Effect of prefrontal cortex damage on resolving lexical ambiguity in text.
The function of suppression of context-inappropriate meanings during lexical ambiguity resolution was examined in 25 adults with prefrontal cortex damage (PFCD) localized to the left (N=8), right (N=6), or bilaterally (N=11); and 21 matched Controls. Results revealed unexpected inverse patterns of suppression between PFCD and Control groups, with measures suggesting decreased interference across time in the PFCD group and increased interference in the Control group. The PFCD group, however, had significantly lower accuracy rates for the context-inappropriate condition. Results suggest a loss of the control aspects of inhibitory processes in lexical ambiguity resolution following PFCD. An aging effect on suppression function is also suggested.
Frattali
Carol
C
Rehabilitation Medicine Department, W.G. Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Hanna
Rebecca
R
McGinty
Anita Shukla
AS
Gerber
Lynn
L
Wesley
Robert
R
Grafman
Jordan
J
Coelho
Carl
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014825:Vocabulary