On the Neurocognitive Co-Evolution of Tool Behavior and Language: Insights from the Massive Redeployment Framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Osiurak ◽  
Caroline Crétel ◽  
Natalie Uomini ◽  
Chloé Bryche ◽  
Mathieu Lesourd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Inferior Parietal Lobe

Understanding the link between brain evolution and the evolution of distinctive features of modern human cognition is a fundamental challenge. A still unresolved question concerns the co-evolution of tool behavior (i.e., tool use or tool making) and language. The shared neurocognitive processes hypothesis suggests that the emergence of the combinatorial component of language skills within the frontal lobe/Broca’s area made possible the complexification of tool-making skills. The importance of frontal lobe/Broca’s area in tool behavior is somewhat surprising with regard to the literature on neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience, which has instead stressed the critical role of the left inferior parietal lobe. Therefore, to be complete, any version of the shared neurocognitive processes hypothesis needs to integrate the potential interactions between the frontal lobe/Broca’s area and the left inferior parietal lobe as well as their co-evolution at a phylogenetic level. Here we sought to provide first elements of answer through the use of the massive deployment framework, which posits that evolutionarily older brain areas are deployed in more cognitive functions (i.e., they are less specific). We focused on the left parietal cortex, and particularly the left areas PF, PGI, and AIP, which are known to be involved in tool use, language, and motor control, respectively. The deployment of each brain area in different cognitive functions was measured by conducting a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Our results confirmed the pattern of specificity for each brain area and also showed that the left area PGI was far less specific than the left areas PF and AIP. From these findings, we discuss the different evolutionary scenarios depicting the potential co-evolution of the combinatorial and generative components of language and tool behavior in our lineage.

Involvement of the Left Supramarginal Gyrus in Manipulation Judgment Tasks: Contributions to Theories of Tool Use

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 685-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Lesourd ◽  
François Osiurak ◽  
Jordan Navarro ◽  
Emanuelle Reynaud
Keyword(s):  
Tool Use ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Cortical Network ◽  
Functional Area ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Inferior Parietal Lobe ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Technical Reasoning

AbstractObjectives: Two theories of tool use, namely the gesture engram and the technical reasoning theories, make distinct predictions about the involvement of the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) in manipulation judgement tasks. The objective here is to test these alternative predictions based on previous studies on manipulation judgment tasks using transcranial magnetic stimulations (TMS) targeting the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Methods: We review recent TMS studies on manipulation judgement tasks and confront these data with predictions made by both tool use theories. Results: The left SMG is a highly intertwined region, organized following several functionally distinct areas and TMS may have disrupted a cortical network involved in the ability to use tools rather than only one functional area supporting manipulation knowledge. Moreover, manipulation judgement tasks may be impaired following virtual lesions outside the IPL. Conclusions: These data are more in line with the technical reasoning hypothesis, which assumes that the left IPL does not store manipulation knowledge per se. (JINS, 2017, 23, 685–691)

scholarly journals Electrophysiologic identification of Broca’s area during frontal lobe tumour surgeries

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishanth Sampath ◽  
Roopesh Kumar ◽  
Sudhakar Subramaniam ◽  
Senthil Kumar ◽  
Vijay Sankar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area

scholarly journals Intraoperative subcortical mapping of a language-associated deep frontal tract connecting the superior frontal gyrus to Broca's area in the dominant hemisphere of patients with glioma

2015 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 1390-1396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masazumi Fujii ◽  
Satoshi Maesawa ◽  
Kazuya Motomura ◽  
Miyako Futamura ◽  
Yuichiro Hayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Navigation System ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Language Function ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Mr Images ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
Subcortical Mapping

