title: The neural network associated with lexical-semantic knowledge about social groups.
abstract: A person can be appraised as an individual or as a member of a social group. In the present study we tested whether the knowledge about social groups is represented independently of the living and non-living things. Patients with frontal and temporal lobe tumors involving either the left or the right hemisphere performed three tasks--picture naming, word-to-picture matching and picture sorting--tapping the lexical semantic knowledge of living things, non-living things and social groups. Both behavioral and voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) analyses suggested that social groups might be represented differently from other categories. VLSM analysis carried out on naming errors revealed that left-lateralized lesions in the inferior frontal gyrus, amygdala, insula and basal ganglia were associated with the lexical-semantic processing of social groups. These findings indicate that the social group representation may rely on areas associated with affective processing.
authors.affiliation: SISSA, Trieste, Italy. Electronic address: lpiretti@sissa.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piretti
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carnaghi
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Unit, S.Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Campanella
authors.affiliation: SISSA, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ambron
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Unit, S.Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: Miran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skrap
authors.affiliation: SISSA, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Rumiati
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005910:Glioma / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008579:Meningioma / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012660:Semantics; D012938:Social Perception; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Brain tumors; Category-specificity; Semantics; Social cognition; Social groups