cortical rhythms during the processing of graspable natural objects and tools, either verbally or pictorially presented. Our findings demonstrate that conveying meaning to an observed object or processing its noun similarly modulates both motor responses and cortical rhythms; being natural graspable objects and tools differently represented in the brain, they affect in a different manner both behavioral and MEG findings, independent of presentation modality. These results provide experimental evidence that neural substrates responsible for conveying meaning to objects overlap with those where the object is represented, thus supporting an embodied view of semantic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Visani
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Davide Rossi Sebastiano
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Dunja Duran
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
| | - Fabio Magliocco
- Centro Psico-Sociale di Seregno—Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale di Vimercate, 20871 Vimercate, Italy;
| | - Francesco Silipo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Viale Salvatore Venuta, 88100 Germaneto, Italy;
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
- Correspondence:
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9
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Daprati E, Balestrucci P, Nico D. Do graspable objects always leave a motor signature? A study on memory traces. Exp Brain Res 2022; 240:3193-3206. [PMID: 36271939 PMCID: PMC9678995 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-022-06487-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have reported the existence of reciprocal interactions between the type of motor activity physically performed on objects and the conceptual knowledge that is retained of them. Whether covert motor activity plays a similar effect is less clear. Certainly, objects are strong triggers for actions, and motor components can make the associated concepts more memorable. However, addition of an action-related memory trace may not always be automatic and could rather depend on 'how' objects are encountered. To test this hypothesis, we compared memory for objects that passive observers experienced as verbal labels (the word describing them), visual images (color photographs) and actions (pantomimes of object use). We predicted that the more direct the involvement of action-related representations the more effective would be the addition of a motor code to the experience and the more accurate would be the recall. Results showed that memory for objects presented as words i.e., a format that might only indirectly prime the sensorimotor system, was generally less accurate compared to memory for objects presented as photographs or pantomimes, which are more likely to directly elicit motor simulation processes. In addition, free recall of objects experienced as pantomimes was more accurate when these items afforded actions performed towards one's body than actions directed away from the body. We propose that covert motor activity can contribute to objects' memory, but the beneficial addition of a motor code to the experience is not necessarily automatic. An advantage is more likely to emerge when the observer is induced to take a first-person stance during the encoding phase, as may happen for objects affording actions directed towards the body, which obviously carry more relevance for the actor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Daprati
- grid.6530.00000 0001 2300 0941Dipartimento di Medicina dei Sistemi, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Priscilla Balestrucci
- grid.6582.90000 0004 1936 9748Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Applied Cognitive Psychology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Daniele Nico
- grid.7841.aDipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Roma la Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy
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10
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Del Maschio N, Fedeli D, Garofalo G, Buccino G. Evidence for the Concreteness of Abstract Language: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies. Brain Sci 2021; 12:32. [PMID: 35053776 PMCID: PMC8773921 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural mechanisms subserving the processing of abstract concepts remain largely debated. Even within the embodiment theoretical framework, most authors suggest that abstract concepts are coded in a linguistic propositional format, although they do not completely deny the role of sensorimotor and emotional experiences in coding it. To our knowledge, only one recent proposal puts forward that the processing of concrete and abstract concepts relies on the same mechanisms, with the only difference being in the complexity of the underlying experiences. In this paper, we performed a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimates (ALE) method on 33 functional neuroimaging studies that considered activations related to abstract and concrete concepts. The results suggest that (1) concrete and abstract concepts share the recruitment of the temporo-fronto-parietal circuits normally involved in the interactions with the physical world, (2) processing concrete concepts recruits fronto-parietal areas better than abstract concepts, and (3) abstract concepts recruit Broca's region more strongly than concrete ones. Based on anatomical and physiological evidence, Broca's region is not only a linguistic region mainly devoted to speech production, but it is endowed with complex motor representations of different biological effectors. Hence, we propose that the stronger recruitment of this region for abstract concepts is expression of the complex sensorimotor experiences underlying it, rather than evidence of a purely linguistic format of its processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Del Maschio
- Faculty of Psychology, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy; (N.D.M.); (D.F.)
| | - Davide Fedeli
- Faculty of Psychology, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy; (N.D.M.); (D.F.)
