The Neuronal Correlates of Digits Backward Are Revealed by Voxel-Based Morphometry and Resting-State Functional Connectivity Analyses

Digits backward (DB) is a widely used neuropsychological measure that is believed to be a simple and effective index of the capacity of the verbal working memory. However, its neural correlates remain elusive. The aim of this study is to investigate the neural correlates of DB in 299 healthy young adults by combining voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analyses. The VBM analysis showed positive correlations between the DB scores and the gray matter volumes in the right anterior superior temporal gyrus (STG), the right posterior STG, the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left Rolandic operculum, which are four critical areas in the auditory phonological loop of the verbal working memory. Voxel-based correlation analysis was then performed between the positive rsFCs of these four clusters and the DB scores. We found that the DB scores were positively correlated with the rsFCs within the salience network (SN), that is, between the right anterior STG, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the right fronto-insular cortex. We also found that the DB scores were negatively correlated with the rsFC within an anti-correlation network of the SN, between the right posterior STG and the left posterior insula. Our findings suggest that DB performance is related to the structural and functional organizations of the brain areas that are involved in the auditory phonological loop and the SN

Neurology of foreign language aptitude

This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconceptualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude, starting with the earliest attempts to define the neurological substrate for talent, sources of difficulties in the neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude and modern research methods. This is followed by the discussion of the research on the phonology of foreign language aptitude with emphasis on functional and structural studies as well as their consequences for the knowledge of the concept. The subsequent section presents the studies which focus on lexical and morphosyntactic aspects of foreign language aptitude. The paper ends with a discussion of the limitations of contemporary research, the future directions of such research and selected methodological issues

Neurology of foreign language aptitude

This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconceptualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude, starting with the earliest attempts to define the neurological substrate for talent, sources of difficulties in the neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude and modern research methods. This is followed by the discussion of the research on the phonology of foreign language aptitude with emphasis on functional and structural studies as well as their consequences for the knowledge of the concept. The subsequent section presents the studies which focus on lexical and morphosyntactic aspects of foreign language aptitude. The paper ends with a discussion of the limitations of contemporary research, the future directions of such research and selected methodological issues5113402Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching

Semantic radical consistency and character transparency effects in Chinese: an ERP study

BACKGROUND: This event-related potential (ERP) study aims to investigate the representation and temporal dynamics of Chinese orthography-to-semantics mappings by simultaneously manipulating character transparency and semantic radical consistency. Character components, referred to as radicals, make up the building blocks used dur...postprin

Utilisation de l’électrophysiologie dans l’étude du développement des capacités d’intégration audiovisuelle du nourrisson à l’âge adulte

