Differential involvement of the anterior temporal lobes in famous people semantics
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Abstract(s)
The ability to recognize a famous person occurs through semantic memory. Previous
neuroimaging studies have shown that the anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) are involved
in the recognition of famous people. However, it is still a matter of debate whether
the semantic processing of names or pictures of famous people has an impact on
the activation of ATLs. The aim of this study was to explore the pattern of activation
associated with a semantic processing of famous people based on face and written name
stimuli. Fifteen healthy young individuals participated in our fMRI study, in which they
were asked to perform a semantic categorization judgment task, based on profession, of
visually presented pictures, and names of famous people. Neuroimaging findings showed
a common pattern of activation for faces and names mainly involving the inferior frontal
regions, the posterior temporal lobe, the visual cortex, and the ATLs. We found that
the comparison names vs. pictures lead to significant activation in the anterior superior
temporal gyrus. On the other hand, faces vs. names seemed associated with increased
activation in the medial ATL. Moreover, our results demonstrated that the functional
connectivity network anchored to the medial ATL, compared to the anterior STG, is more
connected to the bilateral occipital lobe and fusiform gyrus that are regions implicated in
the visual system and visual processing of faces. This study provides critical evidence of
the differential involvement of ATL regions in semantics of famous people.
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