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Divisione di Neuroscienze, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy;
- IRCCS San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Divisione di Neuroscienze, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy;
- IRCCS San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy
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11
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Vukovic N, Hansen B, Lund TE, Jespersen S, Shtyrov Y. Rapid microstructural plasticity in the cortical semantic network following a short language learning session. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001290. [PMID: 34125828 PMCID: PMC8202930 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the clear importance of language in our life, our vital ability to quickly and effectively learn new words and meanings is neurobiologically poorly understood. Conventional knowledge maintains that language learning—especially in adulthood—is slow and laborious. Furthermore, its structural basis remains unclear. Even though behavioural manifestations of learning are evident near instantly, previous neuroimaging work across a range of semantic categories has largely studied neural changes associated with months or years of practice. Here, we address rapid neuroanatomical plasticity accompanying new lexicon acquisition, specifically focussing on the learning of action-related language, which has been linked to the brain’s motor systems. Our results show that it is possible to measure and to externally modulate (using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of motor cortex) cortical microanatomic reorganisation after mere minutes of new word learning. Learning-induced microstructural changes, as measured by diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and machine learning-based analysis, were evident in prefrontal, temporal, and parietal neocortical sites, likely reflecting integrative lexico-semantic processing and formation of new memory circuits immediately during the learning tasks. These results suggest a structural basis for the rapid neocortical word encoding mechanism and reveal the causally interactive relationship of modal and associative brain regions in supporting learning and word acquisition. This combined neuroimaging and brain stimulation study reveals rapid and distributed microstructural plasticity after a single immersive language learning session, demonstrating the causal relevance of the motor cortex in encoding the meaning of novel action words.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikola Vukovic
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Brian Hansen
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Sune Jespersen
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Yury Shtyrov
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Centre for Cognition and Decision making, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
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12
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Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, Mulc D, Španić E, Šagud M, Olucha-Bordonau FE, Vukšić M, R. Hof P. Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11060823. [PMID: 34072960 PMCID: PMC8228195 DOI: 10.3390/biom11060823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotions arise from activations of specialized neuronal populations in several parts of the cerebral cortex, notably the anterior cingulate, insula, ventromedial prefrontal, and subcortical structures, such as the amygdala, ventral striatum, putamen, caudate nucleus, and ventral tegmental area. Feelings are conscious, emotional experiences of these activations that contribute to neuronal networks mediating thoughts, language, and behavior, thus enhancing the ability to predict, learn, and reappraise stimuli and situations in the environment based on previous experiences. Contemporary theories of emotion converge around the key role of the amygdala as the central subcortical emotional brain structure that constantly evaluates and integrates a variety of sensory information from the surroundings and assigns them appropriate values of emotional dimensions, such as valence, intensity, and approachability. The amygdala participates in the regulation of autonomic and endocrine functions, decision-making and adaptations of instinctive and motivational behaviors to changes in the environment through implicit associative learning, changes in short- and long-term synaptic plasticity, and activation of the fight-or-flight response via efferent projections from its central nucleus to cortical and subcortical structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Mladenka Tkalčić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia;
| | - Vana Vukić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Damir Mulc
- University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, 10090 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Marina Šagud
- Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb and University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | | | - Mario Vukšić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 07305, USA;
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Togato G, Andras F, Miralles E, Macizo P. Motor processing modulates word comprehension. Br J Psychol 2021; 112:1028-1052. [PMID: 33914904 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We evaluated whether movement modulates the semantic processing of words. To this end, we used homograph words with two meanings, one associated with hand movements (e.g., 'abanico', 'fan' in Spanish) or foot movements ('bota', 'boot' in Spanish), and the other not associated with movement ('abanico', 'range' in Spanish; 'bota', 'wineskin' in Spanish). After the homograph, three words were presented, and participants were asked to choose the word related to one of the two homograph meanings. The words could be either related to the motor meaning of the homograph ('fan-heat'), to the non-motor meaning of the homograph ('range-possibility') or unrelated ('fan-phone'). The task was performed without movement (simple condition) or by performing hand (Experiment 1) and foot (Experiment 2) movements. Compared with the simple condition, the performance of movement oriented the preference towards the motor meaning of the homograph. This pattern of results confirms that movement modulates word comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Togato
- RGRLL Department, California State University Long Beach, California, USA
| | - Filip Andras
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), Granada, Spain.,University of Granada, Spain
| | - Elvira Miralles
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), Granada, Spain
| | - Pedro Macizo
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), Granada, Spain.,University of Granada, Spain
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14
