MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK.
Université de Lorraine, CNRS, 2 avenue de la Forêt de Haye, Nancy F-54000, France.
Cereb Cortex. 2024 Aug 1;34(8). doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhae336.
The functional importance of the anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) has come to prominence in two active, albeit unconnected literatures-(i) face recognition and (ii) semantic memory. To generate a unified account of the ATLs, we tested the predictions from each literature and examined the effects of bilateral versus unilateral ATL damage on face recognition, person knowledge, and semantic memory. Sixteen people with bilateral ATL atrophy from semantic dementia (SD), 17 people with unilateral ATL resection for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE; left = 10, right = 7), and 14 controls completed tasks assessing perceptual face matching, person knowledge and general semantic memory. People with SD were impaired across all semantic tasks, including person knowledge. Despite commensurate total ATL damage, unilateral resection generated mild impairments, with minimal differences between left- and right-ATL resection. Face matching performance was largely preserved but slightly reduced in SD and right TLE. All groups displayed the familiarity effect in face matching; however, it was reduced in SD and right TLE and was aligned with the level of item-specific semantic knowledge in all participants. We propose a neurocognitive framework whereby the ATLs underpin a resilient bilateral representation system that supports semantic memory, person knowledge and face recognition.
颞叶前部（ATL）的功能重要性在两个活跃但不相关的文献中得到了突出的体现-(i) 人脸识别和 (ii) 语义记忆。为了对 ATL 进行统一的解释，我们测试了每个文献的预测，并检查了双侧和单侧 ATL 损伤对面部识别、人物知识和语义记忆的影响。16 名来自语义痴呆症（SD）的双侧 ATL 萎缩患者、17 名因颞叶癫痫（TLE）进行单侧 ATL 切除的患者（左=10，右=7）和 14 名对照者完成了评估感知面部匹配、人物知识和一般语义记忆的任务。SD 患者在所有语义任务中都受到影响，包括人物知识。尽管 ATL 总损伤相当，但单侧切除仅产生轻度损伤，左、右 ATL 切除之间差异最小。面部匹配表现基本保留，但在 SD 和右 TLE 中略有下降。所有组在面部匹配中都表现出熟悉效应；然而，在 SD 和右 TLE 中，该效应减弱，并且与所有参与者的特定项目语义知识水平一致。我们提出了一个神经认知框架，其中 ATL 支持语义记忆、人物知识和面部识别的稳健双侧表现系统。
