Persichetti Andrew S, Denning Joseph M, Gotts Stephen J, Martin Alex
Section on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Section on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
J Neurosci. 2021 Jul 14;41(28):6038-6049. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0456-21.2021.
Although the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) comprises several anatomic and functional subdivisions, it is often reduced to a homogeneous theoretical entity, such as a domain-general convergence zone, or "hub," for semantic information. Methodological limitations are largely to blame for the imprecise mapping of function to structure in the ATL. There are two major obstacles to using fMRI to identify the precise functional organization of the ATL: the difficult choice of stimuli and tasks to activate, and dissociate, specific regions within the ATL; and poor signal quality because of magnetic field distortions near the sinuses. To circumvent these difficulties, we developed a data-driven parcellation routine using resting-state fMRI data (24 females, 64 males) acquired using a sequence that was optimized to enhance signal in the ATL. Focusing on patterns of functional connectivity between each ATL voxel and the rest of the brain, we found that the ATL comprises at least 34 distinct functional parcels that are arranged into bands along the lateral and ventral cortical surfaces, extending from the posterior temporal lobes into the temporal poles. In addition, the anterior region of the fusiform gyrus, most often cited as the location of the semantic hub, was found to be part of a domain-specific network associated with face and social processing, rather than a domain-general semantic hub. These findings offer a fine-grained functional map of the ATL and offer an initial step toward using more precise language to describe the locations of functional responses in this heterogeneous region of human cortex. The functional role of the anterior aspects of the temporal lobes (ATL) is a contentious issue. While it is likely that different regions within the ATL subserve unique cognitive functions, most studies revert to vaguely referring to particular functional regions as "the ATL," and, thus, the mapping of function to anatomy remains unclear. We used resting-state fMRI connectivity patterns between the ATL and the rest of the brain to reveal that the ATL comprises at least 34 distinct functional parcels that are organized into a three-level functional hierarchy. These results provide a detailed functional map of the anterior temporal lobes that can guide future research on how distinct regions within the ATL support diverse cognitive functions.
尽管颞叶前部（ATL）包含多个解剖和功能亚区，但它常常被简化为一个单一的理论实体，比如一个用于语义信息的通用汇聚区或“枢纽”。方法学上的局限性在很大程度上导致了ATL中功能与结构的不精确映射。使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）来确定ATL精确的功能组织存在两个主要障碍：难以选择能激活并区分ATL内特定区域的刺激和任务；以及由于鼻窦附近磁场畸变导致信号质量较差。为了克服这些困难，我们使用通过优化序列采集的静息态fMRI数据（24名女性，64名男性）开发了一种数据驱动的脑区划分程序，该序列旨在增强ATL中的信号。通过关注每个ATL体素与大脑其他部分之间功能连接的模式，我们发现ATL至少包含34个不同的功能区，这些功能区沿着外侧和腹侧皮质表面排列成带，从颞叶后部延伸至颞极。此外，梭状回的前部区域（通常被认为是语义枢纽的位置）被发现是与面孔和社交处理相关的特定领域网络的一部分，而非通用的语义枢纽。这些发现提供了ATL的精细功能图谱，并朝着使用更精确的语言来描述人类皮质这一异质区域中功能反应的位置迈出了第一步。颞叶前部（ATL）的功能作用是一个有争议的问题。虽然ATL内不同区域可能执行独特的认知功能，但大多数研究仍模糊地将特定功能区域称为“ATL”，因此，功能与解剖结构的映射仍不明确。我们利用ATL与大脑其他部分之间的静息态fMRI连接模式，揭示出ATL至少包含34个不同的功能区，这些功能区被组织成一个三级功能层次结构。这些结果提供了颞叶前部的详细功能图谱，可指导未来关于ATL内不同区域如何支持多种认知功能的研究。
