title: The semantic anatomical network: Evidence from healthy and brain-damaged patient populations.
abstract: Semantic processing is central to cognition and is supported by widely distributed gray matter (GM) regions and white matter (WM) tracts. The exact manner in which GM regions are anatomically connected to process semantics remains unknown. We mapped the semantic anatomical network (connectome) by conducting diffusion imaging tractography in 48 healthy participants across 90 GM "nodes," and correlating the integrity of each obtained WM edge and semantic performance across 80 brain-damaged patients. Fifty-three WM edges were obtained whose lower integrity associated with semantic deficits and together with their linked GM nodes constitute a semantic WM network. Graph analyses of this network revealed three structurally segregated modules that point to distinct semantic processing components and identified network hubs and connectors that are central in the communication across the subnetworks. Together, our results provide an anatomical framework of human semantic network, advancing the understanding of the structural substrates supporting semantic processing.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Yuxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Zaizhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Suyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Gaolang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Rehabilitation College of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100068, China.
authors.forename: Luping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Fangsong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
authors.forename: Ruiwang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Rehabilitation College of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100068, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Rehabilitation College of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100068, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Rehabilitation College of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100068, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Yanchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007807:Language Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D012660:Semantics; D020521:Stroke / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D066127:White Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology
keywords: connectomics; diffusion tensor imaging; module; semantics; white-matter network