Cognitive Control of Language

Summary

The cognitive control of speech is central to human social communication. Two frontal brain regions seem to have a critical role: 1) Broca's area (BA) and 2) the mid-cingulate cortex (MCC). Current rehabilitation strategy is clearly based on therapies promoting language performance. However, there is few evidence that rehabilitation strategies based on nonlinguistic aspects of brain function may enhance recovery. Such strategies may benefit from knowledge about the primary -nonlinguistic- function of the BA-MCC network. The aim of LANGUAGE is to identify this primary function. One hypothesis is that, in non-speaking primates, this network is involved in cognitive control of voluntary vocal/orofacial production. Specifically, whereas BA may be responsible for the high-level selection of orofacial and vocal responses during learning, the face motor representation within the MCC may be responsible for performance monitoring, a process inherently required in learning. LANGUAGE aims to test this hypothesis by determining in human the anatomo-functional organization of the BA-MCC network thanks to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

OTHER

Training session

The subjects will be trained to realize several versions of a learning task of conditional visuo-motor associations.

OTHER

First fMRI session

In this session (involving a condition specific to man and a condition that we are certain to obtain in the monkey), subjects will have to learn by trial and error during successive trials, the conditional associations between three abstract stimuli and three Manual responses (3 MRI-compatible mouse buttons).

OTHER

Second fMRI session

In this session (involving a condition specific to man and a condition that we are almost certain to obtain in monkeys), subjects will have to learn by trial and error during successive trials, the conditional associations between three abstract stimuli and Three orofacial responses (3 movements of the mouth).

OTHER

Third session of fMRI

In this session (involving a human-specific condition and a condition we hope to achieve in the monkey), subjects will have to learn by trial-error in successive trials, conditional associations between three abstract stimuli and three verbal or Vocals.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospices Civils de Lyon

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Philippe Domenech, MD · Henri Mondor University Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-01-14

Primary Completion

2016-05-19

Completion

2016-05-19

Countries

• France

Study Locations