ABSTRACT
Structural Equation Modelling analysis of three longitudinal er-fMRI sessions was used to test the impact of phonological training and of the generalization process on the pattern of brain connectivity during overt picture naming in two chronic anomic patients. Phonological training yielded a positive effect on the trained material. Six months after the training, a generalization of the positive impact on the untrained items was also observed. Connectivity analysis showed that training and generalization effects shared paralleled cortical patterns of functional integration. These findings may represent the neurophysiological correlate of the training-induced cognitive strategies for the compensation of anomia.
Subject(s)
Anomia/physiopathology , Anomia/therapy , Brain/physiopathology , Language Therapy/methods , Phonetics , Teaching/methods , Aphasia/physiopathology , Aphasia/rehabilitation , Brain Injuries/complications , Computer Simulation , Humans , Language , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Middle Aged , Models, Neurological , Nerve Net/physiopathology , Neural Pathways/physiopathology , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Speech/physiology , Stroke/complications , Treatment Outcome , Verbal Behavior/physiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Anosognosia for cortical blindness, also called Anton's syndrome, is a rare neurological disorder usually following bilateral lesions to occipital cortices. Neuropsychological, morphological and functional neuroimaging (SPECT and fMRI) findings are reported in a patient who incurred Anton's syndrome after an ischaemic lesion confined to the left occipital lobe involving the corpus callosum. The present case study suggests that Anton's syndrome may also follow from lesions disconnecting the occipital cortices.