Regions of neural dysfunction associated with impaired naming of actions and objects in acute stroke

The proposal that there are distinct neural regions devoted to the representation or processing of names of objects versus actions has received support from a variety of sources. However, there have been conflicting results regarding the localisation of the postulated mechanisms that are more crucial for one category or the other. There is also controversy as to whether the separation of mechanisms devoted to object versus action naming arises at the level of lexical-semantics or at the level of accessing lexical representations for output. We addressed these issues by testing oral naming and word comprehension of object and action names in 33 right-handed patients with acute left-hemisphere stroke, and by obtaining magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion-weighted and diffusion-weighted imaging of each patient at the same time. We identified regions of abnormal blood flow or infarction associated with impaired naming (with and without impaired word comprehension) of objects, of actions, or of both, using Fisher Exact tests. We found both neural regions shared by networks underlying naming of actions and networks underlying naming of objects, and other neural regions that were crucial to only one network or the other. One of the shared components (in the left superior temporal gyrus) was also essential to comprehension of action and object names (as tested by word/picture verification). These results converge with evidence from chronic lesion studies and functional imaging studies, indicating that some components of the neural networks for accessing lexical representations for output are more important for object names (e.g., left temporal cortex) and others more important for action names (e.g., left posterior frontal cortex).

[1]  Alfonso Caramazza,et al.  Selective impairment of semantics in lexical processing , 1990 .

[2]  R P Lesser,et al.  Electrical stimulation of Wernicke's area interferes with comprehension , 1986, Neurology.

[3]  Argye E. Hillis,et al.  Neural substrates of the cognitive processes underlying reading: Evidence from magnetic resonance perfusion imaging in hyperacute stroke , 2001 .

[4]  A. Caramazza,et al.  Representation of Grammatical Categories of Words in the Brain , 1995, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[5]  R. Berndt,et al.  Retrieval of nouns and verbs in agrammatism and anomia , 1990, Brain and Language.

[6]  Richard S. J. Frackowiak,et al.  The anatomy of phonological and semantic processing in normal subjects. , 1992, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[7]  P. T. Fox,et al.  Positron emission tomographic studies of the cortical anatomy of single-word processing , 1988, Nature.

[8]  A. Damasio,et al.  Nouns and verbs are retrieved with differently distributed neural systems. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[9]  John Hart,et al.  Delineation of single‐word semantic comprehension deficits in aphasia, with anatomical correlation , 1990, Annals of neurology.

[10]  Michael A. Kraut,et al.  Neural Substrates of Semantics , 2002 .

[11]  S Dehaene,et al.  Electrophysiological evidence for category-specific word processing in the normal human brain. , 1995, Neuroreport.

[12]  Elizabeth K. Warrington,et al.  Category specificity in an agrammatic patient: The relative impairment of verb retrieval and comprehension , 1985, Neuropsychologia.

[13]  E. De Renzi,et al.  Sparing of verbs and preserved, but ineffectual reading in a patient with impaired word production. , 1995, Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior.

[14]  Argye E. Hillis,et al.  Neural substrates of the cognitive processes underlying spelling: Evidence from MR diffusion and perfusion imaging , 2002 .

[15]  Denis Dooley,et al.  Atlas of the Human Brain. , 1971 .

[16]  Karl J. Friston,et al.  Distribution of cortical neural networks involved in word comprehension and word retrieval. , 1991, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[17]  AGNOSIA, APRAXIA AND APHASIA , 1947 .

[18]  A. N. Haendiges,et al.  Verb Retrieval in Aphasia. 1. Characterizing Single Word Impairments , 1997, Brain and Language.

[19]  A. Caramazza,et al.  Grammatical class in lexical production and morhpological processing: Evidence from a case of fluent aphasia , 2000, Cognitive neuropsychology.

[20]  A R Damasio,et al.  A Neural Basis for the Retrieval of Words for Actions , 2001, Cognitive neuropsychology.

[21]  R. Berndt,et al.  Grammatical class and context effects in a case of pure anomia: Implications for models of language production , 1988 .

[22]  Karl J. Friston,et al.  The cortical localization of the lexicons. Positron emission tomography evidence. , 1992, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[23]  J. Fadili,et al.  The neural representation of nouns and verbs: PET studies. , 2001, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[24]  R J Wise,et al.  Separate neural subsystems within 'Wernicke's area'. , 2001, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[25]  Richard S. J. Frackowiak,et al.  Functional anatomy of a common semantic system for words and pictures , 1996, Nature.

[26]  Alfonso Caramazza,et al.  Grammatical Distinctions in the Left Frontal Cortex , 2001, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[27]  A. Caramazza,et al.  On the Basis for the Agrammatic's Difficulty in Producing Main Verbs , 1984, Cortex.

[28]  S. Cappa,et al.  Object and action naming in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia , 1998, Neurology.

[29]  A E Hillis,et al.  Subcortical aphasia and neglect in acute stroke: the role of cortical hypoperfusion. , 2002, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[30]  Alfonso Caramazza,et al.  Selective difficulties with spoken nouns and written verbs: A single case study , 2002, Journal of Neurolinguistics.

[31]  J. Ulatowski,et al.  Reperfusion of Specific Brain Regions by Raising Blood Pressure Restores Selective Language Functions in Subacute Stroke , 2001, Brain and Language.

[32]  Hanna Damasio,et al.  On the Neurology of Naming , 1997 .

[33]  Alfonso Caramazza,et al.  The Modality-Specific Organization of Grammatical Categories: Evidence from Impaired Spoken and Written Sentence Production , 1997, Brain and Language.

[34]  Leslie G. Ungerleider,et al.  Discrete Cortical Regions Associated with Knowledge of Color and Knowledge of Action , 1995, Science.

[35]  A. Hillis,et al.  Hypoperfusion of Wernicke's area predicts severity of semantic deficit in acute stroke , 2001, Annals of neurology.

[36]  J R Hodges,et al.  Selective impairment of verb processing associated with pathological changes in Brodmann areas 44 and 45 in the motor neurone disease-dementia-aphasia syndrome. , 2001, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[37]  Richard S. J. Frackowiak,et al.  Noun and verb retrieval by normal subjects. Studies with PET. , 1996, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[38]  D. Perani,et al.  The neural correlates of verb and noun processing. A PET study. , 1999, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[39]  G. Gainotti,et al.  Evidence for a possible neuroanatomical basis for lexical processing of nouns and verbs , 1994, Neuropsychologia.

[40]  A. Caramazza,et al.  Lexical organization of nouns and verbs in the brain , 1991, Nature.

[41]  A. Hillis Effects of Separate Treatments for Distinct Impairments Within the Naming Process , 1991 .