OBJECT The deep frontal pathway connecting the superior frontal gyrus to Broca's area, recently named the frontal aslant tract (FAT), is assumed to be associated with language functions, especially speech initiation and spontaneity. Injury to the deep frontal lobe is known to cause aphasia that mimics the aphasia caused by damage to the supplementary motor area. Although fiber dissection and tractography have revealed the existence of the tract, little is known about its function. The aim of this study was to determine the function of the FAT via electrical stimulation in patients with glioma who underwent awake surgery. METHODS The authors analyzed the data from subcortical mapping with electrical stimulation in 5 consecutive cases (3 males and 2 females, age range 40–54 years) with gliomas in the left frontal lobe. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tractography of the FAT were performed in all cases. A navigation system and intraoperative MRI were used in all cases. During the awake phase of the surgery, cortical mapping was performed to find the precentral gyrus and Broca's area, followed by tumor resection. After the cortical layer was removed, subcortical mapping was performed to assess language-associated fibers in the white matter. RESULTS In all 5 cases, positive responses were obtained at the stimulation sites in the subcortical area adjacent to the FAT, which was visualized by the navigation system. Speech arrest was observed in 4 cases, and remarkably slow speech and conversation was observed in 1 case. The location of these sites was also determined on intraoperative MR images and estimated on preoperative MR images with DTI tractography, confirming the spatial relationships among the stimulation sites and white matter tracts. Tumor removal was successfully performed without damage to this tract, and language function did not deteriorate in any of the cases postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS The authors identified the left FAT and confirmed that it was associated with language functions. This tract should be recognized by clinicians to preserve language function during brain tumor surgery, especially for tumors located in the deep frontal lobe on the language-dominant side.

Disruption of Broca's Area Alters Higher-order Chunking Processing during Perceptual Sequence Learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Alamia ◽  
Oleg Solopchuk ◽  
Alessandro D'Ausilio ◽  
Violette Van Bever ◽  
Luciano Fadiga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Posterior Part ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Control Site ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Action Processing

Because Broca's area is known to be involved in many cognitive functions, including language, music, and action processing, several attempts have been made to propose a unifying theory of its role that emphasizes a possible contribution to syntactic processing. Recently, we have postulated that Broca's area might be involved in higher-order chunk processing during implicit learning of a motor sequence. Chunking is an information-processing mechanism that consists of grouping consecutive items in a sequence and is likely to be involved in all of the aforementioned cognitive processes. Demonstrating a contribution of Broca's area to chunking during the learning of a nonmotor sequence that does not involve language could shed new light on its function. To address this issue, we used offline MRI-guided TMS in healthy volunteers to disrupt the activity of either the posterior part of Broca's area (left Brodmann's area [BA] 44) or a control site just before participants learned a perceptual sequence structured in distinct hierarchical levels. We found that disruption of the left BA 44 increased the processing time of stimuli representing the boundaries of higher-order chunks and modified the chunking strategy. The current results highlight the possible role of the left BA 44 in building up effector-independent representations of higher-order events in structured sequences. This might clarify the contribution of Broca's area in processing hierarchical structures, a key mechanism in many cognitive functions, such as language and composite actions.

scholarly journals The language of music: Common neural codes for structured sequences in music and natural language

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey N. Chiang ◽  
Matthew H. Rosenberg ◽  
Carolyn A. Bufford ◽  
Daniel Stephens ◽  
Antonio Lysy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Metabolic Response ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Language And Music ◽  
Integration Mechanisms ◽  
Language Of Music

AbstractThe ability to process structured sequences is a central feature of natural language but also characterizes many other domains of human cognition. In this fMRI study, we measured brain metabolic response in musicians as they generated structured and non-structured sequences in language and music. We employed a univariate and multivariate cross-classification approach to provide evidence that a common neural code underlies the production of structured sequences across the two domains. Crucially, the common substrate includes Broca’s area, a region well known for processing structured sequences in language. These findings have several implications. First, they directly support the hypothesis that language and music share syntactic integration mechanisms. Second, they show that Broca’s area is capable of operating supramodally across these two domains. Finally, these results dismiss the recent hypothesis that domain general processes or proximal neural substrates explain the previously observed “overlap” between neuroimaging activations across the two domains.

