Dissociating the semantic function of two neighbouring subregions in the left lateral anterior temporal lobe

Ana Sanjuán, Thomas M.H. Hope, 'Oiwi Parker Jones, Susan Prejawa, Marion Oberhuber, Julie Guerin, Mohamed L. Seghier, David W. Green, Cathy J. Price

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

We used fMRI in 35 healthy participants to investigate how two neighbouring subregions in the lateral anterior temporal lobe (LATL) contribute to semantic matching and object naming. Four different levels of processing were considered: (A) recognition of the object concepts; (B) search for semantic associations related to object stimuli; (C) retrieval of semantic concepts of interest; and (D) retrieval of stimulus specific concepts as required for naming. During semantic association matching on picture stimuli or heard object names, we found that activation in both subregions was higher when the objects were semantically related (mug-kettle) than unrelated (car-teapot). This is consistent with both LATL subregions playing a role in (C), the successful retrieval of amodal semantic concepts. In addition, one subregion was more activated for object naming than matching semantically related objects, consistent with (D), the retrieval of a specific concept for naming. We discuss the implications of these novel findings for cognitive models of semantic processing and left anterior temporal lobe function.

Original languageBritish English
Pages (from-to)153-162
Number of pages10
JournalNeuropsychologia
Volume76
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2015

Keywords

  • Anterior temporal lobe
  • FMRI
  • Naming
  • Semantic memory

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