Doricchi Fabrizio
Department of Psychology, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy; Laboratory of Neuropsychology of Attention, I.R.C.C.S. Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
Handb Clin Neurol. 2022;187:161-177. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-823493-8.00020-1.
In the human brain, the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) is a histologically heterogenous area that includes the ventral portions of the parietal cortex and the caudal superior temporal gyrus sector adjacent to the posterior end of the Sylvian fissure. The anatomical heterogeneity of the TPJ is matched by its seemingly ubiquitous involvement in different cognitive functions that span from memory to language, attention, self-consciousness, and social behavior. In line with established clinical evidence, recent fMRI investigations have confirmed relevant hemispheric differences in the TPJ function. Most importantly, the same investigations have highlighted that, in each hemisphere, different subsectors of the TPJ are putatively involved in different cognitive functions. Here I review empirical evidence and theoretical proposals that were recently advanced to gain a unifying interpretation of TPJ function(s). In the final part of the review, a new overarching interpretation of the TPJ function is proposed. Current advances in cognitive neuroscience can provide important insights that help improve the clinical understanding of cognitive deficits experienced by patients with lesions centered in or involving the TPJ area.
在人类大脑中，颞顶联合区（TPJ）是一个组织学上异质的区域，包括顶叶皮质的腹侧部分以及与外侧裂后端相邻的颞上回尾侧扇形区。TPJ的解剖学异质性与其在从记忆到语言、注意力、自我意识和社会行为等不同认知功能中似乎普遍存在的参与情况相匹配。与已有的临床证据一致，最近的功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究证实了TPJ功能中相关的半球差异。最重要的是，同样的研究强调，在每个半球中，TPJ的不同子区域可能参与不同的认知功能。在此，我回顾了最近提出的实证证据和理论建议，以对TPJ功能获得统一的解释。在综述的最后部分，提出了对TPJ功能的一种新的总体解释。认知神经科学的当前进展可以提供重要的见解，有助于改善对以TPJ区域为中心或涉及该区域的病变患者所经历的认知缺陷的临床理解。