Language, tools and brain: The ontogeny and phylogeny of hierarchically organized sequential behavior

1991 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Greenfield
Keyword(s):  
Tool Use ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Evolution Of Language ◽  
Hierarchical Complexity ◽  
Neural Substrate

AbstractDuring the first two years of human life a common neural substrate (roughly Broca's area) underlies the hierarchical organization of elements in the development of speech as well as the capacity to combine objects manually, including tool use. Subsequent cortical differentiation, beginning at age two, creates distinct, relatively modularized capacities for linguistic grammar and more complex combination of objects. An evolutionary homologue of the neural substrate for language production and manual action is hypothesized to have provided a foundation for the evolution of language before the divergence of the hominids and the great apes. Support comes from the discovery of a Broca's area homologue and related neural circuits in contemporary primates. In addition, chimpanzees have an identical constraint on hierarchical complexity in both tool use and symbol combination. Their performance matches that of the two-year-old child who has not yet developed the neural circuits for complex grammar and complex manual combination of objects.

scholarly journals Time to Re-Think Broca: Extent of Resection and Neurological Outcome in Patients Harboring Tumors in the Dominant Inferior Frontal Gyrus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Suarez-Meade ◽  
Lina Marenco-Hillembrand ◽  
David Sabsevitz ◽  
Lela Okromelidze ◽  
Blake Perkidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Extent Of Resection ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Neurological Outcomes ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
Stable Performance ◽  
And Function ◽  
Glioma Resection

Abstract Introduction/Purpose: There is a general lack of consensus onboth the anatomic definition and function of Broca’s area. Given the belief that this region plays a critical role in expressive language, resective surgery is often avoided topreserve function. However, the putative role of Broca’s area in speech production has been recently challenged.The current study aims to investigatethe feasibilityof glioma resection and neurological outcomes in “Broca’s area” in 15 patients.Methods: We report a feasibility study describing the resection of gliomas within the IFG. Awake brain surgery for resection with mapping and intraoperative neuropsychological evaluation was carried out in all individuals. Results: All included patientshad tumors located in traditional “Broca’s area” and eight patients (53.33%) had tumors that additionally extendedinto the insula and subinsular regions. During stimulation, positive speech-language sites within the IFG were identified in ten patients. Two patients (13.33%) experienced a declinein naming during intraoperative cognitive monitoring and thirteen (86.66%) had a stable performance throughout surgery. With all patients had recovery of language functions at a two-week follow up. Extent of resection was stratified in anatomical regions within the IFG, being the pOr the area with the greatest EOR (97.4%), followed by the pT (84.1%), pOp (83.8%), and vPMC (80%).Conclusion: The belief that Broca’s area is not safe to resect is challenged. Adequate mapping and careful patient selection allow maximum safe resection of tumors located in thetraditional “Broca’s area”,with low risk of postoperative morbidity.

scholarly journals Distinct neural networks for the volitional control of vocal and manual actions in the monkey homologue of Broca's area

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalja Gavrilov ◽  
Andreas Nieder
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Primate Evolution ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Spontaneous Movement ◽  
Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Inferior Frontal Cortex

The ventrolateral frontal lobe (Broca's area) of the human brain is crucial in speech production. In macaques, neurons in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, the suggested monkey homologue of Broca's area, signal the volitional initiation of vocalizations. We explored whether this brain area became specialized for vocal initiation during primate evolution and trained macaques to alternate between a vocal and manual action in response to arbitrary cues. During task performance, single neurons recorded from the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the rostroventral premotor cortex of the inferior frontal cortex predominantly signaled the impending vocal or, to a lesser extent, manual action, but not both. Neuronal activity was specific for volitional action plans and differed during spontaneous movement preparations. This implies that the primate inferior frontal cortex controls the initiation of volitional utterances via a dedicated network of vocal selective neurons that might have been exploited during the evolution of Broca’s area.

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