TY - JOUR
T1 - Pragmatic abilities in multiple sclerosis
T2 - The contribution of the temporo-parietal junction
AU - Carotenuto, Antonio
AU - Cocozza, Sirio
AU - Quarantelli, Mario
AU - Arcara, Giorgio
AU - Lanzillo, Roberta
AU - Brescia Morra, Vincenzo
AU - Cerillo, Ilaria
AU - Tedeschi, Enrico
AU - Orefice, Giuseppe
AU - Bambini, Valentina
AU - Brunetti, Arturo
AU - Iodice, Rosa
PY - 2018/10/1
Y1 - 2018/10/1
N2 - Recent studies showed that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients might experience communicative deficits, specifically in pragmatics (i.e., the ability to integrate the context-dependent aspects of language). A crucial region for pragmatics is the temporo-parietal junction, in particular the so-called Geschwind's area (GA), which is involved in high-level language processes, including the comprehension of narratives, metaphor, and irony. We evaluated the relationship between pragmatic abilities, measured through the Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS) test, and the functional connectivity (FC) of the bilateral GAs, assessed through a seed-based analysis of Resting-State fMRI in patients with MS. A positive correlation was observed between APACS scores and the FC for both the right and the left GA and the paracingulate cortex. Our findings suggest that the brain FC for social communication involves connections extending over both hemispheres, including right and left GAs and right and left paracingulate cortex, possibly impaired in patients with MS. This study offers preliminary evidence for future researches enrolling also a control sample to explore the involvement of GA in pragmatics in neurological disorders as well as in healthy conditions.
AB - Recent studies showed that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients might experience communicative deficits, specifically in pragmatics (i.e., the ability to integrate the context-dependent aspects of language). A crucial region for pragmatics is the temporo-parietal junction, in particular the so-called Geschwind's area (GA), which is involved in high-level language processes, including the comprehension of narratives, metaphor, and irony. We evaluated the relationship between pragmatic abilities, measured through the Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS) test, and the functional connectivity (FC) of the bilateral GAs, assessed through a seed-based analysis of Resting-State fMRI in patients with MS. A positive correlation was observed between APACS scores and the FC for both the right and the left GA and the paracingulate cortex. Our findings suggest that the brain FC for social communication involves connections extending over both hemispheres, including right and left GAs and right and left paracingulate cortex, possibly impaired in patients with MS. This study offers preliminary evidence for future researches enrolling also a control sample to explore the involvement of GA in pragmatics in neurological disorders as well as in healthy conditions.
KW - Functional connectivity
KW - Geschwind's area
KW - Language
KW - Multiple sclerosis
KW - Neuropragmatics
KW - Pragmatics
KW - Social cognition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051272442&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85051272442&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.08.003
DO - 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.08.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 30110668
AN - SCOPUS:85051272442
VL - 185
SP - 47
EP - 53
JO - Brain and Language
JF - Brain and Language
SN - 0093-934X
ER -