Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC and Center for Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
Handb Clin Neurol. 2022;187:263-275. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-823493-8.00018-3.
In this chapter, the literature concerning the dissociation between concrete and abstract words is reviewed, with a specific focus on the role of the temporal lobes. A number of studies have demonstrated the so-called "concreteness effect," that is, the superior processing of concrete versus abstract words. However, some neuropsychological patients have been described with a reversal of concreteness effect, namely, a better performance with abstract than concrete words. Available data suggest that the most frequent causes of this reversed effect are herpes simplex encephalitis and semantic dementia, which typically affect bilaterally anterior temporal regions. Direct electrical stimulation of the left temporal pole further supports this correlation, while the neuroimaging literature is more controversial. In fact, data from neuroimaging studies show either that abstract and concrete noun processing at least partly relies on the activation of a common left-lateralized network, or that abstract word processing is supported by the activation of networks within the left inferior frontal gyrus and the middle temporal gyrus. In between abstract and concrete concepts are idioms, which are represented by concrete actions conveying abstract mental states and events. The involvement of the temporal lobes in processing this particular figure of language is discussed.
在这一章中，我们回顾了关于具体词和抽象词分离的文献，特别关注了颞叶的作用。许多研究已经证明了所谓的“具体性效应”，即具体词比抽象词的加工更好。然而，一些神经心理学患者的表现与具体性效应相反，即他们对抽象词的表现优于具体词。现有数据表明，这种相反效应最常见的原因是单纯疱疹性脑炎和语义性痴呆，这些疾病通常会影响双侧前颞叶区域。左颞极的直接电刺激进一步支持了这种相关性，而神经影像学文献则存在更多争议。事实上，神经影像学研究的数据表明，抽象词和具体名词的处理至少部分依赖于左半球激活的共同网络，或者抽象词的处理由左额下回和中颞叶内的网络激活支持。在具体和抽象概念之间是成语，它们由具体的动作来表达抽象的心理状态和事件。我们讨论了颞叶在处理这种特殊语言形式中的作用。