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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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15
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Garagnani M, Kirilina E, Pulvermüller F. Semantic Grounding of Novel Spoken Words in the Primary Visual Cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:581847. [PMID: 33732120 PMCID: PMC7959837 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.581847] [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: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Embodied theories of grounded semantics postulate that, when word meaning is first acquired, a link is established between symbol (word form) and corresponding semantic information present in modality-specific—including primary—sensorimotor cortices of the brain. Direct experimental evidence documenting the emergence of such a link (i.e., showing that presentation of a previously unknown, meaningless word sound induces, after learning, category-specific reactivation of relevant primary sensory or motor brain areas), however, is still missing. Here, we present new neuroimaging results that provide such evidence. We taught participants aspects of the referential meaning of previously unknown, senseless novel spoken words (such as “Shruba” or “Flipe”) by associating them with either a familiar action or a familiar object. After training, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to analyze the participants’ brain responses to the new speech items. We found that hearing the newly learnt object-related word sounds selectively triggered activity in the primary visual cortex, as well as secondary and higher visual areas.These results for the first time directly document the formation of a link between the novel, previously meaningless spoken items and corresponding semantic information in primary sensory areas in a category-specific manner, providing experimental support for perceptual accounts of word-meaning acquisition in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Garagnani
- Department of Computing, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom.,Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Evgeniya Kirilina
- Neurocomputational Neuroimaging Unit, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurophysics, Max-Plank Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- 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 Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence "Matters of Activity", Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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16
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Paek EJ, Murray LL. Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Verb Fluency Performance in Individuals With Probable Alzheimer's Disease and Healthy Older Adults. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2021; 30:481-490. [PMID: 32551834 DOI: 10.1044/2019_ajslp-19-00052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose To date, verb fluency tasks have been mainly analyzed quantitatively for individuals with dementia. Qualitative analysis, however, such as examining the semantic and psycholinguistic content of the responses might further inform researchers and clinicians about patients' cognitive and linguistic status. Therefore, the current study examined psycholinguistic and lexical characteristics of verb fluency responses in individuals with probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD) and healthy older adults to delineate qualitative and quantitative differences between the two groups. Method The verb fluency responses from participants with pAD (amnestic type) were compared to those from age- and education-matched healthy older adults. The responses were analyzed with respect to the number and proportion of correct responses, word frequency, age of acquisition, phoneme and syllable length, and neighborhood density. The verb responses were also categorized into mental state verbs and action verbs. Additionally, a battery of cognitive-linguistic tests was administered, and for each group, relationships between correct verb fluency responses and other cognitive-linguistic skills were investigated using correlation and regression analyses. Results Similar to previous findings regarding noun retrieval in dementia, the results revealed that individuals with pAD not only produced fewer correct verb fluency responses but also generated little to no mental state verbs compared to the control group. The group with pAD also produced verbs with shorter phoneme and syllable lengths, higher word frequency, and earlier age of acquisition ratings relative to the healthy older adults. The number of correct verb fluency responses was mainly predicted by a reading comprehension score in the pAD group and a nonverbal fluency test score in the healthy group. Conclusion The current quantitative and qualitative findings add support to the contention that lexical-semantic impairments underlie word retrieval problems in pAD and such difficulties present in generative naming paradigms and also across grammatical categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Jin Paek
- Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville
| | - Laura L Murray
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
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17
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Jiang MYC, Jong MSY, Tse CS, Chai CS. Examining the Effect of Semantic Relatedness on the Acquisition of English Collocations. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2020; 49:199-222. [PMID: 31768805 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-019-09680-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This study examines whether semantic relatedness facilitates or impedes the acquisition of English collocations by conducting two experiments respectively on Chinese undergraduates. Each experiment was composed of a reading session, a productive test, and a receptive test. Experiment 1 began with the reading session of 28 paired-up words and their collocations (in sentence context). Those words were counterbalanced between two randomly selected groups by cross-matching on semantic relatedness. Results of the productive test revealed that the participants scored significantly higher on test items that were semantically related than the randomly cross-paired counterparts. However, for the receptive test, the participants performed significantly better on semantically unrelated items. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except that the word pairs selected were only semantically related and did not have any shared morphemes. Experiment 2 also revealed consistent results. The results of the two experiments consistently illustrate that semantic relatedness may exert a facilitatory effect on language output but an inhibitory effect on the process of language input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Yi-Chao Jiang
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R., China.
