日本認知心理学会
英国マンチェスター大学のGorona Pobric博士講演会

[ Pobric博士は、意味知識の神経基盤解明を目的として、経頭蓋磁気刺激法(Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; TMS)を用いた先駆的な研究を進めておられます。]

日時：
2013年12月16日（月）13:30～15:00

場所：
京都大学教育学研究科　本館１階第一会議室
http://www.educ.kyoto-u.ac.jp/access.htm

講演者：
Dr. Gorana Pobric, (Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit,
University of Manchester, U.K.)

講演題目：
Neural basis of conceptual knowledge: insights from magnetic
stimulation

講演要旨：Conceptual knowledge is core to language, nonverbal skilled
behaviours (e.g., using objects) and social cognition, and when impaired
after brain damage, it generates significant disability. A fundamental
neuroscience question is, therefore, how does the brain code and
generate semantic cognition? It has been argued that conceptual
knowledge stems from the joint action of multiple modality-specific
association cortices (the “distributed” theory). This joint action
reflects our accumulated verbal, motor and sensory experiences. However,
parallel studies of semantic dementia, rTMS in normal participants and
neuroimaging indicate that the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) plays an
important role in semantic cognition. Based on TMS studies, I will argue
that conceptual knowledge is the result of a hub-and-spoke combination
of information. The spokes are the modality-specific association areas
supporting sensory, verbal, and motor input, while the anterior temporal
lobe!
s act as a modality-invariant hub. I will demonstrate that
non-invasive brain stimulation provides valuable insight into normal
semantic processing, as well as its breakdown after brain damage.