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An examination of regional cerebral blood flow during object naming tasks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2001

Benjamin J. Zelkowicz
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology Research Program and Functional Imaging Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Amy N. Herbster
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology Research Program and Functional Imaging Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Robert D. Nebes
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology Research Program and Functional Imaging Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Mark A. Mintun
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology Research Program and Functional Imaging Research Program, Department ofRadiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
and James T. Becker
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology Research Program and Functional Imaging Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA Neuropsychology Research Program and Functional Imaging Research Program, Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine regional cerebral blood flow using positron emission tomography (PET) during the performance of tasks related to visual confrontation naming. Ten healthy, young participants were scanned twice in each of 5 conditions; blood flow was measured using standard PET [15O]-water technology. Two major findings have replicated previous studies. First, the naming of visually presented objects, whether covert or overt, requires a region of the left inferior cortex including the fusiform gyrus. Second, during overt naming, there is an increase in activity in the inferior or frontal cortex and insula as a consequence of generating speech code. These data are consistent with other studies demonstrating the importance of the inferior temporal regions for semantic processing, and the frontal cortex for word form generation. (JINS, 1998, 4, 160–166.)

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1998 The International Neuropsychological Society

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Footnotes

Reprints requests to: James T. Becker, Neuropsychology Research Program, Suite 502, Iroquois Building, 3600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.