Neural correlates of recognition and naming of musical instruments

Amy M Belfi; Joel Bruss; Brett Karlan; Taylor J Abel; Daniel Tranel

doi:10.1037/neu0000273

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Neural correlates of recognition and naming of musical instruments

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Neural correlates of recognition and naming of musical instruments

Amy M Belfi, Joel Bruss, Brett Karlan, Taylor J Abel and Daniel Tranel

Neuropsychology, Vol.30(7), pp.860-868

10/2016

DOI: 10.1037/neu0000273

PMID: 26901170

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Abstract

Retrieval of lexical (names) and conceptual (semantic) information is frequently impaired in individuals with neurological damage. One category of items that is often affected is musical instruments. However, distinct neuroanatomical correlates underlying lexical and conceptual knowledge for musical instruments have not been identified. We used a neuropsychological approach to explore the neural correlates of knowledge retrieval for musical instruments. A large sample of individuals with focal brain damage (N = 298), viewed pictures of 16 musical instruments and were asked to name and identify each instrument. Neuroanatomical data were analyzed with a proportional MAP-3 method to create voxelwise lesion proportion difference maps. Impaired naming (lexical retrieval) of musical instruments was associated with damage to the left temporal pole and inferior pre- and postcentral gyri. Impaired recognition (conceptual knowledge retrieval) of musical instruments was associated with a more broadly and bilaterally distributed network of regions, including ventromedial prefrontal cortices, occipital cortices, and superior temporal gyrus. The findings extend our understanding of how musical instruments are processed at neural system level, and elucidate factors that may explain why brain damage may or may not produce anomia or agnosia for musical instruments. Our findings also help inform broader understanding of category-related knowledge mapping in the brain, as musical instruments possess several characteristics that are similar to various other categories of items: They are inanimate and highly manipulable (similar to tools), produce characteristic sounds (similar to animals), and require fine-grained visual differentiation between each other (similar to people). (PsycINFO Database Record

Brain Damage, Chronic - psychology

Concept Formation - physiology

Humans

Middle Aged

Male

Statistics as Topic

Music - psychology

Brain Injuries - physiopathology

Brain Damage, Chronic - physiopathology

Recognition (Psychology) - physiology

Anomia - psychology

Temporal Lobe - physiopathology

Semantics

Adult

Female

Anomia - physiopathology

Brain Injuries - psychology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Neural correlates of recognition and naming of musical instruments
Creators: Amy M Belfi - Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Joel Bruss - Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine
Brett Karlan - Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine
Taylor J Abel - Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa College of Medicine
Daniel Tranel - Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Neuropsychology, Vol.30(7), pp.860-868
DOI: 10.1037/neu0000273
PMID: 26901170
NLM abbreviation: Neuropsychology
ISSN: 0894-4105
eISSN: 1931-1559
Publisher: United States
Grant note: F32 NS087664 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 10/2016
Academic Unit: Neurology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002372502771

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3 Times Cited - Web of Science