What is the role of the uncinate fasciculus? Surgical removal and proper name retrieval.
The functional role of the uncinate fasciculus is still a matter of debate. We examined 44 patients submitted to awake surgery for removal of a left frontal or temporal glioma. In 18 patients, the removal included the uncinate fasciculus. We compared patients with or without removal on a series of neuropsychological tasks, performed at different time intervals: pre-surgery, in the first week after surgery and 3 months after surgery. Functional magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging, fibre-tracking techniques were performed before surgery. At the last examination, patients with uncinate removal were significantly impaired in naming of famous faces and objects as compared with patients without removal. We further divided patients according to the site of the tumour (either frontal or temporal). At the follow-up, patients with a temporal glioma who underwent uncinate removal had the worst loss of performance in famous face naming. In addition, on the same task, the group with a frontal glioma that underwent resection of the frontal part of the uncinate performed significantly worse than the group with a frontal glioma but without uncinate removal. In conclusion, the resection of the uncinate fasciculus, in its frontal or temporal part, has long-lasting consequences for famous face naming. We suggest that this fibre tract is part of a circuitry involved in the retrieval of word form for proper names. Retrieval of conceptual knowledge was intact.
Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, Ediﬁcio U6, 20126 Milano, Italy. costanza.papagno@unimib.it
Costanza
C
Papagno
Christiano
C
Miracapillo
Alessandra
A
Casarotti
Leonor J
LJ
Romero Lauro
Antonella
A
Castellano
Andrea
A
Falini
Giuseppe
G
Casaceli
Enrica
E
Fava
Lorenzo
L
Bello
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D002529:Cerebellar Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D005910:Glioma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D008032:Limbic System / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D056347:Neuroanatomical Tract-Tracing Techniques / Q000379:methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery