Skip Navigation


Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on August 4, 2008
Cerebral Cortex 2009 19(4):832-838; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn131
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/4/832    most recent
bhn131v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lambon Ralph, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Jefferies, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lambon Ralph, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Jefferies, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Conceptual Knowledge Is Underpinned by the Temporal Pole Bilaterally: Convergent Evidence from rTMS

Matthew A. Lambon Ralph1, Gorana Pobric1 and Elizabeth Jefferies2

1 Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences, Zochonis Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK, 2 Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington YO10 5DD, UK

Address correspondence to Email: matt.lambon-ralph{at}manchester.ac.uk.

Conceptual knowledge provides the basis on which we bring meaning to our world. Studies of semantic dementia patients and some functional neuroimaging studies indicate that the anterior temporal lobes, bilaterally, are the core neural substrate for the formation of semantic representations. This hypothesis remains controversial, however, as traditional neurological models of comprehension do not posit a role for these regions. To adjudicate on this debate, we conducted 2 novel experiments that used off-line, low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to disrupt neural processing temporarily in the left or right temporal poles (TPs). The time required to make semantic decisions was slowed considerably, yet specifically, by this procedure. The results confirm that both TPs form a critical substrate within the neural network that supports conceptual knowledge.

Key Words: anterior temporal lobes • rTMS • semantic dementia • semantic memory


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
M. A. Lambon Ralph, K. Sage, R. W. Jones, and E. J. Mayberry
Coherent concepts are computed in the anterior temporal lobes
PNAS, February 9, 2010; 107(6): 2717 - 2722.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Soc Cogn Affect NeurosciHome page
A. H. Gutchess, T. Hedden, S. Ketay, A. Aron, and J. D.E. Gabrieli
Neural differences in the processing of semantic relationships across cultures
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, February 4, 2010; (2010) nsp059v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.