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The anterior temporal lobes and the functional architecture of semantic memory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

W. KYLE SIMMONS  and
ALEX MARTIN
W. KYLE SIMMONS*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Brain & Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
ALEX MARTIN
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Brain & Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: W. Kyle Simmons, Ph.D, Laboratory of Brain & Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Building 10, Room 4C-104, MSC 1366, Bethesda, MD 20892-1366. E-mail: simmonswkyle@mail.nih.gov
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Abstract

Recently, three accounts have emerged on the role of the anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) in semantic memory. One account claims that the ATLs are domain-general semantic hubs, another claims that they underlie knowledge of unique entities specifically, and yet another account claims that they support social conceptual knowledge generally. Here, we review neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies that bear on these three accounts and offer suggestions for future research to elucidate the roles of the ATLs in semantic memory. (JINS, 2009, 15, 645–649.)

Keywords

KnowledgeConceptsLesionfMRIPETProsopagnosias
Type
Short Review
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 15 , Issue 5 , September 2009 , pp. 645 - 649
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2009

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