Amodal Semantic Representations Depend on both Anterior Temporal Lobes: Evidence from Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Autor/inn/en	Pobric, Gorana; Jefferies, Elizabeth; Ralph, Matthew A. Lambon
Titel	Amodal Semantic Representations Depend on both Anterior Temporal Lobes: Evidence from Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Quelle	In: Neuropsychologia, 48 (2010) 5, S.1336-1342 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0028-3932
DOI	10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.12.036
Schlagwörter	Pictorial Stimuli; Stimulation; Semantics; Diagnostic Tests; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Language Processing; Vocabulary Development; Cognitive Processes; Task Analysis + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Fantasieanregung; Semantik; Diagnostic test; Diagnostischer Test; Sprachverarbeitung; Wortschatzarbeit; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Aufgabenanalyse
Abstract	The key question of how the brain codes the meaning of words and pictures is the focus of vigorous debate. Is there a "semantic hub" in the temporal poles where these different inputs converge to form amodal conceptual representations? Alternatively, are there distinct neural circuits that underpin our comprehension of pictures and words? Understanding words might be primarily left-lateralised, linked to other language areas, while semantic representation of pictures may be more bilateral. To elucidate this debate, we used offline, low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to disrupt neural processing temporarily in the left or right temporal poles. During the induced refractory period, participants made judgements of semantic association for verbal and pictorial stimuli. The efficiency of semantic processing was reduced by rTMS, yet a perceptual task of comparable difficulty was unaffected. rTMS applied to the left or right temporal poles disrupted semantic processing for words and pictures to the same degree, while rTMS delivered at a control site had no impact. The results confirm that both temporal poles form a critical substrate within the neural network that supports conceptual knowledge, regardless of modality. (Contains 4 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10