| | - Morris Siu-Yung Jong
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R., China
| | - Chi-Shing Tse
- Department of Educational Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R., China
| | - Ching-Sing Chai
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R., China
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18
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Gálvez-García G, Aldunate N, Bascour-Sandoval C, Martínez-Molina A, Peña J, Barramuño M. Muscle activation in semantic processing: An electromyography approach. Biol Psychol 2020; 152:107881. [PMID: 32200028 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we focus on the spontaneous activity related to manual verbs to determine the extent to which semantic processing of manual verbs affects spontaneous arm muscle activity. For this purpose, we recorded the arm's electromyographic activity while participants read manual and non-manual verbs, focusing their attention on the semantic content or a specific letter. In addition, we manipulated the arm position (in front of the body or behind the back) to observe postural priming effects for spontaneous muscle activity. Our results show that when arms were placed forward and the attention was directed to the semantic content, there was an enhanced spontaneous activation. Our results suggest that spontaneous motor responses are related to the involvement of the motor system in action language comprehension as suggested by language embodiment theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Germán Gálvez-García
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile; Département de Psychologie Cognitive & Neuropsychologie, Institut de Psychologie, Laboratoired'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Nerea Aldunate
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Claudio Bascour-Sandoval
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile; Carrera de Kinesiología, Facultad de las Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Temuco, Chile
| | - Agustín Martínez-Molina
- Departamento de Psicología Social y Metodología. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Spain
| | - Javiera Peña
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile
| | - Mauricio Barramuño
- Carrera de Kinesiología, Facultad de las Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Temuco, Chile.
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19
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Paek EJ, Murray LL, Newman SD. Neural Correlates of Verb Fluency Performance in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults and Individuals With Dementia: A Pilot fMRI Study. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:73. [PMID: 32265685 PMCID: PMC7100367 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.00073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Currently there are ~6 million Americans who are affected by dementia. Verbal fluency tasks have been commonly and frequently utilized to document the disease progression in many forms of dementia. Verb fluency has been found to display substantial potential to detect and monitor the cognitive declines of individuals with dementia who have fronto-striatal involvement. The neural substrates underlying verb fluency task performance, however, have remained unclear so far, especially in individuals with dementia. Therefore, in the current study, brain activation patterns of seven individuals with dementia and nine healthy older adults were investigated using functional MRI. The participants performed in the scanner an overt, subject-paced verb fluency task, representative of fluency tasks used in clinical settings. The brain activation patterns during the verb fluency task were compared between the two groups, and a correlational analysis was conducted to determine the neural correlates of verb fluency performance. The results suggest that compared to healthy older adults, individuals with dementia demonstrated poorer verb fluency performance and showed higher activation in specific neural regions, such as the bilateral frontal lobe. In addition, the correlational analysis revealed that poorer verb fluency performance lead to increased activation in certain cortical and subcortical areas, including left hippocampus and right supramarginal gyrus. The current findings are consistent with previous neurophysiological findings related to semantic (noun) fluency performance in older adults and individuals with dementia and add to the empirical evidence that supports the role of the frontal lobe and hippocampus in verb retrieval and search. Declines in verb fluency performance cannot only be used as a cognitive marker, but also represent neuropathological changes due to the neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Jin Paek
- Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Laura L. Murray
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University London, London, ON, Canada
| | - Sharlene D. Newman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
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20
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Gianelli C, Kühne K, Lo Presti S, Mencaraglia S, Dalla Volta R. Action processing in the motor system: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) evidence of shared mechanisms in the visual and linguistic modalities. Brain Cogn 2020; 139:105510. [PMID: 31923805 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.105510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In two experiments, we compared the dynamics of corticospinal excitability when processing visually or linguistically presented tool-oriented hand actions in native speakers and sequential bilinguals. In a third experiment we used the same procedure to test non-motor, low-level stimuli, i.e. scrambled images and pseudo-words. Stimuli were presented in sequence: pictures (tool + tool-oriented hand action or their scrambled counterpart) and words (tool noun + tool-action verb or pseudo-words). Experiment 1 presented German linguistic stimuli to native speakers, while Experiment 2 presented English stimuli to non-natives. Experiment 3 tested Italian native speakers. Single-pulse trascranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) was applied to the left motor cortex at five different timings: baseline, 200 ms after tool/noun onset, 150, 350 and 500 ms after hand/verb onset with motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) recorded from the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles. We report strong similarities in the dynamics of corticospinal excitability across the visual and linguistic modalities. MEPs' suppression started as early as 150 ms and lasted for the duration of stimulus presentation (500 ms). Moreover, we show that this modulation is absent for stimuli with no motor content. Overall, our study supports the notion of a core, overarching system of action semantics shared by different modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Gianelli
- Division of Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany; IUSS, University School of Advanced Studies, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Katharina Kühne
- Division of Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sara Lo Presti
- IUSS, University School of Advanced Studies, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Riccardo Dalla Volta
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Università Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy.
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21
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Stairways to the brain: Transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) modulates a cerebellar-cortical network enhancing verb recovery. Brain Res 2020; 1727:146564. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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22
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Jefferies E, Thompson H, Cornelissen P, Smallwood J. The neurocognitive basis of knowledge about object identity and events: dissociations reflect opposing effects of semantic coherence and control. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 375:20190300. [PMID: 31840592 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic memory encompasses knowledge of specific objects and their diverse associations, but the mechanisms that allow us to retrieve aspects of knowledge required for a given task are poorly understood. The dual hub theory suggests that separate semantic stores represent knowledge of (i) taxonomic categories (in the anterior temporal lobes, ATL) and (ii) thematic associations (in angular gyrus, AG or posterior middle temporal gyrus, pMTG). Alternatively, the controlled semantic cognition (CSC) framework suggests that semantic processing emerges from the flexible interaction of heteromodal semantic representations in ATL with a semantic control network, which includes pMTG as well as prefrontal regions. According to this view, ATL supports patterns of coherent auto-associative retrieval, while semantic control sites respond when ongoing conceptual activation needs to be altered to suit the task or context. These theories make different predictions about the nature of functional dissociations within the semantic network. We review evidence for these claims across multiple methods. First, we show ATL is sensitive to the strength of thematic associations as well as taxonomic relations. Next, we document functional dissociations between AG and pMTG: rather than these regions acting as comparable thematic hubs, AG is allied to the default mode network and supports more 'automatic' retrieval, while pMTG responds when control demands are high. However, the semantic control network, including pMTG, also shows a greater response to events/actions and verbs, supporting the claims of both theories. We propose that tasks tapping event semantics often require greater shaping of conceptual retrieval than comparison tasks, because these elements of our knowledge are inherently flexible, with relevant features depending on the context. In this way, the CSC account might be able to account for findings that suggest both a process and a content distinction within the semantic network. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards mechanistic models of meaning composition'.
