The unique role of the frontal aslant tract in speech and language processing

Zhong, Allison; Baldo, Juliana V.; Dronkers, Nina F.; Ivanova, Maria V.

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103020

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…One possible interpretation, therefore, is that the left FAT, is involved in the suppression of the speech actions. According to such view, the left FAT specializes for the selection and inhibition of speech motor plans, congruently with recent studies showing that the left FAT has a direct role in speech motor planning (e.g., Troutman et al, 2022;Zhong et al, 2022). Troutman et al (2022), showed that the microstructural properties of the left FAT correlated not only with picture naming times but also with the response times to a less demanding production task in which participants were asked to produce the word "picture" in response to any picture.…”

Section: The Left Fat and L2 Productionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Troutman et al (2022), showed that the microstructural properties of the left FAT correlated not only with picture naming times but also with the response times to a less demanding production task in which participants were asked to produce the word "picture" in response to any picture. Zhong et al (2022) reported a direct association between the severity of speech apraxia and the level of damage of left FAT in stroke patients.…”

Section: The Left Fat and L2 Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of the Frontal Aslant tract in bilingual language control

Quartarone¹,

Navarrete²,

Budisavljević³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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In the present study the microstructural properties of the right and left Frontal Aslant tract (FAT) have been investigated in relation to bilingualism and to language modality by comparing a group of unimodal bilinguals (i.e., bilinguals of two spoken languages) and a group of bimodal bilinguals (i.e., bilinguals of a spoken and a signed language). The microstructural properties of the left FAT correlated with performance in picture naming and semantic fluency in L2 for both groups of bilinguals. The microstructural properties of the both the right and left FAT correlated with picture naming performance in L1 for bimodal bilinguals. No significant correlations were found with performance in a language comprehension task. Overall, the results suggest that the FAT plays a relevant role in language control in bilinguals. While the left FAT seems to be mainly involved in the suppression of the spoken native language (L1) during the use of the spoken or signed L2, both the right and the left FAT seem to be involved in the suppression of sign language (L2) during speaking in L1.

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Section: The Left Fat and L2 Productionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: The Left Fat and L2 Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of the Frontal Aslant tract in bilingual language control

Quartarone¹,

Navarrete²,

Budisavljević³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation between the pars opercularis and the pars triangularis of the IFG, an area containing the inferior cortical projects of the FAT, has been reported to increase speed in the picture-naming task ( Rosso et al, 2014 ). Zhong et al (2022) recently showed that left FAT damage was associated with speech apraxia, an association never previously observed. Further studies are required to evaluate the role of the right FAT in this speech disorder.…”

Section: Right Frontal Aslant Tract and Functionsmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…In addition, cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation between the pars opercularis and the pars triangularis of the IFG, an area containing the inferior cortical projects of the FAT, has been reported to increase speed in the picture-naming task (Rosso et al, 2014). Zhong et al (2022) recently showed that left Identified major functions of the right FAT. FAT, frontal aslant tract; NMRs, negative motor responses; SMA, supplementary motor area.…”

Section: Language Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frontal aslant tract in the non-dominant hemisphere: A systematic review of anatomy, functions, and surgical applications

et al. 2022

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Knowledge of both the spatial organization and functions of white-matter fiber tracts is steadily increasing. We report here the anatomy and functions of the frontal aslant tract (FAT) in the non-dominant hemisphere (usually the right hemisphere). Despite the structural symmetry between the right and left FAT, these two tracts seem to display functional asymmetry, with several brain functions in common, but others, such as visuospatial and social cognition, music processing, shifting attention or working memory, more exclusively associated with the right FAT. Further studies are required to determine whether damage to the right FAT causes permanent cognitive impairment. Such studies will constitute the best means of testing whether this tract is a critical pathway that must be taken into account during neurosurgical procedures and the essential tasks to be incorporated into intraoperative monitoring during awake craniotomy.

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“…The only exception to this was the positive relationship between lesion load to the IFG opercularis and language outcomes. This pattern likely indicates that lesions specifically to that frontal area led to less severe language deficits, as critical posterior regions were spared in those instances (for a similar argument see Zhong et al 46 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Cerebral perfusion in post-stroke aphasia and its relation to residual language abilities

Ivanova

Pappas

Inglis

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Stroke alters blood flow to the brain resulting in tissue loss. However, the disruption of cerebral blood flow (perfusion) can also be observed in surrounding tissue as well as distal areas. These structurally preserved but sub-optimally perfused regions may contribute less to recovery; thus, to better understand aphasia recovery the relationship between cerebral perfusion and language needs to be systematically examined. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate 1) how stroke affects perfusion outside of lesioned areas in chronic post-stroke aphasia, and 2) how perfusion in specific cortical areas and perilesional tissue relates to language outcomes in aphasia. We analyzed perfusion data from 43 participants with chronic aphasia due to left hemisphere stroke and 25 age-matched healthy controls. We used anatomically defined regions of interest that covered the frontal, parietal, and temporal areas of the perisylvian cortex in both hemispheres, along with several control regions, not implicated in language processing. For the aphasia group we also looked at three bands of perilesional tissue around the lesion. We compared perfusion levels between the two groups and investigated the relationship with between perfusion levels and language subtest scores while controlling for age, gender, time post-onset, scanning site, lesion volume, and lesion site. First, we observed that perfusion levels were significantly reduced in frontal and parietal areas in the left hemisphere in aphasia compared to the control group, while no differences were observed for right hemisphere regions. Second, we found that perfusion in the left temporal lobe (and most strongly in the posterior part of both superior and middle temporal gyri) and inferior parietal areas (supramarginal gyrus) was significantly related to residual language abilities. In contrast, perfusion in the frontal regions did not show such a relationship; no relationship with language was also observed for perfusion levels in control areas and all right hemisphere regions. Levels of perilesional perfusion were only marginally related to language production abilities. Cumulatively, the current findings demonstrate that blood flow is reduced beyond the lesion site in chronic post-stroke aphasia and hypoperfused neural tissue in critical temporo-parietal language areas may not be fully able to support recovery. These results underscore the critical and general role that left hemisphere posterior temporal regions play in various expressive and receptive language abilities. Overall, the study shows that slowed or reduced blood distribution can affect the functionality of regions beyond the lesion site and have a direct impact on behavioral outcomes.

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The unique role of the frontal aslant tract in speech and language processing

Cited by 15 publications

References 62 publications

The role of the Frontal Aslant tract in bilingual language control

The role of the Frontal Aslant tract in bilingual language control

Frontal aslant tract in the non-dominant hemisphere: A systematic review of anatomy, functions, and surgical applications

Cerebral perfusion in post-stroke aphasia and its relation to residual language abilities

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