title: Long-term proper name anomia after removal of the uncinate fasciculus.
abstract: A previous study reporting on 44 patients who underwent awake surgery for a left frontal or temporal glioma resection demonstrated the removal of the uncinate fasciculus to have consequences on language 3 months post-surgery. At this time-point, patients with a temporal glioma who had undergone uncinate removal showed the worst overall performance with a significant impairment in naming of famous faces and objects compared to patients without removal. Also, verbal fluency was mildly impaired. We report a longer-term follow-up (9-12 months) in a selected group of 17 patients (six female, age range 27-64) who did not suffer any tumour recurrence in this timeframe. MRI and DTI were performed before and after surgery. While verbal fluency on categorical cue and object naming recovered to the same level as before surgery, proper naming remained significantly impaired even after 12 months (P = 0.032) in patients with uncinate removal, demonstrating this structure to be crucial for that function and supporting the hypothesis that subcortical connectivity is relevant to allow plasticity. We thus argued that the left frontal and temporal poles connected by means of the uncinate fasciculus constitute a dedicated circuit for naming of unique entities.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1-Edificio U6, 20126, Milan, Italy. costanza.papagno@unimib.it.
authors.forename: Costanza
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papagno
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oncological Neurosurgery, Humanitas Research Hospital, Università degli Studi di Milano, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casarotti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1-Edificio U6, 20126, Milan, Italy.|Unit of Oncological Neurosurgery, Humanitas Research Hospital, Università degli Studi di Milano, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Comi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1-Edificio U6, 20126, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pisoni
authors.affiliation: Riabilitazione Neuropsicologica, Passirana di Rho, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lucchelli
authors.affiliation: Neuroradiologia, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital IRCCS, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bizzi
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oncological Neurosurgery, Humanitas Research Hospital, Università degli Studi di Milano, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oncological Neurosurgery, Humanitas Research Hospital, Università degli Studi di Milano, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bello
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000849:Anomia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005910:Glioma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D014705:Verbal Behavior
keywords: Anterior temporal lobe; Glioma; Proper names; Uncinate fasciculus