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Semin Speech Lang 2018; 39(01): 079-086
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1608858
Review Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Regional Brain Dysfunction Associated with Semantic Errors in Comprehension

Hinna Shahid
1   Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
,
Rajani Sebastian
1   Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
,
Donna C. Tippett
1   Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
2   Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
3   Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
,
Sadhvi Saxena
1   Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
,
Amy Wright
1   Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
,
Taylor Hanayik
4   University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
,
Bonnie Breining
1   Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
,
Leonardo Bonilha
5   Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
,
Julius Fridriksson
4   University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
,
Chris Rorden
4   University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
,
Argye E. Hillis
1   Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
2   Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
6   Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
22 January 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Here we illustrate how investigation of individuals acutely after stroke, before structure/function reorganization through recovery or rehabilitation, can be helpful in answering questions about the role of specific brain regions in language functions. Although there is converging evidence from a variety of sources that the left posterior-superior temporal gyrus plays some role in spoken word comprehension, its precise role in this function has not been established. We hypothesized that this region is essential for distinguishing between semantically related words, because it is critical for linking the spoken word to the complete semantic representation. We tested this hypothesis in 127 individuals with 48 hours of acute ischemic stroke, before the opportunity for reorganization or recovery. We identified tissue dysfunction (acute infarct and/or hypoperfusion) in gray and white matter parcels of the left hemisphere, and we evaluated the association between rate of semantic errors in a word-picture verification tasks and extent of tissue dysfunction in each region. We found that after correcting for lesion volume and multiple comparisons, the rate of semantic errors correlated with the extent of tissue dysfunction in left posterior-superior temporal gyrus and retrolenticular white matter.

Keywords

Aphasia - stroke - comprehension - semantics - brain mapping
 

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