Wernicke's region--where is it

In this subject, the first question both logically and chronologically was and is: Can a lesion (focal damage) of the cerebrum cause a loss of language without causing a loss of intelligence? That is the original question, still debated hotly by many people. Much of the heat is attributable to the way in which the question is phrased. Suppose we phrase it relatively, as follows: Can a lesion of the cerebrum produce a deficit in language that is far in excess of the concomitant deficit in intelligence? Asked in this way, almost everyone would answer yes. There are worthy persons who are still arguing that anyone who has a loss of language from a cerebral lesion must have some accompanying loss of intelligence. Similarly, there are equally worthy persons recurrently showing us that intelligence can be preserved in spite of severe aphasia. Both parties are undoubtedly correct. But the force of either argument is largely dissipated when the question is rephrased in the relative way. Of course, how much intelligence is lost (or retained) depends upon how one goes about measuring intelligence; but with almost any measures, except those strictly linguistic, the answer will be yes. Indeed, if the answer were not yes, there would not be such a thing a

A proposal for a coordinated effort for the determination of brainwide neuroanatomical connectivity in model organisms at a mesoscopic scale

In this era of complete genomes, our knowledge of neuroanatomical circuitry remains surprisingly sparse. Such knowledge is however critical both for basic and clinical research into brain function. Here we advocate for a concerted effort to fill this gap, through systematic, experimental mapping of neural circuits at a mesoscopic scale of resolution suitable for comprehensive, brain-wide coverage, using injections of tracers or viral vectors. We detail the scientific and medical rationale and briefly review existing knowledge and experimental techniques. We define a set of desiderata, including brain-wide coverage; validated and extensible experimental techniques suitable for standardization and automation; centralized, open access data repository; compatibility with existing resources, and tractability with current informatics technology. We discuss a hypothetical but tractable plan for mouse, additional efforts for the macaque, and technique development for human. We estimate that the mouse connectivity project could be completed within five years with a comparatively modest budget.Comment: 41 page

True heterotopic bone in the paralyzed patient

In past years the clinical and radiologic presentation of true heterotopic bone in the paralyzed patient has been confused with osteomyelitis, neoplasm, trauma, and thrombophlebitis. We reviewed 376 paralyzed patients' roentgenographic files and found 78 patients with soft tissue ossification unassociated with infection, neoplasm, or underlying fractures, which we called true heterotopic bone. From this population the usual spectrum of radiologic findings is described, so that the radiologist may separate roentgenographically a group of patients from other types of ectopic ossification.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46816/1/256_2004_Article_BF00347167.pd

Activation of the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus in the First 200 ms of Reading: Evidence from Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

BACKGROUND: It is well established that the left inferior frontal gyrus plays a key role in the cerebral cortical network that supports reading and visual word recognition. Less clear is when in time this contribution begins. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG), which has both good spatial and excellent temporal resolution, to address this question. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: MEG data were recorded during a passive viewing paradigm, chosen to emphasize the stimulus-driven component of the cortical response, in which right-handed participants were presented words, consonant strings, and unfamiliar faces to central vision. Time-frequency analyses showed a left-lateralized inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercularis) response to words between 100-250 ms in the beta frequency band that was significantly stronger than the response to consonant strings or faces. The left inferior frontal gyrus response to words peaked at approximately 130 ms. This response was significantly later in time than the left middle occipital gyrus, which peaked at approximately 115 ms, but not significantly different from the peak response in the left mid fusiform gyrus, which peaked at approximately 140 ms, at a location coincident with the fMRI-defined visual word form area (VWFA). Significant responses were also detected to words in other parts of the reading network, including the anterior middle temporal gyrus, the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, the angular and supramarginal gyri, and the left superior temporal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest very early interactions between the vision and language domains during visual word recognition, with speech motor areas being activated at the same time as the orthographic word-form is being resolved within the fusiform gyrus. This challenges the conventional view of a temporally serial processing sequence for visual word recognition in which letter forms are initially decoded, interact with their phonological and semantic representations, and only then gain access to a speech code

Efficient Visual Object and Word Recognition Relies on High Spatial Frequency Coding in the Left Posterior Fusiform Gyrus: Evidence from a Case-Series of Patients with Ventral Occipito-Temporal Cortex Damage

Seeing a face in motion can improve face recognition in the general population, and studies of face matching indicate that people with face recognition difficulties (developmental prosopagnosia; DP) may be able to use movement cues as a supplementary strategy to help them process faces. However, the use of facial movement cues in DP has not been examined in the context of familiar face recognition. This study examined whether people with DP were better at recognizing famous faces presented in motion, compared to static. Methods: Nine participants with DP and 14 age-matched controls completed a famous face recognition task. Each face was presented twice across 2 blocks: once in motion and once as a still image. Discriminability (A) was calculated for each block. Results: Participants with DP showed a significant movement advantage overall. This was driven by a movement advantage in the first block, but not in the second block. Participants with DP were significantly worse than controls at identifying faces from static images, but there was no difference between those with DP and controls for moving images. Conclusions: Seeing a familiar face in motion can improve face recognition in people with DP, at least in some circumstances. The mechanisms behind this effect are unclear, but these results suggest that some people with DP are able to learn and recognize patterns of facial motion, and movement can act as a useful cue when face recognition is impaired