Une littérature abondante documente les bénéfices de l’intégration multisensorielle chez les adultes ainsi que les mécanismes cérébraux sous-jacents à ces habiletés. Toutefois, de nombreuses questions sur le développement de l’intégration multisensorielle chez l’enfant demeurent sans réponse et les travaux chez les animaux ainsi que les données comportementales, électrophysiologiques et en neuroimagerie chez l’homme ne forment pas de consensus quant à son caractère inné ou acquis. Le premier objectif de la présente thèse vise donc à recenser les écrits de la littérature sur le développement des capacités d’intégration multisensorielle. Cette revue de la littérature, qui constituera l’article 1 de la thèse, présente les études comportementales et neuronales en faveur du caractère inné ou acquis des processus d’intégration multisensorielle. L’article 1 suggère que certaines habiletés de traitement multisensoriel sont présentes chez le nourrisson et le jeune enfant, mais que la capacité à intégrer les informations multisensorielles de façon optimale demeure un long processus qui se développe tardivement au cours de l’enfance et de l’adolescence. Cette revue nous a également permis de mieux cibler les lacunes de la littérature relatives au développement neuronal des capacités d’intégration, avec une attention particulière sur l’intégration d’informations audiovisuelles non linguistiques. Ainsi, aucune étude en électrophysiologie ne s’est encore penchée sur la progression développementale des capacités d’intégration audiovisuelle chez les nourrissons et les enfants d’âge préscolaire. Ce constat a justifié la tenue de l’étude expérimentale présentée à l’article 2 dont l’objectif vise à caractériser la progression développementale neurotypique des mécanismes d’intégration d’informations audiovisuelles non linguistiques dès l’âge de 3 mois jusqu’à l’âge adulte. Cette recherche vise également à confirmer l'âge où les mécanismes d’intégration audiovisuelle, d’une part, commencent à fonctionner de façon similaire aux adultes et, d’autre part, atteignent leur pleine maturité. Pour ce faire, nous avons mené une étude expérimentale transversale sur un vaste échantillon composé de 121 participants neurotypiques en utilisant l’électrophysiologie à haute densité, plus sécifiquement par le biais d’analyses temps-fréquence. Notre étude démontre la présence de précurseurs de l’intégration audiovisuelle dès l’âge de 2 ans. De plus, nous observons que les jeunes de 11-14 ans commencent à intégrer ces informations de façon similaire aux adultes, mais que les mécanismes d’intégration audiovisuelle atteignent leur pleine maturité tardivement au cours de l’adolescence soit entre les âges de 15 et 17 ans. Cette étude appuie la littérature quant à l’émergence progressive des capacités à intégrer les informations audiovisuelles, permet de documenter la progression développementale de ces capacités et répond à l’absence de littérature sur les processus neuronaux de l’intégration audiovisuelle chez le nourrisson et l’enfant d’âge préscolaire. Dans l’ensemble, cette thèse offre une meilleure compréhension du développement neurotypique des mécanismes d’intégration audiovisuelle et fournit un point de comparaison pour étudier ces processus auprès d’enfants présentant des troubles neurodéveloppementaux souvent accompagnés de déficits sensoriels.An abundant litterature documents the benefits associated to multisensory integration in adults as well as brain mechanisms underlying these skills. However, numerous questions regarding the development of multisensory integration during childhood remain unanswered and there is no consensus among animal data in addition to behavioral, electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies conducted in humans wether these skills are innate or acquired. The first objective of this thesis is to review the literature on the development of multisensory integration capacities. This review, which will constitute the first article of this thesis, presents neuronal and behavioral studies in favour of the nature or nurture character of multisensory integration mechanisms. This review suggests that the capacity to detect and form multisensory associations begins very early in development, but that the ability to integrate multisensory information in an optimal manner is a progressive process that continues to develop over childhood and adolescence. This work has also allowed us to better target the gaps in the existing literature related to the neuronal development of integration capacities, with special emphasis on the integration of non linguistic audiovisual information. Thus, to date no electrophysiological study has yet address the developmental progression of audiovisual integration capacities in infants and preschool children. This ascertainment has justified the conduct of the experimental study presented in the second article with the aim of characterizing the neurotypical developmental progression of non linguistic audiovisual information integration mecanisms as early as 3 months of age to adulthood. This research is also aimed at confirming the age when audiovisual integration mechanisms, on the one hand, begin to operate in a similar fashion than adults and, on the other hand, reach their full maturity. For these purposes, we have conducted an experimental iv study. Here, we undertook a cross-sectional experimental investigation on a large cohort of 121 neurotypical individuals using high-density electrophysiology more specifically through time-frequency analysis. Our study revealed the presence of precursors of audiovisual integration in children as young as two years of age. Moreover, our results indicate that 11- to 14-year-old adolescents start to integrate this information in an adult-like manner, but that audiovisual integration mechanisms reach their full maturity late throughout adolescence between the age of 15 and 17 years. This study supports the literature regarding the progressive emergence of the capacities to integrate audiovisual information, documents the developmental progression of these capacities and answers the absence of literature on the neuronal processes of audiovisual integration in infants and preschool children. Overall, this thesis provides a better understanding of the development of audiovisual integration mechanisms and provides a benchmark to investigate these processes in children with neurodevelopmental disorders often accompanied with sensory impairments

Medial Temporal Lobe Does Not Tell The Whole Story: Episodic Memory In ‘atypical’ Variants Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, which is globally epidemic and well-known by the general public. Episodic memory, a conscious recollection of a particular event in spatial and temporal context, is the most prominent deficit in the early stage of clinical amnestic AD, and reflected by the shrinkage of structures in medial temporal lobe (MTL), including the hippocampus. According to Braak staging, tangles begin in the transentorhinal cortex of the MTL, which then spreads to hippocampal subfields, and later to neocortical areas. Cases that are less recognized by the general public are patients with the atypical variants of AD. Interestingly, many of the atypical cases of AD appear to share the same histopathological features with clinical amnestic AD. According to the diagnostic criteria for these atypical variants of AD, episodic memory should be relatively preserved. However, inconsistent reports on the episodic memory performance and the hippocampal involvement in these atypical cases pose challenges for accurately diagnosing these patients. The two kinds of atypical variants of AD that I focused here are logopenic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (lvPPA) and posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). The overarching theme of my thesis is to examine 1) whether the atypical cases of AD have episodic memory difficulty, and if so, 2) what brain areas are responsible for this difficulty. Chapter 2 and 3 of the current thesis show that 1) episodic memory difficulty is observed in lvPPA and PCA cases and 2) this impairment is modulated by deficit in other cognitive domains and associated with disease in non-MTL brain regions. This would be consistent with the ‘hippocampal-sparing’ hypothesis that not all AD histopathology begins in the MTL, and these hippocampal-sparing conditions suggest that additional mechanisms must be considered in the genesis of spreading pathology in AD