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23
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Geiger A, Bente G, Lammers S, Tepest R, Roth D, Bzdok D, Vogeley K. Distinct functional roles of the mirror neuron system and the mentalizing system. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
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Spatial text processing: are estimates of time and distance influenced by the age of characters and readers? PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2019; 85:259-267. [PMID: 31549251 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-019-01248-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
It is widely accepted that, while hearing or reading a story, people continuously form and update mental representations of the characters, places and events being described, based on plausible spatial, temporal or intentional details. According to the embodied cognition approach, the mental representations that accompany text reading are grounded in each reader's own sensorimotor experiences. Two experiments were conducted to examine whether readers' estimates of time and distance are influenced by age, their own and that of the character being described. In Experiment 1, 182 young adults read the description of a route in a town being covered by a young or an elderly character. In Experiment 2, the same descriptions as in Experiment 1 were read by 121 young adults and 53 older people. To avoid a possible confound, a follow-up to Experiment 1 (Experiment 1a) repeated the study by removing from texts the adverbs describing the walking speed of characters. In all experiments, participants were asked to estimate: (a) the time the characters took to reach their destinations (time estimation task); and (b) the distance they covered (distance estimation task). The results showed that both characters' and readers' ages influenced the time estimated, whereas no effects were found on estimates of distance: the elderly character was estimated to take longer than the young character (Experiments 1, 1a and 2), and older readers estimated longer times than younger readers (Experiment 2). This prompts the conclusion that personal features of both the readers and the characters they read about were used to infer the temporal dimension of situations described in the narratives. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
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25
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Steeb B, García-Cordero I, Huizing MC, Collazo L, Borovinsky G, Ferrari J, Cuitiño MM, Ibáñez A, Sedeño L, García AM. Progressive Compromise of Nouns and Action Verbs in Posterior Cortical Atrophy. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1345. [PMID: 30123155 PMCID: PMC6085559 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Processing of nouns and action verbs can be differentially compromised following lesions to posterior and anterior/motor brain regions, respectively. However, little is known about how these deficits progress in the course of neurodegeneration. To address this issue, we assessed productive lexical skills in a patient with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) at two different stages of his pathology. On both occasions, he underwent a structural brain imaging protocol and completed semantic fluency tasks requiring retrieval of animals (nouns) and actions (verbs). Imaging results were compared with those of controls via voxel-based morphometry (VBM), whereas fluency performance was compared to age-matched norms through Crawford's t-tests. In the first assessment, the patient exhibited atrophy of more posterior regions supporting multimodal semantics (medial temporal and lingual gyri), together with a selective deficit in noun fluency. Then, by the second assessment, the patient's atrophy had progressed mainly toward fronto-motor regions (rolandic operculum, inferior and superior frontal gyri) and subcortical motor hubs (cerebellum, thalamus), and his fluency impairments had extended to action verbs. These results offer unprecedented evidence of the specificity of the pathways related to noun and action-verb impairments in the course of neurodegeneration, highlighting the latter's critical dependence on damage to regions supporting motor functions, as opposed to multimodal semantic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda Steeb
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Indira García-Cordero
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marjolein C Huizing
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Collazo
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Geraldine Borovinsky
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jesica Ferrari
- Department of Language Speech, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Macarena M Cuitiño
- Laboratory of Language Research (LILEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.,Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile.,Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Australian Research Council, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
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Connors BL, Rende R. Embodied Decision-Making Style: Below and Beyond Cognition. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1123. [PMID: 30072930 PMCID: PMC6058971 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing recognition of the essential role of sensorimotor processes as not just a supporter of the cognitive aspects of decision making, but rather as a foundation for all the coordinated physical and mental activities that go into how we make decisions. We illuminate concepts and methods for examining embodied decision making through the lens of Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA). MPA is as a prime example of a conceptually rooted observational methodology for deciphering embodied decision making and for decoding how people differ as decision makers with respect to cognitive motivational priorities. The historical origins of MPA that predated the formalized recognition of embodied cognition are presented, along with an overview of both the theoretical model and methodology. Advances in research on two psychometric benchmarks of observational research-inter-rater reliability and predictive validity-are highlighted as an empirical platform for the strong promise of MPA as a tool for understanding individual differences in embodied decision-making style. Future directions for research are considered-specifically with respect to the potential for utilizing automated coding, and the need for collaborative neuroscience research efforts-which would support further understanding of how decoding movement patterning captures human motivation at the level of sensory, motoric, cognitive and action integration which drives how people function as decision makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda L Connors
- Office of the President, Naval War College, Newport, RI, United States
| | - Richard Rende
- Social Behavioral Research Applications, Phoenix, AZ, United States
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