The neural substrates sustaining the retrieval of face-name associations: a PET activation study

Neurohnage

13, Number

6.2001,

Part 2 of 2 Parts 10

E al@

MEMORY

The neural substrates sustaining the retrieval of face-name associations: a PET activation study. F. Joassin*, S. Campanella*,

B. Rossion*+, A.G. De VolderS, R. Bruyer*,

M. crommelinck5

*unite de Neuropsychologie Cognitive (NECO), Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium TDepartment of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Brown University, USA SCyclotron, Unite TOPO, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium $Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie (NEFY), Universite Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium Introduction. A PET study representation

of 8 healthy individuals was carried out to investigate of a face when presented with an associated name,and

the neural conversely.

substrates

involved

in the retrieval

of the visual

Method. Before PET image acquisition, subjects were presented with 24 unknown face-name associations to encode in 12 male-female couples. During PET scanning, the retrieval of face-name associations was studied by means of 4 experimental matching conditions, including the presentation of (1) name-name (NN), (2) face-face (PP), (3) face-name (PN) and (4) name-face (NP) associations. A resting scan with eyes closed was also performed. The task consisted in deciding whether each presented pair was a previoulsy learned association.

The subtraction of NN and PP conditions from NP and PN conditions revealed distributed in the left hemisphere, and including the inferior frontal gyms (BA supramarginal gyms of the inferior parietal lobe (BA 40).

the activation of a network of cerebral areas 45). the medial frontal gyms (BA 6) and the

Discussion. These activations interactive model

are interpreted as being the locus of the binding processes between visual faces and names accounting for these results, with BA 40 seen as an amodal binding region, is proposed.

representations.

An